365 Cards Day 18 - plentiful patterns

Now this challenge took a little thought - and a LOT of digging. They asked you to choose at least three of the following patterns to use in your card:

• houndstooth
• gingham
• plaid
• paisley
• toile

I wasn't entirely sure what each of those patterns actually WERE so I had to look them up on google to make sure I knew. In case you're not entirely sure either, here's an explanatory link complete with pictures - What's the difference between the checks. In short, gingham is a simple coloured/white woven-style check. Plaid is another woven check but it's more elaborate and often involves more colours. Paisley is the 'fish-shaped' design based on Indian art. Houndstooth is the funny 'stretched' check that comes in one or more colours at a time. And toile is an elaborate repeating design (usually white) of scenery, flowers, milkmaids etc. printed on a plain coloured background.

Now that's straightened out, on to the next step - digging around in my papers to find suitable 'sets' to use! I started pulling sheet and trying to co-ordinate them, and I came up with a couple of different colour families - green, blue, yellow, pinky, and brown. I didn't have perfect matches for some of the options, and I could only find two houndstooth papers (I don't really like that design)... but there were a lot more in general than I would have expected and I had plenty to play with!
And here are my cards... I photographed them all together and numbered them for the purposes of explanation. (click on the photo to see a larger version of the cards...)

#1 uses papers from the Joanns 'Spring' stack. The center piece is from a mini-mat-stack, and while it's not strictly toile, it IS an elaborate repeating white design... I finished it with a diecut tag, a sticker, some tiny buttons, and a flower made from a tutorial somebody shared a few weeks ago. It's really easy - punch out four identical flower shapes and fold them in half, Then interlock them like you were closing the flaps of a cardboard box and glue them onto a round base. Fluff up the petals and you have a flower that reminds me of either a water lily or a chrysanthemum or a carnation depending on how fluffy you make it!

#2 is made with a pre-printed base from My Mind's eye. I added a wide strip of houndstooth and plaid... and since toile is such an elaborate pattern and I didn't want it to fight with the paisley,  I punched out some small  flowers and used them to frame the sentiment like a medallion.

Cards #3 and #4 were made exactly the same way. I cut simple strips of each paper and lined them up on the card, one with a straight edge and one with an overlapping zigzag. The background doesn't need any extra decoration, so I added a sentiment and those cards were done.

Lastly, card #5 showcases an elaborate (but very beautiful) floral paisley from Basic Grey. I just adore this paper and never want to cover any of it up! So I matted it diagonally with a little houndstooth and laid it on top of a simple plaid background and the card was done.