Thursday, July 21, 2011

Slider Card

We made these slider cards at my July 1st Open House and they were a big hit. Several have asked for directions so I am posting the basic instructions here. Will try to do an actual tutorial later.

The card is actually a sleeve with another piece of card stock that slides out when the ribbon is pulled.
The sleeve is made by taking a piece of card stock that is 5 x 8 1/2 inches. Score along the 8 1/2 inch side at 1 and 5 inches. Fold both in the same direction. The ends should overlap.
Adhere the ends using sticky strip.
Punch a hole on the right hand side on the front – going through both layers. (seam goes to the back)

Decorate the front as desired. The dimensions of the pieces I put on the front are 3 1/2 x 4 inches and 3 1/4 x 3 3/4 inches.
The colors used on this card are Pool Party, Island Indigo and Chocolate Chip. The stamp sets are Sail Away and Bring on the Cake.


The 'slider' piece is a base measuring 3 3/4 x 4 7/8 with a stamped piece measuring 3 1/2 x 4 5/8.
Thread a piece of 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon through both holes. Slide the slider into the sleeve, pushing the ribbon with it. Once the slider is fully inside the sleeve, tie a loose knot in the ends of the ribbon.

The colors used here are Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink and Lucky Limeade. Stamp sets are Delicate Doilies and Bring on the Cake.



The colors used on this care were Certainly Celery, Pool Party and Calypso Coral. The stamp sets are Pennant Parade and Bring on the Cake. The Petite Pennants Builder punch was used also.

I plan to make lots of these to have on hand for children's cards. They always love something that is interactive.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

OMG Photo Album

I don't know if this album has a name but everyone I show it to says "Oh My Gosh!" when they see all the different panels and sections to put photos. So I am naming mine OMG Album. I saw one that Sue Kober (another demo) made and she got the idea from someone else so this is not original by any means although mine might be just a little bit different than Sue's.
I've made this in two sizes, 5 x 7 inches and 5 x 5 inches. The one in the tutorial photos is a 5 x 5 inch album. I have included the dimensions for the 5 x 7 in parentheses.

You can make it any size - you just have to cut your card stock the height you want. The other dimension should be twice the width you want. So for the 5 x 5, you cut the card stock 5 inches (the finished height) by 10 (twice the finished width). For the 5 x 7, you cut the card stock 7 inches (finished height) by 10 (twice the finished width). I used 5 inches for my widths because I could then use the 8 1/2 x 11 card stock. If you wanted a 6 x 6 inch square album you would need to use the 12 x 12 inch card stock and cut it 6 (finished height) by 12 (finished width).





This one is a baby album shower gift. The nursery is done in lavendar and pink with butterflies, dragonflies and flowers. And the baby is already named which was nice so I could include it on the cover. Of course, I could leave that area empty and make the name after the baby was born and add it to the album. The mom is not a real crafty person but appreciates crafty items. I will offer to add the photos when she has some, or work with her to do so.
Card stock used is Wisteria Wonder, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette and some Wild Wasabi. The DSP is from the stacks of Subtles. I will identify stamp set, dies and other items as I go along. SO let's get started.

You need to cut 4 pieces 5 x 10 inches ( 7 x 10 inches) and score along the longer side at 2 1/2 and 7 1/2 inches. Fold along the score lines to make flaps.
You will also need two pieces in the finished size, 5 x 5 inches (5 x 7 inches).

Using sticky strip adhere two of the folded pieces back to back.

Add the other two folded pieces by adhering the flaps to the flaps of one of the pieces used in the previous steps - see the photo above. You should have 4 flaps on one side (I call this the front) and 2 flaps on the other side (I call this the back)


Adhere the two square pieces to the flaps on the back as shown. That gives you the basic shape. To close it you need to fold in the two pieces on the back, one on top of the other (if they do not lay nicely you may need to trim along the one edge.



Fold one panel over the other on the front being careful of the flaps. Determine where the ribbon will go to enable you to tie the album shut. I like to put just a short piece of sticky strip on the panels wherethe ribbon will need to go but do not remove the red protective film until you are ready to add the ribbon.



Decorate the panels and flaps as desired. I will go through each panel and flap to give you ideas for decorating. On the front (photo at the top of this post) I used the 2 1/2 scallop punch to make some leaves behind my flower. Then I layered a Fancy Flower punch, two of the 5 Petal punch flowers with the top one turned so you can see both. Then the 1/2 inch circle and a brad.



