Paper Tole Tutorial

It's no secret that paper tole is a very old and sophisticated form of paper art, where 3dimensional images are created by layering the same image on top of each other, in parts, building it up so that there is depth and shadow and interest.  Now my little flower craft project is the cheats version if you will, forever interested in doing things the fast way, this is the 15 minute version of paper tole.

Here's what to do to make your own boxed flower picture (as always you can click on the image to enlarge it to better see the details):

1. Download a free clipart graphic such as those on Graphics Fairy
2. Print the flower in it’s entirety onto white paper, take the mounting board out of the picture frame, trace it’s outer edge onto the poppy picture (or other) & cut it out (don’t trace inside the frame or your picture will be too small).
3. Print the flower section of the graphic onto red paper (or other color to suit your subject); you will need at least 2 copies. Cut it out so that you have 1 or 2 petals from each printout (retain the center of the flower on all your cutouts as this will help you rebuild the flower) and assemble it without glue to see which layer looks better on top of the other.
4. Cut small circles out of red foam (or coloured to suit your subject and paper) and slowly assemble the flower; placing one piece of foam between each piece of paper, and glue it all in place.
5. Allow the picture to dry overnight and then carefully place inside a box frame.

The lovely thing about tole is that they are perfectly suited to modern box frames and digital printing; a wonderful combination of new meets old.