Stamp and Create with Beth: Create backgrounds with paper strips and an embossing folder

Do you have tons of cardstock and patterned paper strips piling up? If you're like me, you tell yourself when your chopping up your papers that you need to save these. They may be needed someday- right?! Well, a few- yes. The mound I have- no. So when I need to thin out my scrap pile, I create strip backgrounds. Just grab some colors you want to use and get busy. The sizes can vary. Most of my strips are 1/4" or 1/2" but I do have other sizes and you can mix and match however you want.

To make this background, gather some strips of cardstock. I used Secret Sea, Cloud Cover and Fresh Freesia. Fun, right?! I used 1/4" and 1/2" strips. Cut a Basic White (or whatever color you want- we're covering it up) cardstock piece 5 1/4" x 4". Adhere the strips to this piece. I like to make my piece a little bigger and cut it down after I'm done adhering all the strips. I recommend using a silicone craft sheet so you don't get adhesive all over your work surface. It's great because the glue doesn't stick to it and you can pull your piece right off without issues.

I test out different arrangements before I start adhering strips down. Your grid paper or the glass mat is great for this because you can see the ruler and how many strips of paper you need.

Once you have your pattern figured out, you'll want to put adhesive on your cardstock layer. I use Stampin' Seal or Multipurpose liquid glue. They both give you a little wiggle room to line up your strips. Make sure your first strip is straight and then push the next strip up against it. Keep building until you have covered your layer. You can do diagonal or whatever fun pattern you want. Trim off any paper pieces that hang over the edge. ** I use my trimmer to cut my layer down to 5" x 3 3/4".

Next, take a bone folder or clean clear block and rub over your strip background. Make sure it is all adhered down. Now you can emboss it with any of your favorite embossing folders. I used the Forever Plaid 3D embossing folder by Stampin' Up!®. This adds some fun texture to your background.

Adhere the layer to a card base and embellish with die cuts or just a greeting. I used the new Scenic Adventure bundle (stamps and dies) by Stampin' Up!®. The mountain was die cut from Cloud Cover paper and adhered to a Basic White rectangle cut to fit across the length of my layer. I stamped the greeting in Secret Sea classic ink and then adhered the mountain top. This layer is popped up with dimensionals. This would make a great graduation card or encouragement card for someone starting something new.