Hello,

 

Today is my second DTM project for Country View Crafts and the challenge for November - Repurpose/Upcycle something. 

 

I decided to try something I’d watched on YouTube (tutorial by Treasure Books) and put my own slant on it - it’s making faux rice paper.

I assembled the bits I would need for my project:

Plunger coffee, Stamps, Napkin, Glue and Collage Paper, as well as a brush and backing sheet.

 

First I separated the napkin layers (peel apart a 2 or 3 ply napkin into separate layers),and keep a plain white one aside.

 

Using a napkin backing piece, I stamped over Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Sketched Leaves CMS467, and Urban Elements CMS398 on another one, in Archival Black Ink. 

 

 

I secured a piece of freezer bag to my work surface (plastic bag and craft mat will also be OK to use but DO NOT use Baking Paper - it will stick!). Then using a PVA glue and coffee mix (2/3 glue to 1/3 coffee or water ratio), I brushed this beneath and then on top of the napkin to coat it.  (You could also use beetroot juice after cooking, if you wanted a reddish tinge too.)

 

 

It was a nice dry day so I hung them outside to dry.

 

Once dry, I carefully peeled them away from the backing - the side that was on the plastic has a shiny look, whereas the upper side is matt. It has a crisp like texture and is also fairly see through.

 

 Here is a stamped one and the second ply part of a patterned napkin (so it's not full strength colour).

 

 

 

I decided to try some with an ombre dye ink pad - one was coated with just the PVA/coffee mix, and I coated another one with coffee grounds added too. All looked good until I hung them to dry, it ran - but I still used it and stamped on top of the accidental mishap afterwards with black Archival. Note to self - MUST use Archival/waterproof ink for this. 

 

I thought it would be nice to put it in a card with a cut out, so you can see the light through it and how 'transparent' it is. I assembled a die cut and a sentiment to add to it too.

 

 

Here are the finished cards - two have been made with a stamped on napkin piece and the other is Botanical Collage Paper by Tim Holtz Idea-ology. They're 4x4 inch cards and I glued the 'faux rice paper' to the inside of the card but you could also make a 3 fold card to cover the edges where it's glued inside, or you could use washi tape around them if you didn't want to see the edges.

 

This photo was taken with the light showing through.

With the range of stamps available to you, you can create a whole host of different design 'faux rice paper', suited to your needs. You can of course use the patterned napkin for this also. I also tried it with the Tim Holtz Collage paper which worked a treat too. 

I also used Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Tiny Text Christmas CMS424 and Noteworthy CMS446 to add a word(mounted on black card and raised with 3D foam), on top of a die cut from Tim Holtz Sizzix 661597 Holiday Greens Mini.

You don't have to just make cards with your 'paper', you can use it as collage for mixed media projects too.

 

It may seem like it's quite complex and time consuming to do, but it really isn't. The longest part is waiting for them to dry.

I really hope that you will be inspired by my make to have a go at the repurpose/upcycle challenge. Take a look at it now being hosted on Facebook here.  There is an amazing prize that one randomly selected winner will win! It's a Stamperia mould and retails at £19.99

 

Products used can be found on Country View Crafts 

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk

Easy Concertina Book

Hello,

I hope you're well. 

I have some exciting news for you...
I've been asked to be a Design Team Member for Country View Crafts store (in the UK) and to say I am chuffed, is an understatement. My first time on a DTM, so I am very excited to be part of the Team.

This is my first project for their November  Challenge on their page 'Country View Crafts and Challenges ' on Facebook- and it is 'Repurpose Something'. 

Here's a link to their page with all the details on how to enter. Country View Crafts And Challenges and there is an awesome prize to win. You can also find Tim's products on their website https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/

Today I have a simple little book for you to make, that you could use your own photos in, or follow as I've done here, using the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Photomatic pack.

This cute little book is quite thin in size, so could easily be posted by Large Letter Mail (UK) as a nice little gift for someone.

I don't know about you, but I tend to hoard Amazon cardboard envelopes that the smaller parcels come in, with the intent to reuse them somehow, some time.

I decided to 'Repurpose' one of these to make my little book with. You should be able to get about 4 of these books out of one envelope if you use my specifications, but it'll depend on the size of the inserts that you use. If you wish the book to be longer, cut out and glue two concertina bases together, by overlapping a page at each end.

Peel off the labels carefully first.

Cut the sides and top edges off, and the middle one too.

The width across the envelope once cut and prepped is around 12.5 inches. 

I gauged it at 3" per 'page' because when you fold it, you lose a little off the width. So for this, I made it also 3" in height, making the book 3x3" as my 'photos' were the right size to fit it. You may wish to make yours taller, but the book will be thinner in width as compared to the height.

I also cut out some white card squares, measuring 2 3/4" 

I then folded my cut piece in half - I didn't measure it as I knew roughly what it would be, and then I folded one edge to the middle and then the other side to the middle too, to givce you this concertina look. Make sure to use the plain part (inside) of the Amazon envelope for your main side. Keep the side with their logo and markings underneath.

Adding Ranger Distress Inks Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso to my craft mat and spritizing with water, I dabbed the white squares randomly into the inks. I also scrunched some leftover ribbon into it too. I then used Ground Espresso with a blending tool to go around the edges.

I started to layout how I wanted it to be. I also stamped some type from Stampers Anonymous Faded Type CMS397 onto the inked squares.

And for the extra 'Repurpose' components, I removed some used postage stamps from their backing (by soaking in warm water) and once dry, I then blended over some Ranger Distress Vintage Photo ink to make them look older.

And finally I found some ephemera from Idea-ology Field Notes Snippets, just a few bits to add in.

I heavily inked around the front cover edges and added a panel to each one.

Then I added the panels to the inside of the concertina pages and lightly inked the edges of the pages.

I glued the ribbon to the back of the inside pages and then I glued these together so that you wouldn't see any 'Amazon' markings.

I then assembled my 'photos' and ephemera and glued them down once happy.

The book does not open out as a concertina like when it was first constructed, as I had glued the inside middle pages together so that you couldn't see the Amazon markings, so this one opens like a book.

For the final touch I added the words 'We are family' from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Chit Chat Sticker book - I mounted these onto black card and lighly inked the edges with Range Distress Ink Black Soot.

Wrap around the ribbon and tie a bow to complete the look.

I hope you like my little 'Repurposed' Easy Concertina Book. Of course, you can use any backing you'd like for this, but this is just another way to reuse something that you may not have thought of using.

 Take care and thank you for stopping by.
Best wishes,
Carol