Some of us like the idea of creating, but find ourselves drawing a complete and utter blank when we sit down to actually create. I’ve learned over the years that step-by-step processes and formulas that offer flexibility but still have a basic framework are really helpful for enabling me to actually create. (My art journaling book is a good example of this.)
Not too long ago, I stumbled across “one sheet wonders” — which are this sort of “blueprint” for cardmaking.
I don’t know who coined the term “one sheet wonder” (sometimes called a “one page wonder”), but this refers to a combination of a cutting template and card designs. The template shows you how to cut up a single sheet of patterned paper with minimal waste*, and then feature those cut pieces in a series of card designs.
*Waste is a bit of a misnomer. Any scraps can be used for something, but these cutting diagrams typically use most or all of the sheet in the actual card designs.
Many cardmakers makes a lot of really fancy cards. It is, after all, “their thing,” so what you see around the web might often seem a bit overwhelming. But cards created by this method can be very simple, like this or this or this or this.
If you want to make less simple cards, they can be made to look really complex & fancy when paired with coordinating patterned papers. Of course you can also make an overall simple design more complex merely by adding additional layers, elements, or techniques.
If you use double-sided paper, you can mix-and-match for different effects.
Because the cards made this way naturally coordinate, they make great sets, so you can give them as gifts. Bundle them together and tie with ribbon or, if you want to get a bit fancier, make a box. (Like this or this.)
One thing to keep in mind as you do this is that some designs are directional. I found, for instance, that most of the examples of the cards made with the 1-inch squares in the template I used featured them on the diagonal, but all of the paper designs I’ve used so far look weird with the paper angled like that. Likewise, if you have a paper that can’t be used sideways, think about which direction your cards will be oriented. This isn’t a huge deal, just be sure to think through it quickly before you cut, in case you need to rotate your paper before cutting.
A little further down I’m going to share some links for you to a variety of one sheet wonder templates, but first I want to share the cards I made.
One Sheet Wonders with Spellbinders Life is a Party
A couple months ago when Spellbinders was running their spring clearance sale, I bought a couple of their past cardmaker kit-of-the-month club kits. These kits are ordinarily a subscription — each month’s kit is on a theme, and includes stamps, dies, a paper pack, related embellishments, and some necessary basics. If any are left over, past months’ kits are sometimes available for sale straight-up on the website. That’s what I have here, is a few of these kits from months past.
My challenge to myself was to select either one or, in some cases, two patterned papers from each kit (they’re 6-inch square) and make a set of one-sheet wonders from each one. The original plan was to also feature the dies from the kit in at least one card and the stamps in at least one card for each set. With this set, I took up the challenge with the dies, but I decided to skip the stamps, because the entire stamp set for this particular kit was for invitations, and these aren’t invitations. (I’m guessing this kit didn’t sell well the first go-’round, since it came out last June, and it’s all about parties and gathering in person.)
Anyway…these two patterned papers featured are from the Life is a Party kit, which was the Card Kit of the Month club kit for June 2020. I also used one other patterned paper from the kit, a couple of die cuts from the kit, the dies from the kit, and solid papers both from the kit and from my stash, along with ink, a couple of stamps, a die, embossing powder, and some black glitter cardstock from my stash. (I used a good bit of solid paper, but less than a single 6×6 sheet of the glitter cardstock and less than a sheet of the “extra” patterned paper here.)
Right now I’m working my way through a stash of blank card bases I already had on hand that are a weird size. Rather than the standard 4.25×5.5″, they’re 4×5.5″, so some of these designs would have fit just a little better on a standard card. But you use what you have. 🙂
Okay, so I’m working with this template from Joyfully Made Designs for both sets. Head over there for the cutting instructions. Once you have your pieces all cut out, they divvy up like this:
Set #1
This is my first set of cards:
(You should be able to click on the image to enlarge it. Unfortunately my camera’s still on the fritz, so these aren’t as crisp as usual.)
