Month: August 2021

A Fairy Tale Story

| ullycatdesigns

Hello, it’s Sue of the Dies R Us Design Team and today we are making a slimline pop-up New Home card from the castle collection by Karen Burniston.

You will need:

  • One lightweight green cardstock 9 inches x 4 inches
  • One lightweight black cardstock 9 inches x 4 inches (Or fold one 9 inches x 8 inches green piece in half instead of using two separate pieces)
  • Two starry night patterned paper9 inches x 4 inches 
  • Cut from Castle Pop-Up set
    • One large castle in medium gray cardstock
    • Two Tabbed tower pieces from medium gray cardstock
    • Six decorative large wall pieces using embossing pads from light gray cardstock
    • Two decorative small wall pieces using embossing pads from light gray cardstock
    • Two decorative tower pieces using embossing pads from light gray cardstock
    • Two decorative drawbridge tower pieces using embossing pads from light gray cardstock
    • Two decorative window tower pieces from light gray cardstock
    • Two decorative tower roof pieces from blue paper
    • Four flags from red paper
    • One drawbridge door piece from brown paper
    • One 4-5 piece of thin baker’s twine
  • Cut from Slim Flaps and Frames Set
    • Three top-fold pieces from green cardstock
    • Two side-fold pieces from green cardstock (You don’t need this piece if you are using a single piece of cardstock, folded base)
  • Cut from Mini Pops Pop-Up Set
    • Two large-angled platforms from green cardstock
    • Three small-angled platforms from green cardstock
  • Cut from Winter Charms set
    • Three small fir trees from light green cardstock (filling in hole with cardstock)
    • Two large fir trees from dark green cardstock (trimming off charm ring)
  • Cut from Princes and Mermaid set
    • One head and arms piece from skin-colored cardstock (using stencil on die and fine tipped markers color in facial features)
    • One hair piece from colored cardstock
    • One dress underskirt from dark blue cardstock
    • One dress from light blue cardstock
    • One belt from dark blue cardstock
    • One crown from gold cardstock
  • Cut from Knight and Dragon set
    • One dragon from green pearlescent paper (using stencil on die and fine tipped markers color in wings and facial features)
    • One dragon tummy from white pearlescent paper (using stencil on die and fine tipped markers color in tummy stripes)
    • One flame from yellow cardstock (using stencil on die and fine tipped markers color in flame with red)
    • One heart from red foil card
    • One knight from silver foil card
    • One set of visor, gloves, shoe tips and shoulders from silver foil card
    • One large shield from silver foil card
    • One sword from silver foil card (color handle black with a permanent marker)
    • One helmet plume from red paper
    • One small shield from red paper (Draw a cross on shield using a black marker and ruler)
  • Cut from Word Set 2 – Birthday
    • “a wish” from gold card
  • Cut from Word Set 4 – Just a Note
    • “ing” from gold card
  • Cut from Happily Ever After
    • “Happily, Ever After” from gold card
  • Cut from Nesting Circles Set
    • One circle the size of the castle from green card stock
    • One circle at least a half inch larger all round the size of the castle from blue paper

There are two ways to create the card base – one using two single side flaps in the center of the card acting as the hinge with the top black 9 x 4 piece, and the second way using a single piece folded to form the 9x 4 card base. (I will be showing the first way in photos.) Glue top-flaps to short sides of the green card base. With these flaps closed, glue the two side flaps to the center of card base. Glue the final top-fold flap to front side of the two center flaps.

Castle – Lightly ink the embossed tower and wall pieces with a grey or black Distress Ink. Folded the six score lines on the castle piece.

Adhere all decorative pieces to front and back of castle piece except for back/inside short wall and back/inside drawbridge tower pieces. (You will adhere these pieces once the castle is installed to card base so they can cover over the green and twine pieces.)

Glue tab to undecorated side of castle to form a six-side circle.

