Chop Up Those Adorable Otters! - Part 2

My last post showed how I created some pretty cards using a single sheet of patterned paper from Stampin' Up! - their Otterly Adorable set.  I promised I'd demonstrate that it didn't matter how I cut up the sheet.  

This time I didn't pay any attention at all to the pattern (except to make sure the pattern was not sideways or upside down).  I simply cut the paper into 9 pieces.  For the first three pieces, I cut the paper horizontally at 5 1/4" - then cut that into 3 pieces each 4" wide.  The next three panels were cut the same way from the next 5 1/4" strip.  The final 3 pieces were cut from the remaining 1 1/2" strip - again cut into pieces 4" long.  I ended up with six 4" x 5 1/4" pieces and three that were 1 1/2" x 4" as you can see in the picture below:

So, what did I do with these?  Did I end up with fewer cards this way?  You'll see in the cards that follow.  

Card #1: (from row 1 number 1)

It really is easy to turn these papers into gorgeous cards.  For this one, I simply took the panel, ran a piece of ribbon across between the two "otter scenes", added a matted sentiment (from Changing Leaves stamp set - Stampin' Up punch set & Pretty Peacock cardstock).  I matted all with Pretty Peacock before adding it to the card front.

Card #2 (row 1 number 2):

Split Face Pocket Card - This card structure creates a place for a gift card on the inside.  It starts with a piece of white cardstock that is 4 1/4" x 11".  After scoring it in half and folding to create a standard A2 vertical card base, I sliced the card front from the bottom to the fold at 1 1/2" from the right. After gluing this narrow piece on three sides (leaving the left side open for the gift card), I inked the card with Pecan Pie to provide the look of mats. To decorate, I sliced 1 3/8" off the right side of the patterned paper panel and glued both pieces in place as you can see.  The sentiment (from Spellbinders Typewriter Adventure Sentiments) was stamped on a 3/4" x 3" piece of white cardstock using Pecan Pie ink - which I also used to ink the edges before gluing to the left side of the card.  The final step was adding a little twine bow.

Inside:

 Here you see a cardstock stand-in for a gift card.

Card #3 (row 1 number 3):

This time, I added a border strip and matted stamped greeting (Calypso Coral & stamp from Changing Leaves). 

Simply by chance, due to the way the page was printed, I ended up with the pieces in row two being very much like those in row one.  I decided to cut the panels up further to make my cards, so they would look different from the previous ones.

Card #4 (top part of row 2 number 1):

This time I made an easel card.  Simply a standard A2 sized card - with a fold in the center of the card front and the focal only attached to the part below the fold so it can "stand up" (see next picture).  To make this card I simply matted my patterned paper piece on Pretty Peacock cardstock, wrote the word "Hi!" with a Pretty Peacock Stampin' Write Marker, and matted it before adding near the top of the focal piece.  I then took the "bubbles" stamp from the Otterly Amazing stamp set and stamped it on the card front multiple times using both Balmy Blue and Pool Party inks.

Opened:

When opened for display the card looks like this.  The most important part on the inside is some sort of feature added with dimensionals to hold the card front in place.  This time I used a strip of Pretty Peacock card stock and a sentiment stamped with Pretty Peacock ink (sentiment from Sentimental Rose kit - unfortunately discontinued) that I added with dimensionals.  Then I did a bit more stamping on the inside - more bubbles in the bottom corners and a second sentiment from the So Sincere stamp set.

Card #5 (top part of row 2 number 2):

The remaining piece of the panel serves as the focal for this card.  This Cut, Turn, Paste card was created from a 4 1/4" x 11" piece of card stock - again folded in half to create an A2 card.  I sliced off the right side of the card front at 2 3/4" and turned it sideways to mat the focal.  I inked the edges of both the patterned paper and the white mat using Balmy Blue ink.

I created the background using a 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" panel embossed with the Soft Waves 3D embossing folder.  I cut this embossed panel at 2 5/8" from the left, then inked it before gluing it in place.  I glued the focal panel to JUST the left side of the card - then added the sentiment using dimensionals. The sentiment was created using a JustRite's Botanical Swirls Labels stamp with Calypso Coral ink on white card stock - matted on Calypso Coral cardstock - shaped by using the double oval punch.