Card #1: Uses the patterned paper (3×3 square), solid black cardstock, and a die cut from the kit. My black piece is cut to 3.5×5″. If your card is the normal size, you’ll want to make that 3.75×5.”
Card #2: Uses the patterned paper (2×3 rectangle), a same-size piece from a coordinating patterned paper, and a strip of black cardstock. My strip is 0.75×5.5″. I probably would have put a few drops of some black Nuvo drops or something similar on here, but it turns out I didn’t have any.
Card #3: Uses the patterned paper (1.75×3 rectangle), blue cardstock, a die cut from the kit, and a stamp from AliExpress stamped with Scrapbook.com black hybrid ink. I don’t have any of the solid cardstock still separated by kit, so I’m not sure if this blue cardstock was part of the kit or not. The die cut is popped up with foam squares (which are included in the kit). The blue cardstock here is 2×3.25″.
Card #4: Uses the patterned paper (pair of 1.5×2.25″ rectangles), pink cardstock, blue cardstock, lime green cardstock, and black glitter cardstock. It’s a little hard to see how I’ve used the patterned pieces here. They’re sideways, one above the other, matted on the pink rectangle. I added the black glitter cardstock on top because the flower was blending in. I don’t think this particular bright pink was in the kit. The pink rectangle is 3×4″. Glitter cardstock is about 1.5×2.5″. The flowers and leaf were cut with the dies from the kit, and the flowers are popped up on foam squares (included), cut down so they’d be narrower.
Card #5: Uses the patterned paper (4, 1×1.5″rectangles), pink cardstock, lime green cardstock, dark green cardstock, and a stamp from AliExpress stamped with Scrapbook.com black hybrid ink. The pink rectangles are 1.25×1.75″. I think all of these solid cardstocks are from my stash.
Card #6: Uses the patterned paper (trio of 1×1 squares), solid black cardstock, black glitter cardstock, and a stamp from the Unicorn Dreams kit, stamped with Scrapbook.com black hybrid ink and embossed with WOW! ebony embossing powder. I was surprised by how much I like this simple card, although the sparkle that adds that extra “something” is hard to see in the image. The patterned squares are matted on black glitter cardstock (1-1/8″ square), then on solid black (1-1/4″ square). The strip across the bottom is also black glitter cardstock, about 1/8″ wide, although I didn’t really measure it beforehand; I just eyeballed it.
The result is a really simple design that has a lot of impact because of the narrow lines of sparkle. (This is also a really flexible basic card design, which could also have small “icon”-type die cuts or stickers in the squares or, as my daughter pointed out, could say D-A-D or M-O-M…or J-O-Y, I ♥ U, etc.)
Set #2
This is my second set of cards:
Card #1: Uses the patterned paper (3×3 square), cream cardstock, hot pink cardstock (neither from the kit, I think), and a die from AliExpress. The pink paper is cut to the size of my card front, and the cream square is 3.25″ square.
Card #2: Uses the patterned paper (2×3 rectangle); pink, cream, and green cardstocks, and a stamp from Ranger Ink (via Scrapbook.com) stamped with Simon Hurley Prom Queen ink and then over-stamped with Scrapbook.com black hybrid ink. The rectangles are 2.25×3.25″, 2.5×3.5″, and 2.75×3.75″, from the inside out.
About that “overstamping”…so I stamped this sentiment with Prom Queen ink, and I really liked it, but it was just a smidge too bright. So inked my stamp up one more time with Scrapbook.com hybrid black ink, stamped it off onto scrap paper once, and then used only the little bit of ink that was still left on the stamp to stamp over the sentiment. That muted it just enough.
Card #3: Uses the patterned paper (1.75×3 rectangle), another patterned paper from the kit, solid black cardstock, and a stamp from AliExpress (the same one as the “just a note…” from the other set of cards) stamped with Scrapbook.com black hybrid ink. The other patterned paper is 2×3.25″. The black strip is 1.5×5.5″.
