ThePowerOfACard

Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Can you use Tissue Paper in Card Making? You Bet!

Recently, my brother and his wife visited up on their way from Florida to Western New York. Joanne asked me if I still used tissue paper when making cards. I answered yes, but realized that I hadn't done this technique in a very long time. When she got to her home, she sent me an envelope full of tissue papers in all sorts of styles, colors and designs - it was wonderful! So the first thing I did was use some of it in my card class this month, where everyone loved learning the tissue paper technique. Next, I decided to make this video so that everyone could learn (or be reminded) of this fun way to repurpose and reuse tissue paper.

The key part to using tissue paper in card making is adhering it to something to give it support. You don't have to use your good card stock - in fact, this is a perfect opportunity to use lightweight, inexpensive cardstock. What is important is the coverage of adhesive on this cardstock. I talk about the different ways you can adhere the tissue in the video, but my favorite is spray adhesive, closely followed by Adhesive Sheets.

I have plenty of samples to share and you'll see that in reality, the tissue paper acts just like any piece of DSP (Designer Series Paper). You can use it as a focal point, die cut it into shapes, or just use a strip as an an accent. The paper doesn't have to be new, so reuse and give it a second life!

Gather your supplies:

Cardstock: Melon Mambo 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" scored at 4-1/4", 4" x 1-1/2"; Basic White 4" x 5-1/4", 2" x 2"; Cheap white cardstock 4" x 5-1/4", 3" x 6"
Stamp: Phrases & Frames
Die: Stylish Shapes
Ink: Melon Mambo
Embellishment: Garden Epoxy Dots
Blends: Dark Melon Mambo
Ribbon: Silver Metallic Edge (retired) 13"
Adhesive and Tools
Tissue Paper (large enough to cover the two pieces of cheap cardstock - you can be generous with the sizing)

We will start with the star of the show - the tissue paper. Take your piece and crumple it tightly in a ball - really give it a good squeeze! Then unfurl it and flatten it out, but don't try to smooth out all the wrinkles, which are part of the charm of the finished piece. Place the tissue paper on your work surface wrong side up. Cover your two pieces of cheap cardstock with adhesive. I used spray adhesive in the video because I love the full coverage and it's quick to do. I did spray this outside, so it that's not an option for you, then my next favorite is Adhesive Sheets (add them to the cheap cardstock and peel off the backing before adding the tissue paper). Press the sticky cardstock on the tissue paper and press with your hands to make sure it's all stuck down, especially on the edges. Trim the excess tissue with your scissors (or trimmer if you prefer).

Normally, I start with the card and do the envelope last, but today, we are going to use the larger piece of tissue covered paper to cover the envelope flap. Add small amounts of glue all over the flap, trying to get some close to the edges. Add the tissue piece and trim. With the remaining piece, cut this into a 3/4" strip to use on the inside of the card.

Our card layout is quite simple. Add the rectangle of Melon Mambo to the bottom of the 4" x 5-1/4" piece of tissue covered paper. For my ribbon, I wanted a pink to match the colors in the card base and tissue, so I used a retired ribbon and colored it with my dark Melon Mambo Stampin' Blend. This is a great way to get more usage of your ribbons and customize them for your project! Tie this in a knot at the seam of the two papers and glue it to the card base, which was folded in half and burnished with a bone folder.

From the small piece of Basic White, cut out a circle using the Stylish Shapes dies and stamp the sentiment in Melon Mambo ink. Pop this up over the ribbon with Dimensionals and decorate with some dots (I forgot to do this in the video!). For the inside panel, add the remaining strip of tissued paper and trim. Then stamp your sentiment in Melon Mambo ink and you're all done!

My next two cards were made from the same gorgeous piece of tissue paper. It has several different birds and a variety of flowers. However, depending on where you piece it, the results look like they came from different papers! In the first one, I paired the panel with Blackberry Bliss and Very Vanilla. To coordinate with the tissue, I used gold embossing for my sentiment and Gold Striped Mesh ribbon. The edges and tag were created with the Bordered in Beauty dies. While we no longer sell Very Vanilla envelopes, I still have a small stash and really wanted to have a matching envelope. For the second card, the bird and flowers were so lovely all by themselves, all I needed to add was a small sentiment (also embossed in gold). The Cherry Cobbler cardstock picked up the colors in the two flowers quite nicely (and so different from the previous card!). I use the sentiments from Garden Gathering, which also has a flower cluster that coordinated perfectly too.

