completed butterfly card

Cardmaking with patterned papers

Cardmaking with patterned papers is a helpful way to start your creative process.  Having the patterned background already available helps to eliminate the “white page” block that sometimes happens when we face a blank white canvas.

Additionally, it is a good technique to use up the random end sections from your paper stash.

I listed the cards shown here in order of time taken to complete each one from more to less time consuming.

For the mushroom theme card I stamped the green background using brown ink and a large script stamp.

The basic steps after stamping:

  • Add torn sheet music
  • Stamp the mushrooms using brown ink
  • Layer a washi tape sticker
  • Add the butterfly die cut
Cardmaking with patterned papers  mushroom card set up steps
To complete the design I used brown ink and a blender brush to add shading.

Here is a fun, bright card.  Cardmaking with patterned papers that have a specific directional pattern might be more of a challenge.

flamingo card
The flamingo card topper is layered on a scrap of textured paper.  Then the floral die cut is added.
Cardmaking with patterned papers flamingo card
An alcohol marker is used to shade along the edges of all the elements before they are adhered to the card base.

The butterfly card background is first stamped using the script stamp and black ink.  I used black instead of brown ink because this paper is textured and I wanted the script to show.

The basic steps after stamping:

  • Add sheet music to both edges of the card
  • Draw dashed lines around the edges avoiding the sheet music
  • Add the butterfly and circle diecuts
butterfly theme card
To complete the design I shaded along the edges of the sheet music and the butterfly with brown ink and the blender brush. The completed card is the featured photo for this post.

Another benefit of using the patterned paper is that you do not have the wait time for painted backgrounds to dry.  This is an especially helpful option for those times when you need a quick card.

What is your preferred technique?

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