Creating Your Own Paper Ephemera with Unique Designs

Creating Your Own Paper Ephemera

I'm excited to share with you a fun and creative project that will add a personal touch to your art journal pages. I discovered this idea from an artist named Shemi Dixon, who uses book pages as a base for creating beautiful ephemera. You can join me in transforming these book pages into unique additions for your art journal. Plus, if you join me on Patreon, you'll have access to the full video tutorial!

I've chosen a book of promises filled with various scriptures that have been with me for years. The pages may have yellowed with time, but I can't bear to throw away such valuable content. Instead, I repurpose them as the foundation for my art journal creations.

I experiment with different techniques creating shapes, doodling, painting on the pages, which then can all be collaged separately or used together on a painting page and then added to your art journal. For instance, I've created leaves, birds, and flowers using cutouts and added them to painted pages. The effect is like mini collages that perfectly fit into my art journal. Additionally, I've tried using Pro marker pens and simple doodling on the pages to see what unique designs emerge. It's amazing how these playful experiments can yield unexpected beauty!

To make the most of the paper, fill any empty spaces with additional elements, such as leaves. Once you're satisfied with the shapes, it's time to cut them out. Don't discard the remaining scraps of paper—keep them for future paper mache projects or other creative endeavors.

Enhance Your Art Journal with Unique Designs

In addition to this technique, you can also cut out circles or other shapes from the remaining painted pages. These shapes don't have to be perfect; irregular shapes can add visual interest. Once you've cut them out, choose another page as the backdrop and arrange them in a visually appealing way. This will create a contrasting pattern that enhances your art journal.

By repurposing book pages, experimenting with paint, and cutting out shapes, you can create unique elements that add depth and character to your art journal. The possibilities are endless, and I hope this has inspired you to embark on your own creative journey.

Remember, if you're interested in watching the full video tutorial and exploring more art journaling techniques, consider joining me on Patreon. The tiers start at $3, and you will find over 90 patron only resources.  Join me and other art enthusiasts as we dive deeper into the world of paper ephemera and unleash our creativity!

I can't wait to see what you create. Happy art journaling!

You can also access some of the Free paper ephemera that I produce on my Course platform -  You can check out my free Mixed Media Art Tags course and creating your own stamps using recycled materials. 

How did you do that? Things to do with Paper Stencils!

I shared on Saturday some cool Paper Stencils that I was inspired to make after seeing Matrices site and having a go.  Here are some more that I created, and I will at some point share with you some of the designs that I manage to make.

Creating new styles, these would make really cool reusable stencils!

I promised I would share some of the cool effects once you cut them out that you can get, you can use your Gelli plate apply the stencil and transfer an image to paper and you also get paint on the stencil itself.  Because the paper is quite thin your unlikely to use the stencil to transfer an image again, but you can use the stencil in your art and they can provide you with some interesting backgrounds.  By creating the paper stencil on thicker card or paper you will be able to use it a number of times, even try transferring the image to an acetate sheet and cutting out.

Once you start cutting you are not going to want to stop, you can come up with some really pretty designs as seen above.

 Here is one that I used with the Gelli plate, using a selection of colors will add to the effect

Simple cuts in the paper can create interesting results

 I got more adventurous with cutting and came up with more intricate designs, but due to the thinness of the paper once you had put it on the gelli plate they tore when being picked up.  I guess if you used it with sprays it would have been easier.

I wanted to see how they would print on fabric and used this design on the gelli plate

Chamois leather used on Gelli plate with paper cut

  Here is some cheap chamois leather that I printed on, and it came out quite well.  I am and looking forward to making something with it and will show you next week in Material Mondays.

Once you have used the stencil in on the gelli plate you have some really interesting colors and designs on the paper and you can use these to make your own wrapping paper by sticking it to your paper of choice

Paper cuts used on gelli plate can be used for other creative projects!

 I am going to attach some of mine to some white or black card and frame it as it, I think these are gorgeous.

Another thing I did with some of the thinner cut outs, was to apply them to journal pages as a background layer.

Paper cut applied to journal page

 After it dried I began to sketch out an image, keeping it simple and trying to keep as much as the design of the paper as possible.

Once dry add your image

 Once I was satisfied I added gesso and started painting

Adding gesso and paint to paper cut

 It was interesting starting a painting in this way, seeing what comes up as you add more colour

 Not being prescriptive as to what you wanted the finish piece to look like, but enjoying the play

And here is the finished painting.  

Mixed media Painting using Paper cutting

I am sure there are other things you can do with the paper stencils, if you come up with some ideas do share.  Check back for Material Mondays to see what I do with the Chamois leather.  Stay blessed and be a blessing!

Recycled projects - Paper Stencils and masks

I came across a tutorial by Martice Smith II which was quite inspiring, it was her intricate paper stencils and gift wrap ideas, where she creates a stencil and uses some of the designs in making your own customized wrapping paper.

Always one for having a go I thought I would make a few of my own.  I guess it is similar to paper cutting, which I never thought I would have the patience for, you can get some really intricate and beautiful designs.

For these I took some construction paper which is quite thin that had been used on one side, you can use any type of paper you like, and it is a great way to use up those pieces of paper that you would put in the recycle bin. To cut these I just used a pair of scissors, making it easy to get instant results, you could also use paper punches in some areas.

Keep the designs simple to get really great results

After you have folded your paper into a triangle and then folded a further two times you can mark out a simple design on one side.

Cutting away areas on the paper 

Cut them out, and voila you have some lovely stencils and masks below that you can use in a number of different ways.

Paper stencils - one of my favourites

Squares cut out gives an interesting design

I couldn't resist doing a few more

Simple shapes create lovely effects

and here is how they turned out

The simple designs are the most effective

 These can be used as a stencil or a mask when using the Gelli plate but the possibilities are endless!

I am going to use these to create some more Gelli prints - see my previous Gelli prints tutorial, and I will show you how the designs look on Tuesday and I will probably use these background papers to decorate some handmade books I am toying with. I will also show you how you can take the stencil once you have used it in a mixed media background.

Do check out Martice's site, she has very generously shared some of her designs in a free ebook, you need to sign up to access.  Have fun and allow your creativity to soar!