May 2022 Happy {I}NSD - Challenge #7 - Veneer Forgeries

Welcome to {i}NSD at The Counterfeit Kit Challenge!

Hi again and I thought I'd offer some ideas of making your own veneers! Some time ago, I was asked to come up with some different ways to make your own veneers and my write-up and techniques were featured in a UK magazine! So I've paraphrased what I wrote back then and have included the techniques - more or less! Unfortunately, I've lost the original technique photos but I hope the photos of the final layouts featuring the ideas are enough to give you the idea!

I started off by going online and gathering some inspiration from tutorials, videos, Pinterest finds and blogs. There are so many ideas out there that it was difficult to limit it to just four. But in the end, I decided to try out four different techniques – painting, printing, die-cutting and using natural elements.  

The easiest was the printing. Simply search for free printable wood veneer shapes and print them out. There are so many freebies out there where someone else has done all the work for you. Simply print and cut – what could be easier? 

Second up was using my electronic die-cutting machine and some woodgrain printed paper. Simple and so easy - I'm sure you can rustle up some woodgrain design paper to try it out yourself! 

And the trickiest for me was the painted chipboard. I have to admit to mixing up about 5 bowls of paint before settling on some brown shades I was happy with, as well as painting and then sanding the paint off my chipboard pieces several times before getting it “right”. But that was half the fun – to test myself and see older pieces of chipboard being transformed into something unique. 

But the elements I’m most proud of are my natural beech bark punched shapes. What a perfect embellishment for my Nova Scotia page – no one in the world will have the same. Imagine the possibilities of using up your found and stashed items in new and interesting ways in a design that is unique to you. It made my page all the more special for having found a way of incorporating that Canadian bark and I’m sure you have similar bits and pieces hiding away in the corners of your scrap room. 

Step by Step techniques

Printing

1. Go online and carry out a search for printable veneer shapes. There are so many to choose from. Select a design you like and download it to your computer. Use a thicker pure white paper or a cardstock and print with best quality for the paper you have chosen. Print the design twice as many times as elements you wish to have.
2. Hand cut out each element twice for the number you wish to have. Adhere each of these printed shapes onto plain card or paper and hand cut once more. Glue these double layer shapes together so you have printed wood design on the top and the bottom. 
3. Ink the edges in a dark brown to mimic the dark edges in shop bought veneer designs.

Die-cutting

1. Select a woodgrain paper with the shade of wood you are looking for, as well as some kraft cardstock. Choose a die-cut template – electronic or manual – in the design you wish to duplicate.
2. Die-cut one copy of each shape you wish in your woodgrain patterned paper. Then repeat the process for each shape with kraft cardstock. Depending on your cardstock, you might need three or four cardstock pieces per shape to get the thickness you want. Use a liquid glue or a glue stick to glue each layer together so that you have some time to move them around to get the shapes lined up and then adhere the woodgrain paper on the top.
3. Ink the edges of each shape to give them that familiar “burnt edge” look.

Painting

1. Select some cardstock shapes and if they are already coated in colour, sand them down with a fine grain sandpaper so that the paint will adhere to the surface better.
2. Mix a blob of yellow, a little brown and a big blob of white paint to create a creamy colour and paint the first coat. Don’t worry about it being thick, this will add to the grainy feel of the element. Leave to dry and then add some more brown to your mix and paint a second coat of paint. Again, don’t worry if the paint is thick. This will help give your item some texture and dimension.
3. Sand down the surface of the second coat so that the creamy undercoat shows through in places and gives the item some variation in colour and texture.
4. Add some more brown to your left over paint and using a fine, dry brush, delicately add some find grains of brown across the surface to mimic woodgrain. Work quickly and don’t think too much about what you are doing. Once the elements are on your page you won’t see the detail so much and the look will be very effective. If you are unhappy with the result, just sand off the paint and start again.

Punching

1. Select the natural product you wish to punch. I found this piece of natural beech bark I had brought home from Canada but you might find some very thin wood veneer in your craft shop that could work just as well. 
2. Select the paper punch you wish to use – a larger, simpler shape is going to be better than something small and delicate because you are cutting out something thicker than standard paper. 
3. Cut a small piece of the natural product you have chosen to punch and then press very hard on the punch. It will be much harder to punch through wood or bark than paper but if it’s a big punch it should work.
4. Using a kraft or brown coloured cardstock, punch two or three of the same shapes and then use a liquid glue to bind the layers together. 
5. Place the shapes under some heavy books to keep them flat while drying.

Will you give one of these techniques a try today? 

 Don’t forget to link up over on the {i}NSD posts in our Counterfeit Kit Community Facebook Community  for this and ALL the following challenges to come for a chance to be entered in our prize draw!

 You can also share over at Instagram where you can can find us @counterfeitkitchallenge and/or tag us using #counterfeitkitchallenge and #ckcINSD2022

Also a reminder about our PRIZE DRAW for a chance of winning a 1^st prize of $25 voucher and 2^nd prize of $15 voucher to your online scrapbook store of choice. 

All you have to do is link up your kits and/or creations on the {i}NSD posts over at the Counterfeit Kit Community Facebook Community. 

You have until MIDNIGHT on SUNDAY 15th MAY to play along and link up before we throw all your names into a hat and pull the lucky winners!