Bargello with Paper

Have any striped Designer Series Paper laying (lying?) around that you don't know what to do with? Then try bargello, a needlepoint technique that uses thread to create patterns that we paper crafters have adapted for our own uses.

Dawn Olfchefske did a great tutorial on this, so I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here. The pattern I did she demonstrates near the end of the video, about 6:52 in. The skinny? Take 2-6"x6" squares of striped DSP. Line one up with the stripes running vertically and cut diagonally from the upper left corner to the lower right corner. Then cut .5" strips. Take the second piece of 6"x6" striped paper and place the stripes running horizontally. Cut again from the upper left corner to the lower right corner and then cut .5" strips.

This will allow you to create this wavy pattern! It's so cool to watch it come together as you mount it on a piece of card stock. I've had this sitting on my desk for several weeks, just waiting for enough time to finish it properly for the right occasion. Kelly is a partner at Starbucks who was only with us for a short time. She's leaving because her full-time job will take her out of town too many weekends for her to continue working at the store. This card is for all of us to sign to wish her farewell.

Want to know how I found matching thread for my buttons? It's not thread; it's PAPER! I learned this trick somewhere on the internet, but it's not really all that tricky. Just cut a thin thin thin strip of card stock and use it like thread on your button. Voila--matchy matchy!

I tried my hand at pleating some ribbon and this time I used double-sided Scotch tape, and it worked fairly well. I had to reinforce the pleats with some glue dots, due to the heft of this ribbon. Still, it adds some nice texture and visual interest to the card.

Figuring out how to put a sentiment on this card without detracting from the patterned paper was a challenge. I chose something small from Best Yet and punched it with the Modern Label Punch.

Give this a try and let me know what you think! I'd love to see yours--link me to a picture!