1) I begin with a sheet of tissue paper- I am using the regular kind normally used to stuff in gift bags. Mine was 24″ wide, which was perfect for my planned 6″ x 6″ journal. I tore the sheets into 6″ strips using my 24″ metal ruler as a guide. The paper tears easily and evenly if you are tearing along the grain of the paper. Then I tore each strip in half, so that I ended up with sheets that were 6″ x 12″

 

2) Because tissue paper is very fragile, I decided to add a tape strip to the center of each sheet, where I would eventually stitch my binding. I experimented a bit, using regular matte finish Scotch tape for 4 of my sheets, and Washi tape for 2 of my sheets. (Note: the little bricks of encaustic in the image above are just there as weights to keep the paper from lifting up to meet the tape)

3) Once my encaustic medium was melted in my skillet, I dipped my prepared papers in the warm wax, first one side…

4) Then the other

5) Once all 6 sheets of paper are dipped, I pull out my electric griddle, and heat that to about 180 degrees (according to my surface thermometer). I lay one sheet of encaustic-infused paper on the griddle and place my leaf specimens on top. Note: When using organic material in this way, it’s a good practice to first dry and press it flat. Also, you can swap the leaves out for any small, lightweight flat items you want to include.

6) Then I add the matching sheet of prepared paper on top and gently smooth out most of the air bubbles with a hake brush. If you want to get the pieces as thin and transparent as possible, keep brushing to remove any excess wax.  Alternatively, you can also brush more wax on, or let some of it drip off to add more texture and interest.

7) I carefully lift the pages, and them lay them flat on a sheet or parchment paper to cool.

I just love the way the pages turned out, and can’t wait to hand-stitch them together in my Nature Walk Journal. If you want to learn more about the tools and materials I use in my encaustic studio check out this page: https://bluequarry.com/encaustic-supplies/

NOTE: Since I used fresh plant materials in my pages, I plan to update this post in a few weeks to include photos of the aged pages.

 

FOLLOW UP:

It’s been over 5 months since I created these pages and all is well! The colors have faded a bit but the leaves are still fully intact with no mold or deterioration at all. I’m not sure if leaves and flowers pressed in the “traditional way”  (in a press or between the pages of a book in a heavy stack) would retain their color a little better, but I sure love the way I can view both sides and handle these without fear of damaging them.

Here are a few photos of what these leaves like like today (I’ve used them as divider pages in an art journal):

And here are some other encaustic pressed examples, including my absolute favorite- a Queen Anne’s lace flower (interesting side fact- this is also known as a wild carrot- who knew?).

You can also embed other relatively flat items between the pages, for example, small lengths of thread, ticket stubs, feathers. I hope you’ll decide to give it a try.