A Million Memories

Chipboard Ideas by Lucy Edson

I don’t know about you, but I have a box of plain chipboard that somehow I never think to pull out and use – and what a shame because chipboard is so versatile and can be altered with so many mediums. Creating your own custom pre-made embellishments is fun and easy with a package of blank chipboard shapes – like this one from Basic Grey.



Let me show you a few of my ideas for chipboard! I would love to hear your favorite tips for using chipboard, too!



Glitter

Nothing says fun like a little sparkle but glitter all over you and your project can be a mess. My favorite method for a heavy even coat of glitter that doesn’t cover you too:



1. Lightly coat the chipboard with paint – a similar color to your glitter.
2. Apply an even coat of white glue – Elmers is fine – Diamond Glaze gives more dimension.
3. Pour on the glitter and let it dry.

This is a Martha Stewart glitter and if you love vintage try some German Glass Glitter – it is so sparkly and worth the extra price!

Heat Embossed

Using embossing powder over chipboard gives a beautiful shiny finish – almost like enamel. You can duplicate the look of metals or any color you wish. Use clear embossing powder over paint or paper and it looks like epoxy. I used Ranger Gold Treasure for this sample. You will need a heat gun, embossing ink and embossing powder for this method.



1. Lightly paint or ink the chipboard – this keeps the embossing ink from being absorbed. Let dry.
2. Coat the chipboard with embossing ink – watermark ink works as well.
3. Pour the embossing power over the chipboard.
4. Heat with a heat gun to a shiny finish.

Quilted

I adore fabric and adding it to my layouts – here is a fun way to cover chipboard in fabric – like a little quilt. I used tulle as the backing so I could easily see the edge of the chipboard for my stitching guide. You will need: batting, tulle or netting, needle and thread.



1. You are going to assemble a quilt sandwich in this order – fabric (right side down), batting, chipboard, tulle.
2. Tack the layers together using small amounts of fabric glue – I love Fabri-Tac.
3. Using the edge of the chipboard as a guide, stitch around the edge going through all of the layers. I used a backstitch so that I would have a solid outline – a running stitch would work fine also.
4. Trim the layers to shape – I used a decorative blade on my rotary cutter – or pinking shears. If you don’t have those – just use scissors and you can distress the edge with you finger nail.
5. Embellish with a word, flowers or embroidery stitches



Tissue Texture

A mixed media technique that I use is stamping on tissue paper and layering over a background to create texture and layered text and images – you can do this easily with a chipboard base for a mixed media embellishment for your next project. Tissue paper gives some transparency so your layers underneath will partially show through for an interesting effect. You will need: tissue paper, permanent ink, stamps, gel medium.



1. Paint the chipboard – choose a color that will compliment or contrast with the tissue – remember the colors will blend together as you build the layers.

2. Stamp your tissue paper with permanent ink – I use StazOn. In this sample I used red and tan tissue but any color or just white works just as well.

3. Apply to your dry chipboard with gel medium – I use a foam brush or my fingers – let the tissue crumple to add texture. While it is wet you can clean up the edges of your piece by tearing or cutting off the excess tissue. You can use any white glue that dries clear for gluing the tissue.

4. Stamp another tissue to layer on top – I used an old dress pattern. On this step you should think about where to place the image, leaving room for adding a title or other embellishments. Then glue to your chipboard – I tore the tissue into pieced and really crumpled it to add texture.

5. I finished my piece by using a gold pen around the edges and inking a bit to blend the colors



Crackle

I love the antique look that crackle gives to any project. There are many crackle mediums on the market or you can make your own with glue. Using the Tim Holtz one-step crackle paint is the fastest and easiest to me. I created this French country look this way:





1. Paint your chipboard with acrylic gold metallic paint and let dry.

2. Paint a fairly thick coat of crackle paint – I used white. A thin coat will give you tiny crackles and a thicker coat creates a larger crackle. Let dry. And watch the magic!

3. Embellish to your liking – I used the gold embossed swirls from earlier on this and created a premade title block ready to pop on a page.

Puff Paint and Masking

I used 2 different techniques and layered the chipboard pieces to create this embellishment.



First the background – Masking and Misting – lay a mask over the chipboard and mist (I used pink), move the mask and mist again. Then mist with yellow
mist. Set aside to dry.


The upper piece – paint the chipboard green and when it is dry, make a border with black Puffy Paint. Heat with heat gun to create bubbly texture.

Layer the chipboard pieces and embellish.


Wrapped

I wrapped this small chipboard frame with pearl cotton. Embroidery floss or yarn would also work beautifully. 



Wallpapering 

Covering your chipboard with patterned paper is a simple and beautiful way to create coordinating embellishments for your pages.



1. To get a smooth accurate finish I use gel medium to coat the chipboard to prevent buckling and then apply the paper.  Burnish the surface and let the glue set up a bit.

2. Then from the back side I trim close to the
chipboard with an exacto knife.

3. Smooth any rough edges and get into tight
corners by sanding the edges for a perfect finish! The Basic Grey precision files are my favorite for this step.



Stickles 

Stickles are a great way to add a little sparkle to your chipboard. I simply misted this piece with orange mist and added stickle dots around the edge and finished with a ribbon tie.


There are so many other ideas for chipboard – it can accept almost any medium and adds texture and depth to your work. I hope you get a chance to play with a few that have shown here.

You can print it out here - http://www.amillionmemories.com/downloa … _ideas.pdf