HOW TO MAKE DUPLEX CREPE PAPER

Duplex crepe paper is getting hard to find and you may need to make your own. We have only found the duplex paper in just a few colors and they are very rare and very costly. There are several flowers that we have wanted to make and found that using just the regular crepe paper was too thin and the 180 gram was a little too thick for our purpose or if we wanted to give the flower a two tone look we needed duplex crepe paper.

We have found that you can make your own duplex. This is a very worthwhile project and you can save yourself a lot of money. You will find that when you use this type of paper it is thicker and it holds its shape better for larger projects and still has its stretch ability. If you use 2 colors you can have a contrasting look for any of your projects.

It is easy and simple to make duplex crepe paper all you need is crepe paper and non-water soluble spray glue for paper (we use Elmer’s Craft Bond spray adhesive). You can purchase this from your local craft store or Wal Mart. If you want a 2-tone colored duplex paper you will need 2 different colors of the crepe paper or if you just want a little more thickness you can use the same color crepe paper.

When making the duplex paper you will want to start by making small pieces till you get used to making this paper, when you make larger sheets it tends to be a little harder to get the paper smooth so there are no creases.

Take a small piece of crepe paper about the size you will be using for your project and cut 2 pieces of it the same size. Then spray glue both pieces of the paper let set about 20 seconds then spray them again and lay the spray glued sides together, being sure the grain of the paper runs the same way on both sheets. Starting at the middle of the crepe paper gently smooth it out toward the edges being careful not to stretch it. Now give your new duplex crepe paper time to dry then cut out the patterns for your project.

Once you feel comfortable gluing the pages together you might want to try making a little larger sheet, but we have found that about a 12 X 12 piece is as big as you will want to use to start with. Anything larger and it is best to have another person help so you can avoid having creases.

You may want to be able to bend your leaves or petals for some sort of curled look to them or just put them in a bended position for a more realistic look. If so you may want to put a small gauge wire in between the sheets of crepe paper before gluing the sheets together. First glue the wire in a straight line with the grain of the paper this helps hold it in place. (It’s best to use a glue made for paper) After the glue sets then glue your sheets of crepe paper together the same way you did above. Then when you cut out your patterns make sure your wire is in the center of the pattern so it looks like a vein in your paper flower petal or leaf.

This paper gives certain flower petals a great look and also is great for leaves that are brighter on one side then the other. You can also make lots of other projects using duplex paper. Have fun with your projects and always when working with spray glue work in a well ventilated area.