Recently, I had the honor of attending a workshop taught by Kittie Caracciolo who makes wonderful and detailed dimensional cards using Rubbernecker Stamps products. The workshop was part of the Stamp and Scrapbook EXPO – Orlando.
Rubbernecker Stamps makes some wonderful dies to create scenes that fit an A2 size card (4 1/4 x 5 1/2-inches). Using a sponge tool similar to an eye shadow applicator, Kittie showed us how to color our die-cuts using Color Fuse Inks to create shading that rounded objects and gave dimension to animals. Foam strips helped with the physical layering on the snowy scene and to make the white scalloped rectangle stand out on the pink flowers in the watering can.
I added eyes to both deer and a nose with a ultra fine tipped black pen and white spots to the fawn with a gel pen.
I added yellow Nuvo Crystal Drops to the flower centers.
As Kittie suggested, I went home and heat embossed the leaves with clear embossing powder to give them some shine.
This card was made for Crafting Roulette #159 whose parameters included a card type of my choice (5×7 pop-up), strawberry fields colors, plaid or gingham and a chair. It has a conservatory or fancy potting shed feel to it.
Karen Burniston’s Adirondack Chair die set is the basis for this pop-up card that uses a slipcover to convert it into an overstuffed chair. (See this video for technique.) I made a template that I can used to quickly create the slipcover.
First I glue strips of paper to the from of the legs and then glue the arms on pushing down the over hang tips to form the rounded arm fronts. Glue the slip cover to the chair base.
The plants are die cut from the Garden Charms set while the dog is from the Doghouse die set. All are popped-up using cubes made from strips of matching cardstock. The tiny bright strawberries are clay shaker elements adhered with dots of glue.
I like being able to use one paper collection for an entire card for coordinating colors and designs. The Graphic 45 Fruits & Flora set was perfect for this in the 8×8-inch size. It had journaling tags and border that were just the right scale for this card and envelope flap.
It’s the Karen Burniston Design Team March 2023 Challenge and the theme is Vacation!
I’ve always wanted to take the train from Vancouver through the Canadian Rocky Mountains and this card pays tribute to that train trip using Karen Burniston’s Twist Panel Pop-Up and Train Pivot Panels.
First, I watched the assembly videos for Train Pivot Panel and the Twist Panel Pop-Up. (If I had been paying attention, I would have realized that when the train pivot panels installed on the twist panel mechanism would need a card base that has 6-inches from the fold to its outer edge. Hence my train engine juts out from the card bottom by 3/4-inch, and I had to hide it with ribbon.)
When adding the twist panel mechanism to card larger than 5-inches, I use a metal ruler and a craft knife to cut the ends of the arms free and I glue additional patterned paper behind the mechanism to hide the openings that the arms make. My patterned papers have 3-inch-tall scenes that I cut to go inside the card at the top and bottom of the twist mechanism to added depth for mountains the train is going through. The actual train panels are cut from coordinating paper of fir trees.
While the Canadian Rail trains are diesel trains rather than steam, I tried to make the train have the Canadian flag colors and I found a tiny red maple leaf sequin in my shaker elements stash. The train track comes from the Train Elements die set.
For the outside of my card, I created some maple leaf paper on my computer and printed it. The “Enjoy the ride” sentiment was released by Karen Burniston as part of the train themed dies. I used her Mini Alphabet to finish the sentiment. (I find using removable paper tape to line up the lettering works well with a t-ruler.)
For the card back, I used a vintage Canadian railway sticker and a heart sticker to hide the ribbon end.
A piercing tool (an ice pick) was used to poke the holes for the ribbon.
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I started with a 3.5-inch by 11-inch rectangle and folded the card at 6-inches to make a 3.5×6-inch top-fold card base.
Watch assembly video before die cutting the Adirondack Chair into the card base. I marked on the backside of the sand print paper (3.5×8.5-inches) where slits need to be cut to cover the background where the chair is cut from the cardstock. (I cut the top edge of the sand print paper with a wavy sand dune vibe.) Adhere the sky-blue paper at the top of inside of the card base above chair. Slip the sand print paper with slits into place and glue.
