Project designed by Cheryl Stevenson
Materials:
pencil and eraser
tracing paper
handmade paper
pictures of your favorite flowers: photos/greeting cards (use pictures with simple lines and clean shapes)
watercolor paints in colors to match the flowers and foliage
freezer paper
masking tape
large piece of cardboard, picture canvas or illustration board
inexpensive watercolor brushes
sharp scissors for paper cutting
fine point marking pen
hot glue gun and glue sticks
decorative background papers
Steps:
- Choose a picture of a flower that you want to use to make a pattern. Take some time to look over it closely to make sure it will be a good candidate for this project . Look for images in which you can clearly see which shapes are in the very back, which shapes overlap others, and which shapes are in the front. Lay the tracing paper over the picture. Do the flowers have easy to trace and cut shapes? Is there enough contrast (light and dark color differences) to allow you to easily see the shapes through the tracing paper?
- Use tracing paper to create an outline of all the shapes in your picture (figure A). Feel free to eliminate the background detail you don't want to include, or to just copy a few blossoms out of a bouquet. The tracing paper allows you to edit the image until it's simple enough for you to work with. This outline is your "working" drawing.
- Number each flower, leaf or stem you traced (figure B). If there is more than one shape making up a flower or cluster of leaves, add a letter (i.e. 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, etc.) This will become your "reference map" to remind you how the shapes are assembled.
- Place a piece of tracing paper over the working drawing you made. Trace each individual shape, and be sure to add a 1/4" margin where another shape overlaps it. Move the tracing paper slightly so that each shape you trace is separate from those around it. You are making patterns for shapes you will cut. Use a pencil to shade in any overlapping area so that you can tell where the overlapped area starts. Keep all the shapes for one flower or leaf cluster together, and leave a bit of space between that group of shapes and the next one. Be sure to number each traced shape with its correct number.
- When you are finished, you will have a pattern piece of template for each shape in your picture. Take these sheets to a local quick-print or instant copy center and ask them to make a copy of each sheet on acetate.
- Cut out the acetate shapes, keeping related pieces together. It's helpful to use several small envelopes or bags to keep the templates organized.
- With a fine point marker, trace around each shape onto the handmade paper (figure C). Write the template number next to it. Once you cut the shape out, put the template number on the back with the marker. This will help you keep track or which shape is which.
- Cut out the paper shapes, cutting just inside the marker line.
Painting the paper shapes
- Cover the board with freezer paper, making sure the shiny, plastic coated side is up. This provides a good work surface.
- Group related pieces together and paint them all at one time. For example, paint all the petals of a certain flower at once.
- Using a 1" craft brush dipped in water, wet the paper shapes thoroughly. It is very important that you let the water in the paper move the color. Don't brush the paint on the paper. Simply press the brush with paint gently against the wet paper, adding more water to dilute color or additional paint to mix the colors.
- Repeat step 10 for each set of shapes in the picture. Let the pieces dry.
- Using the working drawing as an assembly diagram, assemble the paper pieces with a glue gun, layering them from back to front.
- Cut decorative paper for a backing behind your finished flowers, and frame. If desired, reduce color photocopies to trim and put on greeting cards.
Resources The Art of Handmade Paper and Collage: Transforming the Ordinary into the Extraordinary
by Cheryl Stevenson (ISBN: 1564771563)
This title is out of print. Visit
Amazon.com, your local library or used bookstore to search for copies.
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