Poinsettia Pop-Up Card

I created this card for Christmas Card Throwdown's September Technique Challenge: "Pop Up Card." I followed a tutorial on Splitcoaststampers.com for the pop-up mechanism.

I began by creating my card base & flower pot, as per the instructions in the tutorial. I did that first, so I could have a sense of how large each flower could be & how many I would need. I used a plaid patterned paper from the Recollections "Christmas Plaids" 6x6" pad for my base, since it made me think of a holiday tablecloth. I found a dark green cardstock in my scrap stash for the pot itself.

I die cut a total of 8 poinsettias (Poppystamps "Blooming Poinsettia") from Bazzill "Cherry Splash" cardstock, & used Bazzill "Caramel Apple" cardstock for the green background leaves on the poinsettias. I found a super bright yellow-green cardstock in my scraps, that I used for the flower centers. For the filler greenery in my arrangement, I used 3 dies from the "Mini Holiday Greens" set by Tim Holtz for Sizzix. I cut the holly leaves from "Caramel Apple" & the sprigs from a slightly darker green scrap.

I glued the layers of my flowers together, & after the glue set up, added the flower centers. I used glue dots to adhere the flowers themselves to the acetate support pieces I'd added to the pot. For the greenery filler pieces, I just kind of stuck each one into the arrangement & added a bit of glue to each to stick them to the flowers. It was enough glue to hold everything in place, while still keeping the whole arrangement full & "fluffy."

Detail photo of greeting strip

I heat embossed the greeting, from Hero Arts' October 2020 My Monthly Hero Kit stamp set (discontinued), with Ranger Gold Super Fine Detail embossing powder. I used an "Essential Stitched Sentiment Strips" die to cut it out. The die was a bit too long, so I had to do partial die cutting to shorten it. I added that to the card base with foam adhesive squares, leaving a space with no adhesive for the belly band to fit under the right end.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Double Trouble Challenge #121: "Punch It Out"

The Paper Funday Challenges #45: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: "Emboss It" (heat embossed greeting)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"

Stay Crafty with A Blog Named Hero September Challenge: "Die-lightful"

Dragonfly Good Vibes

I have had the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps "Dragonfly Dreams" stamp set for several months, & had yet to get it inky. I finally had some time to play recently, & decided to break out this set & try some ink color combinations. I actually created 3 dragonflies, die cut with the coordinating dies. This is one that I used on my card. The design is from Operation Write Home's Sketch #B-15.

I first die cut the dragonfly from white cardstock. This is a builder stamp set, so I just figured it would be easier to get everything lined up right if I die cut first. I started with the base layer for the wings. I chose a few colors of Distress Oxide inks, & used sponge daubers to apply the ink to the wings. I began with Salvaged Patina in the center, then moved out to Seedless Preserves, Villainous Potion, Uncharted Mariner, and finally Wilted Violet at the tips. I had hoped the colors would blend more smoothly, but I think they came out OK in the end.

For the overlay of the wings, I heat embossed with Ranger Clear Holographic embossing powder. I figured it would be a great way to add some sparkle & shine to the wings. I stamped the first layer of the body with Lawn Fawn's Hippo ink, then went over it with StazOn Jet Black ink. The two middle legs overlap the wings, & I needed the StazOn ink for it to show up on the heat embossed area.

I die cut a circle from tan cardstock, & ink blended it with Brushed Corduroy Distress ink, then inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress ink. I stamped the Concord & 9th "Weathered Wood Background" on that with Ground Espresso Distress Oxide ink.

I cut a piece of patterned paper from The Paper Studio's "Peaceful Meadows" mat stack pad to size, & adhered it to a 4-1/4" square card base. I glued my circle to the top of my card base, making sure it didn't make it taller than 5-1/2", so it would still fit in an A2 size envelope. I glued my dragonfly to that. Finally, I adhered my greeting strip, which was a gift from another card maker.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Double Trouble Challenge #121: "Punch It Out" (die cut dragonfly & circle)

Use Your Stuff Challenge #467: "Woodgrain"

Hero Arts September Challenge: "Die-lightful"

Paperfunday Challenge #45: "Anything Goes" (playing the optional Thinking of You twist)

Squirrelly Happy Halloween

Challenge #200 at Dies R Us challenge blog is "Anything Goes with any brand of die DRU sells." I have been in full-on Halloween card creating mode, to send several to Send a Smile 4 Kids. I came across Sketch #SC866 at Splitcoaststampers.com, & thought, if you turn it sideways, it looks like a stepped wall. What else to do but put a bunch of Jack-o'-Lanterns - that 2 squirrels have dutifully carved - on the "steps"? I used stamps & dies from Lawn Fawn's "Pick of the Patch" set for this card.

I stamped the pumpkins, squirrels, knife, & scoop onto Strathmore Smooth bristol paper with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I used my Tombow markers to color everything, & add a bit of detail to the pumpkins. Then I stamped the faces on the Jack-o'-Lanterns. Finally I die cut everything with the coordinating dies.

For the wall, I cut the stepped levels into a piece of grey cardstock. I used the "Small Brick Wall" stencil from My Favorite Things to stencil the bricks. I used 2 colors of Distress ink - Rusty Hinge & Fired Brick - to add a bit of "life" to the bricks. I used the other half of the grey cardstock to create the ledges at the tops of the steps. I adhered it to the back of the wall panel so it stuck about 1/8" above the bricks, & then trimmed off the vertical bits so it was just a ledge on each step.

I used My Favorite Things' "Mini Cloud Edges" stencil & Salvaged Patina Distress ink to do the sky on a panel of white cardstock. I stamped the greeting onto a scrap of green cardstock with Lawn Fawn's Jalapeno ink. Then I die cut the top of the grass with a "Grassy Fields" die (discontinued), also from My Favorite Things.