Card #6 (bottom part of row 2 number 2):

This Fold Back card started as a piece of 4 1/4" x 11" piece of white cardstock folded in half to create an A2 card.  I scored the front panel at 1 1/2" from the right and folded it back giving the look of a cutaway card. I cut a panel from Old Olive cardstock that was 5 1/8" x 3 5/8" and embossed it using the Fern 3D embossing folder. I then trimmed off the right side so the left side measured 3 5/8" x 3 3/4", gluing the larger piece JUST to the fold-back part of the card front, and the narrow piece on the visible part of the inside. The focal on this card was created from the lower part of the panel cut to 2 5/8" x 3 1/4".  Since I glued it in place before realizing it really needed another mat, I used a Stampin' Write Marker (Early Espresso) and a ruler to draw an edge around the panel.  I stamped the sentiment (from So Sincere stamp set) in Old Olive on a 1/2" x 3 1/4" strip of white cardstock, rounding the corners and inking them with the same Old Olive ink.  I finished the card by adding die cut "sea weed" cut from Old Olive cardstock using dies from the Otterly Amazing die set and inked with Garden Green ink.

This picture gives a hint of what it looks like when opened.

Card #7 (top part of row 2 number 3):

This Fancy Accordion 2 card base started as a piece of white cardstock that was 4 1/4" x 11".  It was scored at 2 3/4", 4 1/4", 7 1/4", and 8 1/2" - then folded as mountain, valley, mountain, valley.  To this I added 3 pieces of Early Espresso cardstock.  Front panel = 4 x 4, sentiment panel = 2 3/16" x 4", middle panel = 2 15/16" x 4" - which I turned into a frame by cutting out the middle with a rectangle cutting die and glued to the center of the card.  The focal was cut to 3 1/4" square and matted on a 3 1/2" square of white before being glued to just the left-hand side of the card - extending past the fold.  The sentiment was stamped on a 3/4" x 4" piece of white cardstock using Early Espresso ink and centered on what was visible of the back flap when the card was closed.  To finish the inside panel (where writing will be) I fussy cut a part of an otter from scraps of a different paper in the pack.

Card #8 (bottom parts of row 2 number 1 AND row 2 number 3):

My intention for this card had been to have the entire card out of the Balmy Blue cardstock with bubbles die cut out of the center of the card front (I could have used the small bubble die that came in the Otterly Amazing die set, but had an older die in my stash that was a bit bigger and I chose to use it (Stitched Rectangles Dots & Stars by Crafti Potential).  I obviously had my mind elsewhere, though, because when using the cutting die, I cut through BOTH layers of the card (front AND inside).  Oops!  I've learned over the years that figuring out what to do about mistakes is part of the process.  To fix things this time, I ended up cutting my Balmy Blue cardstock in half and using one piece as the panel to add to a plain white card base - saving the other for another time.  Back in business!

Next, I trimmed my two pieces of patterned paper just a tad to fit the way I wanted them above and below these bubbles.  After gluing them in place, I created my greeting a stamp from Sentimental Rose kit (discontinued) and die cutting it with a older die from Spellbinders Celtic Accents die set.

To finish, I took some of the balmy blue "bubbles" that were the cut outs from the die cutting and added them to the patterned paper pieces.  Finally, I die cut some more fish from Calypso Coral cardstock using the die from the Otterly Amazing set and added a few of them.

Card #9 (all of row 3 pieces):

This time, I used the reverse side of the pieces and layered Old Olive strips between them before adding some die cut otters from one of the other papers.  I matted this and the sentiment with Calypso Coral cardstock.  I added three little punched circles of it at the bottom right corner - adding tiny circles of white to the centers.  The sentiment stamp came from JustRite's Vintage Rose and it was die cut using Spellbinders Celtic Accents dies.

As you can see, I got the same number of cards cutting the paper this way as I did when I cut the paper more carefully, and they are just as pretty - just different.

So there you have it.  Eighteen beautiful cards made easily from two sheets of the gorgeous papers from the Otterly Adorable paper pack.

