Tutorial: The Button Tree

The Button Tree

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What you'll need:

⦁ Paper Scraps

(Scrapbooking papers, stationary, magazine clippings, junk mail - whatever you can find.)

⦁ Black Acrylic Paint

(I recommend Golden High-Flow)

⦁ 3 Different Ink Sprays

(I recommend Heidi Swapp ink sprays or Dylusions ink sprays.)

⦁ Heidi Swapp Stencils Stencils

⦁ Assorted Stamps

⦁ Buttons

⦁ Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

⦁ DecoArt Crackle Paste

⦁ Gesso

Step 1:

Begin by laying down your scrap paper with a bit of gel medium. I used scrapbooking paper and pages from a vintage book of children's poems. (I LOVE those brown old pages!) Doesn't have to have any rhyme or reason, just lay them down, overlap a couple of them. Make sure you're putting gel medium on the front and back of each scrap piece. Then allow it to dry.

Step 2:

Use a brush to add in some Gesso, and a palette knife for some crackle paste.

With crackle paste, the more you use, the better the results. That's why it looks so thick and "gloopy". Don't worry though, it will look good once it dries.

Let them dry completely before moving on. 

Step 3:

Use some stamps and black ink to randomly stamp up the page. I used a Heidi Swapp stamp that looks like cursive handwriting and a music staff stamp. The stamp doesn't have to look clear and precise, and for that reason, I recommend inking the stamp, and then using it multiple times without re-inking.

Don't worry about it being "perfect" this is simply just another layer to the piece.

Step 4:

Now for the color....

Use Stencils and Ink Sprays to add splashes of color. Here, I kept some of the white background as well.

If you don't have stencils, you can easily spray a puddle of ink and use a toilet paper roll to create fun elements throughout the page. Improvise!

Step 5:

With a brush, paint in a simple tree. Let dry.

I kept it simple to really stand out against the "busy" background.

Step 6:

Glue down some of your favorite buttons. I opted to use just 3 different color variations here: Black, Purple, and White.

Step 7:

On a couple pieces of torn scrap paper, I stamped out the phrase "Just Breathe" - but you could use any wording that means something to you. 

Use Gel Medium and adhere those pieces to the original project wherever it fits/is pleasing to your eye.

Again, be sure to brush gel medium on the front as well as the back.

And you're finished! Happy creating.

Cheers,

Pan