How to Print on Tissue Paper

I love using pretty printed tissue paper in my crafts and junk journals, and I wanted to be able to make my own. I tried just running the tissue through the printer, and it always got jammed. So I figured out how to use a piece of cardstock to make the tissue firm enough to go through the printer. It only takes a few steps, and once you get going, you'll want to make tons of these sweet pages.

Home Made Floral Tissue Paper Many sheets of hand made printed tissue paper

How to Make Pretty Tissue Paper

Materials:

Tissue paper (the kind for wrapping gifts). I used white.
A digital download (such as this: Gingham & Gardens )
Cardstock
Scissors, a ruler, and a pencil, or, even better, a paper cutter
Tape
A printer (I used an inkjet)

Step 1:

Lay the tissue out and put cardstock on it to figure out how many 8.5 x 11.25 inch sheets you can get out of it.

A sheet of white tissue paper with 3 pieces of cardstock laid out on it.

Step 2:

Note: You can cut up to 10 sheets of tissue at a time by stacking it with the edges all even before folding and cutting it.

Fold the tissue once or twice (keeping edges even) so it fits into your paper cutter. This also makes it easier if you are cutting it with scissors. Cut an 8 1/2" strip. It can be a little smaller, but no bigger. Tissue paper being cut with a paper trimmer.

Step 3:

Trim that strip you just cut so that it is 11.25" long (a little longer is ok). Finish cutting the rest of the tissue so you have sheets that are 8.5" x 11.25".

Tissue paper being cut to 11.25" long.

Step 4:

Take a piece of cut tissue paper and put it on a piece of cardstock, aligning 3 sides. The tissue should stick out a little on the last side, because it is longer than the cardstock.

Tissue paper over cardstock

Step 5:

Fold that extra tissue over the back of the cardstock and tape it to the cardstock on each edge and in the middle. If you use washi tape, it will be easier to remove later.

Cardstock with tissue paper taped to it.

Step 6:

If you don't know your printer well, experiment to see whether it prints on the back or the front of the loaded page. If it prints on the front of the loaded page, and that is the part of the page that gets grabbed by the printer, you will probably need to tape all edges of the tissue, because the printer will grab the tissue and it needs to be secure. Use your digital download to print your tissue paper.