Painting folders with acrylic

Good morning everyone! Today I want to show you how you can take some ordinary, dull folders and create something fantastic with them. If you love color and enjoy fun office supplies, but can't really find anything that fits your style, this is the tutorial for you.

All it takes is:

• Gesso
• Acrylic paint
• Folders
• Paintbrushes
• Stencils
• Black pens
• Water bucket
• Old newspapers
• Tape

The first thing you are going to need is some type of protective sheet for your work-surface. Old newspapers are great for this. Just tape the pieces together so you do not get gaps when you move your folders around.

The next step is to prepare the painting surface. The acrylic paint might slide off the folder, especially if you have those with a plastic coating on them. I used folders with a paper backing and I would recommend using the same. Paint the outside with gesso. I used a homemade recipe which worked surprisingly well, and I will post that recipe on the blog at a later date. I let my folders dry laying flat and prop up the sides with plastic cups.

Once the gesso is dry, you can apply layers of paint. I made different folders with all kinds of colors on them. The top one in the picture was painted using a drip technique. You water down the acrylic paint with a mix of half and half water and glycerin. Then you paint the mixture onto the top of the folder, all the while spraying it with the water and glycerin mixture. This will cause the paint to drip down. Once you are satisfied with the result, you lay the folder flat to dry. If you use glycerin with your paint, it will take longer for it to dry, since glycerin acts like an extender for the acrylic paint.

And this is my end result. Remember to let the paint dry properly between the layers. I added some details with stencils and black acrylic paint once the colored layers had dried. I drew the flower on with a black felt-tip pen. If you want to keep the paint from chipping you can add a protective coating. Either use a glue, gel medium or clear plastic which you tape around books. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.

Latest news and upcoming tutorial

Hi everyone!

So it has been a while since my last post, as you can see. My mother in law passed away over Christmas and we have been busy sorting everything out since then. Official business has slowed the process down and it has been a bit of a roller-coaster. Anyway, the service was wonderful and she is hopefully at peace now. We will always remember and miss you, Sally.

Things are slowly going back to normal and I have finally gotten back into the creative groove. I am currently learning photoshop and video editing and will hopefully be able to post some tutorials on my Youtube channel. The focus will be on art in general, with some dips into recycling, some speed paintings and possibly vlogs. We shall see. But today I have a little sneak-peek of my upcoming tutorial, painting folders with acrylics.

Label making fun

Labels! They are the best to have when you are organizing a space. So today I will show you how you can create a snazzy label and laminate it. The laminating will protect it from any wear and tear that may arise from future use. 

Materials you will need are:

• a pencil
• eraser
• scissors
• card stock or printer paper
• a paintbrush
• watercolors
• a ruler
• a laminating machine

For the first step, you will need to cut your paper to the desired size. Since I am using my labels for a particular box, I measured the width and height of the part of the box where I am putting the labels. I then subtracted half a cm from the top and bottom. The laminating pouch will stick out a bit on all sides, which means I have to accommodate for that. Then cut to size.

Fold the paper in half and trace the corners with a small bottle cap. Then cut and you are left with some neat looking paper. Measure the height and trace a line two thirds from the top of the paper. This will be where you will write whatever label text you want. I practiced as you can see and managed to get it wrong. Scrws, what is that?!

 For the next step, you need a watercolor that you are satisfied with. I mixed my black shade out of blue and brown. For help with choosing a nice font, you can visit websites like http://www.1001freefonts.com/ where you can find fonts for free. You can print out the fonts and then practice on making the same. When you have painted the labels, remember to erase the lines!

For the next step, place your labels into the laminating pocket. I have A3 size pouches, so I had to trim mine down before laminating the piece. Turn your laminating machine on to the desired setting. Mine has both cold and hot laminating, so check your machine documentation before starting.

For bigger laminating pouches, it can be a bit tricky to keep the paper in the same spot as you are lifting the pouch up. I used a piece of cardboard on the underside to help keep everything in the same place. Just remember to not push the cardboard into the machine!
 

Once the pouch has gone through the machine, you need to cut the plastic off. I used a trimmer for the sides and scissors for the corners.

And there you have it, the final result. Attach the label with double sided tape and you are good to go!

I hope you found this tutorial helpful. If you have any comments or suggestions, press the comment button below.

Recycling

The other day I got a hold of a bunch of deep plastic trays thanks to my partner who works at a deconstruction company. The trays came from a supermarket and are in good condition despite being used daily. I just finished cleaning them up and when they are dry, I plan on using them to organize tools and crafting items to use in the attic craft room and other areas around the house. Cheap and good for the planet!

Happy recycling!

In my next post, I will show you how I made the labels for the trays.

Welcome!

Welcome to The Crafty Swede!

Here you can learn all about different crafts, such as card making, painting, polymer clay and so on. There will be tips on how to make your own crafting supplies as well as how to use the commercial ones. For those of you who prefer to watch videos instead of following a printed tutorial you can visit the channel "The Crafty Swede" on YouTube. So let's get started!