Diamond Paper Weight

Paper weights, accessories, gemstone weights.....I don't think I can quite decide, but hopefully 

I have everything covered!

Today I post a How-To / Make Your Own Diamond from a simple pattern, which I made to create some pretty accessories for my bedside book table.  It is a fairly simple step-by-step and you can make this just as simple in the decoration, or knock yourself out - perfect for when the weather takes a turn and you need something creative to do.

[Click on the pdf above to save to your computer and print]

Using the pdf above, I printed, cut out and traced my pattern on to cardboard.  I chose some furniture box packaging that I had saved from my move [knew it would come in handy eventually!], but any type will do.  Cut out and fold along the dotted lines:

I used a ruler and the edge of my scissors to create a perforation in the cardboard.  If you are using plain A4 card, use your scissors to score the lines and fold.

To create the diamond, I used brown tape along all the sides until attached:

To weight the diamonds a little, I filled about half with uncooked rice grains and then attached

 the top closed:

As I wanted to decorate the diamond with poster paint, I covered the tape with a toilet paper towel,

 spilt in to two, with pva glue so that the paint would stick:

Once dry, I then covered the diamond in silver pearlised paint:

The result:

The tissue does show through the paint and the perfectionist[ish] in me couldn't leave it like this, 

so I turned to a trusty decoupage technique and covered the rest of the diamond in smaller sections 

of the tissue, covering in the paint to secure and left to dry:

 much better.  I printed my pattern at 75% and 50% to create a little family of diamond accessories, :

 But there was something missing from these for me - I didn't feel that their shape was emphasised enough, so.........:

If in doubt - cover it in glitter!

Perfect for a bit of decoration, mine are currently sitting on top of my books - but I have taken

 to using the larger one as a door stop as well.

I also coloured the pattern and printed on to standard A4 card to see how they would turn out:

...a little harder to attach the sides together - but I used clear tape.  

When cutting the pattern - add flaps to the top three sides of the square and use glue to secure in place to have a more seamless fastening.

 - and if you want a bit more colour in your life than mine, you can match your decor or get 

involved in a bit of neon.

These would make brilliant gift box or storage box alternatives - just add a lip to the top edge of the square so that it can be closed without gluing in place, or print out on a larger scale for a pinata.

If you have a go - I would love to see - don't forget you can email me if you have any queries about the pattern at: thethingsshemakes@yahoo.co.uk