ThePowerOfACard: December 2025

Tuesday, December 9, 2025

Patterned Paper Crazy Quilts

When I recently delivered some goodies to one of my customers, Sue Martin, she shared some cards she was making with scraps of paper. She had sorted them into bags by color and then pieced them together in a crazy quilt fashion to make a beautiful background for her cards. I loved the idea and thought I'd give it a try. I'm not sure if my technique is the same one she uses, but it worked for me and I know it will work for you too! Enjoy the video!

I am a quilter, but I've never made a crazy quilt (but I have used a lot of scraps!). So Sue's idea really inspired me to try. I decided to not add the decorative "stitching" that is common in actual quilts because I thought it wouldn't work well with the scale of my "quilt", or the patterns of the paper. While I chose to stay within a single pack of DSP, you could certainly mix and match all of your papers. The process is fun and the results are different each time.

Gather your supplies:

Cardstock: Basic Beige 8-1/2" x 5-1/2 scored at 4-1/4"; Basic Beige 4" x 5-1/4"; Basic White 4" x 2-1/2"; Gathering Together Specialty DSP a variety of scraps
Stamp Bundles: Gathering Moments, Words of Beauty
Die: Branching Out
Inks: Old Olive, Cajun Craze, Daffodil Delight
Embellishment: Cajun Craze & Gold Dots
Adhesive and Tools

Fold your card base and press the fold with your bone folder. From the rectangle of Basic Beige, cut out the center with one of the Branching Out dies. You can use the label another time, but for this card, we need the "hole" in the center. Place this piece on the card front and lightly trace the cutout onto the card front. This will help you know the exact area you have to cover with your scraps of paper.

Start by adhering the first scrap in place. Then continue adding bits of paper at a variety of angles all over the card front until the pencilled area is covered. Trim pieces as needed, especially if they might get too close to the edge of the card. I typically like to adjoin pieces together, but also overlap some of them as the whimsy hits!

Add the Beige rectangle with Dimensionals on the card front - this will frame the beautiful crazy quilt you just pieced together. Stamp the sentiment in Old Olive and the large leaf in Cajun Craze; cut with the dies. Adhere the sentiment with Mini Dimensionals and glue the leaf in the corner. Finish the card by stamping some additional leaves (in Cajun Craze and Daffodil Delight) on the inside of the card as well as the envelope corner. Stamp the inside sentiment with Old Olive. The last touch is to add embellishments in the corners of your opening.

When I first tried the technique, I wasn't sure I would like it, so I used some retired patterned paper (Take a Bow). I made the opening with the Peace on Earth Dies (this bundle is on the Last Chance List and so worth getting!). The sentiments and holly are from Jolly Holly and I embellished with Real Red & White Adhesive-backed Peppermints. After this first one, I knew I'd be making more!

Next came the Modern Christmas Specialty DSP pack. I chose the Nested Essentials dies to make a very large opening to showcase the gorgeous black/white/gold paper! I used the Ornamental Christmas bundle for the sentiments, tree and star. As a fun tip, you can add tiny dots of glue on the tree, cover them with gold embossing powder, let dry and then melt with the Heat Tool to make ornaments on the tree! I love how this turned out, especially on the black card base!

As you know from last week's video, I really love the Elegant Pine Snowflakes DSP, so of course, I had to make a card with that! My opening is a circle from the Stylish Shapes dies and the snowflake and sentiments are from the Delicate Pines Bundle.

Changing it up a bit for this one - I used Celebratory Sips DSP to cover a rectangle of paper instead of filling in the space below an opening. This was even easier to do because when you're done adding the scraps, you just trim off the edges before adding it to the card front panel. I used the Cheers & Sips and With You in Mind stamp sets for the sayings.

Lastly, I used the Beautiful Bokeh paper pack, which is filled with soft pastel patterns. I filled the opening made from the Stylish Shapes dies, then stamped flowers from the 12 Days of Advent Crafting Calendar onto some of the same paper and cut them out with the coordinating die. This was so fun to do! All of my examples are so different from one another - it's hard to pick a favorite! Thanks again Sue for the inspiration!

Karen

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