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Choosing Collage Elements

It's lumpy. It's bumpy. It's the latest look in paper-crafting.

Take your paper crafting to the next level with the newest paper crafting technique: decoupaging papers, paper art and 3-D embellishments onto boxes, dress forms, metal tins and journal covers. The process is simple. Glue down a collage of different papers, add paper art as focals (this can be images or quotes or both), then add your favorite 3-D accents.

It's all about creating with dimension. Think mixed media: Collaged boxes, altered books, journals, dress forms...all decorated with gorgeous papers and three-dimensional treasures.

Suitcase from Artsy Collage™ Travel Collage Kit

While the lumpy look adds richness, texture and interest to a project, it also brings about questions. How to choose embellishments? How to arrange, or collage, them onto a project? How to affix them?

For answers, we turned to collage artist Teresa Welch for advice. "Collage, especially the new three-dimensional technique, can be very intimidating, even to the most experienced paper-crafter," she says. "I want to take the mystery out. This is a creative journey—for you and for me." Read on as Teresa shares her tried-and-true collage techniques.

Teresa's Collage Basics:

How to Collage

Traditionally, collage includes a variety of different textures and patterns. Torn paper is a staple of collage. Overlapping papers and creating layers are subtle ways to create dimension. And 3-D embellishments are now another aspect of collage.
Visit the Artsy Collage section of Your Creative Spirit for this month's collage creation.

Tearing Paper Pieces

Create a collage by layering and combining torn papers on top of your surface, whether that's a dress form or a wooden box. You can achieve two different effects with tearing: Pieces without the white edges blend together; pieces with white edges will act as a mat between patterns, providing a visual space to prevent a "busy" look.

To tear paper without a white edge, pull the paper toward you while tearing. For a white edge, tear away from you.

Teresa has found collaging without white edges provides the most sophisticated look.

Types of 3-D Embellishments:

Sea Glass is a beautiful addition to collage; the frosted colors and soft shapes enhance the texture and provide interest to each piece. Whether you glue them in place or wrap them with fibers or wire beforehand, sea glass pieces bring a refined look to collage.

Glass Beads provide texture and color. They can be glued in clusters on the collaged backgrounds, strung on thread for draped loops or strung on wire for stiff coils. Varying the colors and shapes of the beads makes the finished piece more interesting.

Flat Marbles are round, transparent glass shapes with a flat back. They act as magnifiers: Glue one on top of a journaled word or a certain piece of art in your background paper.

Feathers provide a soft feeling to collage. They can be glued to an object or tied onto a handle or tucked inside a finished box for a small surprise. They bring a whimsical touch to many pieces.

Cork sheets add a natural touch. They look terrific when torn into small pieces with shells glued to them. Tearing the cork provides the most natural uneven edges; however, if the piece is to align with a straight edge of a box or base, use scissors to cut one side ofthe cork.

Fibers and yarns add a finished touch to a layout. Multiple strands tied together or with tags, feathers and charms, add color and texture to any design.

Shells in medium and tiny sizes look great when added to a piece in a random or in cluster fashion.

Skeleton Leaves are real leaf skeletons that have been dyed pretty colors. They are delicate and easy to add to your project for a natural touch.

Wire can be curled and formed into loops and spirals, strung with beads, or even used to enhance tags. Wire can be strung with beads, used to wrap sea glass or flat marbles or even shaped and used alone, adding texture and color.

Artsy Additions® Embossed Paper Charms are metallic papers that have been embossed with designs to resemble metal charms. They are available in silver, copper and gold. To use, cut around each charm next to the outer embossed edge, then glue the charm in place. Glue them on or attach with metallic embroidery thread.

Choosing Paper

Teresa chooses papers in the same color family to create a tone-on-tone effect. To create the illusion of dimension, she picks 5-7 different papers, all patterned with subtle faux texture. For example, a paper family might include a "scuffed" design, a faux leather look and a paper patterned with subtle written words.