Chop Up Those Adorable Otters! - Part 1

Previously, I showed you one way of using a 12 x 12 scenic paper to make cards.  But what if your paper isn't a single scene like that one was.  What if it is instead a bunch of repeated smaller scenes all over the page?  I'm going to show you that it REALLY doesn't matter how you cut up papers like that!  To demonstrate this, I've used two identical 12 x 12 sheets of paper from the Otterly Adorable set of papers from Stampin' Up! ® ™  (All products used are from Stampin' Up! unless noted otherwise.)  

From the first piece of paper, I carefully cut out smaller scenes so they would fit on an A2 size card, but wouldn't necessarily fill it.  Here's a picture of the paper and how I cut it up:

Ignoring the smallest pieces, I had 2 panels from the first column, 4 panels from the 2nd, and 2 from the 3rd for a total of 8 which I used to make 9 cards.  Below you'll see the cards I made from this sheet.  I could have gotten pretty cards by just making standard fold cards, but I chose to make several into "fancy fold" cards as you will see.

 

Card #1 (column 1 panel 1): 

 

This first card is pretty straight forward - standard card base, matted focal panel with ribbon from my stash.  Matted stamped sentiment (from Mixed Labels stamp set with Mossy Meadow ink and Old Olive cardstock mat -  used double ovals punch).

Card #2 (column 1 panel 2 - top part):

 

 

Next up I have a gate fold card.  I started with 4 1/4" x 11" white cardstock & scored each end at 2 3/4".  After folding ends in to meet in the middle, I cut two pieces from another paper in the same paper pack, inked the edges, and glued to each side.  I inked the edges of my focal paper and matted it on a piece of white card stock.  I stamped my greeting (stamp from Sentimental Rose kit), punched it out with a 1 3/8" circle punch, and then inked the edges before gluing it just to the focal portion of the card. So far, all ink used on this card was Pretty Peacock, but then I die cut a small rock, colored it with Gray Granite, and added it to the lower left corner of the focal to complete this card.

 

Card #3 (column 1 panel 2 - bottom part):

 

This looks similar to a card I made last month, but instead of the right edge being folded over, this is actually a gap card.  I started with a 4 1/4" x 11" piece of white cardstock folded in half to form an A2 card.  With this piece width-wise, I trimmed the last 1 3/8" from the card front - then another 2 3/4", leaving only 1 3/8" of the card front left. 

 

This time I decorated with Calypso Coral cardstock and ink.  I started with 2 pieces of the colored cardstock that were 1 1/4" x 4 1/8".  I embossed these with my Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder and then glued one to the narrow cut-off piece and one to the remaining flap of the card front.  I cut another piece that was 2 5/8" x 4 1/8" and again embossed it before gluing it to the remaining 2 3/4" x 4 1/4" piece from the card front.  I turned this sideways, and glued my piece of patterned paper in the center.  I then glued the left side to the card flap, and the right side to the narrow piece - bridging the gap with my focal.  Last, I stamped a greeting on a scrap of white card stock, punched it out with a scalloped 1 3/4" punch, and inked the edges before adding it to the card (being careful that I only glued the part of it that would have some card front to attach to!)

 

Card #4 (column 2 panel 1):

 

 

This is another standard card base - but this time I used the reverse side of the patterned paper to use as a backdrop.  As you can see, I matted it with Old Olive cardstock & used another strip of it for a border across the top.  The sentiment was stamped using a stamp from Forever Ferns, punched with an oval punch, and the edges inked (Old Olive ink).  I fussy cut the otters from another paper in the set, and die cut a log (Otterly Amazing dies - inking it with Pecan Pie ink) to finish the scene.

 

Inside:

And by the way, don't throw away all those little scraps.  They work great to add a touch to the inside of the cards!

 

Card #5 (column 2 panel 2):

 

This style of card is called a barn door because the lower half swings open like a barn door.  It is made by cutting away the top portion of the card front.  In this case, I trimmed off the top 1 1/2" of the card front. 

 

I cut a piece of white cardstock that was about 1 3/4" x 5 1/4".  Then I took a damp sponge and added a bit of Balmy Blue ink with it to create the soft background you see.  After inking the edges, I glued this to the top of the INSIDE of the card.  I inked the edges of my patterned paper panel and glued to the card front.  Then I used Balmy Blue ink to stamp my greeting onto one of the other papers in this set ("Happy Birthday" from Sentimental Rose kit and "to you" from a Divinity Designs stamp & die set called Many Blessings), and punched it out with a 1 3/4" scalloped circle punch.  I punched a 2" circle mat from white card stock, inked the edges of both circles with Balmy Blue ink, glued them together, and then glued both to just the remaining piece of card front.

