I have never been much for getting into the crafts that are all mucky and dirty. I guess I am truly one of those “indoor” girls.

Every now and again I’ll get a burr in my bonnet and do something with houseplants and maybe transplant an outdoor set of flowers, but basically I lean to the fiber crafts and other “soft” crafts. Ones that require clean hands! This is neat craft for people like me because you do get to muck around a bit but it is in clean material that won’t make you feel like you need a complete manicure later that night. I tried this craft about a billion years ago (okay, more like 15) and I loved it. Papermaking is a great craft, its inexpensive, and the results are absolutely fabulous. It is a unique craft that will express your artistic and creative side.

The materials are easy:

Different sources of paper (different textures, colors, and weights are fun to combine)

* A blender (use one you don’t plan to use for food again)
* A window screen stretched tightly on a frame
* Plastic tub (at least as big as the screen frame)
* Liquid starch
* White flannel or felt
* Tacks or staple gun

This particular set of instructions will tell you how to make flat “sheets” of paper. Decorate them as you like to make stationery, greeting cards, artwork to frame, or any other use you come up with. Be generous with leaves, silk ribbons, flowers, glitter… whatever you like. Your imagination is the only limit.

Next I’ll present another idea for paper making that is truly unique. This is a process that takes a little longer but is my favorite thing to do with papermaking crafts. You may get hooked too!

Paper Making

Papermaking

Making Paper From The Garden

By Adelle Tilton

A very happy 2008 to all our readers and contributors.

We have a busy crafting year planned, so stay tuned for our new team of writers and craft specialists.

With Christmas just around the corner, gifts and presents will be on every crafter’s mind.

Painting on silk

Over at Hobbycraft, they have an interesting section on craft techniques. Here’s one of them : fabric painting.

“Fabric painting is a very popular art form and can be used to create projects such as greetings cards, pictures, clothing and soft furnishing.”

Painting on fabrics

Read about this technique, and others, at Hobbycraft.

Despite all the openings online to store your digital pictures and news on social websites and blogs, the art of scrapbooking remains an extremely popular craft.

It appeals to kids, adults, women of all ages, and especially in classrooms. in short, anyone who wants to create a memory to last a lifetime, and wants to do it with a dash of creativity and personal input. It’s almost like a crazy quilt made with photographs, paper, and memories.

Anyone can do it. Scrapbooking kits are available in every craft shop, or just buy a plain paper exercise book. You can add all kinds of snippets to the cover (see picture) and create an ongoing story of pictures and text inside.

Perhaps the most famous scrapbooks of all are the works of Alfred Wainwright …

… who meticulously drew the landscapes of his native Lake District in the north of England, and lovingly added text around them in a fine caligraphic style.

So popular did they become, a top publisher published them all, just as they came. The scrapbooks now make up the finest guide to the mountains and lakes of the region, and are still in print.

Never say you can’t make a career out of scrapbooking.