This next tissue paper is so bright and colorful and I love it! After adhering it, I cut a large scalloped circle with the Scalloped Blooms dies. I cut another of the die on scrap paper and folded this in half to use as a guide to cut my pretty piece in half. The embossed panel under the scalloped half circle is the Paradise Garden Hybrid embossing folder. This Scalloped Blooms bundle has awesome shapes and good sentiments!

Initially, I had sorted this tissue with the Christmas ones. But I really love the colors and since the leaves weren't holly leaves, I decided I could use it for a masculine birthday card. I love how I could use three shades of green (Garden Green, Granny Apple Green and Lemon Lime Twist) and work so well with the leaves! I used the Nature's Symphony bundle for the sentiment and leaves and embellished with Adhesive Backed Metallic Gems. I also use the birthday greeting from the 2026 Virtual Card Making Retreat set (one of my favorites!).

My last tissue has rows of circles in all sorts of fun colors. Since they are rows, my daughter (Kristin) suggested I cut them into strips for this classic layout. A simple sentiment strip from Words & Wishes is all that is needed to finish this cheerful birthday card.

I hope you've enjoyed this oldie, but goodie technique! And thanks again to my sister-in-law for saving and sending me such beautiful tissue papers!

Karen

ThePowerOfACard@gmail.com

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Product List

Phrases & Frames Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[167581]

$21.00

Melon Mambo 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[115320]

$14.00

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[166780]

$14.00

Melon Mambo Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[153112]

$12.00

Stylish Shapes Dies

[159183]

$30.00

Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad

[147051]

$9.00

Garden Epoxy Dots

[167124]

$8.00

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

[110755]

$6.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Basic White Medium Envelopes

[159236]

$15.00

Paper Trimmer

[152392]

$28.00

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine

[149653]

$140.00

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Valley in Bloom Suite Plus Zig Zag Strips Technique

I grew up in Western New York and across the street from my home were woods where Lily of the Valley flowers grew wild - they smell so sweet and are lovely to see! So when I saw this suite of products from the new May - August mini catalog, I knew I had to order it! In addition to the stamp bundle, there are two packs of paper, an embossing folder, and a pack of embellishments. The colors are bright and fresh - so reminiscent of spring!

When playing with this wonderful collection of new products, I had lots of fun making cards. In fact, I made sixteen different ones to show! I don't know if that's because I'm retired now and have more time to play, or if it's because this is such and easy suite to work with. Regardless, I have plenty of inspiration for you. The card I chose to recreate in the video is a technique I saw from Heidi Collins. It uses strips of paper (can be stamped, embossed, or printed), which is great for us paper hoarders! One half of the design is flush with the background paper, and the other half is elevated with either dimensionals or foam tape. As you see in the video, this is a simple technique, but looks very impressive! I hope you enjoy all of the inspiration!

Gather your supplies:

Cardstock: Thick Basic White 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" scored at 4-1/4"; Garden Green 4" x 5-1/4"; Basic White 2" x 2", (2) 1/2" x 5" ish; Darling Duckling 1-1/2" x 2"; Valley in Bloom DSP and Luxe White Specialty DSP variety of strips 1/2" - 3/4" wide and 3" long; Valley in Bloom DSP 7/8" x 5-1/2" (this can be thinner as it is just for the inside)
Stamp Bundle: Lily of the Valley
Die: Nested Essentials
Inks: Garden Green and Darling Duckling
Embellishment: Shimmering Dots
Blends: Granny Apple Green and Dark Lemon Lolly
Adhesive and Tools

The first version I made with this technique (shown to the right) has a greater variety of colors of DSP (and none of the Luxe White), was placed on a Basic White background and has a vertical orientation. In the video, I decided to change the orientation to horizontal and keep the color palette Darling Duckling and white with a touch of green. To make these stand out, I used a Garden Green panel instead of white.

To begin, arrange your strips in the order you would like them. Depending on the width of the strips, you'll need 9-10 of them. Start by adhering part of the first strip at the bottom right corner of your base cardstock. This strip should be placed less than half way across and will stick off the right side. Adhere the next piece so that the pieces are adjacent to one another, but so the ends do not align. Keep adding strips up the side of the card, changing the placement to form the zig zag edge. What's important is that the strips touch at the edges with no gaps. When you get to the top, it's normal for the last piece to extend beyond the top edge - don't worry about that now as we will trim it later.

Turn this piece over and adhere the strips of basic white (or any color cardstock - I just use these because I have so many of them from trimming paper!). These strips will keep all the pieces together when we cut them from the cardstock panel. One thing to keep in mind is that you don't want these white strips showing beyond the DSP strips when you turn it over. (You'll note in the video that I had to trim a little bit so it wouldn't show). At this point, you can trim off the excess strips from the top, and then trim along the right side of the base cardstock. Add Dimensionals on the back of strips.

