Hey there Daisies! It’s Kelly and today I am going to be discussing one of my favorite ways to use a busy background paper. When I received the December kit, I was immediately drawn to the quilt-like paper with all of the colors and the patterns. I knew that I wanted to use it but had to think about just how to showcase most of the pretty colors and designs. I often will use busy patterns as a tight mat behind my photos so just a bit of the pattern is showing. I have cut strips and placed them as borders on the edges of my layout, and I have also fussy cut them if there are images such as florals. Today I am going to use this paper to back a cut file.

First I cut the squares and then sorted them by colors. I chose to use the pinks, purples, and aquas for this layout so the patterns that were mostly coral I saved for another project. I then cut them in strips to place behind the cut file. The designs in these patterns are smaller since the squares are small, making it perfect to use behind the openings in the cut file.

As I filled in the tree, I used two strips of the square to cover a longer row. I just made sure that the strip ended in between the openings so that you wouldn’t be able to tell that it is not one continuous strip of paper. This is easier if you use a pattern that is spaced out like the diamonds, or use a solid. For the longer rows I used strips of 12×12 paper and branding strips from the papers in the kit.

Since some of the papers and embellishments used were designed by Paige Evans, it was only fitting that I included hand stitching on my layout. I did handstitch around the tree with gold embroidery floss which helped to contain the tree and really made it the focal point on my page. In my experience, metallic floss tends to break a bit easier so I find that I am a bit more gentle when pulling the thread through the holes. I don’t mind because the end result is worth it to me. If you have any leftover sequins from last month’s kit, pull them into this kit as well because the colors work great with the papers in this kit!

I hope that you have enjoyed this post and will check out the process video. Have a wonderful day and enjoy this holiday season!