Crumpled Paper Technique...

I love the look of distressed paper! That shabby chic, vintage look where the paper appears well worn and resembles fabric is so pretty. Of course, there are many paper distressing techniques out there to choose from that will give paper an aged look but crumpled paper is one of my favorite techniques and it's been making a comeback with scrapbooking and paper crafting recently. It's one of those techniques that is super simple to do and isn't at all costly. And you can use it for just about anything... to create backgrounds or to make your own embellishments like I did with the card below.

In the past, I remember using this technique on cardstock but now I find I use it much more with patterned paper. I especially love using this technique with vibrantly colored patterned paper set up against crisp white cardstock for contrast. For this card, the My Mind's Eye Quite Contrary collection of Jack & Jill papers and stickers were exactly what I had in mind and they happen to be some new papers I've been sooo looking forward to using.
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I started with cutting the checkered background paper and punching and cutting the circles first. Next, I inked the edges and then softened these pieces by lightly misting both sides with a small spray bottle of water. You can crumple paper dry if you prefer but I've found it's easier using the water. When the paper was wet, I crumpled the pieces gently and unfolded them carefully to avoid too much tearing. I repeated this several times. To dry the paper, I had a pair of tweezers to hold each piece as I used a heat gun to dry the paper. The wet paper can also be ironed or simply air dried if you have time.

Note: the water will shrink the paper slightly but I think the imperfection adds to the charm.

I stitched on the checkered piece of paper. To create the flower I punched and cut several circles (some trimmed with decorative scissors) that I then layered them on top of each other once they were distressed and dry.

Whether you're new to scrapbooking or an experienced veteran I hope you enjoyed the post today!


Supplies:
My Minds Eye - Jack & Jill patterned paper; Jack & Jill How Sweet It Is and Life Is Good Accessory Sheets; Lush - Green Rhinestones
Tools:
Fiskars Americas- Round 'n Round Squeeze Punches; Circle Shape Template & Ultra ShapExpress Tool; Scallop Paper Edgers
Glue Arts - Mini Adhesive Squares