VIDEO - Color Block Backgrounds - Two Ways

Hello, it's Lisa here with a video today which shows you how to create two colorful color block backgrounds. I call them color block but really one is just stripes and the other just rectangles. They are however, blocks of color which create interesting, fun, simple and impactful backdrops to your beautiful focal points! My focal point will be the gorgeous Flowery Vines Fancy Die.

You can watch the video below or here on YouTube.

So, let’s get started with the two backgrounds. Start off by cutting some 1” strips from 4.25” x 5.5” panels of Paradise, Arctic, Kiwi, Meadow and Dove White cardstock. Adhere those strips (or stripes, whatever you want to call them!) to a white panel of cardstock which measures 5” x 3.75”. The stripes will fit perfectly down the length of the panel and you will just need to trim off any excess from the sides. Make sure that your first strip is adhered perfectly straight at the top of the card panel. If you are slightly off then it will become noticeable!

Next let’s move onto our rectangle background. Using the same panels of cardstock, but dropping the white card, cut 2” x 2.5” rectangles from Kiwi, Meadow, Arctic and Paradise Cardstock. Take a panel of white card measuring 5” x 3.75” and find your centre point. The centre point is at 2.5” x 1 7/8”. Draw vertical and horizontal lines and this will now be your guide to placing your rectangles.

Using Precision Glue, adhere the Meadow rectangle onto the top right-hand side of the panel. Again, make sure it is lined up perfectly against your cardstock as you will be using this rectangle as your starting point for the other three. Next, adhere the Kiwi rectangle underneath; the Arctic rectangle to the left of Kiwi and the Paradise rectangle to finish the background.

Let’s move onto our die cutting now! Take the Flowery Vines Fancy Die and die cut it from Dove White Cardstock six times. You now want to create two stacks of three die cuts each. I prefer to use wet adhesive to adhere my die cuts together as they are intricate and may need wiggling around a little to make sure they are really well lined up. As each stack is created by three layers of card, the dimension is beautiful. Place acrylic blocks onto your stacks to make sure they are fully adhered.

Now you can adhere both of your block backgrounds to two A2 note cards and then glue the die cut stacks on top. For embellishment and additional interest, I thought it would look really pretty to add some butterflies. So I took the Beautiful Butterflies Bundle and stamped three of the butterflies onto vellum using Clear Embossing and Watermark Ink. I applied White Detail Embossing Powder and heat set them before cutting them out with the coordinating dies.

Set the butterflies to the side and create your sentiments. I used the Message Strips Stamp & Cut XL set. I took two sentiments and stamped them onto Pitch Black Cardstock using Clear Embossing and Watermark Ink. Again, I applied White Detail Embossing Powder and heat set them before cutting them out with the sentiment die included in the set. I adhered the sentiments to my panels using Precision Glue.

Take your vellum butterflies and add tiny dabs of glue onto the back of them where you can see the white heat embossed lines. This way your adhesive won’t be visible from the front. Adhere them down onto your panels. I added one butterfly to the “Happy Birthday” card and two onto the “You’re Amazing” card. I finished by adding some sequins for some pretty sparkle.

I hope that you have enjoyed the video and seeing the two cards come together. I love to create blocks of color for my backgrounds. Not only can you do this with your cardstock scraps but there are other ways to add the blocks of color, either with inks, watercolors etc. Whatever you choose, I hope you have fun creating your projects!