I adhered the wall to my stenciled background, & added the grass, applying ATG adhesive only to the bottom part of the strip. That way I could tuck my pumpkin & one of the squirrels behind the grass. I glued all the images onto my card. I added some shine to the squirrels' noses with a black glaze pen, & that finished this card.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Send a Smile 4 Kids: "Cute Fall/Halloween Cards 4 Kids"

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Stamp It"

When It Rains

First view of pop-up

The current Lawn Fawnatics challenge is to "Change the Scene." I admittedly went a bit "dramatic" with my card, with a complete change of scene!

Jennifer McGuire's tutorial on "Pop-Up Panel Cards" inspired my design direction. I began by creating the front (pop-up) panel. I stamped the bear from Lawn Fawn's "Here for You Bear" (gift with purchase from Lawn Fawn) onto a square of Strathmore vellum bristol paper. I masked him, & stamped the puddle & splash from the same set. I masked off the sky area with yellow Frog tape, & ink blended the ground with Pumice Stone Distress ink. I was going for kind of a concrete walk look. I masked off the ground with the same tape, & inked the sky with Stormy Sky Distress ink. With the bear mask still in place, I also stamped raindrops, from "Rain or Shine Before 'n Afters," in the sky, with Stormy Sky Distress Oxide ink. I unmasked the bear, & used my Prismacolor pencils to color him in. I also added a bit of blue pencil to the puddle & splash, so they look like they "reflect" the sky.

I die cut a scrap of vellum bristol with one of Lawn Fawn's "Puffy Cloud Borders" dies, inked it with Stormy Sky + Pumice Stone Distress inks, & adhered it to the top of my panel. I stamped my greeting, from "Here for You Bear," on that. I then matted the panel with a 1/16" blue cardstock mat, just to help it stand out a bit better from the background. Finally, I used a black glaze pen to go over the bear's eyes & nose.

Second view of pop-up

I cut a slightly smaller square of vellum bristol for the back panel. I stamped the rainbow image from "Rain or Shine Before 'n Afters" on that, & colored it with my colored pencils. I masked it off, & ink blended Tumbled Glass Distress ink for the background sky. I stamped one of the smiley faces in the set on the sun, & finished the greeting with another stamp from "Here for You Bear." I finished by matting that with yellow cardstock.

For my card front, I used 2 patterned papers from Lawn Fawn. (They were a gift with a purchase, so I don't know the names of the collections they are from.) I cut them to 4x5-1/4", & then trimmed each piece in 2 at an angle for a bit of dynamism. I adhered them to a scrap of cardstock, just so I could work with them as one panel.

I put together the pop-up mechanism as per Jennifer's instructions. I did have to make one small alteration, because the larger square wasn't too much bigger than the smaller. Rather than scoring at 2" & 2-1/2", I had to have my score lines only 1/4" apart. It worked in the end, though! Of course, I had to put everything together to figure out that was a problem, and then pull it apart to redo it. Thank heavens for double-sided tape & UnDu adhesive remover!

Once I had the mechanism working, I matted my patterned paper panel with a piece of Bazzill Gumball cardstock that I'd adhered to a white A2-size card base. I stamped "pull" using the "Interactive Labels" stamp set from My Favorite Things on the tab, rounded the corners with my scissors, & that finished this card! I will send it to Send a Smile 4 Kids, where it will hopefully bring joy to a hospitalized child's spirit. 😊

I'm also entering this card in The Paper Funday Challenge's "Anything Goes" challenge #44 (not playing the twist). 

Merry Christmas to You

This week's technique challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is "CAS/One Layer." I don't consider myself a CAS card maker generally. But I took the challenge, & made this card.

My card admittedly took a few twists & turns during the creation. Taking a page from Jennifer McGuire's playbook, I actually made 4 cards with this design, just changing the greeting for each. This card using Gina K products inspired my initial design. I liked the circle for the greeting in the middle with the heat embossed imagery behind it. I figured with some creative masking, I could make a similar one-layer card. At first, I was going to use that same image from "Holiday Tapestry," but when I laid it on my panel, I just felt it was too big to work for my design. So, to keep more white space, I opted for a snowflake background using Mama Elephant's "Holly's Snowflakes" stamp set instead.

I first heat embossed the circle for around the greeting, from Gina K's "Holiday Wreath Builder." I meant to stamp it in the exact center of my panel, but apparently measuring was not my strength this time, & I got it slightly higher on the panel. Oh, well - no worries! I heat embossed the greeting with the same Ranger Silver Super Fine Detail powder that I'd used on the circle frame.

I die cut a 1-7/8" circle from masking paper, using a Waffle Flower "Additional Circles" die. I used that to mask the greeting area, & cut strips of yellow Frog tape to 1/2" wide to mask the outer border of my panel. I placed the panel in my MISTI, & arranged several of the snowflake stamps on the panel. I picked them all up on the MISTI door, & stamped them in Versamark ink. I used Ranger Silver Pearl embossing powder to heat emboss them. I had expected it to be a bit more subtle, with just a hint of color, but I think it still works OK.

After the heat embossing had cooled, I removed the masks, & used my scoreboard to score a line around the perimeter of where the snowflakes ended. I scored first on the front, so I could see where to mark the lines, & then flipped my panel over to score on those lines from the back, so they would be embossed on the front. I finished by adhering my card front to a white A2-size card base. I don't consider this a mass-producible card, given how fiddly it was to position everything, plus having to mask off the border on each panel. But to create 4 took me about 2 hours give or take, so not too bad.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"

Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Make Your Own Background"

The Paper Funday Challenges #44: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)