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!