Craft Queen Blog: tissue paper tutorial from Petrina

Thursday, June 09, 2011

tissue paper tutorial from Petrina

I've been having terrific fun playing with some of the new tissue papers from 7 Gypsies and Collections that are available now from Craft Queen. If you type "tissue" into the search box of the online shop they will all come up in the one place for you. The full range will also be available from the Craft Queen stand at the
Scrapbook and Papercraft Expo in Brisbane this weekend - pop in to stand 11 and check out all the samples showing different ways to use this product.

Lovely and strong, these papers are perfect for trying mixed media techniques on your scrapbooking pages, cards, or even canvases. They are strong enough to tear in the direction that you choose, but they don't disintegrate when you splash them with glimmer mist, glue or watercolours.

Here is a detail from this layout where I tore strips of Collections tissue "Victorian" and lay them across chipboard, gauze and photos. I tinted it with some pink glimmer mist to match my other embellishments.

The tissue paper can be altered in many different ways and for the tutorial below I am showing a mixed media technique that uses ordinary sticky tape. I have used 7 Gypsies "Numero" for this layout.

Start by sticking your tape across the tissue paper. I've used the sort of tape commonly referred to as "magic tape" which has a matt appearance but isn't entirely clear, hence the 'white' appearance of the glue that makes it sticky. You can use regular 'shiny' sticky tape that is indeed totally clear - either work well. Packing tape, or even clear (or tinted!!) contact also work with this technique.

Make sure the tape is really stuck securely to your tissue paper. I was in the kitchen so I used my wooden spoon to rub over it to make sure there were no bubbles and that it was really stuck.

Now find a container in which you can soak your paper and tape. Fill it with a little cold water, pop in the paper and pour over some hot water. The warmer the water the quicker your paper will dissolve - but if it is too hot your tape may buckle from the heat.

After it has been sitting for a few minutes the paper will start to go soggy and you can use your finger to 'rub' it away from the tape. Because it is only tissue paper it rubs away quite easily and what you are left with is the printed image adhered to your tape - in this case the "numero" design. Lay it somewhere to dry - or just stick one end to your table top and let it hang over the edge to dry.

Now you have some fancy printed sticky tape!

Yes, it still remains sticky and you can now use it to decorate your page. Dependent on which tissue paper or sticky tape you use, you can even get the effect of a rub-on. It looks terrific over patterned paper and because it is transparent makes an excellent border for photographs. Obviously if you use packing tape or contact you would have larger pieces which could be die cut or punched before soaking.