We all love working with the latest tools. This week we are going to use our hands, the very first tools we ever used. Tearing paper can create many different looks depending on what kind of paper you use, and how you tear the paper. This week we will be showing different papers and techniques for tearing paper. (Watch for our question later on in the week for a chance to win a prize.)

Once I started tearing I was surprised at how many different looks I could achieve. On this first card, a torn piece of white handmade paper repeats the white curved lines of Santa’s beard and coat. Using traditional Christmas red and green, this card is perfect for an invitation or holiday card.

Supplies:

• Santa With Gift
• Clear Design: Holiday Sayings
• Black StazOn Ink
• Other: colored pencils, water and a paint brush, scissors and glue, white handmade paper, red notecards, green and white cardstock

Instructions:

1. Stamp the Santa image with black StazOn ink on white cardstock. After coloring the image with colored pencils, cut out and trim.
2. Draw a line of water along the area you want to tear and gently tear the white handmade paper. After the paper has dried, attach to the front of a red notecard.
3. Trim a piece of green cardstock to fit over the torn paper and secure with glue dots. Adhere the Santa with glue and stamp the message next to the Santa.

Next, these four stockings are spilling over with trinkets and treasures stamped from our Christmas Ink ‘n’ Stamp. Although it took a bit longer to create this card, I had so much fun adding the tiny images to the stockings. The torn paper was folded over the front of the stamped design to provide a straight edge along the outside and a more casual torn edge along the inside.

Supplies:

• Christmas Stockings
• Ink ‘n’ Stamp Merry Messages
• Clear Design: Holiday Sayings
• Black StazOn Ink
• Clear Gemstones
• Yellow Gemstones
• Other: scissors, craft knife, red handmade paper, gold and white paper, green notecards, colored pencils and glue

Instructions:

1. Stamp Christmas Stockings in black ink on white cardstock and color with colored pencils. Stamp the desired tiny images in black ink on white cardstock (the gingerbread boy is stamped on brown cardstock and the trees in green ink). Cut a slit along the top of each stocking and add the desired image, secured with glue.
2. Stamp the message in black ink over the stockings and trim the white paper to fit over a thin piece of gold paper.
3. Place the stamped white cardstock on a piece of red handmade paper. Paint a line of water over the area you wish to tear. You need to leave enough paper to fold over the edges of the stamped stockings. After tearing the paper fold the torn paper over the edges and secure with a glue stick (glue dots don’t work as well with this one). Add gemstones to the top of the trees and glue all the elements together.

Tip: Add a name to each stocking to create a personalized card.

The challenge this week is to create a card or project using torn paper. (Speaking of projects, have you noticed that each week we have been featuring new stamp craft projects on our website?) So, back to the basics for this challenge. Tear plain paper, stamped paper, handmade paper, patterned paper, or even vellum. As long as torn paper is an element on your project or card, and it includes one Hero Arts stamp or digital image, it fits the bill. Just upload your creations to our Flickr group by 11:59pm PST on Sunday, October 25 and be sure to include the tag papertearing. By entering, you could win a shopping spree of your choice of Hero Arts products from the Hero Arts Online Store! (Shipping charges apply.) Winners will also receive a 2009 Hero Arts catalog, sent separately. The prize amounts are as follows:

• Fresh Face Winner (someone who has not yet won a contest): $50
• Digital Winner (create something using a Hero Arts Digital Kit): $50
• 1st Place: $50
• 2nd Place: $25
• 3rd Place: $15

I hope you have a wonderful day, and I’ll see you tomorrow for more torn paper ideas.

Filed under: papertearing

This entry was posted on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 4:25 am and is filed under Motivation Mondays. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.