Day 5: Online Class Pattern Play

Yesterday was the fifth and last day of the Online Card Class: Pattern Play.  The topic was paper manipulation and it was FUN!!!

I chose to do paper quilting.  You might think this is one piece of pattern paper, but it is actually strips of all of my favorites woven together.


It's such a fun look and it was really easy!

And...I am flying high today...it's a bonus day at the Pattern Play class and they are showcasing 15 more cards from the teachers and 9 cards from the students.  My card is one of the nine!!!  It's an absolute statement of the quality of these classes and instructors because you truly did not see much patterned paper on my cards prior to this class!
I am playing along with Catered Crop: Flower Power and with CAS-ual Fridays: No Stamps!

• Stamps: None
• Paper: Pebbles Family Ties, Papertrey Summer Sunrise and Vintage Cream CS, Stampin' Up Old Olive, Night of Navy CS
• Ink: None
• Accessories: Cuttlebug "thanks" embossing, Sizzix Flower Daisies #2 die, Spellbinders leaves die, Papertrey Spring Rain button

Day 4: Online Class Pattern Play

This is my second post today!!

Yesterday in the Pattern Play class, we learned many, many ways to alter patterned paper.  I thoroughly enjoyed their ideas and tips, but I found myself thinking that I don't even do well with the basic paper, let alone altering it and making it even fancier!!  So I didn't make anything yesterday but when I woke up this morning and looked out my window at an incredibly dreary and drizzly day - I had an idea!!

The technique on this was to score your patterned paper and then to sand at the scores to give it a little extra pattern.  
That's all I have to say on this - because today's online videos went up half an hour ago and I am ready to play!!
I used the sketch from Pals Paper Arts.  It's a great sketch for playing with patterned paper!!

• Stamps: Papertrey Ink Scattered Showers
• Paper: Pebbles Seen and Noted
• Ink: Memento Black and Copics
• Accessories: Scalloped border punch, misc gems

Day 3: Online Class Pattern Play

This is my second post today.

It is the third day of the Pattern Play class at Online Card Classes.  Today the incredible designers took bold prints and made them work!!  There were multiple tips and ideas - but I was particularly taken with the simple idea of cutting the pattern into strips - it seems to "cut-up" the pattern enough that it works on a card.


How quick and easy is this?!
When Kristina was showing this technique, she also advised that we keep the embellishments, image and sentiments to a minimum - let the paper shine!  I love this bold sentiment and I just added a simple button.    She also studied her paper carefully to pick out the perfect part of it for her card.  You can bet I measured and worked very hard to make sure that little heart showed up on a strip!
One of the other techniques today was to use a bold paper as an embellishment.  The bold patterns on the 6x6 pads are perfect for little pennants - and that's how I have been using them already.  However, it would take a dozen lifetimes to use up all my patterned papers by just cutting little pennants, so I went with the "bigger" technique today.

I pulled this paper from a pad that I just picked up at Michaels.  It's a fun pad that has shaped borders right on the page - it made this card REALLY easy!!  It's the Chickadee Stack by Die Cuts With a View (DCWV).

• Stamps: The Alley Way Stamps Sea Mates
• Paper: DCWV Chickadee Stack
• Ink: Stampin' Up Early Espresso
• Accessories: misc button and white twine

Day 2: Online Class Pattern Play

This is my second post today.

{For a tutorial on Feedly - a replacement for Google Reader - read this post}

Today's class at Online Card Classes included a number of fun techniques to do with patterned paper.  The first technique involved emboss resist on patterned paper and was truly lovely.  I played a little bit with it but could not come up with anything that fit my more clean style.  I'm going keep playing with it and sometime in the near future - I'll get something to work!  The second technique was stamping stripes of color on patterned paper to highlight a die cut sentiment - really fun!  I played a little bit with this but after wasting a few sheets of patterned paper with a bad color choice or a bad stamped image - I decided to take a deep breath and try again later.

My personal lesson for the day - even with fabulous designers giving tons of tips and techniques - it still takes practice!!

So I retreated to the third technique - paper piecing with patterned paper.

I am fairly proud of myself - because my card has five different patterns - that's definitely a record for me!

I also kept in mind many of the techniques that we learned on Day 1 - in this case, separating patterns with a "blah" pattern.  Consequently, I think my card looks more like a Day 1 card than any of the techniques today!!


I like these classes almost more for all of the side techniques.  This card includes some edging using a T1 and T3 Copic marker.  It is pop-dotted.  And I used twine again!!  I also added that little raspberry dot by the sentiment.  I didn't use the technique that we learned today - but just watching somebody create their own embellies really opened my eyes to the idea of making something instead of spending way too much time digging through my stash looking for the perfect match.  (I know - the little dot is really nothing special - it looks like a colored gem - just let me be proud of myself anyway!!)

• Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Like Your Style (flower), Papertrey Ink Flower Fusion 1 (sentiment)
• Paper: MME The Sweetest Thing Lavender
• Ink: Papertrey Ink Smokey Shadow
• Accessories: Glossy accents and glitter, twine

Day 1: Online Class Pattern Play

This is my second post for today!

I decided to enroll in the Online Card Class: Pattern Play to learn more about the use of patterned paper.

I don't use patterned paper too much, let along mixing various patterns.  But somehow, those cute papers and 6x6 pads just keep jumping in my shopping cart.  I decided that I was either going to have to start using them - or they were going to have to stop accumulating in my stash.

Today's class had a variety of tips about the basic of mixing patterns - size of patterns, boldness of patterns, ways to set apart the patterns and the use of a striped strip.  My card for today tries to use a little bit of everything that I learned. (There were a number of techniques for setting patterns apart - I used a white mat.)  I most definitely did not get overly creative with this card - I used papers from one pad instead of trying to mix and match my own and, although there are variations in size and boldness, the patterns are still pretty basic!!  Even so - this is quite a bit of pattern for me!!

One of the things that I always love about these classes are all the other tidbits that you pick up when you watch the videos.  Kristina loves twine bows.  I like twine too - but usually I have to have some kraft on the card so it's all matchy-matchy.  I loved her twine - so tucked it on mine - such a nice contrast!    Jennifer talked about bending acrylic stamps - the stem on my card is actually a straight stamp that I bent.  I always watch very carefully for the basic supplies and the techniques that they use.  Did you know there are clear pop dots?  How cool is that?My sketch comes from Freshly Made Sketches.

• Stamps: Simon Says Stamp Flower Friend
• Paper: Lawn Fawn Bright Side 6x6 pad, Papertrey Plum Pudding
• Ink: Papertrey Plum Pudding, Stampin' Up Gumball Green and Vintage Violet (really old!)
• Accessories: Stampin' Up twine, Martha Stewart Bright Large Gemstones