Try Tissue Paper Collage

Cut out Tissue Strips

Who doesn’t love and adore tissue paper? It’s available in so many pretty, bright colors (and patterns!) that my collection is still growing. I use it all the time, and thought I’d share a quick and super fun idea to play with today.

You start by cutting out strips of different coloured tissue paper, then you glue them down to create a colourful collage background.

Matte Medium as Glue

Randomly glue the stripes down on a white (or painted) paper in one direction, letting some overlap others to create new hues and colours!

I always use gel medium or decoupage glue (not a glue stick) for tissue paper. I paint the glue to both the background and then on top of the tissue paper, once it is placed down. In this way it turns even more transparent and all wrinkles are removed by your paint brush.

A Green tissue paper collage

You can use your striped tissue paper as collage background paper (that’s what I will use mine as) or take more care and create a pretty postcard or journal background or… anything you like!

Yellow and red tissue paper strips

You could also scan your new tissue collage and play with the colours in Photoshop, to create similar but different patterned papers:

Bright added to tissue paper red yellow
Much brighter!

Tissue paper turned Turquoise (edited)
And in blue and purple!

Let me know if you try this and how you like it. What’s your favorite tissue paper play?

9 Responses

  1. Beautiful. I wish I hadn’t gotten rid of my stash of tissue paper when we moved here… since then I haven’t accumulated very much at all and I’m feeling the urge (thanks to you) to play with some.

    • Thanks Denise, I can’t say I feel too bad to inspire you to play some, I hope you do! Creative play keeps the doctor away. :-)

  2. I like using tissue paper. I had a surprise with the last batch I got at the art store, the color runs when wet. Which turned out ok but totally different then I expected.

  3. I’ve made only three collages in my entire life, but… I’ve already tried tissue paper in one of them :)
    I love the transparence and the effects you can play with.
    I really like the colours of the second collage (red+brown+yellow)… so perfect for fall!

  4. I have to admit, I haven’t worked with tissue paper much. I love the effects, though. I tend to use one ply of paper toweling and build it up together to make collages. It’s not as transparent, though. I’m collaging this weekend, and I think I’ll be using some tissue paper to really see how I like it. That blue one is awesome!!!

  5. I love this, Hanna….they make such pretty background papers. I am going to have to give tissue paper play a try, for sure!

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