Die-cut the chair again from wood gran cardstock making sure the grain goes from top to bottom of the chair and armrests. Cut just the seat of the chair with the woodgrain going sideways the length of the boards. Glue the woodgrain pieces onto the card base chair.
Adhere the ocean wave paper (3.5x11inch) to the outside of the card base. Die-cut sentiments from the new Happy Hour word set and assemble. (I cut the Happy Hour twice in different pinks.) Layout the words on the front of the folded card base before adhering.
The shell and crab elements are from the new Sea Charms set while the fruity drink is from the previously released Happy Hour Charms set. I used a thin foam square cut in half to adhere the drink to the chair.
I find it fun to decorate the backs of cards with something small and whimsical. The jelly fish charm from the Sea Charms is cut from vellum and glued over a purple stenciled body.
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Watch the assembly video before putting together. The video recommends decorating the front and back of the card before adding items to the inside.
I masked off a banner on the front of the card using low tack paper tape. Next, I did a light spritz of a brown sparkle spray to create a sand like texture. Remove the tape and glue die-cut sentiment strip in place.
I used a left-over strip of decorative paper and two 1/8-inch tall strips of cream cardstock to finish the front of the card.
The card back uses another decorative paper scrap and a die-cut paw print that has its paw pads inked. I found that by attaching the tiny paws pads to a piece of low tack tape, I could easily ink the pieces with a sponge dauber.
I found that the puppy face dies have stencils within them that I used to ink with a white gel pen make highlights.
As with all my cards that are sent in an envelope, I have decorated the back flap with an embossing folder and a paw die-cut. Both the embossing and die-cut were inked with a dark brown ink. The card fits into an A6 envelope.
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Miniature houses and shops fascinate me. When I saw that Concord & 9TH had come out with a Pop-Up Shoppe Die set and add-on sets for a bakery and a bookstore, I knew I had to try them.
First try – Bookstore
Second try – Coffee/Bake Shop
Here are my first and second cards that I made from these die sets. The first one, a bookstore, was done without watching the assembly video and hence I attached the pop-up store front as an accordion fold rather than the “U” pop-up fold as the video shows. The second one, a coffee/bake shop, uses the “U” fold. (Bake shoppe video, Book shoppe video)
For the coffee/bake shop I cut a 4.25×5.5-inches piece of banana cream cardstock folded in half for a top fold A2 size card base. using double-sided tape I adhered the decorative papers on all but the front inside of the card.
I found that assembling the shop front from the acetate windows, door and, flower box and eaves dental molding first, made it easier to plan how to lay out the inside scene. On the coffee/bake shop I used the largest door die to do a partial die-cut of three sides on the shop front, so that the door could be opened. (I’ve also thought for my next card to use both door dies to cut in windows to the door.)
The acetate windows can be one large piece if you don’t make the door open or two or three pieces if you do cut the door to open. (I reinforced the narrow strip by the door with a piece of acetate.) You need the acetate to glue the window frames onto as well as tables and lights bumped out with foam squares.
The inside decor for the coffee/bake shop uses the bake shoppe dies as well as the counter made from the bookstore’s cabinet with the shelves cut off. The stamped coffee signs come from a coffee shop stamp set from My Favorite Things. The “OPEN” sign on the door is from a Lawn Fawn stamp set. “Bakery” is part of the Concord & 9THstamp set.
All of the coffee and bakery elements were curved using fingers or flower shaping ball tools. The breads and baskets were inked with Distress inks. Printed watercolored papers were used for other elements like cups and flowers. Foam squares are used to adhere most of the elements to the card back.
Placement of items to be seen through the upper windows and open door may make the inside layout seem off-balance.
The inside of the card needs layers of matted sentiment and a decorative paper on the card back to balance out the weight of the card front. I think the top fold card works best for the card design, but the side fold card is good too.
As is my way, I decorated the back flaps of both A2 envelopes with stamps from Hero Arts (bookstore) and Concord & 9TH (coffee/bake shop) to hint as to what is inside the envelope.
