Paper Bargello

Here is a fun technique that looks like it took you a long time to do, but didn't! It's called Paper Bargello. I will try to show you step by step how it's done.

1. You need to decide on the size of the pattern that you want to make. You might want it to cover the entire background of your card or just a piece of it. Cut out a piece of paper to the desired size.

2. Cut out a piece of double-sided adhesive to cover the entire piece of paper. Double-sided adhesive sheets are the easiest, but you could also use double-sided tape that you can lay side-by-side on your paper.

3. Cut your choice of papers (they could be plain or patterned, or a mix of both) into 1/4" strips. I have found that using a paper trimmer works well, but you may prefer using a craft knife and ruler.

4. One by one, lay the papers carefully onto the double-sided adhesive, one strip at a time. Continue with the same pattern (in this case, it's red, gold, black, white). See picture below.



















5. Once your entire piece is covered, cut the paper into 1/4" strips so that you cut across all of the strips that you just placed down (see picture below).



















6. Cut out a 2nd sheet of paper that's the same size as the first piece that you cut out and cover it with double-sided adhesive.

7. Lay down your first strip onto the paper, flush with the corner. Next, lay down the next strip, but not at the top. Put it one square below the previous one but right next to the previous strip. See the picture below. My paper is red, so all of the strips are being placed onto the red cardstock. Continue with each strip so that each strip is placed one square below the previous one, as pictured. You'll know you're doing it right if the squares make a diagonal pattern.






















8. In order to fill the extra spaces, you need to cut off the extra piece at the bottom and put it at the top. In the picture below, if you look in the 2nd column from the left, there is one extra square. You need to cut it out and put it at the top of the 2nd column, on top of the white square. In the 3rd column from the left, you have an extra gold and black square. Cut off the strip where you see the green line and then put the piece at the top of the column, to fill in the space, and to fill in the pattern.




















9. When it's done, it should look like this. You can use this as a background piece for a card.





















Here is a beautiful card that was made by J. Schlueter using origami paper and accented with a tea bag fold and mizuhiki cords!






















Here is a sample that I made using Hanko Tsumugi cardstock (this is some of my my most favorite cardstock!). If you want to buy this cardstock, you can find it in my online store at www.injoystamps.com. I sell them in sampler packs (called Hanko Cardstock Sampler).