Tips on Mulberry Paper

• Mulberry paper gives paper crafts a distinctive feathered edge.Ðink paper image by Indigo Fish from Fotolia.com
  
  Mulberry paper is made by weaving the fibers of the mulberry plant; the result of this process is a paper that's lightweight, strong and attractively frayed when torn by hand. Crafters use this paper most often to line photographs and important documents in scrapbooks, but its creative applications are numerous, and there are a few tips to keep in mind to make using it easier.
  
  

Cutting Mulberry Paper

• Mulberry paper comes in large sheets that measure 24 by 35 inches, but tearing it into sizes appropriate for your art projects is an easy process: Simply use water to "paint" a border in the shape you'd like the paper to have, then tear along the moistened line. The paper should tear easily, leaving behind its attractive and characteristic feathered edge.
  
  

Coloring Mulberry Paper

• Sometimes arts and crafts dealers only keep white mulberry paper on hand, but it's easy to color the paper by hand. Roll your brayer, or ink roller, in colored ink and then roll it onto the paper. Because mulberry paper is light and slightly translucent, the color will be more muted than it would otherwise, so you should apply colors one shade darker than you'd actually like them to appear.
  
  

Other Uses

• Although mulberry paper's acid-free constitution has made it a favorite for scrapbooking, there are a number of other creative uses for it. During Christmas time, for example, use it to make a snowman with soft, snow-like edges, or for Santa's beard. Its frayed edges make it ideal for imitating organic forms like snow, hair, grass or the foam at the base of a waterfall.