If you've ever finished a painted paper session and wondered what to actually do with the result, this video is the answer. Starting from one A3 sheet of painted paper, I work through seven complete projects — a journal with a three-hole pamphlet stitch binding, a swinging notepad, a tag, an envelope, a bookmark, an oversized heart paper clip, and a string of handmade paper beads — all from the same sheet, all sharing the same colors and marks, all forming one cohesive collection.
What we cover
This is a full project session: painting the paper first using mark making, layered circles, dotting, and asemic writing, then planning and cutting seven different projects from a single A3 sheet. The tutorial goes through each project in sequence, covering construction techniques from machine sewing and three-hole pamphlet stitch binding to rolling paper beads and attaching brads. At the end, I show three completed sets side by side, including a faux-leather variation made by scrunching and painting.
What you'll learn
How to create a cohesive mark-made painted paper using circles, dots, and layered stamping — building a pattern rather than just throwing paint, using lids, pen caps, cotton buds, and rubber stamps as tools:
- Laying a base color across the full sheet
- Stamping circles in contrasting colors with intentional overlap and joining rules
- Adding dotted accents at junction points for a repeated pattern
- Finishing with a glitter paint top coat that unifies the surface and adds a subtle sheen
How to plan seven projects from a single sheet before cutting anything — drawing all shapes on the reverse of the paper first to map the layout, avoid wasted space, and identify where each project lives before committing to any cuts.
How to make a journal cover using Amazon packaging paper for a faux-leather texture, including:
- Gluing the painted paper panel onto the packaging material with a glue stick and PVA
- Ripping rather than cutting the edges for an organic, uneven finish
- Machine sewing around the cover with a zigzag stitch, using paper clips to prevent the material from shifting or stretching
- Binding with a three-hole pamphlet stitch in black yarn through pre-pierced holes in both the signature and the cover
How to make a swinging notepad element — cutting a painted paper circle, layering folded paper circles behind it, sewing around the stack, and attaching everything with a star brad so the pages fan out and swing open.
How to construct an envelope from the painted sheet, including rounding the top flap corners, folding and machine sewing the side seams, and adding a brad-and-twine closure using a small punched circle as the anchor point.
How to back and finish a painted paper bookmark and tag — gluing both to old greeting card stock for rigidity, trimming, machine sewing around the perimeter, inking the edges, and finishing with a star brad embellishment.
How to roll paper beads from the leftover strip of painted paper, including:
- Marking the strip into tapered sections to get three large beads and two small beads from one piece
- Rolling from the wide end around a round tool, adding glue as you go without going all the way to the edges
- Using a bead roller as an optional (but not required) aid
- Sealing finished beads with glitter nail polish or Mod Podge, or leaving them unsealed and raw
How to build an oversized heart paper clip embellishment — cutting and backing a heart shape with card stock, machine sewing around it, sandwiching a large paper clip between the painted triangle tab and the heart using double-sided tape and glue, so the clip is functional and the heart acts as a decorative flag.
Why scrunching painted paper gives a faux-leather effect — painting first, then scrunching while the paint is still wet, then dry-brushing gold over the creased surface to bring out the texture.
Tips & gotchas
Let each layer of paint dry before adding the next one. When filming, I kept working wet-on-wet and ended up with a smudge I couldn't fix — something that wouldn't have happened if I'd stepped away between passes and let things dry properly.
When stamping with lids and circle tools, use only a tiny amount of paint. Too much and you get blobs instead of clean circles, and the excess tends to spread in ways that are hard to control.
Don't ink the edges of your bead strips before rolling. I made this mistake on one set and the dark ink came forward through the whole bead. The painted surface already has plenty of color — the inked edges just make everything muddy.
If you're using Amazon packaging material (the bubbly stuff or the scrunchy paper) for the journal cover, glue alone won't hold it. You need a sewing machine. Before you sew your actual cover, do a test on a scrap piece of the same material — it feeds through fine, but it can stretch sideways, so securing it with paper clips before you start sewing makes a real difference.
When rolling beads, don't apply glue all the way out to the edges of the strip — it seeps through and makes the bead sticky on the outside. Glue right up to the tapered point, but keep the very edges clear.
Wait until all the paint — including any mark making done with a Sharpie — is fully dry before applying the glitter paint top coat. If anything is still wet underneath, you'll drag and smudge the whole surface. The Sharpie in particular needs to be fully set, even though it's a permanent marker.
When cutting circles for the swinging notepad pages, use paper clips to hold all your folded sheets together while you cut. Circles are slippery to cut through multiple layers and the clips stop everything from shifting.
Draw all your template shapes on the back of the sheet before you make a single cut. Once you start cutting pieces off, it becomes very hard to figure out where the remaining space goes, especially for smaller elements like the beads and the heart.
The beads can be carried into future projects, strung onto tassels, threaded onto the journal's binding strings, or punched out as shapes to embellish the pages inside. And the basic structure scales: swap the packaging paper for something else, try a different binding style, make the swinging notepad thicker or smaller, use the heart template for a shaker element instead. The painted paper does the heavy lifting — everything else follows from it.
