Just One Piece ... inks, ribbon, colored pencils, and a few miscellaneous scraps of cardstock

Here it is ... the post about paper creating that you all expected to see on the very first day. You were right when you thought I'd be writing a little something about cutting & gluing with colorful papers. 

I love double sided paper ... it gives me options. AND I used just one piece of 12 x12 double sided paper to make nine cards. There wasn't one scrap left of the original sheet. It's rewarding to use up a whole piece of paper. I don't have to figure out where all of the scraps will go.

There is someone reading this who is getting all exacting about my one piece claim.  Yes ... I used pre-made cards (4x5.5) because I'm lazy. I added embellishments too. In this case I used the Pair-A-Phrase Stamp Set that is FREE from Close To My Heart with a $75 order.  You can embellish with buttons, ribbons, stickers, and a million other doo-dads that most paper crafters have way too many of. Dig out some of those things you just had to have when you were shopping and get busy. You all have some lovely things sitting alone in your supplies. USE YOUR STUFF

I know you have a stamp set or sticker sheet that you've been itching to use, but somehow you feel like you have to create the ultimate work of art to do it justice ... so you aren't doing anything with it ... yet.
That's why this just one piece method is a great kick start to get your mind off of being perfect. Sometimes it's better to just get it done : )

CUTTING ... 5 minutes
This is so easy it's embarrassing.  Cut a 12x12 paper sheet into 3 strips that are 4 inches wide. Cut two of those strips into four 3 inch sections (8 pieces of  3x4 inches). Cut the remaining strip into 9 one inch strips with an additional 3x4 inch piece to add to your other pile. If you have CTMH paper you'll also have a zip strip that you can cut & use up. Here are the pieces you'll have to work with.


PASTING ... 10 minutes
The next thing you'll do is to attach one large piece and one small to a card.  Really, there are no rules.  Just do something ... you can't really do it wrong. The important part here is not to think too hard. Don't get all particular, because this is the background ... not the focus. As you look at the finished cards below you'll see that I used  4 basic patterns. You can do them all the same or make up even more. You'll also notice that just by twisting and turning the same designs look different.


DECORATING ... can be done in less than 45 minutes so that you can say it only took an hour
This is the fun part.  Take all of those cards and add something from your stash of goodies. Use something else up in addition to that one piece of paper. I limited myself to one kind of ribbon and a few colors of ink, but otherwise there were again ... no rules. When I made these I didn't worry about how "perfect" everything matched in size or color. I had fun!!! That's what this is supposed to be isn't it?


OK ... laugh with me ... I have no idea how to get these photos into ANY sort of order. They all seem to want to float around.  I'm going to call it artsy, even when I know it's just a lack of technical skills.

Check out the photo below ... the background designs are paired up ... just a flip makes a difference

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART ... 

Use your cards or give them to someone who will. Sometimes cards turn out so great that you just like to look at them.  There's no bigger waste of your time and resources : )  Don't you want to brighten someone's day? Trust me when I say that the action of mailing a note is the most beautiful part of any handmade card. 

Amazingly creative cards that never get sent to someone are the saddest cards of all times. If you don't know who to send a card to you can donate your cards. I will be sending a box of cards to Operation Write Home every month during this school year. I'll take all the cards I can get for this wonderful group that supports our military. If you see me ... hand over your unsent cards !!