Distressed

How to tutorial for a tattered and torn mixed media travel theme card with a die cut bike, upcycled road atlas background and stenciled Hero Wax accent.

Today, I want to show you how to repurpose and upcycle paper to create a mixed media card. I started with a map from an old Atlas and a brown paper shopping bag. I used the bike stamp and die from Hero Arts June card kit as my focal point which I stamped on a panel cut from the shopping bag.

How to Create Mixed Media Cards Step-By-Step:

Above, you can see the repurposed papers that I used on my card. Here was my process:

I attached a piece of watercolor cardstock to the back of the Atlas page so that I would have a more substantial panel to work on. I used Matte Medium to adhere the two pages together. Dry.
To make sure there was no shine and to have the right surface texture for my mixed media project, I applied a layer of Gesso Acrylic Paint to the map. Dry.

Process photo showing how to apply Gesso to prep a mixed media project.

I used two blue Core inks and two brown inks, Cornflower and Periwinkle + Fawn and Root Beer, on an acrylic block to stamp the beach bag and hat from the June Card Kit plus some images from Vintage Postmarks and Tickets and Vintage Maps and Ledgers. I stamped randomly.

process photo showing stamping on a mixed media card background

I stenciled a few spots with the Leaves and Abstract Shapes Stencil with Root Beer ink.
I die cut the panel with a Nesting Postage Stamps Infinity Die and then ink blended Fawn and Root Beer along the corners and edges. I wanted a grungy vintage look.
I added watered down blots of Periwinkle and Root Beer. Dab some ink on acetate, spritz with a bit of water and dab on the panel. Tilt a bit to make it run. Blot up if you have more ink than you want.
Add ink splatters with a fan brush with the same inks used above, which adds color and depth.
I did second generation stamping (ink stamp, lightly stamp on scratch paper and then stamp background) with Root Beer ink. You can see I keep adding layers.

process photo showing a mixed media background with stamping, stenciling and ink blending.

I stenciled Olive Hero Wax over the bottom of my map panel with the Cobblestone Stencil to simulate a road.
Tear the bottom left corner off the panel for a really old and tattered look. Ink blend along the tear line.
After looking at my panel I decided I wanted to darken the edges even more, so I added additional ink blending around the edges and corners.

process photo showing olive Hero Wax applied through a Cobblestone stencil.

Bicycle Focal Point:

On a panel from the brown paper shopping bag, I stamped the bike from the Hero Studio June card kit. I left it in the stamp positioner and colored with InkTense colored pencils. Then I restamped the bike for a crisp black look.
Die cut bike
Ink edges with root beer ink.

A process photo showing a stamped bicycle on an upcycled repurposed panel cut from a brown paper bag and colored with Inktense colored pencils. The panel will be turned into a mixed media card.

Tattered and Worn Base Mat:

Cut a second panel from the brown paper bag to act as a base mat.
Using the Rough Dot Bold Prints Stamp, stamp with Root Beer ink and Fawn Ink on the second panel (which is slightly larger than the map panel). Dab a bit here and there, heavier in some places, lighter in others for a vintage look.
In the bottom left corner add some text stamping for interest. This is where the torn edge will be positioned, so this area of the base will be more visible. I Used Vintage Postmarks and Tickets and Vintage Maps and Ledgers again and randomly added numbers etc around the perimeter of the card base.
Ink the edges and corners to darken them.

Process photo showing a vintage look background card mat. The mat was cut from a repurposed upcycled brown paper shopping bag.

I love the inky grungy look of this card!

A mixed media card featuring the June 2025 Hero Studio card kit bike and hat stamps.

Use What You Have! Old maps, shopping bags, sewing patterns, dictionary pages, music books—they all bring unique texture and charm to your cards. Mixed media is about building interest through layers, so don’t be afraid to play!

Distressed Mixed Media card using die cut leaves from Altenew's Tropical Mix set.

Shabby Chic Mixed Media Cards

Welcome! I had the idea for a messy mixed media card with fall-color die cut leaves on a brick embossed background. I have to say, this was a really fun creative journey.

The first card is for my friend Paul who thinks I am a mixed media artist and is always encouraging me to do more art. I especially like how the blue panel shows through the leaves on the birthday card.

Using metallic shimmer ink sprays on mixed media cards.

My process:

Using Altenew’s Tropical Leaf Mix Dies and Essential Sentiment Strips, I die cut three leaves and two sentiments from kraft card stock.
On my craft mat, I made three puddles of ink: Orange Cream Metallic Shimmer Ink Spray + Water, Warm Sunshine Metallic Shimmer Spray + water and Infusions Frankly Scarlet Colored Stain. I then dabbed portions of each die cut into each puddle of ink. I did this 2 or 3 times until I was happy with the colors.
Using a panel of Neenah 110 cardstock, I dabbed some Espresso Ink onto my craft mat, spritzed with a bit of water and then dabbed in my cardstock. I did the same thing with a panel of kraft paper.
On the Neenah panel, I repeated the process with Ocean Waves Metallic Shimmer Ink Spray plus water.
Using Altenew’s Brick Wall 3D Embossing Folder, I embossed the kraft panel.
I painted on some distressing to the brick wall panels using the left over yellow, orange and red inks. You can see I used more red on the birthday card and I really like how that panel turned out.
Next, I added lots of spatters using the left over red, orange and yellow ink. I also added white (Pure White Ink Spray) and black (Jet Black Ink Spray).
After the splatters dried, I distressed the edges with more Espresso Ink and a finger dauber.
I made a brown top folding A2 card base and then assembled my card. I glued the brick panel directly to the card base but used Instant Dimension Foam Tape to adhere the blue panel to the bricks. I glued the leaves at a jaunty angle and added a small bow.