Weekly Warm-up: Budget Friendly Borders

It’s February, the time when hearts, chocolate and love abound! Today I have a really easy, fun, and affordable technique to show you that is perfect for love themed scrapbook pages, cards and projects – a stamped, hand-cut tissue paper border. Honestly, it’s perfect for any theme, but on my page below I stamped a wood grain pattern with red ink onto red tissue paper and cut a heart border from it.

Perfect Valentine’s Date by Cindy Tobey, as seen in Scrapbooking Holidays & Celebrations, page 81.

Grab your supplies and let’s get started.

Tissue paper

Stamp (Large designs work best.)

Ink pad (I used solvent based ink, but pigment and dye ink work well too.)

Scissors

1.       Stamp design onto tissue paper.

2.       Continue stamping until desired length of paper is covered.

3.       Cut tissue paper into long strips. Mine are about 3” wide.

4.       Draw or trace shape onto tissue paper near one end of the strip.

5.       Fold entire length of paper accordion style so that your image bleeds off both folded edges.

6.        Cut out shape leaving a portion of the fold intact on both sides so that your shapes are connected.

7.       Unfold and add to your layout or project.

For an artsy vibe, spritz white tissue paper with ink (and let dry) before stamping and cutting out your image.

Cut a shape out of your border shape – like the hearts cut out of this strip of houses.

I hope you will experiment and have fun with this technique – while you’re at it, invite your children to make some tissue paper borders with you. Wouldn’t it be fun to see page accents in your album made by your children?

–Cindy Tobey, Contributing Writer