Spellbinders March 2020 APG DOM Archives

Throwback Thursday: Spring Cleaning Carta Bella Farmhouse Market

Hello, Friends and welcome to Throwback Thursday! Today we’re spring cleaning Carta Bella Farmhouse Market from the Closet of Inspiration and Delight. While re-organizing my paper stash, I unearthed this lovely springtime collection and decided it was time to liberate it from exile. I made several projects from this collection when it was released in 2020. If you’d like to take a trip down memory lane, you can review them HERE.

Since I still had quite a bit of the 6×6 pad and a few sheets of 12×12 papers, I decided to use the collection up with one of my little Tea party in a Box projects. But lo and behold…there was still MORE paper.

So I made a card.

Still more paper. How is this even possible?

The solution was a simple one. Use the leftover bits and bobs to make one of my famous card stacks. Film the process so all my online friends can follow along in a Throwback Thursday tutorial. So, I did!

That was fun! Before I filmed the video tutorial for the 12 card stack, I shared a quick tour of the Tea Party in a Box folio and talked about how I made the wreath decoration on both the card and folio cover.

Pretty Little Farmhouse Style Cards

I have to be honest with you, my friends. This is absolutely one of my favorite days in the studio. There is something soul satisfying about polishing off a beautiful paper collection.

Add to that the fact that I really enjoy the challenge of working with limited supplies in a limited amount of time. I only allot myself 2 hours to complete 12 cards. This includes the time it takes me to gather materials and set up my assembly line.

How To Create a Stack of Cards Assembly Line

If you’d like to try this method on for size, here’s how I do it.

First, cut 6 sheets of 8 1/2″ x 11″ white cardstock into 4 1/4″ x 11″ panels. Score each panel at 5 1/2″ and fold to form a 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ (A2) card base. Place these in a neat stack on the far right hand side of your work space.
Next, cut (12) 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ panels of patterned paper to serve as card fronts. Stack these to the left of the card bases.
Then look at the off cuts (scraps) left from cutting the 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ panels. Chances are good that you will have several 2″ or 3″ x 5 1/2″ strips that you can use as layering elements. Look again; you probably have a bunch of 4 1/4″ wide strips of patterned paper that you can use as a belly band. Stack each of these elements in their own pile to the left of the card fronts.
Now, cut the rest of your scraps up into 3 1/2″ x 4 3/4″ panels, or 3″ x 4″ panels. Little scraps can be cut into banner pieces.
Next, prepare your embellishments. For this stack of cards, I strung all my little bee charms on pieces of white burlap string so they were ready to go when I needed them. If you are using buttons, go ahead and thread them. Pick through your left over flowers and select a dozen or so to use on the cards. And don’t forget to tie all your bows in advance.
Pull out any left over ephemera or chipboard pieces and lay them out so you can see them.

Making Card Bundles

This next step is really fun. Give yourself 15 minutes to go through your assembly line and compile what I call “card bundles.” A typical bundle will include a 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ card front, a belly band, doily (if I’m using them), ephemera and a focal image for the card.

The trick here is to move quickly and not to overthink. Just pull pieces together and bundle them with a card base in a stack on your work space. Now you’re ready to put the actual cards together. This part of the process takes me about 36 minutes. That’s about 3 minutes per card! Isn’t that awesome?

Spring Cleaning Carta Bella Farmhouse Market Video on YouTube

You can watch this happen in the process video below. I’ll also share a tour of the pretty Tea Party in a Box and card before we dig in and make the stack of cards.

I hope you enjoyed watching me polish off this pretty paper collection. The Tea Party in a Box and card are available in my Etsy Shop. Each finished card from the stack will be tucked in with a future Etsy order as a little “extra helping” for my sweet customers.

So there you have it. Another Throwback Thursday done and dusted! I hope you enjoyed it!

Now go make something beautiful!

Cheerio,

kathy

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**Please note: Throwback Thursday posts are designed to inspire you to dig into your stash of beautiful older papers. Because of this, I am often unable to link to discontinued products. Thanks for understanding!