14/1 post Using Designer Series Paper (DSP) to create a Twisted Ribbon accent.

Welcome to today's post where I show you how to create a faux Twisted Ribbon effect for your cards & scrapbook pages.

Hello, my name is Alison, I am an independent Stampin' Up® demonstrator & I live in beautiful Melbourne, Australia. 

For those of you who have previously visited my blog & are now returning, thank you. For those of you who are here for the first time, welcome! 

 Here's a little bit about me. I love creating cards & gifts for my loved ones & this blog will show you how to create something special for those you love. I blog twice a week, once on a Sunday where I mainly showcase a stamp set or dies, embossing folders, projects & sometimes special DSP and Wednesday evenings when I highlight a technique, fun folds or tools & tips. I would love to hear from you if you have any questions. You can contact me at craftedbyalison@gmail.com.

Today I have chosen to share a fun technique that uses scraps of Designer Series Paper (DSP) to create a pattern that looks like twisted ribbon. Hence the title of this post.

I will walk you through, step by step, how I made it & what materials were used. I hope you enjoy seeing how easy & fun this technique is. Here is the finished card.

To start, gather together a card base, some strips of DSP, Basic White cardstock for stamping & mattes, stamps, inks & embellishments.

I used a 21cm x 14.85cm piece of Old Olive for the base, scored in half at 10.5cm

There is a Basic White matte for the front, a 13.85cm x 5.5cm matte the same colour as the base & a 13.35cm x 5cm white piece for the technique.

I chose the beautiful Painterly Pears DSP & cut 3 1.5cm strips which were then cut into 7.5cm x 1.5cm pieces. I cut 12 pieces in total but only needed 10. I used both sides of the one sheet so you could easily mass produce this style of card from just a few sheets of DSP.

Here are the materials ready to go.

The next step is to mark the smaller white matte at 1.5cm intervals on both of the long sides.

A reminder to use a silicone mat to protect your work area as it gets a little messy with all that glue hanging over the edges!

With the strip in portrait orientation, start layering the pattern you want to be the reverse of the ribbon, starting with the bottom edge of the DSP strip above the first left side mark and angling it down to the second mark on the right side. Continue lining up each of the DSP strips until you get to the bottom of the strip.

There will be lots of DSP dangling over the edges but that's OK - all of these bits will be trimmed a little later.

Now take the second pattern & repeat the procedure starting at the right side & angling it down to the left side.

Now we trim. I like to use teflon coated scissors as the glue doesn't stick as much.

This strip is then adhered to the Old Olive matte.

On the Basic White matte I stamped a background image called Lasting Linen in Basic Beige for a little visual texture & adhered it to the card front.

The Twisted Ribbon strip was then added to the front.

I chose a sentiment from Notes & Totes & stamped it in Mossy Meadow on a scrap of white. I created an Old Olive matte with one of the Textured Notes dies & trimmed the sentiment to fit inside it.

I had some fussy cut pears & flowers left from a previous project so added a few to the sentiment strip then raised it on dimensionals. The small pears were just shades of green & yellow so I added a little Timid Tiger ink with a sponge dauber so it would mimic the pears in the DSP.

The final step was to add some pretty Pearls of Beauty for a little extra bling and also added a decorated white matte to the inside of the card & decorated the flap of an envelope for a nice surprise when posting.

So that's it! Such an easy way to add a little extra WOW to a card. I hope you enjoyed learning this simple but effective technique.

My next post will be on Sunday when I look at some of the new DSP that Stampin' Up® have available.

The next mid week blog will feature the first of many card sketches that I will share with you this year. Card sketches are great to inspire & can be used in many different ways.

I hope you can join me for both of them.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at craftedbyalison@gmail.com & don't forget that the items I create are also available in my shop. Today's will be available tomorrow morning.

If you enjoyed today's post, why not add your email & be notified each time I post?

Til next time, take care & keep creating.

XX Alison