Snuck Up On Me

Gift wrap backed with rice paper & folded into a double pocket

I started working on another gratitude journal last week, knowing Christmas was quickly approaching and I'd better get going if it would reach its recipient as a holiday gift. But as I was perusing the calendar to plan my holiday to do's, I realized I didn't have two weeks left but just one! So I've had to put it aside to work on cards and such but I thought I'd share this nifty trick I tried with the gift wrap. I'm not the only one in the book club that had difficulty gluing gift wrap to bookboard without it bubbling and wrinkling. And I worried that my paper wasn't as strong as needed to keep the pockets from tearing. After much random mulling, I wondered if I couldn't back the gift wrap with rice paper the way one does fabric to make book cloth. But I still wondered about what adhesive to use when I ran across a "hack" for adhering decorative napkins to something like an envelop.* Ahh, here was something else book club members had struggled with when it was suggested to make cover paper using decorative napkins glued to copy paper. I watched the video and it looked too simple to be true How many times have I struggled with a technique that a video had presented as easy? But this time it really was.

So here is all you do. Lay down a sheet of parchment paper and your regular paper (the video showed an envelop with the flap open). Smooth a layer of plastic wrap over that (Saran Wrap is one brand name you are probably familiar with). Finally, lay down your decorative napkin, or in my case, a piece of gift wrap, right side up on top and cover with a piece of parchment paper. Now evenly press the whole thing with a hot iron which will melt the plastic wrap and create the bond between plain paper and the decorative paper. Oh my - did that work slick! Now I can't attest to the longevity let alone the archival quality of this process but for what I am using it for, that doesn't really matter. And I can tell now that by doing this with the gift wrap for covering the boards, I'll have paper I won't have to worry about tearing or not lying smooth when glued. Can't wait to do this to the rest of the pocket paper and the cover paper. But I'll have to because it's back to getting my Christmas card done.

*If you're on Facebook, you can watch the video here, my little gift to you: Cling Wrap Hack