Teresa then collages paper art on top of her background collage— alphabet tiles, quotes, tags and images that coordinate with the paper color (either matching the color or contrasting) to add another layer. She tears or cuts the paper art, letting the background of the paper art fade into the background collage paper.

Overlapping and Layering

Collage is a very forgiving technique! It isn't meant to be perfect—your papers don't need to be perfectly measured or layered. In fact, collage is all about irregular shapes and sizes, layered and overlapping. It's better to tear and layer different sizes and textures for an artsy look.

Adding Dimension

"Lumpy accents add further dimension to your project," says Teresa. "Try flat marbles, buttons, skeleton leaves, fibers, sea glass, and beads-just about anything goes."

How to Choose Embellishments

Teresa shares her favorite methods for choosing collage items: by theme, by color, by size of her project surface and to accent quotes and inspirational words she collages onto her surface. Take a look:

Theme: "Feathers and cork are perfect for a natural look," says Teresa. "Keys, a watchface, clock hands and other metallic pieces are great for masculine or old-fashioned themes." Teresa adds, "Of course, fibers are perfect for any theme. Look for eyelash fibers for feminine themes and thicker chenille fibers for masculine projects."

Color: Select items that match the color of your paper for a touch of subtle dimension. For example, you might pick brown feathers to accent a sepia-toned collaged journal cover. Or select items that contrast in color: a white strand of faux pearls on a pink dress form.

Masculine Box From Masculine Artsy Collage Kit

Size of Surface: "Choose collage items that are in proportion to your project surface," Teresa advises. "A 9" tall dress form is a smaller surface than a 9"x11" spiral journal—a ribbon rose would look pretty on a dress form but gets lost on a journal cover. Certainly you can still use the ribbon rose on journal cover, but you might consider creating a cluster of ribbon roses, or grouping it with other lumpy items."

To Accent Quotes and Words: Position a flat marble on top of a word to magnify it. Drape a feather to arch around an oval-shaped quote. Journal or place a quote on a tag, then add fibers to attach it to the project.

How to Affix Embellishments

Adhesives such as The Ultimate Glue, Diamond Glaze or Scrappy Tape are designed for three-dimensional items like seashells, sea glass and flat marbles. They dry clear. Glue Dots™ are perfect for ribbons, fibers—these supersticky dots will not saturate fibers and maintain a strong hold.

How to Group Three-Dimensional Embellishments:

Teresa offers a few guidelines for maintaining balance. "There are three ways to group lumpy embellishments," she says. "You can place elements in clusters, in a linear fashion, or overlap items."

Clusters: Three-dimensional embellishments look great when grouped as a cluster. Remember the design principle of placing in odd numbers: three flat marbles, arranged in a triangle, or five beads stitched to a paper embellishment.

Fairy Journal from Artsy Collage™ Pretty Collage Kit

Linear: Glue items in a vertical or horizontal line to act as an accent or direct the viewer's attention. String embossed word charms on metallic thread to dangle.

Overlapping: Let paper embellishments overlap each other. Two tags, differently sized, look great when attached together with an eyelet.

How to Create an Artsy Collage

Whatever type of project you do, remember the most important rule of all—there are no rules! Collage is meant to be random, unpredictable, dimensional and artsy—it's up to you, the creator, to decide what appeals to you.

Intrigued? Want to learn more about this new paper craft? Every month, we'll show a new Artsy Collage project from artists like Teresa, Paris Dukes and Susan Cobb. From dress forms to journals to boxes and more, you're sure to find inspiration in the Artsy Collage section of Your Creative Spirit.

About Teresa Nelson:

When she's not dreaming up new ways to play with paper, collage artist Teresa Welch can be found painting watercolors, beading or playing with her Australian Shepherd puppy. She is the Vice-President at Hot Off The Press, where she designed and developed the Artsy Collage™ line of paper-crafting materials.