Hi all, Celeste here! Recently, I’ve been interested in exploring how paper circuit materials like LED stickers and conductive fabric tape can be used with materials other than paper. I tried embedding circuits inside of fused plastic, I made mixed media collages using contact paper, and I even considered laminating a circuit just to see what would happen! Today, I’ll share some of my experiments in creating mixed media paper circuit collages.
I really liked experimenting with clear contact paper in particular because it made collage-making easy. I could cut the contact paper to any shape and size, and because the paper is transparent I could build up a multi-layered collage with different materials and lights on each layer, creating some interesting visual effects.
Sometimes when I create circuits, I have a specific layout and plan that I have to stick to in order for the circuit to work. It can be a very precise and rigid process. But in this project, building circuits felt just as expressive and creative as cutting paper or painting!
I also started to explore adding interactivity to the collages by creating buttons out of contact paper, foil, and conductive fabric tape. The YouTube video linked below provides more details about how I made the button. I think there’s more to explore here! I wonder what other types of switches, or interactive elements I could create using these materials.
Check out the video below to see an in-depth overview of my collage-making process. Because each collage is unique and I want to encourage you to create something that’s unique to your creativity and the materials you have, there are no circuit diagrams for this project. Instead, I suggest that you revisit the “how-to” section of the Chibitronics website for a quick reminder of how to build a basic paper circuit and check out the video to see how I incorporated the circuit into the collage materials.
Supplies:
- Chibitronics LED stickers
- Coin cell battery
- Conductive fabric tape
- Collage materials: magazines, printed images, different types of paper, stickers, fabrics, string, etc.
- Craft tools: scissors, adhesives
- Clear contact paper (packing tape could also work, but I like the ability to cut contact paper into the size and shape that I need)
