Paper Tearing:

Adding texture to your scrapbook layouts is as easy as tearing paper.  Here are some tips and sample ideas for paper tearing in your scrapbooks.

Paper tearing adds texture, dimension and a realistic “feel” to your scrapbook pages. Tearing the paper toward you results in a jagged white edge.(some papers do not have a white core) Tearing the paper away from results in a jagged edge without the white. 

You can control the design of tear by using your thumb closer or farther from the tear.  Experiment with scrap paper for different looks.  Don't worry about messing up.  You can always go back and do small tears until you achieve the look you want.

Another method to control your design is by wetting the paper where you want to tear the paper.  Simply use a wet paintbrush and “paint” where you want your tear.  Gently tear along the wet line you created.

Use torn paper pieces to achieve a fun look for water, sand, snow and mountains.

(click on image for larger view)

“Tear bears” is another popular Scrapbooking embellishment created from torn paper pieces.  Double-sided cardstock works great for this technique letting the second color show through in the tear.  The middle one shows a sample of chalked edges.

While doing some research for this article, I discoverd there are also special rulers available to assist you in paper tearing.  Have fun with this technique and add some texture to your scrapbooks.

Resources for Paper Tearing:

• Scrapbook.com -offers double-sided cardstock and more, just search for paper tearing.
• ScrapTutor.com -video class tutorials on many topics including paper tearing.
• Scrapbook Pal -you can find paper tearing rulers here.

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