I was recently introduced to the world of beeswax collage. Since I’m most familiar with paper and scissors, I thought it would be fun to add a new medium to my artist’s toolbox. I was giddy with delight when I found a class at my local art supply store.

Beeswax is not as scary as it looks. It’s actually quite easy to work with and gives your work a dream-like quality, along with a fabulous textural effect. Beeswax can be used to adhere various bits of paper, ephemera and botanicals within a collage surface and its soft nature makes it easy to alter images and colors.

On this small 4" x 6" (10cm x 15cm) canvas, I first painted the exterior with a few swipes of a rich royal blue acrylic paint. Once dry, I applied a thin coat of wax to the surface as a base and then selected a few pieces of ephemera to layer on my background. Since all the materials in the class were provided, I had to select my ephemera from the clippings and cut outs provided. It was a bit of a challenge to find pieces that I found both visually appealing as well as symbolic of my own unique character and persona. But it proved to be a good exercise in thinking outside the “hive” and letting my creativity flow.

I layered my paper ephemera and then applied a few more thin coats of melted wax to the surface. I then used a heat iron to embed a few dried botanicals into the wax. The heat iron also came in handy for adding additional color. I simply used the iron to heat the tip of crayon and then blended the resulting color into the wax for a dreamy mixture of blue and raspberry tones. My beeswax collage is my Valentine to myself this year. I love my own fresh color scheme and floral images, which to me symbolize hope and renewal.

Interested in more fun and playful papercrafting techniques? You can download a free project from Memory Makers' new book Scraptastic! right here. See how author Ashley Calder uses gold leaf to add a little glimmer to paper projects. Check back next Wednesday for more featured projects from your S+PC team!

Amy