Glue, Paper, Scissors

I was looking through my stacks and stacks of pages torn and cut from magazines, doodle scraps, and  scrapbooking paper - some of which I've had for years.  I was trying to convince myself to sort through the quagmire and toss some of it into the circular file when I had a brainstorm.  I decided I would try to compose a spread with nothing but glue, paper and scissors.  That's right - no paint, no crayons or markers, no pencils. Does that make me crazy? Probably! Ha!

I sorted through the yummy, colorful pages and images and began to pull items that appealed to me.  After I pulled some main images, I began to gather patterned paper that seemed to "fit" and I tore it into strips.

Feeling that I had more than enough for 2 pages, I decided to pull out 3 different colors of scrapbooking paper that would serve as the background for my collage.

I cut these pages into smaller blocks of random sizes and applied them to the pages with double stick tape.  I distributed the color in a color composition that would help to lead the eye from one area to the next.

I took my main elements and placed them in various positions on the pages to get an idea of where I would place them permanently.  Once I decided where to place them, I removed them from the page and began "painting" the background with strips of paper to add interest and color.  I also cut some of the paper strips into triangles.  I used a combination of glue stick and double sided tape to apply the paper strips and images to the background.

Here's my completed spread.  I enjoyed the process even though I had to fight the urge to pull out the markers.  I'm going to put this spread in the "success" column, and I have another 2 or 3 spreads in mind to complete with this same technique.


Challenge yourself to work on a couple spreads using only paper collage.  It will force you to go through those yummy stacks of paper and images that you've been saving, and you'll have a blast as you "Celebrate, LOVE, and Create!"