Pretty Paper Projects for Children

Still Life With Roses and Lillies

by M. Margets

These papers and cards are easy enough for children, but still great for adults to use. Who would not want to receive one of these in the mail?

Decorative writing paper and envelopes are easy to make. Cut these sets yourself or use the pattern included here. Trace the hearts on wrapping paper or floral pictures from catalogs and magazines.

Take a square, card sized envelope apart and glue it onto some cardboard, from a large cereal box or something of that weight. Use it for your templae and make matching envelopes from colored or plain printing paper, as you see here. Place your heart on the point of the upper flap of the envelope.  The paper is a whole sheet cut in half, which fits a square envelope.  If you wish to use the pattern, highlight it and click the ctrl key plus c, then go to a blank page, and click the ctrl key plus v. Or, you may click on the pattern and click print. Sometimes people have had problems printing out things from this blog, so you might have to try several methods.

This pretty heart card is really easy to make, and it has a square point on the end so that the card may stand up.  Here it is with pleated white crepe paper streamer, topped by a paper heart of the same size to hide the ends, with a foam heart outline on which marble glitter has been added. Underneath it is a printed graphic. I've taken a special glitter glue that is for paper, and put dots and outlines around it. The crepe paper trim has to be cut into a heart shape by trimming various parts with scissors.

Here it is on red textured paper. You do not have to buy big books of paper, as you can get it by the sheet in various stores.

There were no paper doilies to be had in my area, so I made my own by cutting out a heart shape, folding it up several times, and clipping triangles around all the edges and creases. Then I added glue with a small brush, and  clear glitter.

Here is the pattern for this easy project. Place the upper edges of the heart on the fold of the cardstock. The squared off end helps it to stand up.

Making your own hearts is easy. Fold paper in half and draw shapes as indicated, following the arrows. Cut them out on the fold starting at the point of the heart. Experiment with different kinds of drawings, long, short, wide, and narrow.

Keep making them until you find the kind of shape you like.

If you do not want folds in your hearts, find the one you like and paste it onto cardboard for a template. Use that template to trace around on your special papers.

The first step in making your own lacey paper heart, is to fold the paper heart in half,

and then half again, and in any other ways it will fold and still be thin enough to cut with scissors.

Here are all the little cuts . You have to leave some of the folded parts of the edges uncut, and some of them cut. I find little wedges or triangles the easiest on multi-folded paper.

It is always interesting to unfold it and see what you got. Some are better than others, and you learn a little more each time you experiment.