Creating a Stitched Paper Starburst

Sometimes we just need a little encouragement and inspiration to think outside of the box.  Jen Gallacher is a pro at making her tools and products work for her!  Today, she's here with us to share a fun tutorial for creating a paper starburst on your page!!

This year as I've been teaching the Product Playground class, I've been looking at my scrapbooking and paper crafting products in a whole new light. Now I'm constantly thinking about new ways I can use up supplies I already own and love. One thing I have a lot of is certainly patterned paper. I own papers in nearly every color and pattern, and sometimes I'm just looking for a new way to use them on a layout.

One way to use up both full sheets of paper, as well as, paper scraps is to create a starburst shape that you stitch on your layout.

Here's the supplies you will need to create this look:

* Patterned Paper

* Paper Trimmer

* Scissors

* Adhesive

* Sewing Machine (or sewing needle)

* Sewing Thread

Step 1: Place the paper in your paper stripper and trim it at a diagonal.

Step 2: Trim the other side of the paper on the diagonal as well so one point of the strip is narrow and one is broad. The starburst effect looks best when you create strips in several different widths.

Step 3: Mount the strip on the layout so that it points into the center of the layout. Some of the paper may stick off the side of the page.

Step 4: Machine (or hand) stitch some of the strips in place. Trim off any excess paper left on the side of the page

Step 5: Continue this process until you have as many starburst strips as you'd like.

Here's how the layout looks when all the paper strips have been stitched to the page. Note that my starburst points into the bottom, right corner of the page where I then layered several additional items including my title and photos.

 Here's a closer look at the starburst with embellishments layered on top.

This is a great way to use up your 6x6 and 8x8 paper pads as well. If you're looking for more ideas on how to use up those pads, be sure to watch Lesson 1: "Paper Pads with Punch" of the Product Playground class.

And remember you always have #permissiontoplay so get started and have some fun! If you'd like to see more ideas like this, be sure to visit www.jengallacher.com for all my scrapbooking projects.

-Jen