 

Card #6 (column 2 panel 3):

 

 

This time, I embossed a Calypso Coral panel (Divine Swirl embossing folder from Cuttlebug), added the patterned paper, and ran a piece of white ribbon across the border between the two.  I used black ink to stamp the sentiment (from Otterly Amazing stamp set), and used a punch to cut a black mat and stamped sentiment piece.  I added 3 die cut fish (Otterly Amazing dies colored with Calypso Coral).  I like the way it turned out, but wish I had used Early Espresso rather than black.

 

Card #7 (column 2 panel 4 & top part of column 3 panel 1): 

 

This is a fold back card - 4 1/4" x 11" piece of white card stock scored at 5 1/2" and at 9 1/2".  I folded at the 5 1/2" score line to create an A2-sized card, then folded the card front back along the 9 1/2" score line.  I cut three Old Olive mats - two were 3 3/4" x 4 1/16", and one was 2 1/16" x 4 1/16".  These served as the mats for my three pieces of patterned paper - BUT I used the back side of the piece that went on the inside middle of the card and matted it on white before adding it to the green mat.  After all patterned pieces were matted, I glued them in place - the first to just the front flap of the card, extending to the left, the second on the inside, and the last on the far right on the inside.  You can see what I mean better in the next picture.

Finishing touches: I added an inked die cut log and some inked die cut "sea weed" (both used cutting dies from the Otterly Amazing die set) to both the card front and the right side of the inside that shows through.  I stamped a sentiment using Pecan Pie ink, and this card was complete.

 

Card #8 (column 3 panel 1 - bottom part):

 

This card is called a "matchbook" card.  It started as a 4 1/4" x 11" piece of white cardstock, but scored a bit differently than normal.  With the card stock horizontal, I scored at 4 3/4", 9 1/2", and 10".  The 4 3/4" score is the main fold for the card, the 10" score line is the little bit that folds up to form the bottom of the "matchbook", and the 9 1/2" score line is folded back a bit (don't crease) to make it easier to open and close the card.  After I folded up the lower part, I used a couple of staples to hold it closed (arranged so the clean edge of the staple faced the back.  Then I covered this with a strip of Old Olive cardstock (7/8" x 4 1/8").  I added another piece of the same cardstock to the main front flap.  I used a Tattered Lace die called Georgette Squares to create a fancy mat/frame out of white cardstock.  I glued this to the card front as you see.  Then I trimmed my focal piece of paper to a square shape, matted it on more Old Olive cardstock, and glued it to the center of the white mat.  I created a strip sentiment by using a stamp from Typewriter Adventure Sentiments (from Spellbinders) and gluing it to the center of the lower part of the card.  Finally, I die cut some "sea weed" using Otterly Amazing dies, and inked them before adding them to the scene.

 

Card #9 (column 3 panel 2): 

 

Here I started with a standard A2 sized white card base.  For my front panel, I started with a piece of Pretty Peacock cardstock (4 1/8" x 5 3/8" in size).  I glued my patterned paper to the right side leaving just a small mat around on the three sides.  Then I added a Peacock and Gold ribbon along the left side of my patterned paper, wrapping it around to the back and adhering it to the back of the panel.  I cut a piece of white cardstock that was 1" x 5 1/4", stamped my greeting on it (stamp Standup4Sentiments - The Stamps of Life), then glued it on the left of the panel - centered in the remaining space.  Finally, I added this panel to the front of my card, and then added die cut rock & fish (Otterly Amazing die set) to complete the card.

As you can see, careful cuts gave me some nice cards.  BUT, I could have gotten away without all that carefulness!!!  Stay tuned for Part 2!  

What's Wrong with this card?

Today I thought I'd talk a little about card composition.  As pretty as this 5 x 7 card is, there's something just a bit "off" about it.  I'll talk about what that is in a minute.  First, how did I make this card?  

The patterned paper and the light pink paper were printed from a digital download - not sure who made it.  The darker pink paper came from my stash.  

