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Straw Blowing Collage Papers: Easy, Abstract, and Absolutely Addictive
Of all the collage papers I’ve made, there’s something about straw blowing that feels like pure play. It’s unpredictable, intuitive, and gives you those wild, tendril-like lines that can add instant energy to a collage. This is the second paper in my Countdown to Collage Breakthrough series, where I’m sharing five collage paper techniques (plus fun bonus at the end!) throughout December. By the end of this countdown, you’ll have a beautiful, harmonious paper collection that is perfect for the free Collage Breakthrough workshop in January, where I’ll walk you through four collage projects from start to finish.
You can follow along with the video or simply read through the process below to get started.
Supplies You’ll Need
Some acrylic paint in your 2 chosen primaries (I use Phthalo Blue Green Shade and Hansa Yellow Light plus black and white), water, a straw, a tablespoon or small mixing cup, paper of your choice, and it’s optional if you want to use blotting paper or clean copy paper to lift excess paint. You’ll find all the links below.
How to Make Straw Blowing Collage Papers
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Thin your paint. Mix a small amount of acrylic paint with water on a tablespoon until it’s almost the consistency of watercolor.
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Drop paint onto the paper. Drip the paint onto your paper one color at a time.
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Blow through the straw. This is the fun part. Gently blow through the straw, guiding the paint in different directions with your breath. Try rotating your paper and layering on more color once the first layer has dried, or is mostly dry.
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Vary your values. Add more water for a transparent effect or less water and a bit of black for darker values. Adding a bit of white to your paint will result in lighter values. Try to make an assortment of light, medium, and dark value papers.
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Let it dry and sort. Once your paper is dry, I recommend sorting them into categories light, medium and dark valued papers. This makes collage building so much easier later.
Quick Tips
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Use a clean end of the straw to blow (I’ve had my mouth covered in paint more times than I can count!)
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If the paint isn’t moving when you blow, add a little more water.
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For dramatic contrast, blow dark paint over light backgrounds, or layer light on top of dark.
What Makes This Paper Special?
What I love most about straw blowing papers is their versatility. A single sheet might give me a dramatic patterned edge or a soft quiet middle, both perfect for cutting apart and using in multiple ways.
And because all my colors are mixed from just two primaries (plus black and white), every paper I make fits together like a puzzle piece with the rest. That’s the secret to building a harmonious collection of collage papers for Collage Breakthrough.
Want to Keep Going?
This is just the beginning! If you’re excited to turn your handmade papers into finished collages, join me for my free Collage Breakthrough New Year’s Workshop. We’ll create four gorgeous collage projects together using the papers you’re making now or ones you already have on hand.
Click here to sign up for Collage Breakthrough — it’s totally free!
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The Supplies to Create These Papers:
Straw with smallish opening
Choose one or more papers:
Rice Paper , Drawing paper 80 lbs, Copy paper or Old book pages
Tablespoon or small mixing cup
Acrylic paint using 2 paint colors, plus black, white and gold just
for fun
Are you interested in learning more about how to incorporate your collage papers into your art?
Check out my Collage Workshops!
