Deli Paper Blitz

 

Last night i went on a blitz painting deli paper.  As you may know, this is my favorite medium for background paper for altered books.  Better to paint and get messy OUTSIDE the book, and glue the lightweight paper into your book.  Deli paper glues beautifully.  if you don't know, deli paper is thin paper sold in boxes of hundreds or even thousands at places like costco or the grocery outlet.  They come in different sizes - these were about 12" square. They are fantastically cheap, about $8 for a thousand sheets! And yes - they are used in deli's to wrap sandwiches.  Not to be confused with wax paper.  these are just plain and have a matte or dry side and slightly shinier side.  You can paint on either.

I created about 30 sheets of paper in about an hour or so.  Using three sheets at a time i squirted in rough stripes of acrylic paint and smeared and blended with my favorite expensive art supply tool - old credit cards.  Or in my case brand new credit cards as sent from the credit card companies in the mail.  As if holding an American Express card with "your name here" would excite me so much that i would instantly sign up for their program.  It did excite me, you know, but not in the way they intended, 'cus a crafty girl can never have enough art supplies!

I worked in a limited palette of reds, green, white and blues. Creating three more or less the same in one batch.  Moving them to another part of the dining room table, and then starting another batch.  It does not take long to run out of room. If you have space - you can put newspapers on the floor and lay them out to dry.  Or a clothesline would be cool!  But i just butted the sheets together - paint to paint, stacked them and hoped they did not stick together.  They didn't.  But i cannot guarantee that.  I am sure it depends altogether on the type of paint and how much.  I focus on scraping OFF all the excess paint with the credit card, so they will dry quickly.
After they were mostly dry they each got a final coat of silver metallic paint.  Just scraped on with the same credit card. A handy-wipe would have worked even better.  But that would have meant a trip back upstairs.  If there is one thing i can share with my readers - it is fast and easy tips. Work with what you've got!

So why?  Why did i spend an evening painting 30 sheets of deli paper when i could have been watching the 49er's trounce Arizona with my hubbie?  Because i created a slew of Christmas cards - and i don't have matching envelopes! You can see a mock up here of what the deli paper will look like when it is folded into an envelope shape around a Christmas card.  Cool, eh? I could stamp onto them at this point - or just add the address labels.  I could cut them out with an envelope template - or just glue them on and add a decorative sticker.  We'll see when i get to that point.  I'll be sure to share!
For more exciting deli paper posts click here and here and here and here.