Hello and thanks for joining me! Today I’m revisiting our Scrappy Strip technique with the beautiful Bloom Boutique patterned paper. If choosing just one design feels impossible, this is a lovely way to bring several of them together. ✂️

There’s also a story behind this technique, and it starts with a piece of art in our home.

The story behind our Scrappy Strip technique

We have a piece of artwork by a friend who is an Australian Indigenous artist. Bruno wanted to make a card inspired by that piece, so I cut strips of paper and added them together. That idea became our Scrappy Strip technique!

I love that something we enjoy in our home inspired us to sit down and create. Inspiration can come from so many places, and sometimes trying an idea with paper is the best way to see where it takes you.

What makes a Scrappy Strip card different?

The little twist is in the cutting. These aren’t uniform, straight-sided strips. You cut on slight angles, creating pieces that are narrower at one end and wider at the other.

When you arrange them with small gaps between them, the background cardstock shows through and helps each strip stand out. Varying the widths and turning some pieces around gives the panel its lovely, irregular look.

And the best part? You don’t need to worry about cutting everything perfectly straight. A little wonkiness belongs here! 😂

Bloom Boutique colours and florals

For this card, I used a Hydrangea Hue card base, with Crisp Cantaloupe underneath the patterned strips and a Basic White layer to frame the panel.

The Bloom Boutique paper brings together small floral prints, different colours and specialty details. Using several designs across the background lets you enjoy more of the paper in one project.

I finished the front with coloured flowers and leaves, a textured scalloped piece and a white heat-embossed “Thinking of you” sentiment. The horizontal paper strip adds another detail across the background, almost like a little paper ribbon.

How to try the Scrappy Strip technique

1. Choose a selection of coordinating patterned papers and a piece of cardstock for your background panel.
2. Cut your paper into strips on slight angles. Mix thinner and wider pieces, keeping them long enough to extend beyond the panel.
3. Arrange and glue the strips onto the cardstock, leaving small gaps so the background colour shows through. Turn some strips around to vary the pattern.
4. Trim the overhanging ends and cut the finished panel to suit your card. Check that the edges of each strip are securely glued.
5. Add a contrasting cardstock layer, attach the panel to your card base and finish with your chosen sentiment and embellishments.

I used liquid glue and a silicone craft sheet while assembling mine. The glue gives you a little time to adjust the pieces, and the craft sheet helps when glue extends beyond the cardstock.

You can keep the finished card simple with just a sentiment, or add flowers and layers as I’ve done here. The same technique also works with cardstock, so have a play with what you already have.

A softer way to colour with shimmer brushes

In the video, I demonstrate two ways to use the shimmer brushes. Colouring directly gives a stronger result. For a softer look, I put a little ink onto a clear block and use a water painter with a small amount of water to pick up the colour.

I used Hydrangea Hue, Crisp Cantaloupe and Peaceful Pine for the colouring, with Secret Sea ink for the stamped outlines. You can see the difference between the direct colouring and the softer, water-painted finish in the demonstration.

Start with a small amount of water, especially on ordinary cardstock, and test on a spare piece before colouring your flowers.

Keep those little offcuts!

Don’t be too quick to discard the pieces you trim away. In the video, I show how you can make use of those ends, and I add a coordinating strip inside the card.

It’s a lovely way to connect the inside with the front. I also added some specialty paper inside, because those beautiful designs deserve to be enjoyed when the card is opened too.

Watch the full card-making video

Come and craft along with me! You can watch the angled cutting, the assembly, the shimmer-brush colouring and the finishing details in the video below.

If the video isn’t displaying, watch the full demonstration on YouTube here.

Make a card to send

A “Thinking of you” card is a lovely reason to reach out to someone. Once you’ve enjoyed making it, write a little message inside and send it on its way. 💙

If you live in Australia and would like to shop with us, visit our Stampin’ Up! online store here.

Buy Now from Kylie's Australian Store

Shop the Stampin' Up! products used in this project.

Have you tried our Scrappy Strip technique before, or will this be your first go? I’d love to hear which papers you’d choose.