Are you frugal with your pretty patterned paper? I know I am. So this morning I set out to make a card with a coordinating envelope and gift tag from one 6×6 piece of paper. Why 6×6? Because Stampin’ Up! sell paper in 6″ x 6″ and 12″ x 12″ (which makes four 6×6 pieces). Either way this means you could make 48 cards and 48 tags from one pack of DSP. Here’s my first idea using paper that has a definite directional pattern.

CUTTING THE 6×6 DSP

The one thing that I can’t change is the size of the envelope flap. So once I had my 6″ x 6″ piece of Brightly Gleaming Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP) I started with that.

From the square piece of DSP I cut 2-1/4″ off the bottom making sure that the direction of the pattern was correct. Then using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I attached the DSP to the flap of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope. Finally using Paper Snips I trimmed the DSP using the edge of the flap as a guide.

From the remaining 3-3/4″ x 6″ piece I cut off two strips 1″ x 3-3/4″, leaving me with a 4″ x 3-3/4″ piece.

SIMPLE LAYERS

For each of my three DSP pieces I cut a mat from Night Of Navy Card 1/8″ bigger than the DSP. Then I mounted the DSP to the mats using liquid glue.

Once that was done I took the largest piece and attached it to a Thick Very Vanilla Card base with liquid glue. One of the layered strips was then glued to a layer of Very Vanilla Card which was fixed inside the card base.

The second layered strip was glued down the centre of a 2″ x 3-3/4″ piece of Very Vanilla Card. This was for my coordinating gift tag, so I shaped the top with the Delightful Tag Topper Punch.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

That just left me the Merry Christmas sentiment which I found in the Christmas Gleaming Stamp Set. I took two pieces of 3/4″ x 2-1/4″ Very Vanilla Card and stamped the sentiment on each one using Celestial Copper ink. Then with liquid glue I mounted them onto 7/8″ x 2-3/8″ pieces of Night Of Navy Card.

With that done I completed the card by attaching one of the sentiments to the front using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I used more Stampin’ Dimensionals to fix the second sentiment to the gift tag. Then I finished off the tag with a piece of Linen Thread tied in a simple knot.

In no time at all I had a card decorated on the inside and with a matching envelope, plus a coordinating gift tag. Using the Brightly Gleaming Specialty DSP and copper ink meant I got lots of shimmer and shine without the need for embossing.

And as for my wish to be frugal? This is what’s left of my original 6×6 piece of DSP…

Not bad huh?

Next week I’ll bring you another option for using a 6″ x 6″ piece of DSP to create two more coordinating projects.

You can see another project I made using the Brightly Gleaming DSP in my previous blog post Our stormy outlook.

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UPDATED 2020: Sadly the Celestial Copper Ink Pad has now retired and is no longer available from Stampin’ Up!