Fold both the green circle and the blue circle in half and cut along fold. Glue one half of blue circle to center of the center flaps along the center fold. Adhere the other side of blue circle to other side of fold allowing a small gap along the fold so that the card can open easily. Center the green circle pieces over the blue circle and tape the green circle at sides using removable tape. Using the pop-up die with the nubs, center the nubs over the fold or gap on the green circle and tape. Move the taped green circle with die taped to it to die cutting machine. Remove all the tape from the die and green circle after cutting. Fold up the cut tabs in the circle. Glue the green circle on to the blue circle with the tabs up.

Match the drawbridge tab to the inside of the castle and glue in place with the door/bridge open. Thread twine through top holes in tower. Adhere the solid tab to the inside of castle opposite of drawbridge opening. Glue brown door to top of drawbridge matching up holes.  Thread twine through drawbridge holes and glue to underside of bridge and then adhere bridge open to blue circle. Glue remaining decorative pieces to inside of castle to hide the green tabs and twine.

From scrap green cardstock cut rectangles to hide the blue showing from where tabs fold up. (An alternative would be to cut circle slightly smaller than the green circle of a thin paper that would mimic grass or stone of a castle floor to cover the holes.)

(If your tallest tower hangs out when the card is closed, you can trim the tower some and reglue the flag. I decided that I could live with the hint of the flag showing.)

Knight, Princess and Dragon – Assemble figures following package directions. To attach the figures and trees to the card, first glue any decorative background papers to the back of the three flaps. Layout the position of the figures and trees with angles platforms making sure none of the figures will show when the card is closed. Adhere the figures to platforms and then to the card base following the die package instructions.

Card Front – Adhere a starry night paper panel to black front card base and the other piece to the back side of card base hiding the flaps’ tabs. With card closed, glue black side of front panel to center flaps.

Secure the inside of black panel to card base with washi tape. Glue “ing” to “wish” to form the word “wishing.” Adhere sentiments to front of card.

A personal message can be added above and below the castle.

The finished card will fit into a #10 business envelope.

Hope this pop-up card has put a smile on your face and provided some inspiration for your crafting. 😊

Dies from Dies R Us:

Additional Supplies:

Don’t forget to come join in the fun at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog. There’s a new challenge theme offered on the 1st and 15th of each month and one lucky randomly drawn winner will receive a gift voucher prize to the Dies R Us Store.  

 For your convenience, all the important Dies R Us links are provided below.

click below for:

STORE

CHALLENGE BLOG

FACEBOOK

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A Truly Great Friend

| ullycatdesigns

Hello, it’s Sue of the Dies R Us Design Team and today we are making a Happy Mail card using Karin Joan Misses dies and stamps by Studio Light.

This slimline easel card was inspired by some made by Jennifer McGuire. Elements from both sets were used to create the paperdoll and an action wobble spring. 

Cut from the Betty die set:

  • One head and shoulders from skin colored cardstock making sure to not loose the ears which cut separately as is the head
  • One blouse using just the shoulders and neck section of the die, cut the blouse from a patterned paper. Then using v die cut the v-neckline
  • One collar and button placket from white cardstock. (Save the button circles for another card)
  • One long bangs from your choice of hair colored cardstock

Cut from the Tasha die set:

  • Two arms from skin colored cardstock (Glue them together for sturdiness)
  • One arm from patterned paper as a sleeve (Fold back hand and trim to form sleeve cuff. I covered my cuff with a scrap of white cardstock.)
  • One long hair piece from your choice of hair colored cardstock

Cut four Hellos from Hello die.

To assemble the paperdoll, begin by stamping and heat embossing the facial features using the stamps from the Tasha set. (I colored the tongue with a pink gel pen and the teeth and eye highlights with a white gel pen.) Play with the layout of the hair pieces, ears and head. Once you have the position using a pencil, mark the location of the head and ears on the long hair piece. Glue the ears in place using a fine tipped glue bottle then glue bangs in place. Glue top half of head to long hair piece making sure to leave the lower half without glue. 

Adhere collar and button placket to front of blouse. Glue blouse to shoulders and neck piece. (I used Nuvo drops for the buttons and let the piece dry overnight before going to the next step.)  Using the fine tipped glue bottle, attached the head to the neck. Glue the long hair to back of shoulders.

Assemble arm and sleeve as directed on cutting instructions. (You may want to cut an additional sleeve and cuff if it will be seen on the backside.) Add the action wobble spring to the back of the arm.

