So, I am continuing my projects from the past couple of months - making paper woven products in which the original paper print is visible. This was a bigger box than what I have previously done - about 7 inches tall and 5 inches in diameter.

Nothing much else to say! Not sure what I think of this one.. It is very practical, because it is quite big. But I need to shape it a little better I think!

 So I have been experimenting with making some woven products using the original newspaper tubes, without colouring them. 

This was the first of them - a pen or pencil pot. This time I tried both ways - one I made using only the newspaper tubes, no colour. The next was made from wood-coloured tubes. What do you think? Which is the one you prefer?

Personally, I prefer the original tubes with no colour. I like that the paper is seen and anyone seeing it would know that it is made from paper. But if I want to hide that it is actually paper-made, then the colouring one works out well.

Here's to a blessed new year 2021! Well, the year has had a good start for me and I was able to work on my first order for this year - a box made from newspaper tubes with a touch of decoupage. 

I am very happy to see the results of all the practice I have had during these past few months! Quite delighted with how pleasing and utilitarian this box turned out to be! 

The box is 8 inches in diameter and 10 inches in height. In this instance too, the client just specified that she wanted a big box with decoupage. So that meant, I got to choose the colours and the design!! Yay!!

 

I went for the peach/white combination from my last box as I absolutely love this decoupage tissue. I love how pleasing these roses are! The base was made from a cardboard and I started by gluing the sticks to the base. 

I used 2 patterns for the sides. The first was a 3-weave pattern as I wanted to accentuate the white. This was followed by a peach section, since I wanted the decoupage to stand out here. 

The lid also started with a cardboard base with decoupage on it. Quite happy with the way the decoupage turned out! In love with these little woven knobs! They are so adorable!!

Finally, I finished off with some round felt protectors, since the colour is quite light and I didn't want the box to turn dirty very quickly! 

So, here's to a year of newspaper weaving and plenty of orders 😄😄

Happy New Year 2021!

 

 

A little experiment for making a small, leaf-shaped tray, in time for Christmas! This little tray has been on my to-do list for quite some time now, especially since I have already made a couple of leaf trays using the coiling technique of weaving.  

Since I had already coloured some tubes green and red, in anticipation of some Christmas themed newspaper weaving projects, I decided to use a few of them to try out this little leaf tray. Well, it turned out not to so little after all - measuring around 10-inches at the maximum length!

 

While I quite liked the leaf stalk that I added, I think I need to figure out a better way, or rather,  a more aesthetically pleasing way of adding it! 

Other than that, I am in love with this tray and I think I will do one more using Christmas colours! What say??

Model Details:

Model: Leaf Tray

Difficulty Level: Complex

Tutorial (making newspaper tubes): Youtube

This time of coronavirus has meant that I have received very few orders for my newspaper weaves during this year. But well, there is always a silver lining - I was able to work on my weaves, experiment with colours, try out new weaving techniques... 

Let me assure you, trying to achieve a certain level of mastery in anything is difficult. While perfection is impossible to achieve - practice definitely does not make perfect, but it sure does make one better - striving towards that perfection, for me, is key to success. As far as my weaving goes, this means a lot of hours, plenty of effort and boat loads of experiments! 

So time of quarantine has been that opportunity for me to better my work. I have done a ton of reading (a lot of sites in other languages, so thank you, Google Translate!!), a whole bunch of research, hours of video-watching, many, many experiments with colours, techniques, designs and rolling so many newspaper tubes that I can probably do it blind-folded now! 

And the result? Now I can say that my work has definitely improved. In the next few months I will be able to show that on my blog too. And hopefully, I would love to share some of my learning and if you are interested in paper weaving, I am sure that would benefit you.

Coming to this big box - this is one of the biggest projects I have had the pleasure to work on. The client wanted something to store toys in, something in pleasing pastel colours and something with a lid. She also wanted decoupage. That was all the requirements. And what a pleasure it has been! 

I worked based on the patterns on the decoupage tissue - roses in pale peach. So my chosen colours were peach and white. This project involved a loooot of tube-rolling!! 😅😅 I started with a cardboard base, with decoupage done on that cardboard. The weaving was pretty straight-forward - the lower half was an experiment in random combinations of peach and white and the upper half was completely done in white. I absolutely loved the lid, with its little peach knob! Initially I had thought of adding a wooden know, but am quite happy I went with this paper knob instead. 

Decoupage is quite interesting, but I think this will also take a back seat to the actual weaving. I love the way it accentuates the beauty of the box though. 

Overall, a wonderful project and a pleased client 👍😀

 Hmm.. My attempt at making a little woven pumpkin pot! Is that a yay or a nay?? 

