An old magazine and a bit of Brasso?

Recycling is all the rage these days – apparently making something you’re about to throw away into something useful and beautiful is now known as upcycling. Here’s how to upcycle a glossy magazine page into a pretty greetings card using Brasso, embossing powder and a bit of elbow grease.

First find a glossy magazine (good quality paper), and then a page with a large illustration or photo with the colours you’d like. I used a page from a quilting magazine.

Next, pick your stamp. Whatever you stamp over will be protected and visible in the final project. I used a solid flower from Wow! Embossing Powder’s ‘In the Garden’ pack. You’ll also need a clear embossing ink and clear gloss embossing powder.

Stamp several images across your page using the clear embossing ink, cover with clear gloss embossing powder and heat set. Allow to cool completely.

Now is where the Brasso (the wadding variety) comes in – take a small amount of Brasso wadding and gently rub over the embossed image and around it, wiping off the ink as it lifts using a baby wipe. You shouldn’t need to scrub – if you do you may damage the paper.

You should now have embossed, coloured stamped areas surrounded by white(ish) stripped paper. Dry off (without melting your embossing) and cut out the stamped areas.

Repeat with a different stamp on an area of text – I used Wow! Embossing Powder’s Primary Apple Red embossing powder as well to add a coordinating colour.

Select your card stock and colour up the edges with Distress Inks – I used Antique Linen, Fired Brick, Barn Door and Pumice Stone. If you have any of the original magazine page left, try wiping over a strip lightly with Brasso to make a coordinating background paper.

Assemble your pieces and stick down to your card using a suitable adhesive. I finished off by adding black enamel (Ranger) centres and embellishments (see main image).