As you open the album you can get a little taste of what is to come. The flaps are overed with Wisteria Wonder card stock and the Pretty in Pink DSP. On the first panel I have the Punch Post flower with a couple petals from the 5 Petal Punch places as leaves.I layered the 1/2 inch circle and the circle from the trio punch set.

Open those flapsand you see a panel for a photo among the hearts. The two flaps can also receive photos. The stamp set is So Cute which is retired. The squares for the frames are 2 3/4inches and work perfectly with the pinking hearts punch.

On the center panel, I used versamark on the Wisteria Wonder for a subtle embellishment. I think it would be cute to put the Length , weight, date and time in the hearts punches.



Another panel to match the first.



This shows the album all open and free standing. Pretty isn't it? But wait there's more!


Turn the album around and you have the back side to explore. This is the very back panel. I used the Baby Tees roller and cut out the ones I wanted.



Open the back flap and you find this - Butterflies and lace. The lace border was added to cover up the seam in the base paper.

I used the windowsheet inside this frame.


The completed back side is shown here. I hope you have as much fun creating yours. Hayley has two big sisters so I plan to make albums in their favorite colors this weekend.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Explosion Card

Explosion cards are fun and really not that hard. Just some careful scoring and you have a good beginning for a WOW card.

For this card I used Celebrations DSP (retired). The card stock colors are Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Bashful Blue and Pacific Point. The stamp set is Bring on the Cake. The retired red and white ribbon could be replaced with the 1/4 inch grosgrain which is available in Real Red or Bashful Blue.



You will need a sheet of 12 x 12 card stock for your base. Cut a strip 4 inches wide.




Along the 12 inch side, score every 2 inches. You may want to just make small score marks on each edge at the 6 inch mark because you do not fold that, it is just for placement of the diagonal scores. I usually put a square of an alternating color on the front so doesn't matter if I score all the way across.





Score diagonally from the 2 inch to the 6 inch mark - making a criss cross that intersects at the 4 inch score. Repeat from the 6 inch to the 10 inch score with the intersection at the 8 inch score. The easiest way I have found to do this is to line up the two score tips in the cutting trough of the paper cutter. Hold firmly and score. If your diagonal lines do not cross at the score line, your card will be lop-sided when folded.









It is hard to see here but this shows the intersecting score lines.





Fold down along both diagonal lines. Remember - do not fold on the center (6 inch) score line. That one was just for placement of the diagonals.




You will need to cut DSP and card stock to decorate the sections. For the rectangles on the ends, I cut DSP 1 7/8 x 3 7/8 and card stock 1 3/4 x 3 3/4 inches.


For the larger triangle I measured the short side and cut a square of card stock 1/8 inch smaller. Place that square on the paper cutter with opposite tips in the cutting trough. This will give you two triangles.


For the smaller triangles, do the same measuring the shorter side of that triangle and cutting a square 1/8 smaller of card stock. I then cut DSP squares 1/4 inch smaller than the side of the triangle. I cut these in half by placing the opposite tips on the cutting trough. You will need 8 of those.


For the front I cut a square 2 5/8 inches. On some I cut a second square and put it at an angle to the face of the card.



This shows the square adhered to the face of the card as well as two of the small triangles covered with card stock and DSP.




Here I have all the sections covered and am ready to decorate the face.



I used a couple stamps from Bring on the Cake and markers in coordinating colors to decorate the face. If you do not want to tie the card closed with a ribbon, you are finished.



If you would like a ribbon tied around the care, turn it over and work from the back. I have found that this works best by wrapping the ribbon across the back and then to the front to tie - so you will place the ribbon on the end rectangles laying it along the card back. I cut about 3 or 4 inches longer than the length of the card (about 15 - 16 inches). I use sticky strip to hold the ribbon more securely.







I used another layer of card stock and DSP to hold the ribbon in place.



This shows the back of the card when closed up to tie. Wrap the ribbon across the back and around the front and tie a bow.





This is the back of the tied card.



Here is the card front all tied up and ready to give. I try to leave plenty of ribbon if I am going to have to untie and tie again. When giving one of these cards, I usually sign on the back but depending on how you decorate the front you could leave some sections blank and use them for signing and a note.