Card #4: Uses the patterned paper (pair of 1.5×2.25″ rectangles), dark green cardstock, and lime green cardstock. The green rectangles are 1.75×2.5″. The leaves are cut using the dies from the kit.
Card #5: Uses the patterned paper (4, 1×1.5″rectangles), dark pink & light pink cardstock, green cardstock, and black cardstock. The green piece is cut to 3.75×5.25″, but if your card base is a standard size, you’ll want it to be 4×5.25″. The pink rectangle is 3.5×2.5″. The hello is die cut twice with a die from AliExpress, and glued on offset a little. The black “seeds” are the insides of the loops from the same die cut from black.
Card #6: Uses the patterned paper (trio of 1×1 squares), black cardstock, pink cardstock, and a stamp by Ranger Ink (via Scrapbook.com — the same stamp set as the “you’re the best”). The pink strip is 1.5″ wide. The black squares are 1.25″.
I didn’t originally intend for them to be all wonky like this. The original plan was to mat the patterned squares on the black squares, then line up up neatly on the pink strip. but when I tossed them down onto my card as I was cutting and sorting all my pieces, they landed like this and I liked the way it looked.
(A lot of my “stash” cardstock is Recollections Essentials from Michaels, and the stamp positioning tool I use is from CraftStash, which is also where I got my embossing powder.)
Other One Sheet Wonder Templates
You can, of course, create your own templates. (I created a book for recording them, because I got tired of having to draw proportional squares and rectangles on my graph paper.)
Cardmaker’s Template Journal, volume 1: Square One-Page Wonder Sketches
Cardmaker’s Template Journal, volume 2: 6×8 One-Page Wonder Sketches
But the easy thing to do is start with an existing template, like I did.
Templates for 6×6″ Patterned Paper:
- from Joyfully Made Designs (the one I used here) with examples here & here (makes 6 cards)
- from My PaperCraft Journey (makes 4 cards)
- from I Teach Stamping (makes 4 cards)
- from Stamps to Die For (makes 6 cards)
- double template (uses 2 coordinating sheets) from Stamptastic Designs (makes 6 cards)
- from Stamp with Elaine (makes 4 cards, of mixed sizes/shapes)
Templates for 6×8″ Patterned Paper:
I didn’t see any templates for 6×8″ paper when I looked. (Granted, I did not spend hours digging.) If you have 6×8″ paper you want to use, you can trim a 2″ strip off the top or the bottom and then use a 6×6″ template. If you know of any — or if you have one — let me know in the comments and I’ll be happy to add a link!
Templates for 8×8″ Patterned Paper:
- from Joyfully Made Designs (with additional examples here and here) (makes 9 cards)
Templates for 12×12″ Patterned Paper:
- from TX Stampin’ Sharon (makes 12 cards)
- from Stamping Jill (makes 12 cards)
- from Laura’s Stamp Pad (makes 10 cards)
- from Stamp ‘Til You Drop (makes 11 cards)
- from Instructables (makes 12 cards)
- double template (uses 2 coordinating 6×12 pieces or a single double-sided sheet) from Karen Titus (makes 11 cards)
- double, double template (uses 2 double-sided sheets, all four prints coordinating) from Julie Davison (makes 11 cards)
- from Stampadoodle (makes 15 cards)
Templates for 8.5×11″ or A4 Patterned Paper:
(8.5×11 and A4 are not exactly the same size, but they’re similar so you can probably make minor adjustments to use them each for the opposite type of paper. A4 is 8.3 x 11.7 inches.)
- from Michelle Last (A4, makes 7 cards)
- from Crafty SAHM I Am (8.5×11″, makes 7 cards)
Miscellaneous Templates:
- slimline OSWs, from Karen Titus (12×12 paper, half of two sheets, or one double-sided, makes 10 cards)
- latch cards, from Red Hot Stampers (12×12 paper, makes 7 cards)
Have you ever tried this approach?
Thank you for the link!!! I love One Sheet Wonders so much!! ~Laura
Thank YOU for sharing your efforts with us all!