A Tutorial For You

Well I've been busy creating lately and thought I would share a tutorial with you. This one shows you how to use newspaper on your layouts in a unique way.

I used a sheet of canvas paper for my background. Just like sketchpads, canvas papers are available in pads at art supply places. I find they buckle less when I apply wet mediums to them, although they still curl just as much as standard cardstock. Feel free to use chipboard, cardstock or anything you like. Just be prepared for it to buckle!

Although it looks like there are quite a few steps here, the process is actually pretty simple. And the best news is that there is no right or wrong. If you like it then it's right!

Ok - enough of the preamble. Let's get started!

Step 1
Give your base a light coat of gesso. Don't make it perfect - just a rough slap over will do.

Step 2

While the gesso is still wet, tear up pieces of newspaper and lay them on the gesso. You can cover the whole base or just put in patches, it's up to you. Dry it completely with a heat gun (or wait for it to dry) then start to pull the newspaper off. When you have only the well-stuck sections left, dampen a cloth or a baby wipe and gently wipe the newspaper. You will see that you can remove as much or as little of the newspaper as you like. If you don't remove much then the side of the newsprint facing you will be seen and the text will read the correct way. If you remove the top layer of newspaper then the opposite side of the newspaper will be seen which will be printed in reverse. This creates a very cool look though!

Step 3

Once you get down to selecting which parts to keep try rubbing the newspaper with your finger. This gives you fine control of what you're removing.

Step 4

Once you have finished your background should look something like this. Remember it's up to you how much newspaper you want. Note how the variety of font sizes adds a bit of interest.

Step 5

You can now create whatever you like with your newsprint background. On my layout, I used Distress Inks through a Crafters Workshop stencil to add a coloured layer.

Here's what my background looked like at this stage.

Step 6

I next added some gorgeous papers from Bo-Bunny's new Mama-Razzi 2 range. You can get the range from ScrapEverything here.

I then finished the layout off with lots of Mama-Razzi 2 rub-ons, some Kaisercraft transparencies and journaling. Here's the finished layout:

And some close-ups:

I hope you found this helpful. If you decide to give this a go please drop me a line and let me know. I'd love to see what you make!

Happy scrappin!

Heather