Book Review: Paper Wonderland

  

Hold onto your pants, and get ready for some seriously cute stuff! I was strolling through my local book store, scanning the paper crafting section when I came across this little jewel. I was immediately drawn to its super cute illustrations and figured that even I could operate a pair of scissors and a tape roller adeptly enough to put a few paper toys together. 

On the front cover the book claims to have, "32 terribly cute toys," just waiting to be cut out and assembled, and the book delivered. I decided to start myself off with the toaster (I couldn't resist the angry piece of burnt toast's alluring eyes), which is the only toy I saw where you have to assemble components that go inside the toy as well as outside. Think heating elements. My point is, I must have picked the second hardest design to start with, the first being some fancy-schmancy Polaroid camera job with photos popping out.

As promised by the author, self-taught illustrator Michelle Romo, all I needed was a pair of scissors, some double-sided tape, and a craft knife to put these little guys together. The directions were simple and, well, direct: cut on the solid lines, score and fold on the dotted lines, then tape it all together.

Most of the cut outs were easy-peasy and could be done with scissors but some required a steady hand wielding a craft knife. For example, the toaster required thin slits to be removed from the middle of the top so the angry piece of toast had a place from which to glare. When it came to scoring the dotted lines it was easy enough to lightly run my craft knife across those using a straight edge as a guide, and that gave my guys nice, crisp edges when I got them all folded together. 

All in all, I'd say these guys are worth the work, and even if you don't decide to make the toys the book is absolutely beautiful. 

I should note for all my crafters out there who are trying to get the most out of their materials, the back side of the cutout paper is printed with super cute designs so you can turn all of your scraps over and use them for other projects. Hooray!

♥ Stacey

Squidshine!

Here are two versions of a card I made.

To create your own version:

• Print out an image using a laser printer.
• Lay a piece of Stampee Foil over the image.
• Cover the foil with a piece of copy paper.
• Run through a heat laminator on a high setting.
• Peel the foil away to reveal your super shiny image!
• Layer with cute patterned papers and keep it all together with colorful brads and double sided tape.

New Packaging, Website and eStore

There have been some big changes happening over here at Stampee Crafts!

New Powder Packaging: Stamp-N-Foil bonding powder has been renamed Stuck on You! bonding powder. Don't worry, it's the same great product, just with a snazzier name.

New Foil Packaging: We redesigned the foil packaging to make it easier (and cheaper!) to ship to all of you. When we renamed the bonding powder, we also renamed the foils. The new foil name is Stampee Foil. You'll find instructions for use, as well as some tips and tricks, printed on the paper spool. In addition, the format of the foil has changed from 20' long pieces to 5' long pieces.

New Website and eStore: The website has been redesigned for ease of use. The new design is a work in progress which will eventually host a place for all of you to upload photos of your Stampee Foil projects. We'll also be adding a FAQ section titled Tips and Tricks. Be on the lookout!

The eStore has also been redesigned, so make sure you check that out.

I will keep everyone updated as the newer features are added to the site.

♥ Stacey