Dahlia fold cross

Today I'm sharing the card I made for the baptism of my cousin's daughter a few weeks ago. This has become one of my go-to designs when I need a more religious card because I don't have any particularly religious stamps. It's a pretty quick card to make, and it's a great way to use up smaller pieces of patterned paper.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^®):
Paper: Whisper White card stock, Paisley Petals DSP
Accessories: Basic Pearls, corner rounder, Button Latte buttons, 2-1/2" circle punch, 1-3/4" circle punch, Perfect Pennants die, crochet thread

I first saw a card like this posted on a blog by another Stampin' Up! demonstrator, so I can't take credit for the original idea. To create the cross you use punched circles with a technique called the dahlia fold. (When I have more time I'll create tutorial for this technique.) Basically, you create folds in four circles and glue them to the card in the shape of a cross. The trick to making it look like a cross is to use a larger circle on the bottom so the bottom leg of the cross is longer.

To help the cross stand out a little more on the patterned paper, I placed a white scalloped circle from the Perfect Pennants die behind the cross. (It really is a circle; the way it is placed creates the illusion that it's a square.) Then I added a few simple embellishments: a button and pearls in two different sizes. That's it!

I really like the soft look of this cross, and it's fun to be able to see both sides of the patterned paper at once! I hope you like it, too.