TGIF!  It’s technique Friday today, and I am here to show you a way to make yourself some artsy paper using what is in your scrap drawer.  Sounds good?  Ok, here we go.

Here is what you will need:

• 1 12″ x12″ sheet of cardstock (heavier weights are best.  I recommend Oat.)
• Scraps of various cardstock.  I used Curry Spice, Canvas, and The Other Woman.
• Your favorite adhesive
• Mod Podge
• Glimmer Mists or Maya Mists
• Acrylic Paint
• Ruler

1. Choose the scraps and background color you want to use.  I had some scraps leftover from die-cutting borders, so I used those to add some extra texture. I also had some Canvas cardstock that I had used a background stamp on.  The stamping wasn’t perfect, so I didn’t use it on a layout, but it worked well here.

2. Use your ruler to rip some random strips and arrange them on your background.  After you get an arrangement you like, adhere them using your favorite adhesive.  I use Beacon Zip Dry.

3. Using your acrylic paint, freehand some paint wherever you like.  You can brush it, or drip it, or stamp it.  Just have fun with it.  I recommend using one color found in your scraps and one additional color.

4. Once the paint is dry, apply a thin coat of Mod Podge.

5. Let the Mod Podge dry.  A few small weights can help flatten during drying.  I like to use nail polish bottles.

6. Mist with a few colors of your favorite mist.  This adds a lot of texture and dimension.

7. Now you have a customized, textured piece of patterned paper.  You can use it as a whole sheet, or cut it up and use it like I did on a layout.

Here are some sneak peeks from the project on which I used another sheet of this paper (made the same way).  You will see the whole project later this month.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial!  I can’t wait to see your finished results.

Today’s challenge: Alter a piece of cardstock and use it on your project (this could mean stamping, distressing, painting, misting, etc.)

~Alyssa~

The rules:

First, we are giving it all away! In honor of National Craft Month, we are holding a month long contest in March. The winner will receive 1 of every product in our store.  That’s 291 sheets of cardstock, in every color, weight, and texture you could ever need!  Here’s what you have to do to win: put our blinkie on your blog using the code available in the sidebar to the right.   Leave us a comment (on this post) with a link to your blog where you posted our blinkie, and you are entered to win!  That’s all there is to it! We will draw one very lucky winner on April 2nd.  (if you already have our blinkie, leave us a comment and tell us that too, you are eligible to win).

Second,  to celebrate National Craft Month, we are holding a month long contest here at Couture Cardstock, and your participation will determine the size of the prize!  Each day during the month of March, we will be offering a challenge on our blog.  Each day, you have one opportunity win a prize pack by completing that challenge and linking it to that day’s post.   For every challenge entry received, we will add a sheet of cardstock to the prize pack. All entries must be posted by 11:59 pm EST the day of that challenge and the winner for each day will be selected the following morning.  The minimum prize pack will be 10 sheets of your choice, the maximum depends on YOU!!

The details:

1. You may enter each challenge once (only one entry per person per day).
2. Entries must be posted in a gallery or on a personal blog, and must mention Couture Cardstock in the description.
3. You do not need to use Couture Cardstock in your entries, although we encourage you to do so.
4. Each project completed may only be used once.
5. All entries must by posted and linked to the corresponding challenge post by 11:59 pm EST, the day the challenge is posted.
6. The minimum prize pack per day will be 10 sheets of your choice.

Both contests are open to anyone, anywhere.  However, International winners (outside the US) will be responsible for their own shipping costs.