Tie-Dyed Background Paper Tutorial

Hello, everyone!  Whether or not you are participating in the Summer of Color (SOC) this year, you may be interested in this post, since it includes a step-by-step tutorial for creating fun background papers.  You see, one of my SOC goals is to create some DIY patterned paper.  Since I had so much fun with the "tie-dyed" paper that I used in a layout earlier this month, I decided to make more.  And, since I got such good feedback on that "tie-dyed" look, I decided to share a tutorial on how I created it.  It's a very easy process.  Let's get started!

Step 1--gather your supplies.  You'll need a plastic shopping bag, watercolor paints, a paintbrush, a small dish of water, and a sturdy sheet of white cardstock (not pictured). 

Step 2--flatten the plastic bag against your work surface and paint concentric rings on it.  This will look like a bullseye.  Keep the paint wet by adding more water as needed.  You can use any colors you like, but I used this week's SOC color pairing of lavender & grey.  (In a later step I'll add the SOC accent color, plum.)  The paint will look darker when it is wet; remember that the colors will be lighter when the paint dries on your paper.

Step 3--paint lines radiating outward from the center of the bullseye.  Continue to keep the paint nice and wet by adding more water as needed.

Step 4--scrunch up the bag to create wrinkles and blend colors.

Step 5--flatten the bag onto your work surface again, and press the cardstock, face down, onto the painted area.  Some paint may soak through to the reverse side of the cardstock, as you see in this photo.  Bonus points if your ring and bracelet match this week's SOC palette.  :)

Step 6--turn the cardstock over.  Voila--here is your tie-dyed pattern!  Rinse off the bag, hang it up to dry, and save it to use again in the future--either for more tie-dye painting or just as a regular bag. 

Step 7 (optional)--if desired, shake or tap a paint-filled brush over the cardstock to create drips and splatters.  When you are pleased with the look of your piece, allow it to dry completely.  If the cardstock curls up when it is dry, flatten it under heavy books for a few hours.

Step 8 (final step)--once your cardstock is dry, you can add any further embellishments you wish.  I added a few strips of plum-colored decorative tape, since plum is the accent color for this week's SOC palette.  Now I have a piece of background paper ready and waiting for me next time I want to make a scrapbook page.  The water color "tie-dye" effect creates a fun background, and the tape strips provide ready-made anchors for photos, a title, and any other page elements that I may choose to add.  This concludes the tutorial, but I have one more thing to show you...

As usual, my young son is also playing along with SOC.  This week, instead of making another Rainbow Loom bracelet, he did some watercolor painting too.  He also had fun with my stamps and ink pads, including some very bold direct ink-to-paper work. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog to see what my son and I created this week.  :)