Can't say I am very impressed with this 😁 I think the top of the pumpkin should flatten down a lot more. Don't you think so? And I think the lid should be entirely of orange with no green in it. Well, live and learn, folks!! 

Model Details:

Model: Pumpkin Pot

Difficulty Level: Complex

Tutorial (making newspaper tubes): Youtube

Continuing with the project from my last post, I worked on a pen stand, using the same colour combination - dark purple, mauve and cream. It was again done using the coiling technique, using newspaper tubes.

Weaving the tray was easier because of the larger surface area. And another problem was maintaining evenness in the sides of the pen stand. I haven't completely succeeded in this regard!

The close up shows the colours and the smooth weave. And once I glazed it, I ended up with an incredibly strong pen stand! I just hope my brother likes it and finds it useful :)

And finally, here is a picture of the pen stand and the tray. I am quite pleased with how they have both turned out, but I think I will take a break from weaving using the coiling technique! It is quite time-consuming and frankly speaking, very addicting 😅😅

Model Details:

Model: Triangular Pen Stand

Difficulty Level: Complex

Tutorial (making newspaper tubes): Youtube

Tutorial (coiling or root-weaving technique): Youtube

After completing the woven Mother's Day bowl, it appears that I still am a glutton for punishment 😅😅 I tried out more of the coiling technique, using newspaper tubes. Well, I had a second reason for going ahead with this tray - my brother's birthday had just gone by and thanks to coronavirus, I was unable to gift him what I had wanted. So handmade it was!

The triangle is a shape I haven't attempted before and I am happy with the way it has turned out. I love the slight curve in the sides. I also added some tubes in the edge, as handles for the tray. I don't know what purpose they would serve, but I like the way they look!

As far as the colours go, I went with a combination of purple and cream tubes. The purple was in 2 shades, since I wanted to do a gradient in the weaving. The darker purple was achieved by adding a little black acrylic to mauve acrylic paint. This resulted in a rich dark purple which was a pleasure to work with! The lighter purple was mauve with a dab of white acrylic paint mixed in. I wasn't too happy with the way the cream turned out! I wanted a mellower version. I need to experiment more with this colour.

I love this closeup of the weaving! Absolutely adore the way it has turned out. The weaving is the smoothest I have achieved since I started experimenting with coiling or root weaving technique.

I have also decided on weaving a pen stand, using the same technique and the same colours. Will have to see how that works out!

Model Details:

Model: Triangular Tray

Difficulty Level: Complex

Tutorial (making newspaper tubes): Youtube

Tutorial (coiling or root-weaving technique): Youtube

 

 

Apparently, tissue holders continue to be my Achilles heel, when it comes to newspaper weaving! After my previous attempt at weaving a snail-shaped tissue holder, my second attempt did not turn out to be much more of a success! 

This time, my attempt was weaving an oval base with a couple of half rings. This is based on a combination of pictures I had seen on Pinterest. But while the theory was quite fine, the execution still needs work. 

On the plus side, I am very happy with the way the oval base turned out! This is one of the few times I have managed to weave an oval without distorting its shape! The rings, of course, need a lot of work! 

Model Details:

Model: Tissue holder

Difficulty Level: Complex

Tutorial (making newspaper tubes): Youtube

Today being Mother's Day, I wanted to make something for my mom. Well, with the lockdown in place due to the coronavirus, shopping was out of question. Which means, I decided to try out one of my newspaper weaving projects. And so was born the Mother's Day Bowl.

The idea behind the bowl was to use one theme colour, in this case black, along with other coordinating colours, for which I chose blue, yellow and pink.

I also wanted a very sturdy base, so made use of some plywood and drilled holes into them to form the centre of the bowl. I then coated them with black acrylic paint. This was the starting point of the bowl. From there, I decided on going with the coiling or root weaving technique. This is woven freestyle, without any form.

While I love the colour combination, the finish is still not up to the mark. Naturally, this will only come with practice and as the lockdown continues, hopefully I will master this technique of newspaper weaving!

Model Details:

Model: Mother's Day Bowl

Difficulty Level: Complex

Tutorial (making newspaper tubes): Youtube

Tutorial (coiling or root-weaving technique): Youtube

 

Here is another of my newspaper weaving trials - a tissue holder shaped like a snail! A couple of years back, I had tried a pot holder shaped like a snail. And had been quite happy with the way it had turned out. So, this is my next attempt to use a snail shape in my weaving. Can't say I have succeeded quite well this time! 

Anyway, my lessons learnt - need to make it bigger next time, so that the entire tissue fits in well! 

