Split Diagonal-Pieced Background Tutorial

Last night, I was attempting a cut on a piece of the Typeset DSP to create a slanted newsprint card for my upcoming Stamp-A-Stack.  I had done the cuts once before following this tutorial, and on that occasion, I was VERY happy with the end result.

Being very wise and able to retain loads of information at the drop of a hat a bit cocky, I decided that I didn't need to open the tutorial again, and I could remember exactly how to cut the paper a second time.  By the time I had made the 2nd cut, I knew I had ruined a perfectly good piece of Designer Series Paper  I would need to modify my original plans and create something original out of the pieces that I had sitting on my desk.  

This was my end result:

Honestly, the first time I did it, I made it with a bunch of diagonally cut pieces of random sizes and made a collage-type background.  I knew however, that I wouldn't be able to teach others to do that simply, and I didn't want a difficult technique that would take a long time to recreate.  As I sat contemplating how to replicate it easily, the idea came to me to start with a 1"x 4.25" piece of DSP.  

I situated the paper diagonally on the track where the cutting blade runs, making sure the top left hand corner was on the top of the track and the bottom right hand corner was on the bottom of the track….like so: 

I made sure to bring my cutting blade down from the top, and sliced all the way through the piece of DSP as pictured below. 

I then lined these pieces up with about a 1/4" in between each piece of DSP.  You will need 4 pieces of the 1"x 4.25"pieces of DSP and you will need to play with the space in between the pieces before you glue them down.  

I tell those who craft with me that there are no mistakes in paper-crafting…that each "mistake" is simply an opportunity to be a bit more creative and find a way to make something that you are happy with.  In this particular case, I'm more than happy with my end result, even if it started out as a failed attempt at another technique.  :D