Hello everyone! This is Jill, from Close To My Heart, and I’m back to share a little more crafting inspiration with you! At Close To My Heart, we are love exploring new products and creative techniques, and I’m so excited to share one of these techniques with you today!  I absolutely love how this turned out, and I know you will, too!

Today, we’ll be creating a woven background effect that’s just the thing you need to add some extra pizazz to any layout.

Let’s take a closer look!

To get started, you’ll need nine strips of pink paper, each about 9″, and eleven strips of 7½” black and white themed paper, each about 7½”. The width of these pieces can vary according to personal preference. For this project, we used pieces from our Mix-in Paper Packet.

Center and attach the pink pieces horizontally, applying adhesive to the first ½”of each pink paper. You’ll fasten the ends down later, don’t worry! :)

When you start weaving the black and white pieces in, start with an “over, under” pattern. To start, place the first piece over the bottom pink piece. Then, pass it under the next pink one, and so on. When you move on to the next piece, weave it in with an “under, over” pattern, creating the inverse of the first black and white piece.

Alternate between “over, under” and “under, over” for the rest of the pieces to create the woven effect.

In order to prevent unnecessary bends or tears, weave the papers in starting at the right edge of the pink papers and gently wiggle the black and white vertical pieces closer to the left edge until you get them where you want them.

Be sure to leave a tiny bit of space between the black and white pieces as you weave them in. (We tried to leave about 1/8″ between each, but you can space it however you please!)

Once you’ve woven in all the black and white pieces, make random, diagonal cuts to finish off the ends. The more random these cuts are, the better! This gives your project the chic, raggedy look we all know and love! J After making these cuts, attach the ends of all the pieces to your base page with your adhesive of choice. We chose to add some white stitching on a few pieces, too, for some added stability and a fun, haphazard feel.

Once you’ve created your woven background, you’re ready to complete the rest of the layout! You can use your favorite stamps, patterns, embellishments to complete this page, using foam tape to float your photo mat above this dramatic background element.

GIVEAWAY!

CTMH mix-in paper

We’d love to give you the chance to create your own unique projects with our fun patterned papers! We’re giving away five sets of our Mix-Ins paper and cardstock packs to five lucky SCT readers! These papers are sure to add an extra pop to any project, no matter how you use them. Be sure to comment below by June 17th to enter for a chance to win! We’ll announce the winners here on June 20th! Good luck!

Last month we offered five sets of the stitched circle Thin Cuts to five lucky SCT readers! Thin Cuts are packaged on their own magnetic carrier sheet for convenient storage and work with most die-cutting machines.

CloseToMyHeart_Stitched Circles7

The five lucky, randomly selected, winners are:

  1. Do like these cards. They are so “clean” and not at all fussy. I love these stitched Thin Cuts, hearts, ovals and, of course , the circles. They are perfect sizes. ~ Sharon Brand April 20, 2019 at 10:53 am
  2. After scrapbooking for over 20 years acid-free (and a childhood filled with scrap albums), I am just getting started with die cuts. I would love the opportunity to play with these! My favorite CTMH product has to be their ink pads. I have some from 15 years ago that are still inking my stamps with lovely colors. ~ Tina Gagnon April 20, 2019 at 12:07 pm
  3. I love learning new ways to use things I already own. I love CTMH pattern paper. ~ Michele Slater April 20, 2019 at 1:30 pm
  4. Oh my, I love the rainbow! My favorite Close to my Heart product? Where do I start…. liquid glass, my acrylix stamps, all the coordinated colors….I love them all! ~ Joanne Coleman April 21, 2019 at 6:23 pm
  5. I love CTMH, but if I had to chose one item, it would be their post-bound scrapbooks! I just ordered my 12th one and am ready to fill it with more memories! ~ SHARI CZERWINSKI April 24, 2019 at 8:46 pm

Congratulations ladies! Please send your full mailing address and telephone number to us at ideas@scrapbookandcards.com and put “CTMH April blog winner” in your reference line. Once we have your mailing information we will send that off to Close To My Heart who will be sending out the prizes to you directly.

Have a wonderful, crafty Saturday!