Notice in the background, my pot holder from my last post? Complete with its pot?? Quite liked how it turned out 😄

 

Given the intense newspaper weaving session from the last post, I decided to do something a little simpler. So here is my pair of pot holders, made in aqua and white - the colours of my parents' living room. For quite some time now, they have been asking me to weave them something that goes with their room colours. And for a looong time now, I have been putting it off - mainly because I wasn't too sure that I would do justice to their aesthetically pleasing room! 

 So finally, after much deliberation, I decided to try out a couple of pot holders, to be kept over their piano, along with a candle stand in the same colour combination. Since I needed a pair, I used the exact opposite colours, in the same pattern. 

I am quite pleased with the way it has turned out. The centre portion, made from a single tube that is twisted around the base tube, was something new. While this is not always even, I quite like the effect produced. I believe I will use the same pattern in a few more weaves in the future!

 

How about that?? I ended up making a very cute little duckling which also served a purpose! This is a little container that I made for my daughter Little Missy. She uses this to store little trinkets and is delighted with how tiny and "kawai" it is! 

I actually had a few sticks left over, after completing a recent project, so wanted to use those remaining sticks. And well, this was the size I could make without having to roll and paint new ones! So a duckling instead of a duck! I should addceyes, I guess, but I thought it looked good even now, no? 

Another first for me is that I have woven this as a free form, that is, I usually have a base form over which I weave. But I wanted to see how it went without a form and I think it has come out fairly well.

Model Details:

Model: Duckling shaped container

Difficulty Level: Complex

Tutorial (making newspaper tubes): Youtube

This blue bowl is the first large-sized bowl that I have tried, that has come out reasonably well! The problem with bowls that I have found is that, while the start is pretty standard with the help of a form, it is inward curve at the top that causes trouble.

The reason being that a form can no longer be used! So this is more of eye-balling the correct curvature so that the bowl is shaped uniformly. I have always had a problem with this and usually my bowls turn out a little too one-sided for my liking! So I am quite delighted that for the very first time, I have done a decent job and the bowl looks more centred.

I also like the way the edging has been done. The edge with a whole bunch of 'V's is more attractive than the usual edges that I use and gives a good finish to the bowl, I thought.

Model Details:

Model: Woven Bowl

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Tutorial (making newspaper tubes): Youtube

These little Easter baskets were made from some left-over tubes that were lying around. They were pretty easy to make and quick work too..

Of course, they don't serve any purpose given their size 😄 But are super cute to look at, so may be I will end up making more of these!!

Model Details:

Model: Easter Basket

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Tutorial (making newspaper tubes): Youtube

Tutorial (making the basket): Youtube

After my Christmas bells made from newspaper tubes, I have been working with a fair amount of enthusiasm, on a rather large project! Making a trash can!!

It has been a fairly large project for me, because everything about this is new! I am new to newspaper weaving, so rolling the tubes itself is a challenge. The shape I have chosen is also new - till date, I have only attempted round structures, so a square is another challenge. Then there is the painting - as you can see, I have used lavender, green and white tubes. The white tubes were tricky because they weren't as bright white as I wanted them to be; hopefully I will get there in my next few attempts. Finally, I am not sure how clear it is, but I have used lavender/white paper beads around the middle of the basket. For some time I had the feeling that I had bitten off more than I could chew, but finally, I managed to complete the basket 😀 And really really proud of what I have done. I do realise there are a lot of faults, but at least I completed it!! So yay me!!

Model Details:

Model: Woven waste basket

Difficulty Level: High Intermediate

Model Size: ~15 inches tall 

Tutorial (making newspaper tubes): Youtube 

I am sure most of us have tried our hand at weaving paper mats, at least when we were kids. I have made quite a few paper mats and then moved on to making little bowls by using the same technique.

Recently, my sister-in-law, whose office is eco-friendly, wanted me to try using newspapers to make an eco-friendly waste paper basket for her office. It appealed to me very much, so I got to work folding newspaper sheets into thick strips to form the basis for my woven basket. Unfortunately, the end wasn't very appealing!

I searched around for another way and with Youtube to my rescue, finally figured out how to roll newspaper tubes and use these as the basic material for making my basket. This tutorial gave me a good start. I made a bowl initially and since that turned out quite fine, I then made a basket.

As per instructions from my daughter, Little Miss, I coated the finished products with a layer of glue/water mix - apparently that is how it is done in some of the art shows that she watches on TV! The end result was a very stable, recycled, eco-friendly bowl/basket, that is great for storing a variety of things. I am yet to make the waste basket though!