Make Paper Collage Art in 15 minutes

I am a paper hoarder. I have piles of paper of all kinds and sometimes I don't want to use them.. I might need them later, right? Well, I decided today, it's time to use those papers we love and make something else we can love even more. Collage art is really simple (so says I). There are no rules, you don't need anything special.. you just need to be willing to try it. So here's a great project for all of us – even those of you thinking you're not artistic! We're going to do this in 15 minutes or less, no kidding! If you want to spend more time, go with it, but don't rack your brain or let yourself stumble into self critique mode, just go with it – quick!

This paper collage project  is this month's Craft Lightning project from Jen Goode: (in my best Ryan Secrest voice)

Grab a stack of paper scraps, a pad of coordinating paper, or whatever you hand. Pull out 3-8 sheets of different paper designs. It can be solid, patterned, or I like the double sided papers best because it's super easy to see they coordinate with eachother.

The key to a good collage is making sure your designs feel comfortable together. That's going to be a perspective all your own. Everyone likes different colors and different looks, so what you love, is uniquely your own. Go with it.

Materials you need:

• A Variety of paper
• Glue (I used hot glue)
• Scissors (optional)

If you love the paper I used as much as I do, look for Live in Color by Susan Weckesser. Love Love her beautiful art paper!

How to Make Your Own Paper Collage Art

1. Start with a base for your art. You can use paper or cardboard, canvas or whatever you'd like. I started this Mini Art with a piece of paper about the size I wanted my finished piece to be.
2. Cut or tear strips of paper. Make them different widths. Cut one side and tear the other. It's up to you.
3. Layer the paper in stripes on the base. Arrange until you like the look.
4. Glue into place. I used hot glue because it dries almost instantly, I and love hot glue. Any craft glue will work just fine as long as it works well with paper.
5. Add accent pieces, embellish your art to finish it off.
6. Optional – make spacers to place in between paper layers to create some dimension in your art piece.

To make spacers:

Using cardstock, make a rolled tube. Glue in place. Cut the roll into little, equally sized, circles. Kind of like making a sushi roll and cutting into bite sized pieces of sushi :D.

The whole process is super quick! I think you'll end up spending more time deciding on your papers than you will putting the whole thing together. This is also a great art project to do with the kids. Because there is no “it has to look like this” kind of expectation, it's a great intro family art fun!

If you have more than 15 minutes, you can spend time adding extras. I made a larger version of this collage art with a monogram and a little text message. The whole Project, with paper picking took me about an hour… if I wasn't stopping to take photos for you, it probably would have only taken about 30 minutes. You can add hand drawn art, gems, ribbons or whatever you'd like. I added a hand drawn capital L monogram to this art and the words “is for…” on separate paper pieces.

Tip to make your own monogram:

If you don't want to hand draw your letters  from scratch to use as monogram art, here's a little cheat for you.  Print out a single letter, sized to fill en entire sheet of paper. Cut the letter out, trace it on to a second sheet of paper and then add hand drawn lines to complete the look.

Paper collage art made with strips of paper is an easy art project that is also a lovely way to create handmade cards or gifts for others. I think I need to make some teacher thank you cards now… what are you going to create?

For more quick craft creations, check out this month's Craft Lightning with Angie and Carolina: