Technique #1: Crumpled and sewn brown paper

Materials:

• brown paper (from brown paper bag)
• string, thread, or hemp
• needle
• pin, needle, or awl (to punch holes)
• gesso
• 2 colors of acrylic paint
• metallic rub-ons or metallic stamp ink pad

Steps:

1. Draw a simple design on a piece of brown paper
2. Crumple paper 2 or 3 times
3. Punch holes along the design
4. Sew design
5. Cover paper and string with a thin layer of gesso
6. Once dry, paint over the gesso with one of your acrylic paints (I used Lumiere Supper Copper here)
7. Once dry, paint over with another color and rub off some of it, so you can see the paint underneath (I used black)
8. When the acrylic paint is dry, use some rub-ons or a stamp ink pad, and rub over the raised areas (string and some of the "hills" in the paper)
   
   These are two of my experiments. The one on the left is the one shown in the technique steps. The one on the right was my first experiment and it also includes dryer sheets (on the upper left and in the middle of the flower).