Our new PAPPcuts are here and I can promise you that they will take bookbinding and box making to a new level – without making it complicated or difficult!

But not all of us are as addicted to bookbinding as I am, so today I have instructions for a really cute little thing where you can really let your creativity run wild and make an original pendant, a pretty decoration or a small, very special gift yourself. Put a banknote in it for a birthday, a small voucher for Easter - or, as here, because Christmas is coming soon, as a pendant in an angel costume for the Christmas tree or for a gift from a loved one.

• PAPPcut 'Circle'
• PAPPcutie 'Circle Frame with Confetti'
• a piece of screen-printed cardboard , 2 mm
• sheet of screen printing cardboard 1 mm ( Gray cardboard also works, but it looks nicer with screen-printed cardboard)
• design paper as desired
• a piece of book linen , approx. 30 x 3 cm

Instead of linen, you can also use a sheet of cardstock , silk or a similar thin material for the cover.

• Somewhat solid, clear plastic film, ideal: acetate film

• The 'Mini Angels'
• The 'Angel Wings Set'
• Embossing Folder 'Angel with Heart'
• Fine linen yarn card 'Nature' waxed (the yarn is perfect due to its strength and the unobtrusive natural material), approx. 20 cm
• Various beads to fill and decorate
• glossy paper
• Stamp pad Delicata 'Champagne'

• Fine sandpaper (180 grit is very suitable)
• Liquid glue Nuvo Deluxe (please no Tombow!)
• Fine sewing needle
• bone folder , ideally made of Teflon
• Sharp, very precise scissors (the Micro-Tip non-stick scissors '13 cm' and the sewing scissors '13 cm' are my absolute favorites for clean results)
• Small brush or sponge
• If necessary, a painting knife and a little white (or colored) structural paste
• A sharp craft scalpel

Use the PAPPcut to punch out one circle each from the 2 mm cardboard (don't worry - the PAPPCut slides easily through the 2 mm cardboard and even 3 mm cardboard and thick craft paper works very easily), the acetate and 2 x from your design paper.

From the PAPPcutie, punch out 5 circles from 1 mm screen-printed cardboard (if you want a higher edge, punch it out one or two more times).

The PAPPcuties are designed for very strong papers up to approx. 300 g , but also work quite well with 1 mm screen printing cardboard. You may need to rework the inner area of ​​the circle a little with a scalpel.

You don't need the confetti from the middle section yet. Punch out another ring from designer paper, book cloth or, like me, from glossy paper. This will be your pretty cover for the upper part. I used the confetti that is created here, along with a few pearls, as filling for my shaker.

You also punch out the mini angel once from screen-printed cardboard (the angel is included twice, mirrored vertically).

You will definitely have to do a little bit of trimming with the scalpel, but it will be worth it! You can also use other punches, but remember: the more detailed the punch is, the more difficult it is to rework with the scalpel.

By the way, I've had very good experiences with the 'lucky symbols' - the horseshoe, the clover leaf and the pig have often ended up as pendants on my boxes. Punch out the motif twice in opposite directions from your chosen paper (I used the same linen here as for the edge).

Now cut the linen strip to size: It should measure the circumference of the circle + approx. 0.5 cm overhang.

Gather beads, trinkets, pendants, stamps and whatever else you want to use for decoration.

First, decorate your background, i.e. the two circles made of design paper. One circle will be the background of your shaker, one circle will go on the back so that it looks pretty from behind and the pendant can be hung freely. I used the small embossing folder with the angel for this.

For example, you can place a stamp impression with or without embossing, a few splashes of color or something similar.

Glue all the rings made of thin screen-printed cardboard on top of each other as neatly as possible and smooth the edges inside and out with the sandpaper.

Coat the thick cardboard circle with glue and glue your prepared background design onto the cardboard.

Now glue the thick cardboard ring onto this and smooth the outside again with the sandpaper. Here you can see how it should now look.

That's why I dab the edges with shimmering stamp ink. The subtle shine makes the edge, which will still be visible later, a little eye-catcher. You may need to use a small brush or sponge to help with the corners.

Now let's focus on the external values: I covered the outside with linen, but you can also use other materials - or cover the outside with white or colored structural paste, that also looks great!

Before applying the linen, make sure that no rough grooves are visible.

If you find any, fill them with a little white texture paste, let it dry thoroughly and then sand the surface again.

Apply the glue to the surface, piece by piece, and glue the linen strip all the way around the outside, leaving about 1 cm of linen at the top and bottom.

The ends overlap by about 0.5 cm .

Now a small skill task awaits you, which you will easily master with a really good pair of scissors.

Cut as small notches as possible into the top and bottom edges, ending exactly at the edge of the cardboard.

Shorten the points to 3-4 mm and coat them generously with glue. Let the glue set a little; when the moisture causes the linen (or the paper) to swell a little, the points can be easily folded over and you get a nice, clean edge.

Use your bone folder to run along the edge a few times so that the points almost fold inwards by themselves. Press them in place with your fingers. The points must not protrude beyond the edge of the cardboard ring on the front.

Do the same on the back, but you don't have to shorten the points. You can now stick the second decorated design paper circle onto the back.

Now your dangle is attached.

About 1.5 to 2 cm above the dangling, tie a double knot in the thread. Pull the thread through the eye of your needle and insert it roughly in the middle from the inside between the cardboard rings and through the linen, outwards.

When everything is dry and nothing can slip anymore, glue on your last ring - here made of glossy paper - and your tree branch is ready!

I attached a small feather, a few tags and punched angel wings to the cord and a very special, individual decorative pendant is ready!

It also looks great if you stick two pendants back to back, make a string of lights out of the pendants and so on – there are no limits to your imagination with the PAPPcuts and PAPPcuties!

Have fun crafting!

From us to you ⭐

Silke