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Weekend Project: Paper Bag Treatment

Posted by DIY Guy on October 7, 2011

With Columbus Day right around the corner, I thought this would be a nice project to do in honor of the explorer. I used a map in this project because of this, but you can use anything or nothing at all as the accent. This project will help you learn how to do a paper bag treatment which can be applied to walls, ceilings or in this case, a blank canvas to be framed.

Materials:

Glue Or Wallpaper Paste (For Larger Jobs)

Paint Brush

Bowl

Map (Or Accent of Your Choice)

Paper Bags Or a Roll of Brown Paper (For Larger Projects)

Cardboard or Chipboard Or Whatever you would like to cover in the paper bag treatment

Lighter (Optional)

I also Framed mine out with some leftover wood but you can use any type of frame as well.

Steps:
1. Tear up the paper bags or brown paper into different size and shape sections. Be sure there aren’t any straight edges- every side should be a torn edge. Tear enough to cover the area you are working with. (You can always tear more as needed throughout the project) I have also done this project before and painted the paper different glazes and brown tones at random spots and then torn up the paper. It gives it a different look- I will post example pictures at the end.

2. Wad the paper up into balls. You are trying to distress them, this will give it a leather look once on the board/wall/ceiling. You can straighten out and crumple up over and over again as needed. (I have also done this project where I singe the edges at this point- again another look you may or may not want to try)

3. If you are doing a small project you can pour some glue into a small bowl and mix with a little bit of water to make the glue a little more spreadable. You want to be able to spread the glue onto the paper bag/brown paper easily. If you are doing a larger project, use wallpaper paste.

4. Take a piece of the crumpled paper and flatten out. Spread the glue onto the back of it and paste onto the board/wall/ceiling. Try to use straighter sides for the outline/borders of the project. Keep pasting the pieces of paper until the space is completely covered. You can overlap and layer as needed.

5. Once you have covered the space, I would apply a thin layer of glue/paste over the entire area to ensure corners or edges don’t curl up.

6. I then took my map outside and singed the edges with a lighter to go with an “antique” look. This is completely optional. You can always do less or more.

7. Glue/paste the map onto the project area in the desired location. Remember you don’t have to use a map at all or you can use another accent piece. Once everything is dry, its recommended to seal it for longevity purposes.

8. I framed my project with some wood I had leftover from another project- nothing fancy- I was going for a rustic look. You can frame it with whatever materials you have on hand or use a frame you already have. The possibilities are endless for this project- I’m just trying to give you the base concept for the paper bag treatment. Have fun creating your own creative masterpiece!

Here are a few other paper bag treatments I have done:
Ceiling: I singed the edges on each piece of brown paper- it was time-consuming but the end results were worth it!

Wall: I glazed and painted the brown paper in different spots before tearing it up. It gave it a unique and rustic look.

Ceiling with Map Accent:

Don’t forget to send us pictures of your own projects! info@mydiyguy.com Thanks!