Who says mass producing holiday cards has to be boring!? I loved changing up each card using similar supplies. Missed the first two cards I made with the Waffle Flower Tree Panel Die? Check them out here!
As I mentioned before, this die is so versatile and serves as the perfect background to a variety of designs. These two cards are slightly stepped up with the use of pattern paper. As much as I love patterns and pattern paper, I sometimes have a hard time figuring out how to use them in my cards. I challenge you to pull out that pattern paper pack that’s been sitting on your shelf and mix and match your favorites to create something new! Don’t want to cut into that gorgeous paper pad? Trust me, I understand. But do it anyway! Let’s use those supplies to make something beautiful 🙂
Pro tip – Looking for help on how to mix patterns? While I am no expert, I take my cues from the designers from other industries. I recommend that you follow surface pattern designers, and/or fashion and interior design blogs. In general, I think it’s important to pay attention to pattern design and color and pattern scale when trying to mix. Learn more from The Spruce – article 1, article 2! Or Google “how to mix patterns” to find even more inspiration.
Joy. This card was pretty simple! The thing that took the longest was figuring out which patterns I wanted to use for the final design. Ultimately, I decided to use the small polka dot pattern from Dots & Lines and the red, white, and green striped pattern from Christmas Stripes. The polka dots served as my small scale pattern and the trees as my medium scale pattern. The beauty of Waffle Flower products is that many are designed to work together so the sizing and coordination work beautifully. The tree panel die fit perfectly on my pattern paper so there was very little waste when I die cut. I positioned the striped paper behind the die cut panel so a small peek of white showed at the top of each tree. I thought it looked like a snowy forest. You could easily position the striped paper so each die cut tree is fully red or green. I glued the die cut panel and the striped paper together and backed with fun foam for some dimension on the kraft card base. Friendly reminder, keep your scraps!
Side note – I am not paid by Waffle Flower (or any craft company). As a customer, I really appreciate Waffle Flower products and love how thoughtful the product design is. The products work beautifully together and are all high quality. I also really appreciate the storage packaging the stamps and dies come in by default.
For the sentiment, I cut the word ‘joy’ from Neenah white cardstock, the shadow layer from gold mirror foil paper from Memory Box, and adhered the sentiment to the panel with foam tape. I finally tied a twine bow and glued it to the sentiment for the finishing touch. Another quick and easy holiday card done!
Merry & Bright. In this nearly no stamping holiday project, I cut the same pattern paper from two different Waffle Flower dies and layered the die cuts to create this fun, colorful card. By cutting the same paper from two different dies, I essentially created two new patterns of differing scale (the golden rule). The tree panel served as a medium scale pattern and the angled stripes as a large scale pattern.
I cut the angled stripes panel twice – once from pattern paper and once from white cardstock and glued them together to help the layer stand out more and provide greater stability for the thin stripes in the center. Die cutting from white cardstock was fortuitous because I inlaid one of the positive die cuts to create a space for my C&9th sentiment. Finally, I sprayed the finished card with shimmer spray for a little holiday shine (it is hard to capture in photos). Bam! 4th card done!
I hope this two part blog post inspired you to stretch your supplies and your creativity. Mass producing cards *can* result in unique, custom designs for your friends and family! If you’re inspired by my design, please tag me on IG, I’d love to see what you create. Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!
.Tiffany.
ink.therapy.designs 