Tips & Techniques – Corrugated Card

Old cardboard boxes normally get flattened and tossed out with the recycling, but they have some uses – as the base of a LO.

Simply cut yourself a 12 x 12 inch section and you have a ready-made LO that creates some perfect textural elements.

Create your LO on top of the cardboard as usual. Once everything has been adhered to the base (use normal adhesives) get out your watercolour paints and a scuzzy old paintbrush.

Go to each corner of the LO and rip off the TOP LAYER of the corrugated card, exposing the wavy card underneath. Do this is smaller sections first, then ripping off larger sections as you get more confident. Less is more to start with!

Once you are happy with the amount ripped off, water down some black watercolour paint and apply it as a rough wash over the ripped card area so that it sinks into the exposed card. Less is more is the principle again here.

Once it is dry you’ll find you may need to go back over some areas to make them stand out more – but most of the paint should have “taken” to the raised areas and created a lovely texture to your LO which is great for boy or teen pages!

Here’s my example:

 

Some other ideas for this technique could be:

* Cut off a smaller section of the corrugated card and use it as a “STAMP” – simply paint the exposed and ripped areas and press it onto other areas of your LO.

* Paint the exposed and ripped card a solid white acrylic paint and then highlight with a pale pastel pink ink – this would be a fabulous way of achieving a “shabby chic” look.