It’s hard to believe it’s already July!
I don’t know about you, but I LOVE patterned paper. Like, a lot. I’d have to say that patterned paper was probably my very first paper crafting love. And I honestly don’t hoard it. I’m that girl who will gravitate toward my very favorite pattern in a kit or paper pad and go for it!
Once I’ve cut into that precious paper, I save my scraps. And that scrap collection ends up growing and growing. Since I love the papers so much, I wanted to come up with a way to use them. Enter patterned paper strip backgrounds!
If I’m feeling a little lazy but also a little creative, I can sit on my couch, binge-watch all the shows, and pair some patterns to prepare strip backgrounds.
Usually, I start with one predominant pattern that is showy, large, or specific—this one started with the flamingo paper. Then, I search for other smaller or related patterns that fit the feel of the first paper. Here, I added in palm leaves, dots, stripes, and lemons all in the same color and theme.
Next, I adhere the strips snuggly to a piece of copy paper. Why copy paper? I like to die cut the finished panels with a rectangle die to give it a super finished edge. I loved starting with the large floral on this background and adding dots in various sizes, along with a chevron pattern, too. The black margin plays well with the outline of the fruits and the stamped sentiment.
This technique is a great way to mass produce a bunch of backgrounds. I made these five cards for my sister’s colleagues. She was able to choose a background that fit each coworker’s personality. A nice big circle for the sentiment softens all of the vertical lines.
Create a rainbow with various colors of dotted papers. Remember that you can always adhere your strips on an angle for lots of energy!
Sometimes the color of the panel that I created gives me an idea for a card type. I started with the plaid and added the dots and stripes on this one. It totally spoke baby boy card to me. Now I just need to find someone who is having a baby boy!
I have five more panels awaiting a card design, and one is definitely speaking Christmas to me! It’s nice to have these guys at the ready to use when I need to whip up a quick card!
I hope you’ve been inspired by this idea. I’d love to see what you create! Be sure to tag me on Instagram so that I can see your patterned paper strip creations! You can find me here: @susan.r.opel
I hope you have a wonderful July!
~ Susan R. Opel, Editor-in-Chief
Love this–I need to get out my scraps and see what I can come up with, I save them all. These would make really quick cards too, and would be perfect to just have on hand and add the sentiment as you need a card. Thanks for the inspiration.
What size rectangle die did you use?
I love these cards!
A different take on using up those patterned papers that you thought were pretty and sit in your stash. Thank you for the inspiration.
What fun! I will check out my scraps. Thanks for the ideas.
What a great colorful way to use up all those beautiful scraps I couldn’t part with.
Great cards and I love your process, thanks for sharing.
love the combinations of papers
Great idea for using scraps and making beautiful cards to have on hand! Thank you!
Such a great idea! I too save all my patterned paper scraps.
What a great idea!! I don’t make cards … not into the work of figuring out what I want. THIS I would do … especially where you can have ready and just add the appropriate sentiment. Thank you for the inspiration.
Brilliant idea! They’re all so gorgeous and each one is unique. Waste free crafting is the way to go – use up all the scraps! I’ll have to have a dig through my pieces again too. Thanks for the inspiration.
Love this idea! Such artful combinations. The finished edge and concept of choosing a leading pattern is a great tip.
Thank you!
Great idea…and the tip about using copy paper and then squared up using a die cut is a keeper. Thanks for sharing
I’ve been using up my scraps this way for a while now and love the look! I love your pattern combos…thanks for the inspiration.
You have totally inspired me with your lovely cards! I keep every single one of my scraps because I can’t bear to throw them out, but then I get overwhelmed when they start to pile up. This is a fabulous idea and thank you for sharing the copy paper trick. I was actually wondering how you achieved the dotted border around your strips before I read that part. I just finished making a baby boy album for my friend and will use the leftover scraps to create a card for the baby shower. Thank you for inspiring us as always. :)