Recently – not quite a month ago – I attended Creative Spark Summit, a virtual event to re-energize creatives and makers. One of the guests was Ivana, the artist behind Artful Haven, and she shared a session on using mixed media in art journaling. She inspired me to try my hand with scrap paper mixed media projects.
What’s Mixed Media Anyway?
Basically, any mixed media project incorporates different media and supplies such as pens, ink, paint, paper, flowers, leaves, trinkets, found objects, etc. Choose your items and techniques, then put them together in a way that is pleasing to you!
Too Much Paper
Is there such a thing? Sometimes I feel like I collect paper, and much of it is decorative scrapbooking paper.
And I don’t scrapbook, ya’ll. Help!
That’s one of the reasons I appreciated Ivana’s session so much. She showed me authentic ways to put some of that paper to good use!
Did I mention this was also a fairly quick project? No? Well, the project moves pretty quickly once you choose your materials
Materials for scrap paper Mixed Media Projects
- Various decorative papers and cardstocks
- Embellishments – die cuts, ribbon, string, dried leaves or flowers, etc.
- Glue or spray adhesive
- Scissors
- Frame, Shadowbox, or Scrapbook, etc.
Pre-Planning
Before beginning decide what you want to do with this project when it is completed. Do you want to place it in a picture frame or shadow box? Or do you plan to add it to a journal or scrapbook?
Knowing up front how you want to use or display the project will help you make decisions about your other supplies.
If you choose to put the project in a frame or shadowbox, do you need to paint or stain it? If so, do that step first. You want it to be dry by the time you are finished with the project.
Choose A Theme For Your Scrap Paper Mixed Media Projects
I tend to gravitate toward bright and bold colors. But a lot of the scrapbook paper I have is darker and more muted. I’ve struggled to know exactly how to use it. But choosing a theme allowed me to see how I could use some of the paper and cardstock.
It is helpful to have a theme or motif to bring a cohesive look to the scrap paper mixed media project.
I chose an autumn theme. Much of the decorative papers and cardstock in my supply are in autumnal colors and designs. A perfect fit for this project and time of year.
We are now in full-color season in western North Carolina and the leaf peepers are everywhere. Mornings and evenings are crisp, and the afternoons are warm and sunny!
Want to see me put together this scrap paper mixed media project? Watch the video below.
Find Your Papers
Not all the paper I chose was scrap. First, I looked to my 12 x 12 cardstock for a base or canvas for the other layers of my project.
I knew I was going to use a 12 x 12 frame, so I wanted to start with a piece of cardstock the same size.
Next, I chose more papers – full sheets and scraps – than I knew I needed. Just to provide me with options. Don’t go overboard though, or you might never narrow it down!
I began with six or seven different pieces and then I winnowed out several of them.
I narrowed my selections down to one full sheet of autumn red cardstock with an engineering design of a carnival printed on it. Attending a carnival is such a fall thing to do that I felt it fit in well with my autumn theme.
I chose two different but matching scrap sheets of decorative paper. One of the pieces had some cute animals, that I intended (and did) fussy cut. In the end, though, I felt they just didn’t look right with the other elements I chose, so I set them aside for a later project.
I also chose a piece of vellum with various clock faces printed on it. This was a neutral paper. The clock faces spoke to me because I seem to always feel the passage of time more during the fall season.
(I must admit here that my finished piece did not use a lot of my scrap paper, but I was able to use paper that I had already purchased. I love doing a project that doesn’t require me to buy more materials!)
Color Wheel Help
If you have a color wheel, pull it out or find one online. When choosing your paper try to choose colors on opposite sides of the color wheel.
So if you have red paper, find a blue one, too.
Using complementary colors this way brings more visual interest to the piece.
Set Aside Embellishments
After choosing my theme and papers, I next needed to choose my embellishments. This is always a fun step in any project!
I chose only three embellishments – some dried Banyan tree leaves, a wooden ‘Love’ die cut, and some string. All of these worked well with my autumn theme in color and emotion.
Arranging the elements in the Scrap Paper Mixed Media Project
The next step after gathering paper and embellishments is to decide how you want to arrange all the items. Other than culling through my paper stash, arranging the elements took me the longest amount of time. I just couldn’t decide how I wanted things to look.
But it is important to slow down and think about how you want the finished project to look.
I tried to balance out the blue decorative papers, the large and small clockfaces, and the two Banyan leaves. I also decided to layer the string bow onto the wooden ‘Love’ piece.
To Hand Letter or No?
While I am interested in hand lettering, I have never learned how to do it. It showed on this project!
I wanted a hand-lettered sentiment on the base layer, so I just wrote it out (once I found some markers). It’s okay.
At first, I didn’t like it at all, and I thought about starting over. I persevered, though, and now, the look has kind of grown on me.
If you want to hand letter, you might want to practice it first. Then go for it!
Other options you could try, if you want a sentiment, are to print it off on your computer, find it in clipart, or stamp it.
Time To Make It Stick
Once you’ve decided on the placement of each item, it is time to glue everything down. I ended up using three different types of glue on this project – craft glue (most items), spray adhesive (Banyan leaves), and hot glue (string, wooden element).
The Banyan leaves about stumped me. They are paper thin and not solid at all. Neither craft glue nor hot glue would work. Fortunately, I remembered that I had spray adhesive and it worked perfectly!
Frame It Up
Once everything dried, which only took a few minutes, my canvas was ready for its frame. I liked how it turned out.
Making this scrap paper mixed media project was enjoyable, and I think you could make a hundred of these and each one would be different. I am certain that I will be doing more mixed media projects in the future and probably some art journaling, too! What about you?
Do yourself a favor and check out all the resources in my Maker Library for additional projects. It’s free!
Interested in paint projects? Look no further than my acrylic paint pours.
