From stripes to squares | Create colorful patterns with this clever trick!

Hello Altenew friends! Hannelie here today with 3 colorful cards featuring backgrounds made using cardstock from the Crafty Necessities Cardstock bundle!

The three cards range from clean and simple to bold and detailed. I’ll also share a little trick to transform a striped background into a checkered one, unlocking endless possibilities for stunning patterns!

Let's start by creating the striped background :

To create the striped background, simply cut 1 cm strips of cardstock in the colors of your choice. **Tip**: Precision is key if you plan to transform the stripes into a checkered pattern, this will ensure that the squares align up perfectly!

For today’s trio of cards, I used:

1. Ruby Red
2. Frosty Pink
3. Desert Night
4. Sea Glass
5. Pumpkin Pie
6. Vanilla Cream

Adhere the cardstock strips to a piece of paper. **Tip **: Using liquid glue allows a bit of extra time to ensure all the strips are perfectly aligned.

Transforming the striped pattern to a checkered pattern:

Take the striped background you just created and cut it into 1 cm strips. If your stripes run horizontally, make the second cut vertically. Now it's time to play around and create your desired pattern by adhering the strips to another piece of paper. For my design, I moved each strip downwards by one block (three times), then moved them back upwards by one block (three times).

The picture below will illustrate the process.

Now that our backgrounds are ready, we can start making cards!

TO MAKE THE “LOVE YOU” CARD YOU WILL NEED:

1. White card base.
2. Striped background previously created.
3. Die cutting machine.
4. Circle die.
5. Craft a Flower: Gardenia Die Set.
6. Ruby Red, Frosty Pink, Sea Glass & Desert Night Card stock for the flower
7. Stampwheel.
8. Bold sentiment stamp set.
9. Desert Night fresh dye ink.
10. Sandy Blush Enamel Dots.
11. Instant dimension foam tape.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE THE “LOVE YOU” CARD:

1. Create the flower using the Gardenia die set following the key hole system as your guide.
2. Trim the background to fit the card base. **Tip**: For a balanced design, I left white space on both sides by trimming the background slightly smaller than the card base.
3. Use a circle die to cut an aperture in the background (hold on to the cut-out circle – we are going to use it on the next card!)
4. Use Instant Dimension Foam Tape to adhere the background and flower to the card base.
5. Stamp the sentiment.
6. Trim the sentiment and adhere it to the card base.
7. Embellish the card using enamel dots.

TO MAKE THE “HI” CARD YOU WILL NEED :

1. White card base.
2. Cut out circle (left over from previous card.)
3. Timeless sentiments 2 die set.
4. Die Cutting machine.
5. Additional white card stock for the sentiment.
6. Instant Dimension Foam Tape.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE THE “HI” CARD :

1. Use the Timeless sentiment die set to cut out the sentiment. **TIP**: Cut 3 to 4 times, and layer for dimension. Use the negative die-cut as a guide for perfect placement of the dot and exclamation mark.
2. Adhere the sentiment to the circle.
3. Adhere the circle to the card base using Instant Dimension Foam Tape.

TO MAKE THE “CELEBRATE” CARD YOU WILL NEED:

1. White card base.
2. Checkered background made previously.
3. Timeless Sentiment Die Set.
4. Die cutting machine
5. Additional white card stock for the sentiment.
6. Smoky quarts gem sparkles.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE THE “CELEBRATE” CARD :

1. Trim the background to fit the card base, leaving some white space to balance the design.
2. Use the Timeless sentiment die set to cut out the sentiment. **Tip**: Cut 3 to 4 times, and layer for dimension.
3. Adhere the background to the card base.
4. Adhere the sentiment to the background.
5. Embellish the card with Gem Sparkles.

Creating these cards was a fun exploration of patterns and colors. By balancing details with white space, you can achieve completely different looks using the same elements. The beauty lies in experimenting with colors, patterns, and layout to discover unique combinations.

I hope these tips inspire you to experiment with your own designs and unlock new ways to bring your cards to life!

What new pattern or technique will you try next? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for joining me today—happy crafting!

SUPPLY LIST :

Craft-A-Flower: Gardenia Layering Die… [ ALTN ] Bold Sentiments Stamp Set [ ALTN ] Stampwheel [ ALTN ] Crafty Necessities: Ruby Red… [ ALTN ] Crafty Necessities: Frosty Pink… [ ALTN ] Crafty Necessities: Sea Glass… [ ALTN ] Crafty Necessities: Desert Night… [ ALTN ] Crafty Necessities: Pumpkin Pie… [ ALTN ] Crafty Necessities: Vanilla Cream… [ ALTN ] Timeless Sentiments 2 Die Set [ ALTN ] Instant Dimension Foam Tape [ ALTN ] Cool Summer Night Fresh Dye Ink [ ALTN ] Sandy Blush Enamel Dots [ ALTN ] Smoky Quartz Gem Sparkles [ ALTN ]