The Giveaway is closed!
Today, I'm going to share a review and one project I did with my Decopatch paper and then I'll post the other projects you see here over the course of the week.
Here you can see four finished projects that I did with packet of the paper and I also did a fifth (it's a journal page inside that journal in the photo). I still had fair-sized scraps left, and have put them in an envelope for further projects.
What's this, you say? Decopauge paper? That's different from your usual reviews! Well, Exaclair distributes several brands, and since I was allowed to choose the prize for these giveaways I'm hosting, I thought many of you would enjoy a chance to win some of these papers. I tried to choose a pattern that would appeal to Zentanglers, quilters and crafters of all kinds. One that has enough variation in pattern and color that you could pick and choose the pieces you use. It was extremely difficult to do, because there are so many Decopatch papers to choose from!
Specs
No. of Designs: 90 (I used design C412, and that is the design that will be given away)
Size of Individual Sheets: 30cm x 40cm (11.8 x 15.75 in)
Paper: Acid-free, Very thin but strong and flexible, Smooth texture, Allows invisible overlays, Deep-dyed, Colorfast, Easy to tear off – no scissors needed
Available: In- packs of 3 sheets (all same design); packs of 20 sheets(all same design) or individual sheets
Look & Feel
The paper is almost slick, feeling like magazine paper to the touch, but much thinner. The patterns are bright. It tears easily, making it easy to get fairly even sized strips. The color stays as bright once glued down and dry, as it was fresh from the package.
Performance
I came across a forum conversation, where people mentioned a claim that using Decopatch Paper is like painting with paper and that it is wrinkle-free (I don't believe this came from Decopatch, themselves).
Decopatch Paper isn't cheap when you consider that you could use napkins and magazine pages for the same thing. I've done that and been happy enough with the result. However, I can tell you that clean tearing and wrinkling is a big issue with using these items.
I won't say the Decopatch is wrinkle-free. With any paper, if you use watered down glue, or apply too much glue, a paper's consistency will break down, and it will droop and create wrinkles. The trick, then is figuring out how much glue to use, so it isn't too wet, but does keep the paper glued down. There is also a technique to gluing any paper, where you lay one corner down and ease the rest of the piece down slowly. That comes with practice, and Decopatch is forgiving enough that you don't have to be an expert in either matter.
So, I did get a few wrinkles, especially in the beginning, but I didn't get the big ridges or lumps that I usually get with magazine pages, and I didn't get the holes that I get with napkins, just from applying the glue. For the most part, my pieces did look smooth enough to have been painted, even the plastic jar I covered that had lots of nooks and crannies.
I was given some Paperpatch glue, but I also tried some polymer medium, and a matte mixed-media medium just to see how the paper would do with other glues.. I felt the Decopatch brand was about the same as the polymer medium--a bit less runny. The Decopatch brand was less sticky after drying, though that might vary according to the temperature and humidity.
For today I'm going to show you the journal page that isn't in the photo above. I wanted to test the no-wrinkle by using larger bits of paper and decided to create a landscape. (Note: there are specks on and around the water that look like the colors ran. They didn't. I tried to get fancy adding a reflection with a gel pen. It didn't work and I tried to remove it and just ended up making a mess. Please try to pretend it isn't there, lol).
I started with a page that had been painted with blue acrylic paint.
Instead of tearing, I cut my pieces because I wanted some tree and rock shapes and a clean delineation between the color values. I used the lightest pink for the sky, green for the ground and the darker reds for the trees. I cut out some of the flowery shapes with black scallops. I tried to place these where the darker colors would balance each other and not all be lumped in one area. That way they made a path for the eye to follow.
Once cut, I lay them out on the page to get a general idea where things should go and cut some of the pieces to fit better.
Then I started gluing pieces down, starting with the strips that I wanted for the sky.. I used a foam brush to add glue to the back, and once down I added more glue. Mostly I used the foam brush to add more glue after placing the pieces down, but if I decided to re-adjust I used my fingers.
I continued this way, working from the sky, to the horizon line, the far bank, over the water and into the foreground.
That's pretty much all it took. The planning and cutting took longer than the gluing. In all, I probably spent about 1/2 an hour getting this done.
And look--pretty much wrinkle free!
If you check out the Decopatch page, you'll find some really cool papier-mache animal forms, bright decoupage papers, kits, brushes, glues and varnish.
You can learn more about these Exaclair products at their website, the Rhodia Facebook page, and the Rhodia Drive blog.
Other Reviews
Life Imitates Doodles
Rhodia Drive
Disclaimer: I received this Decopatch Paper from Exaclair Inc. specifically for this giveaway. I was allowed to choose the item to be given away. I'm excited about hosting this giveaway, but tried not to let it influence my opinion, and all opinions are my own. I received no other compensation.
Today, I'm going to share a review and one project I did with my Decopatch paper and then I'll post the other projects you see here over the course of the week.