The focal panel was made with Stampin' Up! Products.  Here's what I did:

Flower: These were made using a couple of stamps from Stampin' Up!'s Sentiment Rose kit (no longer available).  I stamped the image with Real Red ink onto the pink paper.  The stamp is SO much fun because it basically shades the rose FOR you!  However, as I looked at it, I wasn't happy with how dark it was - wanted the petals to be a bit lighter - especially near the top.  NO PROBLEM!  I squeezed a little ink from my White Pigment Ink Refill onto a stamp block, picked it up with my Water Painter (water brush), and used it to lighten those petals.  Then I took a few very tiny dots of yellow card stock and glued them to the center of my flower.  Before I fussy cut my flower, I realized I wanted to add a bit of that Real Red to a small spot.  NO PROBLEM! (This is why I love Stampin' Up products so much!) I just grabbed my Real Red Stampin' Write Marker and drew in what I wanted to add, knowing the colors would match perfectly! 

Leaves: I stamped my leaves (same stamp set) using Garden Green ink.  Then, I grabbed my Old Olive stamp pad and touched it to a stamp block to transfer a bit of ink to that.  Using my Blender Pen, I picked up some ink from the stamp block and colored in the white parts of the leaves.

"Hello": This time I pulled out my new Thoughtful Moments Hybrid Embossing Folder. I didn't need all of the sentiments, so I just cut a piece of the pink paper that was big enough to cover the word "Hello" with plenty of space around it to allow for the embossing.  Then, before I put the cutting die inside the folder (YES! Emboss and die cut in one pass!), I first lightly inked the sentiment (again with my Real Red ink pad).  Then I snapped the cutting die into the folder, put my paper in place, and closed the folder.  After I ran it through my die cutting machine, the edges of the letters were inked, the letters embossed, and the word cut out - ALL IN ONE PASS!  I LOVE it!  What fun I'm going to have creating sentiments with this fun tool!

Background: As you can see, I layered my background paper on the red paper, then the pink, before gluing it to a white card base.  After gluing flower, leaves, and sentiment to a square white panel, I added it to a red paper mat before gluing it in place.

Border: I took a scrap of the flowered paper, matted it on pink, then white, then red (as you can see).  It needed a bit of extra something, so I pulled a trick I often use and punched three dots from the red paper using an ordinary hole punch.  I added them to the lower right corner thinking to balance the "Hello", but then realized they were really on the wrong size.  All the "weight" was in the upper right corner with that flower, so I really wanted the dots on the lower left.  I couldn't remove the ones on the right, but added them to the left in the hopes of achieving a bit of balance.

NOW, What's Wrong?: Unfortunately, the dots just blend into that busy patterned paper and are hardly seen, so my work of adding them to help balance the focal just didn't work!  What to do???

The Fix: This fix isn't perfect - some things could not be fixed - but it's better:

First, I brought a spot of green down by making another set of leaves to hang out by a strip sentiment that I added to the left side of the border.  This creates a 3rd spot of green on the card and helps move the eye around the card.  Odd numbers are generally preferred in situations like this - and if you look closely, you'll see your eye can draw a triangular shape between the three spots of green.  This "triangle" is part of what helps the eye move around the page. (Somehow they look a lot lighter in color than the ones by the flower, but fortunately that's not the way it looks IRL.)

More white - The sentiment stamped on white cardstock adds another spot of white and helps break up that strong pattern in the paper. Though it would have been better if the white was just a bit bigger, it still helps to bring some white into that space.  It also helps to tie the large white panel into the make as a whole.  

A minor thing is that I realized when I glued my focal in place, one of the leaves pulled away from the flower without my realizing it, leaving a small gap between the stem and the flower!  Once again, I had Stampin' Up! markers to the rescue.  This time I pulled the Garden Green marker from the same set and used it to draw in that stem so it connected to the flower. :)  I wouldn't have dared to do that if I didn't know the colors would match!

To be honest, if I were to make this card again, I would arrange the focal a bit differently.  I would put the flower in the lower right corner of the panel and the "Hello" in the upper left for even better balance.  That's not something I can easily fix without tearing the card apart.  I think I'll just leave it because it's still a pretty card for someone who's not quite as picky as I am! :)

Otterly Adorable 4A

Have you ever had a hard time cutting into a beautiful sheet of 12 x 12 paper?  Sometimes I find it especially challenging if it's a large scene.  That was the case with this gorgeous paper from the Otterly Adorable paper pack from Stampin' Up! ® ™     (Get yours here while supplies last!)  Here's a picture of the paper and how I cut it up:

Basically, I made two cards from each row (using the leftovers on the insides of the cards - didn't take pictures of those):

Below is a closer look at each of these 6 cards. 

