Christmas Angel 2009 - Simple Card Background

Simple. Clean. Clear.

That's my motto! I am a paper hoarder. I have paper from at least 6 years ago still in my stash. I finally found a good way to use up my pieces and strips of left over paper. All you have to do is sort your paper in to co-ordinating colours and - voila! - you can make a stunning card background.

I have a Creative Memories square punch but you could use a paper trimmer for this technique. I liked using three different patterned papers, but you could use one solid pattern or make every block different if you wanted to! I punched out a good chunk of my scraps making these cards! Creative Memories products was my first forray in to scrapbooking and the paper on this card is also from there!

The trick I sometimes use to break up the sterility of so many straight lines is to ink the edges. One way to do it is to use a stencil brush (or a cotton ball) with chalk or an ink dauber with stamping ink in a circular motion on the edges. I used a small ink pad and applied it directly to my edges by dragging the ink pad accross the edge of the paper held perpendicular to it.

Once your background is finished, you can dress it up simply with a ribbon or with a large focal point. Large chipboard shapes are perfect for this design! I used an angel that I designed in the software for my Boss Kut Gazelle (a digital die cutter).