Joy to You Teepee Card

The August technique challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is to create a teepee card. (Because there were 5 Saturdays in August, this challenge ran through today.) To my knowledge, I have never so much as heard of a teepee card, so went looking for a tutorial. (The challenge hostess did provide a link to a video tutorial, but I found another one by Sam Calcott at Mixed Up Craft that was easier for me to follow.) I discovered a benefit with a card like this is the base can be made from a lighter weight cardstock, as long as you add the mats & layers with a good, strong glue. So I used Beacon 3-in-1 glue for the main construction on my card layers.

I began by creating the panels for my card base. Initially, I was going to have it be from sprayed/ink-smooshed panels. So I cut three 5x5" squares from Strathmore Mixed Media paper - a heavyweight paper that can take a lot of water well. I pulled out my never-before-used Distress Oxide sprays in Milled Lavender, Seedless Preserves, & Blueprint Sketch to color my panels. I quickly gave up on the Milled Lavender, as it was just too pale to compete with the other two colors. After I finished spraying, I dried the panels with my heat gun & did a bit of ink smooshing with Villainous Potion Distress Oxide ink to add a bit more contrast. I also added water droplets with my Distress Sprayer. I didn't pick up the water with a cloth, but rather just dried the panels with the water on them for a less-bleached look. Finally, I used Frozen Fog Distress Mica Stain to add a shimmery spritzing to my panels.

I glued the panels together, positioned as per the tutorial, & quickly ran into my first problem. Apparently, if you use one-sided cardstock like I basically did, it does matter which way the cardstock layers face. I managed to glue one panel facing the wrong way (so the back showed when the card was popped up, rather than the front). 😝 Because I used a strong glue to adhere my panels together, I had no way to undo my mistake. Rather than start over though, I just shifted course. I was able to cut the triangular layers that would go on top from my "ruined" card base, & cut new card base pieces from solid cardstock. Problem solved! So I went ahead & cut my triangular mats to size from Recollections Silver Foil cardstock & glued those mats & layers to the card base. I also added 2 small bits of Velcro where the one side overlapped the other to keep the card closed when it's upright.

Angled view of card

My original idea for decorating was to use ornaments & make it a "Christmas tree." So I stamped & die cut several ornaments using the "Holiday Style" stamps & dies from Sunny Studio Stamps. When I looked at them on my card, though, I just wasn't feeling it. So I shifted course again & decided to die cut snowflakes from white glitter cardstock. Fortunately, I had a large enough scrap of glitter cardstock in my stash to accommodate several snowflakes. I die cut the snowflakes with the "Paper Snowflakes Mini" set by Tim Holtz (discontinued). I used matte Perfect Paper Adhesive glue to adhere them all in place. I did keep Sam Calcott's tip in mind to have overhanging bits on a particular side, so they don't overhang the card edges when it's folded flat. (That would necessitate using an even larger envelope.) In the end, I only had the one large snowflake overhanging an edge, but it's still a good point to keep in mind.

For the greeting on the front, I used the "Season's greetings" from Honey Bee Stamps' "Pretty Poinsettias" stamp set (discontinued). But wait - the greeting says "Joy to you." Yep - another course shift. I stamped the Season's greetings in Villainous Potion Distress Oxide ink, die cut it with the coordinating die, & adhered it to my card with liquid glue, with the card laying flat. I put an acrylic block on top to keep the greeting from popping up, & left it for a couple of days. When I removed the block, I noticed 2 problems: a bit of the ink had bled (presumably "encouraged" by moisture coming through the cardstock from the glue) & when I propped the card in its display position, the greeting slanted. I had aligned it parallel to the bottom of the triangle, not even thinking that that side would slant when the card was popped up. Again - liquid glue = no clean removal. I was in no way about to start over, though, so I found the Joy to you greeting in Simon Says Stamp's "Holiday Greetings" set (discontinued). I stamped it - again with Villainous Potion - & die cut it with a Hero Arts "Nesting Oval Infinity" die. I die cut 2 more ovals & layered them behind the greeting oval for more stability. I made sure this time to add liquid glue only around the edge of the oval, where it shouldn't affect the ink. Finally, I used a combination of double-sided tape & liquid glue to adhere it to the card front, covering my messed-up greeting. This time, I made sure to have the card propped up so I could level the greeting correctly. And that FINALLY finished this card! It was quite a journey with a few twists & turns, but I wouldn't hesitate to make another, especially now that I know the pitfalls to avoid!

I am also entering this in the following challenges:

Little Red Wagon Challenge #823: "Fancy Fold"

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday September challenge: "Anything Goes"

613 Avenue Create Challenge: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)