Not Really Patchwork Stack and Swap

 

I wanted a last minute Christmas gift and decided to see if I had cards from a KCC challenge from which to create it (since I wanted them all to coordinate).  I looked through my stash and found some of these:

I only had 9 left - mostly thinking of you type cards and NO birthday.  I wanted an assortment to cover a variety of occasions so certainly wanted to include some birthday cards.  I knew I had more of the set of papers that I had used (a DCWV Mat Stack from years ago), so decided to make some more to go with that.  My papers were 4 1/2" x 6 1/2", so I went looking for a quick KCC-type cutting guide & sketch(es) that would work with those.  I found a set using A2-sized papers by Robin Armbrecht and decided to go with that (figuring I could use the 1/2" and 1" scraps on the insides of my cards.  The cutting/sketch guide was called Patchwork Stack Cut and Shuffle, and used 5 different 4 x 6 papers (actually 4 & some card stock) to make 5 cards like the one at the top of this post.  As you cut the papers, you arrange them in 5 different stacks and when you make the cards you make sure that for each card you have a paper from each stack that doesn't match the others - forming the same sketch but different papers in each position from card to card.  I don't like making cards that are all alike, but hoped that I would find that by having different papers in different spots I'd like it okay.  So, I cut all the papers and started working with them.  Below are the cards that I ended up with.

Card #1:

This card was made just like the sketch (except for decorating, of course).  Taking one piece from each of the 5 piles as per the sketch.  I taped them together and wrapped them with ribbon before gluing to the card - then used border stickers to differentiate between most of them.  I found a Sassy's LLC sentiment that I had printed 1/2-size and matted it in black before adding it as you see.  The focal was die cut using Spellbinders Tropical Friends (May 2024 SDOM) die set.  I matted it on a white stitched circle die cut (Kat Scrappiness Double-Stitched Circles) and a larger black mat (die cut with a die from Spellbinders Picot Edged Circles).  I was fairly happy with the way this card turned out, so I started another.

Card #2:

This time I rotated the sketch, as well as doing the "shuffle" so each paper was again different, but not the same as the previous card.  This time I used silver stickers between the pieces, a similar sentiment (as well as a second from the same place - this time printed with a black background & matted with white) and another of the Tropical Friends die cuts.  This time I just used a single black mat - die cut using a die from Spellbinders Splendid Circles.

I liked this one, too, but by the time I was finished with it, I knew I did NOT want to make more like it.  It felt too much the same. 

So, I decided to take the remaining pieces and REALLY shuffle them, not using all types of pieces on each of the remaining cards, but finding a new way to use them.  This gave me 5 more cards (instead of the 3 I would have gotten).

 Card #3:

This card used 3 of the same sized pieces and one of the 1/2" scraps.  As you can see, I matted the 3 pieces on a black die cut mat (Spellbinders Romantic Rectangles Two), arranging them with space between each.  After adding this matted block to my card, I glued the 1/2" strip near the bottom and then used black border stickers top and bottom to finish it off as you see here.  Finally, I took another Sassy's sentiment, matted it on black, glued it to the card, and then used silver stickers to create the look of a second mat or frame.

Card #4:

This time I decided to use all 5 of the 1" scraps.  I cut a short strip off each (saved these scraps, put them together in the same order to create a border for the inside of the card) but found I still had to overlap each on the long edge by just a little bit so they would fit with a bit of a border around.  After I glued them together, I wrapped a black ribbon around and glued them in place on the front of the card.  The focal was created using a die cut black circle (Kat Scrappiness Double Stitched Circles) with a white punched circle glued to the center of this.  I die cut the sentiment using a die from a Gemini stamp & die set called Winter Wonderland, and added it around the outside.  Finally, I found a little penguin die cut in my stash (die from Temu) and colored it with markers before adding it as you see here.

Card #5:

This card made use of 3 of the cut pieces - two rectangles and one of the larger rectangles (which I cut down to a square to create this look).  I glued the two smaller rectangles to either side of the card front, then found a large black scalloped circle in my stash (Spellbinders Grand Scalloped Circle Dies), cut it down a bit on the top and bottom, and glued it in place before adding the square on point.  The focal was another of Sassy's - matted on a black circle (Kat Scrappiness Double Stitched Circles) and a white decorative circle (Spellbinders Picot Edged Circles).  I finished by adding Dazzles sticker strips and Jewel Dazzles as decorations.

Card #6:

It's a bit harder to see what I did with this one because I didn't use border strips between the pieces.  The piece on the far right is one of the large rectangles that had a striped pattern on it.  To this I added a green rectangle, and then a small rectangular strip in a black print.  My focal is again a Sassy's sentiment.  I triple matted this one - silver stitched circle (Kat Scrappiness Double Stitched Circles), then a black (die cut using a Nellie Snellen Multi-Frame Flower die), and finally a large white stitched circle (Kat Scrappiness Double Stitched Circles).  I decorated this with a die cut flower sprig (Spellbinders Holiday Blooms) which I cut into two pieces.  The final touch was the bow made from narrow black ribbon.

Card #7:

Finally, I took the remaining two pieces - matted them on black as you see (with an extra black strip glued to cover the join) and then matted the whole on a piece of silver linen card stock from my stash.  The focal started with another of Sassy's sentiments.  This time I inked it with distress ink before matting it on a white decorative circle ( Nellie Snellen Multi-Frame Flower), then on a silver stitched circle (Kat Scrappiness Double Stitched Circles) and finally a black decorative circle (Spellbinders Teardrop Circles).  I then used some layered Jewel Dazzles in teal and black to decorate before adding the butterfly (sticker from my stash) as a final touch.

 

Box:

I put all the cards in a decorative box that I made.  Making the box was pretty simple.  I decided I wanted it to be 6" x 4 3/4" x 2".  I made the bottom of the box from some light-weight chipboard.  I knew that if the box was to be the dimensions mentioned, I figured that I needed a piece that was 10" x 8 3/4" (adding 4" for the height - 2" each side - to the 6" x 4 3/4").  Then I could simply score each side at 2" and simply cut in on the two short sides along the score lines so I could fold the flaps in and glue them to the ends. 

 

Unfortunately my chipboard was only 11 x 8 1/2" so I was 1/4" inch short in the one direction.  That wasn't really that big a deal.  I simply scored those two sides at 1 7/8", and it worked just fine.  The fact that the sides were 1/8" short wasn't that noticeable and was not visible when the box was closed. 

For the box top, I had a 12 x 12 DCWV mat stack that was the same pattern as the 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 one, so it was easy to find a pattern that coordinated with the cards - AND I didn't have the challenge of it not being large enough.  I added 1/8" in each direction so the lid would fit on easily - cutting the piece to 10 1/8" x 8 7/8".  Then I scored each side at 2", cut in on the ends as before and glued the pieces together to form my box top.  Then I decorated the top of the box and added my cards inside.  Because I wrapped the cards with tissue paper, the box top wanted to puff up, so I held it in place with a ribbon that I sewed magnets into on each end to hold the box closed.