Paper Weave

I thought I'd give you a wee respite from all of the holiday crafts. Although this would make a wonderful  Christmas or Hanukkah present. Never too early to start.

This is one of those art-projects-for-kids that can be adapted for a sophisticated look. I see these at high-end craft shows all the time. It's a perfect way to use your reject watercolor paintings or left-over papers.

I didn't have any old paintings so I wet a piece of white card stock, dropped food coloring on it, tilted it back and forth, ran it under the faucet again and dabbed it with a paper towel. All of this to distribute the colors. Pretty ugly, huh? Then I ran it through a paper shedder. (you will need 2 x the size of the finished product. If you want to make an 8x10, you have to make 2 of them - one for the warp and one for the weft)

I placed a long piece of double-stick tape at the top of a piece of copy paper and put the vertical strands next to each other, then wove in the horizontal pieces.

I love putting these in large frames with big mats and small openings. It makes the artwork seem more precious.

Pretty elegant art made from food coloring - who would have guessed?