To make the card base cut two piece of patterned cardstock 8 1/2 x 4 inches.  Score one piece across the short end 1/2 inch. Fold and glue the tab to the end of the other piece. Score and fold the top flap of card base at 2 3/4 inches to form the easel.

Glue three hellos together to form the easel stop that will be glued to lower card base.  The fourth hello will be used for decoration on the card front when closed.

Position paperdoll and arm piece on the easel portion of card front. Make sure that the hand is within the card front when closed. Adhere paperdoll and arm to card making sure to only glue lower half of paperdoll to easel.  The arm’s elbow needs to not touch or catch on the card base.  (I ended up having to trim a small tip of the elbow on this card to make it wave smoothly.)

Now you have a card that will wave a cheery hello.

“A truly great friend is hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget,” is the sentiment stamped on the back of the envelope.

Hope this fun card has put a smile on your face and provided some inspiration for your crafting. 😊

Supplies Used from Dies R Us:

Additional Supplies Used:

  • Pink gel pen
  • Patterned papers from Recollections, Hot Off the Press
  • Colored paper scraps from my stash
  • VersaMark – Watermark Stamp Pad
  • Recollections -Detail Embossing Powder – Ebony
  • Nuvo Dream Drops – Cloud 9
  • Papertrey ink – Quoted: True Friends Stamp Set – 3374
  • Stamin’ Up Classic Stampin’ Pad – Blueberry Bushel
  • No. 10 – Neenah Social – Bare White Techweave Envelope

Over the Moon Birthday

| ullycatdesigns

Sometimes we just feel like being out there in space when it comes to celebrating birthdays. This interactive space themed birthday card is made with Whimsy Stamps “Over The Moon” stamp set and kinetic dies.

Having watched Jennifer Dove’s video on Whimsy Stamps kinetic dies, I proceeded in making a similar card to the one she made, but I expanded the card into a tri-fold card letting the viewer find the cake.

Because this was the first time, I had used the kinetic dies, I made a few mistakes – the first being I have the rocket moving backwards when you first pull the strip. My second mistake was that I should have used thicker cardstock or cut two and glued together for the pull strip. And my third mistake was allowing the moon to warp when I watercolored it.

I stamped the images with black Memento Fade-Resistant Dye Ink onto white cardstock. The images are colored with Spectrum Noir Sparkle Glitter Brush-Pens and a Faber-Castell white India ink pen. Once dry, the images were fussy cut and ready to use for decorations.

The moon background was colored using Nuvo Watercolour Pencils in gray and black tones as well as a black Spectrum Noir Sparkle Glitter Brush Pen. I used a heat tool to dry the second and third moon backgrounds which did not warp as badly as the first moon which I let air dry overnight.

I recommend watching the assembly video for all the steps in assembling the No-See Kinetic mechanism. Because I followed the video’s directions forgetting that my rocket image went the opposite direction from the one in the video, my rocket goes backwards. Doubling up the foam tape is a must so that it matches the height of the foam dot.

The navy blue card base is made up of two panels 5 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches with tabs scored and folded at 1/4 inches on the short side. The tabs are then glued to a 5 1/2 x 6 inches panel to create the tri-fold card base.

My card uses all the stamps in the set for the three panels. It would be an ideal card for a child.

The card fits folded into an A7 envelope which is stamped on the back with the last of the three sentiments included in the stamp set – “I’m over the MOON for you!”

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this blog post, please like it and follow the blog. 😊

Supplies Used:

Nativity Snow Globe

| ullycatdesigns

A new babe is a joy. People came from far and near to see the sweet babe.

This card is made with the new Gemini Dimensional snow globe dies. Three layers for the nativity globe – a stenciled background, a stable middle layer and the Wisemen in front.

The background is inked using Distress Inks using the stencils that are included in the die set. The front and middle layers are colored with watercolor pencils.

The finishing touches are a gold foil star and covering the globe base with a solid blue card stock and gold label and letters.

The card fits folded into an A7 envelope which is stamped on the back with a scene stamp of the Wisemen entering Bethlehem.