Alternatively, you could just add strips of foam adhesive to the back of the strips like Heidi did. This will hold them together and give lift at the same time. I chose not to do this because foam strips are thicker than Dimensionals. Remove the backings from the Dimensionals and add this to the front of the panel on the left side. The papers will match perfectly to your right side but be elevated! Since this is a horizontal card, decide which side you want elevated (top or bottom) and adhere the panel to the card base.

Use the smallest rounded rectangle from the Nested Essentials dies to cut the label out of Darling Duckling. Stamp the sentiment in Garden Green on the right side of the label. Stamp the small flower cluster in Garden Green on the piece of Basic White. Color with Blends and cut with the matching die. Add the label to the card front (only add Dimensionals to the part that is not touching the raised side of the zig zags), then add the flower on the left side of the label. Finish off the front by adding a few of the Shimmering Dots.

For the inside, position your strip of DSP at the bottom to help you know where to stamp the flower cluster. Stamp both the flower cluster and sentiment in darling Duckling in the lower left corner, then adhere the strip of DSP below them. Add another flower cluster to the corner of the envelope.

For my many samples, I won't give much description, except to note when I used additional products or have a comment about the technique. If you need more detail for a particular card, please reach out to me.

For the card on the left, the banner is Two Tone Pool Party and all the stamping was done with Pretty Peacock. Wink of Stella was all I added to these flowers. I used the Stylish Shapes dies on the card with the torn DSP and lightly ink blended the top with Pool Party and the bottom with Lemon Lime Twist. I also added a touch of Pool Party (Blends) and Wink of Stella to the flowers.

Party Banners dies was used here, and like the card above, has a little ink blended color. The Gray Granite Baker's Twine is from the Basics set. For the card on the right, I used the Sweet Words & Labels dies and Garden Green Chevron Ribbon.

The small squares of Lemon Lime Twist and Lemon Lolly are cut with the Stylish Shapes dies and the flowers have a touch of Lemon Lolly to make them pop. The Luxe White paper was colored with Blends in an ombré manner using Garden Green at the bottom and working up with Granny Apple Green and Lemon Lime Twist. I stamped the words in each of those colors and cut them apart to decorate this simple (masculine) card.

More ink blending on the Luxe White DPS - this time with Lemon Lime Twist and Pool Party. The flowers were lightly colored with the a Pool Party Blend. The sentiment on the inside of the Darling Duckling card is from Words & Wishes.

https://ThePowerOfACard.blogspot.com Karen Sliwinski ©Stampin’ Up!

The first Basic Beige panel is embossed with the Stone & Vine embossing folder and just the stems of the flowers are colored with Blends. The Basic Beige panel on the right is done with the Forever Plaid embossing folder. The strips of DSP are folded back to form a pinwheel and the card is embellished with Antique Pearls and Basic Beige Classic ribbon (Last Chance) that was cut in half before tying in a bow.

The Fresh Freesia and DSP were cut using the Everyday Arches Dies and the sentiment was stamped on torn Two Tone Darling Duckling cardstock. The white Baker's Twine is from the Basics pack. The flowers on the right were enhanced by adding additional flowers (cut with the individual die) and popped up with Mini Dimensionals.

The Floral Spray 3D Embossing Folder is so lovely on its own, I thought it would make a gorgeous anniversary (or wedding) card. I added layers of white and tied it together with the Gold Striped Mesh ribbon. The sentiments, which were embossed in gold, are from the Phrases & Frames set and the gold embellishments are Adhesive Backed Metallic Gems.

To make this card pop with color, I first used Versamark and my brayer to cover the debossed side of the embossing folder. Then I added Pool Party ink with the brayer over the Versamark. After you add your white panel and emboss in the Stampin' Cut & Emboss machine, you get this beautiful panel of white flowers on a colored background. The addition of Versamark before the ink helps get better coverage. I stamped some texture on the Pool Party Two Tone cardstock with the Gears & Textures stamp set.

My last sample was one we made at my April Card Class. Thin layers of Pool Party and Basic White are used to mat the Granny Apple square that was embossed. More Baker's Twine was used to add a sweet bow. I know I showed you a lot of cards, but I could have make more! There's even more products that coordinate with an emphasis on scrapbooking - Valley in Bloom DSP and Sticker Sheet, Life in Bloom Two Tone Cardstock pack, the Life in Bloom bundle and a Life in Bloom Scrapbooking Workshop Kit! I think you'll find lots of enjoyment like I did!