Making Cards from Kits

I have been quite intrigued at seeing some crafty people do things like make 20 cards from 1 12x12" sheet of patterned paper.  (Before you get all excited or start wondering how TINY they must be ... it actually refers to cutting up the single sheet into different shapes - eg strips, squares, triangles and using them on the front of your card... you will still need card bases, matting layers and so on, but it is a great way of using ALL the paper and would be great if you wanted to make a set of cards).  

So whilst it may not be as revolutionary as it sounded at the offset, it did make me realise that I could use what effectively were offcuts to decorate a card.   

This idea was reinforced when I obtained 10 "kits" from a woman who held card classes.   I was surprised to open them up and find, for the most part - 1 card base (unfolded), a matting layer, a couple of pieces of cardstock in co-ordinating colours, a piece of patterned paper and perhaps a small strip of ribbon.

"Okaaaaay" I thought,  "what am I supposed to do with these?"  I sat down with one of my daughters and the kits and we puzzled through it.  "Aha", I realised.   The kit provided approximately enough to do a card - certainly not an excessive amount and made you use your creativity to design with what you had.   Some had specific shapes cut, others included what appeared to be offcuts to use what you wanted and to cut into shape/size.  I imagine in a class scenario these kits would have been formulated to do a specific design, but what that was now was anybody's guess!

Since then, I am more willing to go through the 'scrap' box rather than plunge straight into a new sheet of card or paper immediately.  As an aside, it also showed me the value of having co-ordinated colours and papers, something that Stampin Up twigged on to early on....how easy when the inks match the cardstock and papers

My two daughters (age 13) sat down immediately and made three of the kits into cards - it was great to see their creativity flow - there was no puzzling through hundreds of sheets of patterned paper trying to find one that matched perfectly and there was very few offcuts to end up in my box!

Here is what they came up with....

This kit included card base, 2 matting layers, and 2 small pieces of cardstock in cream and burgundy which were used for the bird and sentiment.

An interesting combination on pink and green the sentiment was added specifically to match the almost clashing colours.   This kit included cardbase, a layer for matting, the larger piece of green and two smaller pieces in white and green as well as a strip of patterned paper.

This it contained the grey cardbase, white matting layer, and three pieces about the same size - patterned paper, grey cardstock and white cardstock.   A smal piece of co-ordinating ribbon was also in the pack.




Have you ever made a card from a kit?  What did your kit contain and were you happy with the results?


Comments

Popular Posts