Wednesday, February 5

Tutorial - Patterned Paper Background


Patterned paper is one of the most popular items used to decorate backgrounds. It's versatile, accessible and comes in a huge variety of colours, patterns and designs. Today I want to show you a simple way to combine different papers to create fun backgrounds.


1. Start with two, three, or four pieces of patterned paper. I want to end up with 4" squares, so my papers measure 4" high by 41/2" wide. (The extra 1/2" will be trimmed away later).


2. Run a thin line of glue down each side of one piece of paper, then lay the other over the top to secure them together. If you are using multiple papers, continue this process until all pieces are joined together.


3. Use a large pair of scissors or a kraft knife to cut the paper into strips. You can make them any shape you like.


4. Break the strips apart and rearrange them so the colours alternate. Since you've cut them exactly the same, the strips will fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.


5. Glue or tape them onto a piece of base paper and trim to size. If desired, you can add some ink to the edges of all the pieces before reassembling. You might also like to run your complete piece through an embossing folder for a little more texture. Now they're ready to use on your cards!



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Monday, February 3

Reminder: Digital Store Closing

Our digital store is closing at the end of June 2025. No new digital stamps are being released.

Our blog remains as busy as ever with plenty of regular content,
new physical products, tutorials and inspiration.

What's Changing?
- No new digital stamps
- No monthly challenges

What's Continuing?
- Regular card making and paper craft tutorials
- The freebie library will remain
- The A-Z of card folds will remain
- New physical products will be regularly released
- Monthly newsletter will continue

When Is It Happening?
There will be no new digital stamps and no monthly challenges from the start of 2025.
The digital store will close at the end of June 2025 giving people the opportunity to use store credit.

IMPORTANT NOTE
Store credit must be spent by the end of June 2025.

Saturday, February 1

Double Z-Fold Card

A double z-fold card was the perfect choice for my busy road. I inked some puffy white clouds into the background for the sky, and used some green paper to give the effect of grass. The road was created with a piece of black cardstock, some white pen lines and an embossed sentiment. 



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Wednesday, January 29

Quilted Background

I love patchwork quilts, but don't have the patience or skill to actually sew one. Thankfully I can get a similar look by cutting patterned paper into basic shapes and arranging it to look like quilt blocks. It's one of my favourite techniques for easy backgrounds.



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Monday, January 27

Loads of Birthday Cheer

A clean and simple card using one of the die cut trucks from the Long Haul cut sheets, a stamped sentiment and a little blue inking around the edge of the main panel. Quick and easy!


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Friday, January 24

Blue Wren Easel Card

Easel cards are one of my favourite folds, they're simple to create, look great when open for display, and can be shaped and sized however you desire. For the base of this card, I used hexagonal nesting dies with a faux stitched border, and decorated with die cuts and coordinating patterned paper.


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Tuesday, January 21

Upcoming Card Class

A fun card-making class for the Brisbane locals!

Saturday, January 18

Cut Sheets, Stamps and Dies III


The final technique I want to show you in this series brings together all the different products to add outlines to your images. You can use plain inks, coloured inks or embossing powder, which is what I'm doing today. The stamping technique is basically the same regardless of what ink you're using.


I started by die-cutting the images from the cut sheet, then used a tiny piece of double sided tape to secure each image to my stamping platform. Make sure the piece of tape isn't too big or you'll have a difficult time removing the image when you're ready. (If you prefer, you can place a whole sheet onto your platform and use the magnets to hold it in place.)


Line up the stamp and the image, then press the platform closed to pick up the stamp.


Don't forget to use your embossing buddy on the image, you don't want any stray embossing powder!


Ink up the stamp with versamark, close the platform and apply pressure directly over the stamp. 


Lift the stamped image from the platform taking care not to put your fingers on the surface. (I slid a skewer under the edge of the image so that I could get a hold of the sides with my fingers.)


Apply your embossing powder and heat set as normal.


A comparison...


This time I created three different cards using the images. I particularly like this colour scheme for masculine birthday cards, but it also works a treat at Christmastime!


Here's a comparison of one of the images from the Reindeer Games cut sheet sets, stamped with black ink instead of gold embossing powder. As you can see, it's an easy way to add the stamped lines back into the image.


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