I fell for handmade paper!

Hi, all!

A special welcome to Club Scrap fans and friends of Arnold Grummer Papermaking and the "Falling for Handmade Paper blog hop!"

I had a blast making sheets of handmade paper with the grandkids a few weeks ago. They sat at the kitchen counter, helping me read and follow the step by step instructions. By the end, they all wanted to make a sheet! Their phones were forgotten for a few blissful moments. And that's really saying something.

Tons of project ideas floated through my brain while considering how I'd creatively use my precious sheets of paper. I finally landed on an idea for a scrapbook page . . .

One of my favorite things to do is to calculate the best mathematical way to use a sheet of paper. (Yes, I said "math." But it's easy, I promise.)

How could I effectively make use of three 5.5x8.5" sheets made with Arnold Grummer's Papermill Complete Kit?

Why, turn them into 2.75" squares, of course! (There will be NO scraps!)

Follow these simple steps to create an awesome background grid for a 12x12" scrapbook page from just three sheets of handmade paper.

1. Position one 5.5x8.5" sheet vertically onto your work surface and place a 3x14" CS® Grid Ruler onto the paper at 2.75". Moisten the paper along the ruler's edge with the help of a water brush. The paper will tear very easily on the wet line, leaving a beautiful deckle edge.

2. Rotate the 2.75x8.5" pieces horizontally on your work surface. Place the grid ruler 2.75" from the left edge, and repeat the moistening/tearing process to create two squares. Repeat for the remaining 2.75x5.5" pieces.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to make squares from the remaining 5.5x8.5" sheets.

Look at the gorgeous deckled edges!

Small pieces of Orange, Red and Brown papers from the Falling Leaves collection were used to tint the handmade paper.

4. Place the 2.75" squares onto a 12x12 Falling Leaves Brown Plain in a grid pattern, alternating colors as you wish. There will be two unused squares. Set them aside for later. Allow the paper to dry completely prior to moving on to the next step.

5. Adhere the squares to the base paper with CS® Bookbinding Glue dispensed from a Needle-tipped Applicator. This adhesive is absolutely perfect for the job. It creates an excellent bond, doesn't seep through, and smooths the paper nicely.

6. With all of the squares adhered, the page is ready for your photos and embellishments.

I completed my layout with one large and three smaller photos from my daughter's senior portrait session. The colors were perfect!

Remember the two leftover squares? Create handmade embellishments with the Falling Leaves die cut set.

Add the die cuts to the layout with additional Bookbinding Glue.

I'm sure we'll learn throughout the entire blog hop that Arnold Grummer's papermaking kits and Club Scrap kits are a match made in heaven. Hop along to Nancy Nickel's blog to discover more reasons to fall for handmade papermaking!

I invite you to leave a little love in the comments below. If you include a bit of encouragement by commenting on all of today's hop posts, you will be entered into a random prize drawing. Woo hoo!

Efficiently yours,
Tricia