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this blog post, please like it and follow the blog. 😊

Supplies Used:

Welcome to the Horse Farm

| ullycatdesigns

Greetings it’s Sue here from the Dies R Us design team with another barn pop-up card.

The barn pop-up is Karen Burniston’ Barn Pop Stand as are the Farm Edges fence and hills. The horses are cut and stenciled using Karen Burniston’s Horse, Unicorn and Zebra set and the hat and pitchfork come from her Tiny Accessories 3 set. “Howdy!” sentiment is also by Karen Burniston.

Cut:

2 – largest barn die out of red card stock -Cut doors out of one

1 – small “X” window from white

2 – doors “X” die out of white

1 – door railing out of white

2 – roof trim die out of white

2 – weathervanes at same time by placing silver mirror card back-to-back

3 – hay bales -color with Distress Ink

1 – pitchfork – color with markers

2 – fence out of white

3 – horse bodies

3 – horse manes and tails

1 – cowboy hat from yellow – color with distress inks and markers

2 – Howdy! – one from white and one from yellow

Cut horses and color using stencils on dies and Distress Oxide inks using large Pink & Main blender brush. (This was my first time using this larger inking brush and I was delighted with the ease of inking up the large horse pieces.  The ink blending went smoothly unlike when I use sponge inking tools.)

Glue white “X” frames to window cut outs to form a hay loft door. Using clear tape hinge door onto loft. Glue on roof trim to front and back barn pieces. Glue weather vane to inside back piece.

To assemble the sliding doors, weave the top bar end of the red door piece through the white door railing piece fold the red bar over the railing where indicated and glue bar onto top of door making sure no glue is on the railing. Glue white “X” frame over door. Repeat with second door.

The card base is a 10 x7 inch white heavy weight card stock folded in half to form a 5 x 7 inches card. Panels of printed paper were cut to cover the front and back panels (5 x 7 inches, front and 5 ½ x 7 inches, back).

The inside panels are 4 ¾ x 6 ¾ inches. I positioned and taped the inside panels with clear removable tape so that I could die cut the pop-up flaps to anchor the barn to. Using Scor-tape, I adhered the paper panels to the card base removing the clear tape once all panels were adhered.

Glue barn pieces to pop-up tabs. Cut a 1-inch strip of paper fold in half and fold to create tabs on both bottom edges. Glue two hay bales and pitchfork to one side and glue tabs down inside barn, over the card fold. This will be seen when the barn doors are opened. Glue remaining hay bale behind barn hay loft door.

Glue matching printed papers to cover over tabs inside barn. Using only a small dot of glue at inside top of barn glue barn pieces together. Fold fences in half and glue ends inside barn. Glue decorated horses to fence.

Decorate the inside and outside of card with grass and hills cut using Farm Edges die set. (I trimmed off the tractor from my hills and had to cut and move the die to get a longer hill for my 7-inch card.)

The front sentiment is cut twice and slightly off set. I used Distress Oxide ink to color the yellow layer.

Stamped a vintage stamp of a horse on the back flap of envelope.

Hope this fun card has provided some inspiration for your crafting. 😊

SUPPLIES Used from Dies R Us:

Other Supplies:

  • Red, yellow, green and white cardstock
  • Printed papers from The Paper Studio’s Beach House pad and Graphic 45’s Fruit & Floral pad
  • Clear tape
  • Crayola Signature Brush & Detail Dual-ended Markers
  • Pigma Micron 05 archival ink pen
  • Vintage horse stamp
  • Stampin’ Up – Early Espresso ink pad
  • Ranger – Distress Ink – Fossilized Amber
  • Ranger – Distress Oxide – Ground Expresso
  • Sponge dauber
  • Stamping platform
  • Scissors
  • Tweezers

Don’t forget to come join in the fun at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog. There’s a new challenge theme offered on the 1st and 15th of each month and one lucky randomly drawn winner will receive a gift voucher prize to the Dies R Us Store.  

 For your convenience, all the important Dies R Us links are provided below.

click below for:

STORE

CHALLENGE BLOG

FACEBOOK

INSPIRATION BLOG

FRIENDS OF DIES R US PINTEREST PAGE