Starburst technique

 

I had resisted learning the Starburst technique (sometimes called the sunburst technique) because I thought it looked fiddly and I hadn't seen anything very exciting that used it. Not sure what suddenly made me want to do it but hey I did it anyway.

Of course the easiest first attempt would have just used Designer Paper but no I had to complicate matters by using different sheets of the Stampin' Up Natural Composition paper which I had sponged in various colours. It turned out well I think and it has a sheen to it which hasn't been picked up in the photo. I decided to use it on a special card for a dear friend who is turning 60 this weekend. I think it makes a good choice as a masculine card?

The card itself was a larger than normal card as I wanted it to be special. It was 25cm wide and 17cm long. Folded in half it made a card 17cm X 12.5cm.

The stripes were attached to a panel which was 16cm X 9cm. The sunburst strips were 12.5cm X 4cm. I used Stampin' Up Naturals composition for the strips. I used Island Indigo, Cajun Craze, Pumpkin Pie and Early Expresson inks to sponge the strips.

Using the paper cutter I cut each strip into 2 exact triangles. This is easy to do if you line up 2 points in the cutting guide groove to make long triangles.

Draw a line on the panel at 8cm to divide it into half. Using scrap paper and a glue stick apply glue to the panel. Then alternating strip designs apply them in a sunburst pattern, starting at the middle line drawn on the panel.

Have a look at the great video by Dawn Olchegske. It all makes sense when you see it demonstrated.

 

Spurred on by my first attempt I then looked for ideas to vary the design. This one used the same size strips but I made the panel just slightly smaller than the card front. I stamped the sentiment onto the same colour as the card Naturals White)

 

 

 

 

Love the subtle colours in this one. This time I made a smaller panel.

 

 

Isn't the new Retro Fresh paper from the Occasions catalogue great. My new Fringe scissors have arrived so the flower was one of my first attempts.

 

 

I had all these scraps left over from the previous card and so used them up on this card. As they were off cuts they weren't the right shapes but I disguised this underneath the flower, leaves ( Secret Garden stamps and matching dies) and sentiment.

This technique is a lot more versatile than I first thought. Once the strips are cut it is very quick. It's fun deciding on what to put with what. Give it a try!