Tip: how to store your collage elements

Over the years I have tried to store my collage elements in many ways and no one was good for me. I had always a lot of scraps and photos around me and never could find this one I was looking for.

Now, I hope I have found a very good way to store all my little papers. Simple photo albums, of this kind that have a sticky background and a plastic sheet over it.

TRansfer with watercolor pencils

This is an easy way to make transfers. What you need:

watercolor pencils
a sheet of light weight paper
a surface to make a "frottage" (you can use rubber stamps too)
Elmers glue (in Brazil we use Elmers glue for everything!!!!)
water
Lay the paper over the surface and go over with the pencil to make the "frottage".
Then mix the Elmers glue with water (one part glue/one part water) and with a brush wet the surface you want the transfer. Lay the frottage over the glue mixture, press a little, remove the paper and it's done.

Altered book - How to - Part II

And here is the finished book. I used paper to make the cover, but you can paint it, if you want.
And here are the pages.
I used this bold colors because I want to make an altered book about the fifties and I think this colors will work well.

Altered book - how to

This is the way I prepare books I'll alter.
Take an ordinary book, glue (you can use Elmers glue or other of your choice), some paper sheets (not too heavy), foam roller.


Take 2 or tree pages from the book you will alter and glue the first page with the foam roller.
Lay a sheet of paper over it and press well, maybe with an old credit card.

Then glue the three pages together with this sheet (see picture above).
Make this on the entire book (see pic).

When you have finished that, cut pieces of paper and glue them over the pages which have not been glued before.

Now you can paint the cover and embellish it.

Working with stencils - How to

I've used a design like Andy Warhol. because he begans with this kind of art.

1. Transfer a black and hite design on a plastic sheet.

2. Lay it over a glas plate and cut the black shapes out.

3. Lay the stencil over a white sheet o paper.

4. Spray it with paint.

5. It's done.

Working with stencils II - Pattern

If you don't have Photoshop or can not work with it, here are two pic for free use.

Copy this pics to a transparency (but these one for laser printer) or any other plastic sheet. You must use a overhead projector pen. With a knife cut the black shapes out.

I'll post some pictures later how you can do this.

Then I spray over with spray paint or go over with a brush and acrylic paint.
You can also use a foam roller.

I tryed it with ink stamps and it works. With stamp ink you'll have a soft picture.

Canvas with Beeswax

This is a canvas (70 x 80 cm) I worked with beeswax and other textures. The painted photo is the marriage of my aunt and the letter is a letter from her.

To work with beeswax is a little massy, but it's great, because of the smooth surface.

When you melt beeswax (on electric stove, it's safer) the correct temperature is when the wax makes a noise like frying potatos. If the temperature it's to low, it doesn't works well.

You can apply it with an old brush.

A beautiful technique is to glue stripes of tape over a painted or collaged canvas (or over a photo), like a striped paper. Then you go over with the beeswax. Let it dry and remove the tape stripes. You will have a wonderful striped texture of beeswax. It looks great over old photos!

But, you will have a lot of mess on your table!

Frottage

Can you remember "Frottage"?

Wenn we were a child, we took a piece of paper, a pencil and looked for a
textured surface. We layed the paper over the surface, went smoothly with
the pencil over the paper and a picture was done!
You can do that and use it for card backgrounds. Make the frottage, cut the
texture out, glue it over a card, go over with paints or stamps, glue a
picture and you will have a great work!

Textured Paper - Cheap Trick

Hier die deutsche Version:

Texturiertes Papier

Dazu brauchst du:

- Acrylfarben
- Aquarellpapier
- einen breiten Pinsel
- einlagiges Toilettenpapier oder ähnliches

1. Leg thas Aquarellpapier auf ein paar Zeitungsblätter (um deinen
Tisch sauber zu halten).

2. Auf das Aquarellapapier legst du dann die Streifen Toiletten-
papier nebeneinander.

3. Verdünne die Acrylfarben mit Wasser.

4. Benutze nur Acrylfarben mit organischen Pigmenten (z.B.
Burnt Umber, phtalocianine blau oder rosa, indisches gelb).

5. Tränke deine Pinsel in der Farbe (er muss ganz voll Farbe sein)
und "lege" die Farbe auf das Toilettenapier (sorgfältig, sonst reisst
das Papier).

6. Mach das bis das ganze Toilettenpapier bedeckt ist.

7. Falls sich kleine Luftbläschen bilden, geh mit dem Pinsel drüber,
sonst hat man später weisse Flecken.

8. Wenn das Toilettenpapier nur noch leicht feucht ist, nimm es
runter.

9. Falls es doch weisse Flecken gibt, gib nochmal ein bischen
verdünnte Acrylfarbe drüber.

Es ergibt sich eine schöne "alte" Textur, wenn man brauneTöne benutzt.

Das gleiche kann man auch mit einem Stück Spitze machen.

Cheap Tricks - Home made clay

It's easy to make at home your own "polymer" clay to make enbellishments. This mass is very easy to work on, you can put it on molds or form your own pieces. You can stamp it and paint. You can color the mass with a little bit of oil painting.
You can make flowers and everything we can do with polymer clay. It's a good CHEAP TRICK.

The tiles are mine and the other two pics I've taken from Ana Maria Modugno.

Hausgemachtes Fimo

2 Tassen Speisestärke
2 Tassen PVA Klebstoff
1 Esslöffel Essig
2 Esslöffel Vaseline
1 Esslöffel Handcreme (mit Sylicon)

Die Speisestärke, Klebstoff, Essig und die Vaseline in einem
Glasgefäs gut mischen. ! Minute in die Microwelle geben,
herausnehmen und nochmal gut mischen. Diese Prozedur
zweimal wiederholen (die Masse muss ein bisschen durch-
sichtig sein).

Die Handcreme auf eine Oberfläche verteilen, den Teig
darauf legen und gut kneten. Der Teig wird dann schön
geschmeidig. In einer Kunststofftüte aufheben.

Die Teile Formen und an der Luft trocknen lassen.

Man kann die Teile bemalen oder mit eine Spur Ölfarbe färben.