How to Make Paper Creations
Paper creations are works of art made of pieces of paper layered together in various ways to create an attractive display. Paper creations are easy enough for any paper-crafting beginner, and even children will enjoy using these simple techniques. With practice, skill and a good artistic eye, your crafts can become quite elaborate and beautiful.
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Things You'll Need
- Image or quote
- Paper (whole or scraps)
- Printer or photo copier
- Card stock
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Embellishments
Instructions
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1
Decide on a featured element you wish to display. This will set the theme and help you select coordinating elements. It might be an image, such as a leaf print or drawing, a photograph or a phrase printed in decorative fonts.
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2
Resize your featured element on a computer or photocopier if necessary. It should be smaller than the size you want the finished project to be, but not too small or it will not stand out. For example, if your finished project will be eight inches by 10, your feature might be a five-inch square, or a four-by-six-inch rectangle.
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3
Print out your featured element on a piece of card stock. Use a light or neutral color so that your featured element will stand out.
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4
Trim around the edges of your featured element with a decorative-edged scissor, or just tear the edges carefully to create a rustic, natural look. If you like you can punch shapes into the corners with a paper punch. Set it aside.
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5
Take a piece of card stock to cut as your background paper. This can be a solid color, or feature a pattern. Cut it to the size you want your project to be.
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Take some paper scraps in coordinating colors and patterns, such as vellum, old wrapping paper or pretty scrapbooking papers. Tear or cut them to smaller sizes and shapes. You can use a stencil if you have specific shapes in mind, such as hearts or leaves.
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Arrange your scraps on your background card stock. Move them around until you are pleased with the layout. Be creative, but strive for a visually balanced and appealing design.
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8
Affix your scraps to the background with a glue stick. Glue a ribbon across for embellishment if you like, or add some decorative rubber-stamp images.
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9
Place your featured element on top of the entire design and affix it with a glue stick. You can add additional embellishments if you like, such as small paper punches or die cuts, to add more texture.
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10
Frame your paper creation and display it prominently.
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Tips & Warnings
Use these techniques to create bookmarks, decorate book covers or create scrapbook pages or greeting cards.
