Happy Accidents: Bob Ross Inspired Handmade Cards

I love working with vellum because it can be elegant and classy, or sporty and fun. I call this the Bob Ross card because I had something entirely different in mind when I started this project, but like Bob Ross said, there are no mistakes, only happy accidents.

I used my Cricut to cut all the vellum circles, and as I pulled the circles off the cutting mat I tossed them onto the white cardstock so I wouldn’t lose them. All of a sudden I looked over and thought, “Wow! That’s kinda fun and artsy looking!” So I made a 90º turn and ended up here with this happy accident/ode to Bob Ross.

Supplies:

• Encore Translucent Vellum by Encore in Gilded Gold Shimmer, Seaglass Blue, Tea Green
• Encore Snowy White Textured Cardstock
• Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue
• Craft knife
• Paper trimmer
• Heavy book or something similar

STEP I – CUTTING

1. Cut 75 circles of each color of vellum in the following sizes: 25 – 1” circles, 25 – ¾” circles, 25 – ½” circles

2. I used a Cricut to cut my circles. As I removed the circles from my cutting mat I tossed them onto the 12x12 Snowy White Cardstock and let them stay where they fell. The goal here is to be random, not planned.

STEP II – ASSEMBLING

1. Apply a small dot of Bearly Art precision craft glue to the backs of the circles and attach them to the Snowy White Cardstock, until all the circles are glued down.

HINTS:

• I wet my finger to pick up a circle and apply a dot of glue to the back of the circle and place it on the cardstock, working with the single circles first.
• As I worked my way to the circles that were grouped together, I tried to focus on layers. It only took me about 15-20 minutes to glue all 75 circles to the cardstock.
• Not all the circles ended up where they started and that’s perfectly fine! It was fun to compare the before and after circle placement photos.
• I placed the cardstock under a heavy book for about 30 minutes to set the glue and flatten the edges.

2. Once the glue is dry (and it doesn’t take long) cut the cardstock down to 8 ½” x 11” size.

3. Then cut that down into two pieces, each 5 ½” x 8 ½”. My trimmer didn’t have any problem cutting through all the layers. I didn’t experience any snagging on the vellum.

4. Fold each piece in half. You may have some vellum circles that end up straddling the fold and sticking out, and you can trim those with a craft knife. You end up with two folded cards.

5. This could be fun as a postcard-type piece, as well, in which case you’d end up with four cards. I think the finished project looks fun, artsy and unique! No one will be able to tell it started as a happy accident.

-Pam

Here's more fun ideas for using vellum on handmade cards.