How to Do Paper Tole

Last Updated: March 12, 2018

This is a fun and easy way to make a 3D effect with your favorite pictures and prints. Paper tole art is a paper craft and hobby which involves cutting, shaping, sculpturing and gluing cutouts obtained from identical prints, and building these components up using silicone, to create a 3D picture.

Steps

1
You will need a starter kit that you can get from your local craft store or online.
2
Get a minimum of 5 identical pictures, more is preferred.
3
Ensure that you have a shaper, cutters, brush silicone, and a plastic place mat or fun foam for shaping and contouring.
4
Glue down one picture to a corrugated board.
5
You will have the effect as a back ground, middle ground and foreground, starting with the background.
6
With your remaining prints, cut out certain parts of your picture that you would like to make stand out. Cut as many layers as you need to reach your desired look.
7
Dab a drop of silicone to make each piece that you cut stand out.
8
Follow this step until you get the effect you are after for each layer.

Community Q&A

Question

To shape a piece, do you have to apply something on the back of it to make it more malleable?

Community Answer

Depends on what you are shaping. For stones or mountains, use a little Elmer's glue on the back to soften it up.
Question

Can I just use a regular pair of scissors?

Community Answer

Yes, but the blades would need to be small and extremely sharp.