I have discovered a super fun way to get a jump start on my junk journaling ephemera - I call it the Strip Collage. It's a long thin collage that is SO easy to make. It's perfect for decorating tags, pockets, belly bands, tuck spots - even whole pages. I've made them in lots of colors and it's so great to grab one when I need a quick element for a page.
There's something about the narrow workspace that makes it easy to create something beautiful - even if you are new to collaging. Give it a try!
The best part is, you don't need a lot of beautiful images and stickers to make something pretty. Even my least favorite ephemera ended up looking great. Check out that weird seaweed in the middle of the green collage. I NEVER thought I'd find a use for that!
Here's another view of the same collages (They are each almost 3 feet long, so they don't all fit into one picture.) They were all made the same way, except I sewed down both edges of the middle one as a last step.
Ways To Use a Strip Collage
Here I used a piece of strip collage to decorate a tag. I glued a length of collage to a paint sample and added a whale tail tab to the top.
Here's another strip collage tag. I glued the collage onto a printed tag form and added a tab.
Here I decorated a whole page of a junk journal with two strips of the same collage.
And here I used a square of collage and folded it over the top of a page to make a tab.
How To Make A Strip Collage
I used drywall joint tape from the hardware store as a base. You could also use adding machine paper rolls or receipts from the grocery store. Do you ever go to CVS and get the 6 feet of coupons? They are perfect for collaging!
I started all of my collages the same way:
- I used a background stamp in one color over much of the paper.
- Then I added strips of similarly colored washi tape. (Watercolor paint would work if you don't have washi tape.)
- I used some random neutral stickers I had (old book pages would work).
- Then, I added tea bags for texture and to break the plane of the edge of the paper.
Then I grabbed everything I had in the main color and neutral colors and I just started gluing them on. I used stickers, strips of paper, old book pages, cutouts from magazines and junk mail and die cuts. Somehow, that narrow space is very forgiving and just about everything looks great.
Lastly, I used some stamping in black where I needed a little something. I also sewed along the long sides of some of the collages.
I hope you give these a try. They're fun!
Here's a video if you are interested: Strip Collage Video