Faux Fabulous: Wood

There are so many interesting wooden accents on the market that we can incorporate into our scrapbook layouts. However, if you are concerned about the archival nature of wood-based embellishments you can easily create faux-wood versions that look great!

There are many wooden accents you can create using paper, paper clay, paint, and stamping techniques.

• twigs
• wood shapes
• wood letters
• wood grain background paper
• wood tags
• wood buttons

Imitation wooden accents are wonderful on altered projects, collage work, and rustic-style layouts. You can create anything from fake Popsicle sticks to drift wood by using a few basic materials you probably have in your supply stash right now.

Here are instructions for creating a few wood accents that are "Faux Fabulous!"

Twig

Supplies: brown textured cardstock, black ink, liquid adhesive, water, iron (or heat embossing tool), black and brown pens, multiple colors of brown chalk.

Technique: Cut a 1 ½ inch wide strip of paper and moisten in water. Wrinkle and fold the strip to age the paper. Dry by ironing or using a heat embossing tool. Apply ink to the edges of the paper. Twist and shape paper into the irregular shape of a twig. You can create small branches or nubs by tearing a section away from the strip and twisting in the opposite direction. Apply small dots of liquid glue occasionally in inconspicuous places to hold your paper twig together. Once you have the length you want cut off the remaining paper and apply a small dot of glue to each end. Use multiple colors of brown chalk, ink, and pen to create more detail and add interest.

Wood Grain Paper

Supplies: light tan cardstock (non-textured), brown ink, wood-grain rubber stamp, brown and/or golden colored chalk, fine grit sandpaper.

Technique: Apply brown or golden colored chalks lightly to background cardstock in a random way. Lightly distress paper using fine grit sandpaper. Ink a large, wood-grain background stamp with brown ink and stamp image onto chalked background paper. If you are using the whole sheet as a background sand the edges once again and apply another layer of brown chalk to the edges. If you only want a small area of the paper for an accent tear away the desired amount; then sand and chalk to distress the edges.

Tip: Try using crackle paint products to create a distressed or country wood look. There are paint products as well as crackle-wood stamps that will give you this unique look The tag shown was created using a crackle-pattern stamp.

Wood Shapes

Supplies: paper clay, tan acrylic paint, brown StazOn ink, wood-grain stamp, small cookie cutter or craft knife, oven.

Technique: Knead a small amount of paper clay in your hands to soften. Use enough to create a ball about the size of a large gumball. Apply a small dot of acrylic paint and knead to distribute the paint throughout the clay. Once you have the desired color flatten paper clay so that it is approximately ¼ inch thick. Since this is a wooden-style element you don't have to be exact; irregularities in size and thickness will make your accent look more realistic. Use a small cookie cutter or a craft knife to cut out your desired shape. Cook in your oven to dry, following manufacturer's instructions. Once dry you can stamp your accent with a wood-grain stamp and StazOn ink.

Tip: Chipboard shapes make creating wooden accents even faster. Apply a nice basecoat of tan paint to chipboard and let your creativity take over. Apply your ink and stamp technique or freehand wood grain using brown pens to alter any pre-made chipboard shape. The chipboard alphabet letters were painted before adding wood-grain patterned paper to the top-- quick and easy!

So gather your supplies, take a cue from Mother Nature, and try your hand at these faux-wood techniques. I bet you'll be surprised how creative you can be with a few basic tools and your own imagination!

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