Challenge: A little paper

Pads of small paper in 6x6 size have become all the rage in the crafting industry, and for those who make cards and other small projects it is a true blessing! Now there are small paper pads of cardstock, patterns, and just about any design you could choose. Whether you choose to use a small piece of a larger paper, or dig into your 6x6 paper pad stash this week we invite you to join us in using small sizes of paper!

Dan has uses small 6x6 designs by Tim Holtz as covers for his home-made pocket art journal.

I love how Tim Holtz includes 6x6 versions of his paper designs as part of his collections. When cardmaking, often a 12x12 design doesn't make sense when cut up into smaller pieces and that's when 6x6 pads or designs really come into their own. I saw of a similar style to this in a store recently and was shocked by how much they were charging for it. After having a good look at it I realised that I could easily make something similar myself, and here are the results! I've made a template you can use if you want to make one of your own. I used 6x6 designs from the Destinations paper sash along with one of Tim's new buckles, an ornate plate and some grungeboard.

Tracy was inspired to put 6x6 papers to work on a special birthday card for the challenge. 

 I love the Karen Burniston Flip Accordion Album die, its perfect for the embellished look I love, so much space to get creative. My husband works a great deal in London, and so I thought that this would be the perfect theme for his birthday card this year. The Bracket Frame and Label die makes decorating the flip album so easy and I loved using the Prima 6" x 6" Engraver paper pad to decorate and stamp throughout. I will definitely be decorating more of these, they are great fun and give movement and dimension to all your card makes.

Candy totally loves Tim Holtz' new French Industrial Paper Stash and it was the inspiration for this nostalgic 8x8 canvas.

How about all different size papers in one paper stash?  That is just one of the things I love about Tim Holtz' French Industrial Paper Stash.  I worked with everything from a 12x12 piece all the way down to a 2x2 square that I used as the background in my altered Pocket Watch. Originally silver, the Pen Nibs, the Philosophy Tag and the Mini Numerals take on a whole new antique gold look!  Even Chit Chat, technically small paper, was used in the Pocket Watch and the sentiment on the Label Pull. 

Suzz  used a series of scraps from the Bazzill Antique 6x6 papers to create a golden clipboard.  

 

The Bazzill papers are perfect for backgrounds because of the neutral colors and small patterns. I wanted to pair them with some golden touches and had this fantastic Wendy Vecchi Metallic Gold Embossing Paste begging to be used. I used the Crafters Workshop stencil along with the paste to create my golden clocks. I then decided to use the DarkRoom Door New York Volume I and Volume II to finish my Golden Opportunity clipboard.  

 

Anna-Karin made a learning-to-count board book using a lot of 6 x 6 in paper pads.

I love 6 x 6 papers and most of the patterned paper I use nowadays come from these pads. The smaller prints fit perfectly for my favourite ways of using patterned paper: die-cutting and stamping. This week, I made a board book teaching numbers and counting. The pages were made by covering mat board with different 6 x 6 papers from BasicGrey and Studio Calico. I used the fun Sizzix Opening Door die to make doors on each page, which open to reveal different stamped images, of course the same number of images as the number on each door. Tim Holtz new Numeric stamps were perfect for stamping large numbers on the doors (0-10) and I also spelled each number with Hero Arts Playful Flower Letters.

Trace uses her 6X6 paper packs for cards, scrapbooking, and mixed media .

I really don't think I could craft without 6X6 paper pads, especially for cards; because the scale of the pattern on the papers is just right. In this 6X6 pad from Basic Grey-PB & J, the designers have done all the work for me by coordinating all the colours and patterns! All I had to do was add some neutrals like this Ranger Foil Tape which I scored using a must have tool, my Martha Stewart Score Board; and Prima Galaxy Stars and voila, done!

A scrapper at heart, Ashli is always sure to pick up the 6x6 pad in her favorite paper collections!

I love every little bit of Alison Kreft's Composition and Color, so I just had to grab the Petit Papers in addition too all of the other lovelies. One of the best things about the 6x6 paper size is how well it works within the 12x12 format. I selected my favorite patterns to create a base for my vintage photo. After stenciling on a quick pattern and playing with watercolor, I layered up all of my paper bits and journaling cards. This pack full of delicate little patterns certainly made for some scrappy fun!

Graduation time is right around the corner, so Anita took this tiny paper opportunity to make a little card.

 

Since learning to mix it up with different types of media on paper, I rarely buy any more paper, but rather alter the paper I already own. So when I read what the challenge was to be, I knew I only had one pad of 6x6 inch paper and that was the Tim Holtz Core-dinations Shattered Kraft Core Collection, so naturally I used that here on this graduation card, made from Wendy Vecchi's Art Parts Art Journal with Etched Frame. I covered the main piece of the journal turned card with a 12x12 sheet of paper from Tim's Idea-ology Lost & Found Paper Stack, that I cut into four 6x6 inch pieces, so don't be afraid to cut a larger sheet down to use for this challenge.

Sandra Mouwen is a real typical hoarder as it comes to 6x6 paper pads, she hoards but hardly uses them.

I need to use my 6x6 paper pads more often, so this challenge was not only fun, but also a really useful one for me! I used Meadowlark of My Mind's Eye. I love that black and white paper pad! I made this drawer cabinet out of Black Bazzil cardstock a while ago, but it was a bit plain. It needed to spruce it up! So out came the Multi Medium Matte and some Brushes, and started collaging the whole thing. It needed some color, with the Pool Paint Dabber I went over all the edges.

Sarah decided to go petite on all levels with her tribute to a little paper.

I have always enjoyed creating and crafting 'in small'. I love working in detail and seeing how much I can put into one project. I thought it would be fun to create a mini book using Tim's Destinations Paper Stash and went for the Steampunk page as it seems like ages since I played around in that style. Time to ink up those fine looking Gents! The book is made using one piece of 12 inch paper and is adorned with lots of smaller paper pieces and mini-tags from the same stash plus a whole range of Idea-ology including a die-cut bookplate and trinket pin.

 

For more inspiration click on our design team's blog links so you can see more photos (and full supply lists) for their projects. Then we hope you'll grab a little paper and join us in the fun!

 

As always, Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $50 gift voucher that will go to a random entry chosen by Random Generator. To qualify all you need to do is create a new project that ties in (in any way!) with our theme and post it, along with a link back to this challenge, and add a link here. This challenge will end at 11:59pm on Sunday May 19th  Eastern Time.

For the full rules, read the "challenge rules" posted in the side-bar here on our blog.