Fun Patterns With Everyday Items

I'm Baaaaaack! Sorry for the missing blog post last week. I was kicking back and relaxing on an incredible Disney Cruise to the Western Caribbean. Ahhh. Now...back to reality! Today I'm going to show you three different ways that you can use items you have around your house to create cool patterns for your papercrafting projects. Let's get started....

1) A Pencil Eraser: This is the simplest way to create a fun polka-dot pattern. Simply tap the end of a NEW pencil eraser into your ink pad, then press onto your project. Easy and fun!

Isn't that adorable?!

2) Bubble Wrap: First, ink up a section of bubble wrap, bubble-side up, that is large enough to cover your entire piece of paper or cardstock.

Next, lay your paper face-down on top of the inked portion:

At this point, you can do a couple of different things. You can press it with your hands, or do as I did and roll across the top of it with a rubber brayer. In either case, be sure to place a scrap piece of paper over the top of your project so your hands and/or brayer don't get covered in the surrounding ink. Then turn your piece over to see your results!

Cool, huh?! Here's the card I made with that:

By the way, the stamp set that I used for the last two cards is CTMH's "Candyland". And adorable set of images!

3) Rubber Bands on a Rubber Brayer: This is a very easy technique that yields some very cool results. Simply remove the rubber roller part of your brayer and wrap it randomly with rubber bands. Use different thicknesses for an even more varied effect. Then, simply roll the brayer in your ink (after reassembling it, of course!):

Next, roll the brayer across your project:

Voila! Instant pattern!

Cool, right? Here's the card I made with that piece, using the stamp set that comes with the "Workshop on the Go Frosted Card Making Kit":

I also thew in a few green Sparkles on the center tree to bling it up a bit.

Well, that's it! I hope you will try these techniques on your next project and see what you come up with. Thank you for being patient while I come back down to Earth! Until next week - happy stamping!

Mix It Up!

I believe that it is coded into our DNA that "mixing things up" is "bad". I mean, why else would it be so hard for us papercrafters to use papers from more than one "collection" in our projects? Well, today I'm here to tell you that it is ok. The world as we know it will not come to an end if you mix patterns and colors on the same project. In fact, you may find it quite liberating. You may also find yourself using up a lot more of your scraps!

Luckily, Close To My Heart makes mixing easy and stress-free. Each of their gorgeous paper packs has what's referred to as a "hero" pattern - the bold, dominant pattern in the pack. However, each paper pack also has a more subtle, smaller pattern which is a lot more versatile - and easier to mix! For the card that I decided to make, I used Pattern #19 from CTMH's "Make It From Your Heart - Volume 1". It features four "banners" perfect for showcasing four different patterns of paper. First, I'll show you the paper packs that I chose to use. They are:

"Laughing Lola"

"Surf's Up":

"Tommy":

and "Chantilly"

Now, seen together like this, one would cringe at the thought of ever using them together on the same project. However, here is the card that I created:

Cute, right? I used a strip of CTMH's Slate Washi Tape down the center of each banner and tied it all up with a bow. Ooo, I'm thinking of all the scrap pieces I can use this way!

So let this be a lesson to you - we may be pre-programmed to resist "mixing", but fear not! It can be done - and can be cute, too!  :-)