Card #1: 

I started cutting from the bottom of the page, and that's the way I started making my cards, too.  This first card is a slimline (finished size 3 7/8" x 9") - with the main patterned paper cut from the lower right corner of the paper.  I made sure it was cut just smaller than my card front so I would have a white edge around it.  Before adding it to my card, I wrapped a piece of white 1/8" ribbon around the left side - then tied a bow and added it.  Next I found a strip sentiment (from Sassy's LLC) and trimmed the ends the way you see them.  I used the Otterly Amazing cutting dies to cut out some little fish and sea weed pieces.  I colored the fish with Pumpkin Pie ink, and the sea weed with Old Olive ink.  Before gluing everything in place, I took a very fine black marker and added eyes for the fish.

Card #2:

I really love the way this card turned out and it just goes to show that a little piece of patterned paper can really make a nice card.  The patterned paper used here was from the lower right corner.  I matted it on white, then on an embossed piece of Lost Lagoon card stock before adding to the front of my card.  Then I used one of the Otterly Amazing cutting dies to cut out a portion of one of the other pages in this paper set - giving me the cute focal you see here.  Finally, I used a stamp from the Otterly Amazing stamp set to stamp the sentiment, die cut with an old Spellbinders die in my stash, inked the edges of my sentiment with green ink, and added the sentiment with dimensionals.

Card #3:

This next card was made from the left piece of the middle row.  This time I made it into a 5 x 7 card.  I found a scrap of light tan patterned paper in my stash - no idea who made it - and used it to create a mat around my otter paper piece (but before I did, I cut out the center of this paper in case I wanted to use it for something else).  I then matted this with white - then with Early Espresso card stock. BUT, before I added the matted pieces to that last piece of card stock, I did two things.  First, I wrapped a piece of thin twine around the lower left corner and tied a bow.  Second, I cut the center out of the Early Espresso and saved it so I could use it on something else.  Turns out I DID need some of that light tan paper.  I used it to die cut a sentiment (cutting die was an old one from Creative Expressions), before also cutting it a second time out of white (to use as a shadow).  After layering the two sentiments slightly offset, I glued them in place.  And this card was complete.

Card #4:

This A2 card uses the other main panel cut from that center strip.  I inked the edges of the panel with brown before matting it on white and then the leftover Early Espresso from card #3.  BUT, before I glued it all in place, I cut out the center of the Early Espresso again in case I needed it.  It turns out that I did!  I die cut some decorative pieces from it to decorate the corners (old Spellbinders dies), then I cut a rectangular piece to mat my sentiment - which I typed up and printed from my computer because I thought that would make a great greeting for this card.

Card #5:

And now we arrive at the panels cut from the last strip of patterned paper - the one at the top.  This card comes from the upper right corner.   It's such a darling picture that it doesn't need much else.  I matted it on more of the Lost Lagoon card stock - yup, cut out the center and saved it for later.  Before gluing to the card front, however, I made my border.  I die cut a fancy mat for my sentiment from Pecan Pie card stock (using an old Spellbinders die from my stash).  Then threaded my brown twisted paper trim through it before taping the ends in place behind the mat.  After gluing the whole thing to the card front, I added the stamped sentiment (stamp from an old JustRite stamp set) with dimensionals.  

Card #6:

This time it looks like I started with a piece of Pecan Pie card stock - but I didn't.  This is made with a white card stock card base.  I simply inked a bit around the edges of the card front.  After gluing my patterned paper panel to the card front, I stamped the sentiment (Otterly Amazing stamp set) using the same brown ink.

 

There they are - six GORGEOUS cards made from that ONE sheet of GORGEOUS patterned paper.  I LOVE this paper and these cards came together so quickly once I got brave and cut up my paper! 

 

Here's a slightly different cutting guide giving 1 slimline and 5 A2 cards - made basically the same as what you see above.  It helps you know better about the order in which to make your cuts into the large sheet of paper: