Welcome back to the craft room and today’s Six Floral Cards from One Simple Layout post. A couple of weeks ago, I ran across a video from Jackie Bolhuis over at Klompen Stampers. After watching Easy Card Templates Using Designer Series Paper – One Template, Two Cards, I knew this one was a keeper.
Then, when I found one of my oldest paper pads with only a single floral page left, it felt meant to be. Today I’m sharing how I created six floral cards from one simple layout — plus two bonus cards from the scraps.
I fell in love with the cards Jackie created using this template, so be sure to pop over and show her some love. You can watch the video here: Easy Card Templates Using Designer Series Paper | One Template, Two Cards.
If reading is more your style, she also has a coordinating blog post: Easy Card Templates Using Designer Series Paper.
Revisiting the Habitat Paper Pad
I’m not exactly sure how long I’ve owned the Habitat paper pad from Recollections. However, the first project I shared using it was a mini album back in 2012. If you’d like to see that labor of love, you can find it here: Flashback Friday Envelope Mini Album.
This paper pad really is beautiful. Several pages include embossed elements, which add wonderful texture. For some reason, this floral page ended up being the last one in the stack. I’m glad it did.
How to Cut the 12×12 Paper
Let’s jump right in by pulling out the 12″ Fiskars cutter. I adjusted the measurements slightly from the original template, but the first step is trimming the paper down to 10″. The 2″ strip from the top gets set aside for later.
Next, trim the remaining paper into two 5″ x 12″ strips. Stack them together and cut them down to 3.75″ x 5″ card front panels.
In Jackie’s design, she cut a panel from either the left or right side, depending on the paper. For today’s cards, I cut one inch from the left side of each panel. To make this easier to remember, I flipped the entire stack before trimming.
Using my mini Tim Holtz trimmer, I lined each panel up at 2.75″ and trimmed accordingly.
Layering the Card Fronts
All of today’s mats are cut from a linen-textured 80 lb card stock I purchase from a local print shop. The color pairs beautifully with the floral paper. Each mat measures 4″ x 5.25″.
Using my new obsession — Bearly Art Precision Glue — I adhered the patterned panels to the mats, leaving about an 1/8″ border around each piece.
Selecting the Perfect Sentiment
The hardest part of this project was choosing the sentiment. I finally settled on a favorite that doesn’t get nearly enough use: Opposites Attract from The Greetery.
Since I wanted all-occasion cards, I die cut the “Just a Note” sentiment six times from the Ivory card stock in the Coffee and Cream 110 lb Recollections paper pack. This shade is perfect — softer than stark white but not as yellow as cream.
Stamping for Perfect Placement
These sentiment dies can’t really stand alone. Without the coordinating stamp, it looks incomplete — almost like it says “Just a Not.” The stamp fills everything in beautifully.
To make stamping easier, I first cut the die from scrap card stock to create a template. While the stamp should align perfectly, I wanted to be absolutely sure before stamping on my final die cuts. I placed a scrap piece of card stock in my Mini MISTI along with the template. This allowed me to test placement and adjust as needed before moving on to the finished pieces.
Once placement was set, I needed the die cut to stay secure in case I had to stamp more than once. I added a piece of Spellbinders Best Ever Craft Tape to the back of the template. Since this tape can be quite sticky, I first pressed it against my jeans to reduce the tack slightly.
With the template positioned in the lower left corner of the MISTI, I could place each die cut perfectly. The tape held everything steady for crisp stamping. To complement the floral paper, I stamped the sentiments using Distress Archival Ink in Vintage Photo.
Attaching the Die Cut Sentiments
I chose to glue the sentiments directly onto the panels. If I had wanted dimension, I could have added foam tape. Another option — and one I often prefer — is layering multiple die cuts together for added height.
Using Bearly Art Glue and reverse tweezers, I adhered the sentiments in slightly different positions on each card front. Because of the embossed areas in the patterned paper, I placed a heavy stamping block on top while they dried to ensure full contact.
Two Bonus Cards from the Scraps
The card bases are made from the same Ivory Coffee and Cream 110 lb card stock. Each base is cut to 8.5″ x 5.5″ and scored at 4.25″. I adhered the finished panels to the bases using 1/4″ Scor-Tape.
And just like that, I had six finished cards. Even working in batches, the entire process came together quickly.
The Bonus Cards
Now let’s turn our attention to that 12″ x 2″ strip from the top of the paper. It would have been easy to toss it into the scrap bin. However, I was determined to officially finish this paper pad.
Because there were beautiful floral elements on both ends of the strip, I cut two 5″ x 2″ pieces — one from each end.
The coordinating mats are cut from the same linen-textured card stock at 5.25″ x 2.25″, leaving a nice border.
For these cards, I used the Thankful Flowers stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. I originally hoped to use the larger “You Couldn’t Be More Awesome” sentiment, but it felt too tight for the space. Instead, I chose “You’re Amazing,” stamped again in Vintage Photo Distress Archival Ink.
Somehow, I managed to get a bit of ink on both card fronts. Since it wasn’t severe, I used my Tombow Mono Sand Eraser to gently lift most of it away. With a light but persistent touch, it cleaned up surprisingly well.
After that, I adhered the panels to top-folding card bases using 1/4″ Scor-Tape.
Final Thoughts
Thank you for joining me for today’s today’s Six Floral Cards from One Simple Layout post. If you’re like me and have paper pads down to that last beautiful sheet, I hope this encourages you to pull them out and use them. This simple layout makes it easy to showcase patterned paper without overcomplicating the design. Six finished cards — plus two bonus designs from the scraps — feels like a pretty great return from one 12×12 sheet.
A big thank you again to Jackie Bolhuis for the inspiration behind this template. It’s definitely one I’ll be using again.
Now I’d love to know — do you save your favorite sheet for last, or use it first?
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