Beeswax Collage

Creating a Beeswax collage (otherwise known as encaustic painting) is a simple way to

1) give a collage a vintage look
2) make your old book pages and thinner papers translucent
3) create a piece that has layers and depth
4) adhere papers and embellishments to your surface

To create an encaustic collage you need some form of wax, most commonly beeswax, which comes in either block or pellet form and some kind of heating tool - most often a craft iron, melting pot or craft heat tool.

I use a regular household iron, simply because I have not taken the time to buy a craft one and also because I rarely iron clothes and I might as well make some use of the iron I own!

Craft irons are flat on the bottom (unlike household irons that have steam holes) and are generally smaller and easy to manage.

For gluing small papers together is is often ideal to use a craft heat tool. It can concentrate on a small area better than the iron can.

An alternative to beeswax are crayons - the wax melts just as the beeswax does, only it is colored instead of the natural, vintage making yellow of the beeswax.

First you would create an art collage and then plan to add the beeswax as a final layer.