Needed Supplies

Paste Papers

Another method of decorating paper that is similar to Was Resist is making Paste Paper. With the paste technique the resist medium is, however, spread entirely over the paper and the design area is then removed. Some beautiful effects can be made with the paste technique and we will explore a few of them here.

Needed Supplies

1. Wallpaper paste 2. Waterbased paint (one color or several in combinations) 3. A bowl for each color of paste 4. A broad soft brush(one or several) 5. Paper to decorate (may be colored or white) 6. Newspaper 7. Various texturing and patterning devices (combs, sponges, stamps, a nail, leaves, Saran wrap) 8. A brayer or large, flat, wooden spoon

Preparation

1. Mix the wallpaper paste according to the direction on the package. It should be fairly think, but not lumpy. 2. Divide the paste into different bowels if you wish to work with more than one color. 3. Add the waterbased paints to the paste, one color to each bowl of paste. You can test the intensity of the color on a scrap piece of paper and adjust the amount of paint, keeping in mind that most colors will dry slightly softer in color. 4. Spread newspaper or newsprint down on the work surface and place the paper you wish to decorate on top of the covered work surface.

Techniques

Using one brush per color, spread the colored paste over the paper as evenly as possible, making sure to cover all the edges as well. If you wish to use more than one color on a sheet, you may blend the colors slightly where they meet or even swirl them abit in together.

When the paper is evenly covered with the paste, it is time for your imagination to come into play. Using some type of texturing tool, begin to form patterns in the still wet paste. If you don't like the design you can paint more paste overtop of it or smooth out the paste with the brush. Try different thing like combs or a fingertip to drag patterns into the paste, exposing the paper beneath.

Depending on how much paste you have used, the paper may take a good while to dry. Set each sheet aside on some clean newspaper while you create more sheets. The paper may need to be pressed underneath a board and some heavy books when it is dry to flatten it. Creating Textures

This is one of my favorite paper decorating techniques. Remember fingerpainting in Kindergarten? Well, here's your chance to get your fingers gooey again. Swirl your fingertips around or make dots. Let the kids get involved. There is nothing so creative as a curious child. Have fun. There is no right and wrong here.

Use inexpensive combs with teeth in different spacings. Swirls and lines of random or more formal pattern work well with paste paper. Use nails or toothpicks or the tines of a fork. Use plastic cups or jar rings to make circles of different sizes, twisting then abit as you would a bisquit cutter, or use cookie cutters in interesting shapes.

How about a sponge? Find some with different textures and daub them firmly into the paste. Or use them to daub some different colors of paste on the paper, then squish them in and blend then abit.

Use crumbled up wax paper, Saran wrap, or tinfoil. Daub a handful in a random pattern or place it on the paste and drag it around.

Lay another piece of paper atop the wet paste on your first sheet and use a brayer or the back of a wooden spoon. Rub the two sheets together and then peel them apart. This makes some very interesting paper if you drop dots of other colored paste on top of the paste spread sheet before hand. Or paint the first sheet with different colors of paste in a random pattern before you sandwich it with another sheet and brayer or rub it. One of the bonuses here is that you will often end up with two usable and attractively decorated sheets.

Lay some sturdy ferns onto the wet paste. The kind that come in a bouquet of flowers work very well here, or you can even use artificial plant material or ferns. Lay them in the pattern you want and press them firmly into the wet paste with your fingertip or the end of a toothpick. Then lift them gently out. Try laying some across the impressions you just made in a random pattern.

Try using some rubber stamps. Smaller, bolder designs work well. Dot them around in a random pattern. Be sure to clean the paste paint off of your stamps quickly though, perhaps using a small soft toothbrush to remove any excess.

Place a piece of burlap fabric or feed sacking atop the paste covered paper and gently press down on it, moving across the surface to cover it completely. When you gently raise the fabric from the paper, it will leave the impression of the material behind.

Stretch an old beaded necklace across the width of the paste covered paper, gripping the necklace at the ends with your fingers and then rolling it down the length of the paper. You must keep it tightly stretched and firmly against the paste to get the desired pattern.

I could go on and one here for pages, but you get the idea. Anything that will make an impression by displacing the paste on the paper will work, exposing the paper beneath. One of the good things about the paste paper technique is its forgiveness. If you don't like a particular pattern, simply brush over it while it is still wet and start again. Sometimes, the entire sheet will not be attractive or usable, but a section of it will. Save these and hoarde them. Chances are you will never be able to duplicate any particular pattern or color combination exactly. That is one of the things that makes each piece attractive and unique.