Embellish-strips - A Tutorial for Creating Fun Papers

I LOVE CREATING. 


I love creating anything that involves art. This includes re-creating the details in blog form through tutorials and teaching. This tutorial was inspired by a large group swap of hand-made embellished 2" circles. The end result was a fabulous envelope of diversity and color. Fast forward..let's swap strips.

In my marketing brain I'm thinking embellished strips. Embellished so that we are swapping artful strips of papers beyond a cutting up a piece of cardstock. I hope you find this tutorial helpful. (Sidenote...I've tried video tutorials... not my jam)

Just follow the pics and you will see from start to finish what embellished strips require.

Click on the pics to zoom in and read closer.

Examples of cut paper strips that would NOT work for this swap.

Comparing for Clarity

Use what you have. Some ideas of things for you to consider using might include: 

• Sharpies, markers, pencil, pens, metallic pens, stabilo pencil
• Stamps and Ink, alcohol inks, spray inks
• Punchinella (sequin waste for a stencil)
• Acrylic paints, watercolor paints, metallics 
• White pens, gesso, gelatos
• Stitching or sewing machine work
• Modeling paste, irridescent medium
• Washi tapes, colored pencils

One way to approach your strips:

One inch strips

Ok...a little math so you know how to get the most from your 8.5x11" paper

How many pieces, pages...or pisces of paper for a 50 strip swap?

All cut up! Even a sample is "artful"

What was used on these strips to get what you might like

-Stencil with shiny paint and star punchinella

-Under paper
-Pencil geometric sketch over paint and punchinella
-Plain cardstock with sharpie

-Black gesso with a scraping tool
-Collaged papers, text, magazine, paint

-Alcohol ink on photo paper with sharpie and white gesso
-underpaper and smeared paint

-Star punchinella, modeling paste
-Gelli plate red with  blue stencil over

-Stencils, stitching from sewing machine, inks

-Printed paper with finger-painted dots
-Stencils on shiny cardstock
-Underpaper

-Spray inks on copy paper
-Watercolor paper, zentangle with sharpie and white gesso

-Gears stencil, black diamonds stamp, white gesso dots

*50 Strips*

Look at all that yummy color and design

Lastly..What do I do with 50 Strips?????? Well, here is a journal layout I made with under paper pieces that I could not part with circa 2015.

Please kindly use as inspiration, but certainly create your own version. :)

BASIC RECIPE:

• 1" strips cut from 8.5 x 11" paper  (1"x11" strips)
• Some sort of original embellishment from the artist 
• Straight cut 

When you have created something with your strips, whatever that maybe, feel free to share here and we can all see what you've created :)