There was a lot of interest in how I print onto tissue paper, so I delved back into three years of archives to find my original post about it…

But I couldn’t find it so I will explain again, gladly. It’s so easy and has heaps of applications. I should point out that I didn’t invent it, I found it via another blog and am sorry to say I can’t credit the person who gave me the idea because I’ve forgotten the name of her blog. Sorries!

So here it is in a nutshell. Without pictures , but I hope the subsequent gratuitous beach shot makes up for that. Besides, you’re all creative types, you don’t need snazzy step by step images to visualise. 🙂

**********

* Stick tissue paper {cut to size} very lightly to a piece of printer paper in the corners with pritt stick. I like white/softly translucent tissue paper best, as it melts into the glue and gives the magical effect of leaving behind just the words, with any colour beneath showing through.

* Make sure it’s the right way up in your printer…{I tend to have the printer empty of other paper for this.}

* Print your previously created document with text on {or images! I haven’t tried this but no reason why it shouldn’t work}. I have two printers, one that feeds the paper horizontally in and then back out towards me, if that makes any sense at all, {HP Deskjet F380} and one that starts with the paper vertical and pushes it through horizontally {Epson Stylus Photo R1800}. I recommend the former if you have it as there was a very time consuming tangling incident when I tried it in the latter. It was not cool.

* When it comes out, just remove the tissue paper from the printer paper and cut up your words.

* I use Golden Gel Medium to stick the tissue to my canvases. I tried PVA and it’s too heavy ~ wrecks the tissue paper. You do have to be careful as the wetness of the glue can make tears when you’re sticking it down. I spread a thin layer of glue on the canvas, lay the tissue word on top and press it lightly with my fingers before carefully smoothing it with a palette knife. Sometimes the printer will smudge the text a bit but I don’t mind that.

Et voila. If you try this I would really love to see how it works out for you ~ please send a link! I have absolutely no doubt that there are more streamlined ways of doing it, perhaps with a different type of printer/paper etc, but this at least gives you a starting point if you haven’t done it before.

This is my first set of instructions, like, ever, I think, so if I missed anything forehead slappingly obvious give me a shout.

Any questions, see me after class.