Distressing Paper

Happy Friday! Has anyone else been ready since Tuesday for the weekend to be here? So glad we finally made it.

Colorful leaves are one of the best parts of fall. My favorite are the red ones which don’t hang around long enough, in my opinion. I used to collect all kinds of them but they would dry out and disintegrate, leaving a mess. I’ve always wanted to try Martha’s tip (linked here) about dipping them in wax but I’m not motivated enough yet.

However, when I came across this image on Better Homes and Gardens, I knew I found my next project.

I am enamoured with the distressed paper. Of course, it got me thinking how I could make something similar. After a few trial and errors, I think I’ve got it.

Take any paper. I used various colors of cardstock.

Crinkle, wrinkle, smush, smash, etc.

It helps even more to get it wet. Be careful though as the fibers of paper get weak when wet which make it very easy to tear. Thinner paper will be very apt to tear.

Unfold the crinkled mess and lay out as flat as it can be.

To achieve the bleached tones, use, dah dah dadah, bleach water. I started with straight bleach and while it worked really well, I didn’t like the deep color change. So I diluted it and went back and forth between spraying or dripping the water on the paper. The variations gave each paper its own look.

The bleach spots are still really light here because I diluted it. The bleaching action will continue to grow so don’t rush it. Be patient. And watch your clothes! However, if you do have a bleach accident, check out my bleach-pen tutorial.

Using an acrylic wash (water + acrylic paint = acrylic wash), paint over paper. The more water, the weaker the color. My colors were brown, red and copper. I wanted the color to stick in the wrinkles so my colors were fairly weak, despite their deep appearance below.