Hi guys! Did you all notice the pretty tissue paper that’s been coming in your kit packages lately? I loved the blue in this month’s kit so much that I decided to create a background out of it. The color reminded me of swimming pool blue, so I decided it would be perfect for some pictures of my little niece taking her first swim.

Here’s what you’ll need to make a similar background:

white cardstock, blue tissue paper, Mod Podge, paintbrush, glitter (optional), scissors

First, I cut my tissue paper into strips.

In retrospect, I should have cut the strips to slightly longer than 12 inches. Then each one would have reached all the way across my page. You might want to do that for a neater look.

Next, I cut wavy peaks across the tops of enough strips to cover my cardstock. I laid them out onto the cardstock as I cut them so I’d know how many to cut.

Starting from the top of the page, I spread a layer of Mod Podge onto the cardstock, and laid down a strip of tissue. The top strip doesn’t need to be wavy.

Then I tapped the tissue down with my brush. Tissue paper is delicate, especially when wet, so it’s best to use a stippling motion with the brush. Otherwise, the tissue can tear.

I started adding wavy layers, making sure each one was glued under and over.

Once your cardstock is covered with tissue, you could stop there and let it dry. However, I knew I wanted a glittery splash on my page so I dabbed more Mod Podge on top, in the position where I wanted to put my glitter.

Then I sprinkled two different kinds of glitter (silver and blue) onto the glue. It’s hard to tell in this picture, but both colors are there.

At this point, I just needed to let it dry well. Here’s how it looks dry.

The last step was to trim the tissue paper hanging over the edges and I had a nice homemade background with texture. I like that it subtly supports the theme of the layout.

Next time you get a Cocoa Daisy box in the mail, don’t discard the tissue paper packaging – cut it up and play!