Simple Cards with Pattern Paper

Welcome back to the craft room and today’s Simple Cards with Pattern Paper post. I don’t know about you all, but I Love pattern paper! It is just so pretty and when I see it in the store, I just have to buy it. Of course I do my best to avoid it, but when the paper is on sale, what’s a girl to do. Today I want to share with you a very simple way to use pattern paper. With the two examples I will be sharing today you can get a matching set of cards for your stash or to gift to family or friends. Let’s get started with the first simple technique.

Set #1 – 6 Simple Cards

As I mentioned above, I absolutely love pattern paper. I just don’t know how to use it and still be able to see the pattern. Well today we are going to let that paper shine! Our first set of cards is so simple I don’t know why I haven’t batched cards like this before. We are going to start with a piece of 12 x 12 pattern paper. I am using a beautiful fall colored page out of the Recollections Autumn Blaze paper pack.

When you are cutting your paper, you will need to take note of the pattern direction as well as the type of card you will be making. I typically make portrait style cards, so I will need to position my paper that way in the paper trimmer. Let’s start by cutting our paper into three, 4″ wide strips. After making the next cut, we will have three 4″ x 1.5″ strips left over. So, before cutting, decide where you will cut that from. In my example, I didn’t want the green color at the bottom, so I started my cuts from the top of the page. Now let’s cut our strips on the 12″ side, down to 5.25″ long.

You will be left with the perfect size card fronts that measure 4″ x 5.25″. Because this sheet of paper has gold foil accents on it, I am happy with the card front just the way it is. For now, I am not adding sentiments, but a simple stamped strip would only enhance the look of the finished card. If you feel the card needs a little more embellishment, feel free to add anything you like. For me, these first 6 cards are finished.

Set #2 – 6 More Simple Cards

I decided to create 6 more simple cards with another sheet of pattern paper. This time I’m using a page from the Southern Blues Recollections paper pack. As I mentioned in the corresponding video, the page I am using would make a wonderful 12×12 scrapbook layout. It has a wide open center with room for plenty of photos while still offering an embellished boarder around the parameter of the page.

To turn this into 6 cards I will again start with three 4″ wide strips. Because the center of this page is empty, I will make sure to take that extra 1.5″ strip from the center. The first cut will be from the top of the page at 5.25″. I will then turn the strip and make the same cut from the bottom. This will leave me with 6 beautiful card panels. In the image below you can see that I decided to turn the top center panel upside down so the floral bunch is on the bottom. The two cards from the top corners of the paper can be embellished in so many ways. I can even see adding 3D florals, or a large sentiment to these.

Because this pattern paper is a light blue, you can enhance the look of the card with a mat layer. It’s difficult to see in the pictures, but there is a darker blue in the background of this paper. Cutting a mat layer that is 4″ x 5.25″ and then trimming the pattern paper to 3.75″ x 5″ would also make a lovely card.

Set #3 – 16 Simple Cards

Our last set of cards is even easier with zero pattern paper waste. I chose a page from the Petite Floral paper pad, also from Recollections. This paper pad is filled with tiny florals in many different colors. I chose to utilize a small panel for the last set to match the smaller images of the patter paper. This is also one of a few paper pads that have double sided pages. This is helpful if you want to change the look of your card, but still want it to look cohesive.

Using my Tim Holtz Rotary trimmer, I cut this 12″ x 12″ page into 3″ x 3″ squares. I then cut two different colors of Bazzill card stock into 3.25″ squares and 4″ x 5.25″ card mats. To add a white mat layer, I used Recollections Linen Textured card stock. These panels were cut to 3.75″ x 5″. In the image below you can see how the smaller squares can be placed in different locations on the card front.

For the sentiment you have a few choices. First, a smaller sentiment stamped on a plain white strip of card and placed across the square would look lovely. A second option would be to stamp a larger sentiment on the white mat layer. Again, the choice is yours.

Decorating the Inside

If you recall, the first two sets of cards had that leftover pattern paper. That would make lovely decorations for the insides of the cards. While cleaning up after making my card sets, I also noticed there were enough card stock scraps that could also be added into the third set of cards as well. In the picture below I wanted to show you one option. I trimmed a piece of each color card stock to about 1/4″ wide. The green piece was cut a little bit shorter and both pieces were trimmed into banners. Another option would be to trim the longer scraps and place them horizontally along the top or bottom of the card.

There are a few crafters that do a wonderful job of utilizing pattern paper in card making and I do want to share them with you. Call Me {Crafty} Al with her SheetLoad of Cards templates ever month. Jess Crafts also has some wonderful ideas with busting through a paper pack. We can’t forget about Maymay Made It Crafts as well. Her ideas for “As Many As…” from a paper pack are fantastic! While I love all these crafters and have followed them for years, sometimes, less is more for me.

Thank you so much for joining me for today’s Simple Cards with Pattern Paper post! For me, this is the perfect way to show off the lovely pattern paper that I have purchased over the years. And being able to still produce beautiful cards is a major win. I have decided not to add sentiments to these cards just yet. If I wait until I have a purpose for them the perfect sentiment can be added. I can also decide at the time if I want to add any other embellishments. I do hope you were inspired to dig out those pretty papers and use them. Let me know down in the comments, if you buy pattern paper just because it’s pretty or do you buy it only when you have a need for it? Until then, have a wonderful week and I will see you back in the craft room soon!

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