More "Stained Glass" Mosaic Cards

The technique for making "stained glass" mosaic cards I described in my post of Sept. 30 offers room for experimentation. After designing several compositions using photos taken from old magazines, I decided to try a different twist on the basic technique.

Some time ago I had made some collage papers using paper napkins imprinted with vintage botanical drawings. After carefully separating the napkins' layers, I had fused the top (printed) layer of the napkin onto acid free artists tissue using acrylic gloss medium. The resulting collage paper had a highly textural feel to it, which I liked. This texture, I thought, could be another variation of the basic "stained glass" mosaic technique. In keeping with that basic technique, I stamped additional designs on the collage paper using permanent ink and rubber stamps.

Cutting this stuff into pieces was more difficult than cutting the magazine photos had been. Because the napkins had been adhered to the artists tissue with gloss medium, the finished paper was considerably heavier and thicker than the magazine stock. I was able to use my trusty paper cutter, but I had to cut very slowly and carefully. Otherwise the collage paper would bunch up and tear.

Because this paper was semi-transparent, I couldn't use dark card stock under it or the botanical drawings would disappear into the dark background. Instead, I used white card stock, which allowed the botanical drawings to show up clearly and preserved their colors. After cutting the "tiles" and gluing them down with  Elmer's glue stick as before, I rolled over them with a rubber brayer. Then, to create the illusion of grout, I took a black permanent Sharpie and colored in the spaces between them, along with the edges of the card stock. Here's how it turned out:

This card design features a very textural collage paper made from artists tissue and paper napkins.

I'll be making more cards using other motifs found on the same collage paper. When I've used all of those, I'll try yet another approach. With so many ways to create interesting surface designs, there's no chance of ever running out of ideas for making cards.

All text and images on this page ©2013 Lynn Edwards