I recently saw a card shared by Stampin’ Up! that caught my eye. It featured little squares of subtly patterned paper arranged together to create an almost quilt-like effect. Well, you know I’m always interested in an idea that gives me another way to use my scraps!
I went through my stash and pulled out a selection of papers, settling on patterns in Tranquil Tide, Lost Lagoon, Delightful Dijon, Pool Party and Blushing Bride. I used my Big Shot to cut the little stitched squares and had enough to create two 3 x 4 grids, perfect for two card fronts.
From there, I decided to make one simple version and one stepped-up version.
The Simple Version
For my first card, I kept things really straightforward and adhered the squares directly onto a folded white card base.
Those little details might seem quite simple, but I think they make a difference. The lace, twine and handmade-hug sentiment all felt perfectly at home with the idea of a cosy, handmade quilt.
Step It Up: Taking the Quilt Idea a Little Further
For my second card, I wondered what would happen if I leaned even further into the fabric-inspired look.
Rather than adhering the squares directly to my card base, I attached them to a piece of ordinary printer paper first and, once assembled, ran the panel through my Big Shot using the Tasteful Textile embossing folder.
And I really liked what happened.
The texture seemed to bring all those different patterns together, giving the panel a lovely faux-fabric quality, almost as though I had turned my little paper squares into a piece of quilted material.
And then there was the word...
I used the same sentiment, but I wanted to make one word the star of the card, inspired by the current Shopping Our Stash challenge, What’s the Good Word?
And for my card, the good word had to be HUG.
Watch the Video
Coming this week to YouTube
I love that I ended up with two cards using essentially the same little collection of scraps, but with quite different feels.
The first is simple and sweet, with the lace, twine and little tag adding to that handmade quilt feeling.
The second takes the same idea and pushes it a little further. The embossed texture makes the patterned-paper panel feel almost fabric-like, while the large HUG gives the card a stronger focal point.
And perhaps my favourite part is that both cards started with nothing more than a handful of little scraps. Sometimes the simplest little pieces can come together to make something really special.
