I like to punch it upside down, so I can see where I am punching. I'll just be using a corner of the punch, to create the indent on the banner strip.
A quick punch, then you have a quick and easy banner. After punching the other two strips, I put together another card with some more scraps. Can't be any easier than that!
Making the chevrons has a few more steps, but it is still a lot easier than you'd think. I did get the inspiration from this site, which was showing how to quilt with chevrons. The card I shared in the previous link, I cut 12 pieces of different patterns (just leftover scraps again) into 1/2"x6"strips. After creating the chevron pattern, it almost covered an entire 5"x7" card (there were small margins on the left and right sides), and I had some leftover too. I hated to not use them, so I used the leftover pieces on another card:
So you can easily just use some chevrons as a partial design, it doesn't necessarily have to cover the entire background.
But since these chevrons almost filled up an entire 5"x7" card, as well as leaving enough to decorate another card... this time I wanted to make the chevrons a bit smaller. I'll try to walk you through step by step what I did here with the smaller chevrons.
This time, I cut the pieces (from leftover scraps again) into 1/4"x6" strips. I was using all the patterns from an older packet and cut two complete sets (so two each of all six patterns into 1/4"x6" strips). Then I cut one more of the first pattern used to finish up the design. I attached each strip onto cardstock, using a 1/4" spacer, so I offset each strip the same amount each time.
When you get through your strips, here's what they all look like glued down.
So I started in the corner with one pattern from the pack, then offset each subsequent piece 1/4" and went through the other 5 patterns. Then started again and went through all six patterns, and finished off with the beginning pattern for the ending. Make any sense? :-) Then I did the whole thing again on the other side of the cardstock, creating two sets of strips. (Sorry this picture is a bit fuzzy, but for some reason all of my pics of both sets were.)
Now we need to trim these off at a 45 degree angle, and since I don't have the handy-dandy quilting tool that she had in her blog... I had to make my own guide. I simply took an 8"x8" square, and cut it on the diagonal from opposite corner to the other to create my own 45 degree guide.
The resulting triangle, will have a 45 degree angle on each end. I simply lined it up along the edge of my stripes and gently drew a pencil mark where to trim.
When finished, you'll end up with two pieces that look like this:
Now you simply slice each piece into equal strips, I decided to use the lip of my cutter as a guide. I ended up with four equal strips from each piece (with a bit leftover that I simply threw away).
Now you just need to alternate your strips from each piece and glue them together on your card! Again at this size, it still almost filled up an entire 5"x7" card. I'll have to keep messing around to find the right dimensions to fill up a regular sized card.
I know it can seem a bit much, but with some simple cutting and gluing -- you can create perfectly aligned chevrons that is way easier than trying to glue all those little pieces yourself!!! Just try it! If you figure out the perfect size and number of strips to fill out a regular size card, please share. :-)
So go ahead, make some banners and chevrons out of your scraps and create some gorgeous cards. If you do, please share. I'd love to see them!
Dani
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