This weekend I tried out a new technique using an old friend -- my paper shredder.
Here's what I started with -- an empty "Seattle Best" coffee bag, washed, dried and cut into a flat sheet. I trimmed off the top inch or so because I was afraid the thickness of the seal would damage my shredder.
When I fed the first bag into the shredder, I expected to find a tangle of long strips in the bin. But the sheet was intact. Well, almost intact. The shredder teeth had scored the bag instead of slicing it apart.
It was pliable and strong -- a brand-new textile! But I couldn't experiment with my discovery just yet. I needed those thin strips for the project I had in mind. So I carefully cut apart the strips by hand.
My project? Look at the colors on the decaf bag. Red and green and white. Yes, I had to make something Christmasy. Specifically, simple triangular trees to add to a handmade card.
First I made a template by tracing 3 triangles onto an old book page.
Then I swabbed a glue stick over the template and began laying down the strips, one by one. I alternated between right-side-up (red, green and white) and right-side-down (to reveal the shiny silver interior).
Constructing the tree turned out to be much easier than choosing a background. I tried painting white card stock with acrylic paints. Too busy.
It's not as flashy as I'd hoped. So I put two trees together and made a simple ornament. (Now I just need a real tree to hang it on.)
But I'm not giving up on my new texture -- I will find a way to use these "articulated" coffee bags. Stay tuned.
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