Here you can see four finished projects that I did with packet of the paper and I also did a fifth (it's a journal page inside that journal in the photo). I still had fair-sized scraps left, and have put them in an envelope for further projects.
What's this, you say? Decopauge paper? That's different from your usual reviews! Well, Exaclair distributes several brands, and since I was allowed to choose the prize for these giveaways I'm hosting, I thought many of you would enjoy a chance to win some of these papers. I tried to choose a pattern that would appeal to Zentanglers, quilters and crafters of all kinds. One that has enough variation in pattern and color that you could pick and choose the pieces you use. It was extremely difficult to do, because there are so many Decopatch papers to choose from!
Specs
No. of Designs: 90 (I used design C412, and that is the design that will be given away)
Size of Individual Sheets: 30cm x 40cm (11.8 x 15.75 in)
Paper: Acid-free, Very thin but strong and flexible, Smooth texture, Allows invisible overlays, Deep-dyed, Colorfast, Easy to tear off – no scissors needed
Available: In- packs of 3 sheets (all same design); packs of 20 sheets(all same design) or individual sheets
Look & Feel
The paper is almost slick, feeling like magazine paper to the touch, but much thinner. The patterns are bright. It tears easily, making it easy to get fairly even sized strips. The color stays as bright once glued down and dry, as it was fresh from the package.
Performance
I came across a forum conversation, where people mentioned a claim that using Decopatch Paper is like painting with paper and that it is wrinkle-free (I don't believe this came from Decopatch, themselves).
Decopatch Paper isn't cheap when you consider that you could use napkins and magazine pages for the same thing. I've done that and been happy enough with the result. However, I can tell you that clean tearing and wrinkling is a big issue with using these items.
I won't say the Decopatch is wrinkle-free. With any paper, if you use watered down glue, or apply too much glue, a paper's consistency will break down, and it will droop and create wrinkles. The trick, then is figuring out how much glue to use, so it isn't too wet, but does keep the paper glued down. There is also a technique to gluing any paper, where you lay one corner down and ease the rest of the piece down slowly. That comes with practice, and Decopatch is forgiving enough that you don't have to be an expert in either matter.
So, I did get a few wrinkles, especially in the beginning, but I didn't get the big ridges or lumps that I usually get with magazine pages, and I didn't get the holes that I get with napkins, just from applying the glue. For the most part, my pieces did look smooth enough to have been painted, even the plastic jar I covered that had lots of nooks and crannies.
I was given some Paperpatch glue, but I also tried some polymer medium, and a matte mixed-media medium just to see how the paper would do with other glues.. I felt the Decopatch brand was about the same as the polymer medium--a bit less runny. The Decopatch brand was less sticky after drying, though that might vary according to the temperature and humidity.
For today I'm going to show you the journal page that isn't in the photo above. I wanted to test the no-wrinkle by using larger bits of paper and decided to create a landscape. (Note: there are specks on and around the water that look like the colors ran. They didn't. I tried to get fancy adding a reflection with a gel pen. It didn't work and I tried to remove it and just ended up making a mess. Please try to pretend it isn't there, lol).
I started with a page that had been painted with blue acrylic paint.
Instead of tearing, I cut my pieces because I wanted some tree and rock shapes and a clean delineation between the color values. I used the lightest pink for the sky, green for the ground and the darker reds for the trees. I cut out some of the flowery shapes with black scallops. I tried to place these where the darker colors would balance each other and not all be lumped in one area. That way they made a path for the eye to follow.
Once cut, I lay them out on the page to get a general idea where things should go and cut some of the pieces to fit better.
Then I started gluing pieces down, starting with the strips that I wanted for the sky.. I used a foam brush to add glue to the back, and once down I added more glue. Mostly I used the foam brush to add more glue after placing the pieces down, but if I decided to re-adjust I used my fingers.
I continued this way, working from the sky, to the horizon line, the far bank, over the water and into the foreground.
That's pretty much all it took. The planning and cutting took longer than the gluing. In all, I probably spent about 1/2 an hour getting this done.
And look--pretty much wrinkle free!
If you check out the Decopatch page, you'll find some really cool papier-mache animal forms, bright decoupage papers, kits, brushes, glues and varnish.
You can learn more about these Exaclair products at their website, the Rhodia Facebook page, and the Rhodia Drive blog.
Other Reviews
Life Imitates Doodles
Rhodia Drive
Disclaimer: I received this Decopatch Paper from Exaclair Inc. specifically for this giveaway. I was allowed to choose the item to be given away. I'm excited about hosting this giveaway, but tried not to let it influence my opinion, and all opinions are my own. I received no other compensation.
Fantastic project!!! You are so talented!!! I love the paper colors you chose even though I am not a lover of pink! It just goes!!!
ReplyDeleteSo, excited can't wait to see these in person and see what I can do with them
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll share photos of what you do. I'd love to see your projects!
Delete