Fur babies can enjoy the winter holidays as much as their human parents. This little pup doesn’t want Santa to forget her. She’s got her Santa hat and lights on her house as well as a sign asking Santa to stop.
The card front uses the dog from the Dog House Tiny House Add-Ons cut three times to make her stand out from the busy background paper. Dog bones from this set were also added to hint at what is to come on the inside.
To create the dog house, cut out and assemble a red Tiny House. (See assembly video.) I used the same red lightweight cardstock for the side panels from the add-ons. I choose not to ink the dies to print the siding lines, but rather to emboss them and then, using a white ink cube, to add a powdery dusting of snow.
For the colorful lights, use the lights from the Holiday House die set. (I used shimmer paper and colored them with fine-tipped markers.) The wreath is also from the Holiday House. Pup is added to the front of the dog house with a thick foam dot.
The snowy look on the roof was created by painting a thick coating of glitter gloss and using Effect Snow around the edges. To hold up the “Santa Stop Here” sign, a grassy strip from the Mushroom Tiny House Add-Ons set was cut, Effect Snowed, and glued to the card base and dog house. The sign is made from three of the school signs from the Church and School Tiny House Add-Ons set.
White octagons from the Bam Box Pop-Up die set are placed in opposing corners like snowballs for personal messages. Snowflake borders cut from shimmer paper using the Long Nature Edges 2 set.
Card backs are just as important as fronts. This one is decorated with left over strips.
The back flap of the envelope hints at what’s to come with the Santa capped pup.
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There is something magical about going to a Christmas Eve Candlelight church service on a frosty evening. That is the feeling this basket card is hoping to invoke.
This Christmas card features some of Karen Burniston’s December 2022 release die sets – Wide Woven Basket Box Card, Church School Tiny House Add-ons and Bam Box. All of the pieces were cut from two types of white cardstock with silver ink added to some pieces. Vellum was used behind the windows.
Church: The assembly of the church starts with the Tiny House base with its windows cut out while still flat. (Save the window frames to glue back into openings.) Cut rectangles of clear vellum to be glued on the inside of the church over the window openings. Trim excess vellum away from round window as needed. Coat the two roofs with glitter gloss. Coat window frames and door frame with glitter gloss. Using door die as a stencil, color door handles silver. Color the two crosses silver and glue together. Color the two halves of the tall charm holder on the church tower silver.
Assemble the tiny house as directed in assembly video. Don’t fold back bottom tabs, but rather trim off the tab on the house side, leaving the back or pointed side’s tab attached. Follow assembly video for the church tower. After adding the Bam Boxes, cut a rectangle to fit on the inside of the church to cover the other half of the church front. (This piece will stabilize the church when attached to the basket and will block light if you add LED lights.)
Wide Woven Basket: This die set makes it easy to create a rectangular pop-up basket. (Prior to this set you had to die cut an extra set of pieces to widen the basket sides and grass.
When used with the previously released Woven Basket Box Card, you cut two sets of the original size sides and two sets of the wide size sides. Follow the directions on the package or the assembly video to weave the basket and join the sides together. (I colored both sides of the ropes with silver metallic pen and then coated with a glitter gloss brush pen before attaching them.)
Adding Crossbars of Grass: The Wide Woven Basket Box Card includes the wide grass crossbars. (I cut four to make a full basket.) I trimmed away the grass leaves where the church would be. The front tab on the church is NOT attached to the crossbar, but rather acts as a guide for when the church and basket are folded closed.
Bam Boxes: To animate the basket when it comes out of the envelope and pops into shape, two small “Bam Boxes” were used. Watch the assembly video first. The church also uses two Bam Boxes. These easy to make rectangular boxes are powered by a small rubber band. (I used #8 size bands.) These go in diagonally opposite corners of the basket or church. Once glued in, the basket or church will only fold flat in one direction, so make sure both church and basket fold in the same direction. (I recommend using a heavy weight cardstock for bam boxes and letting each stage of gluing dry before moving onto the next step. I found that making a bunch of Bam Boxes at one time is useful for having some ready made to use on other projects.)
Tag, Bells, Holly and Berries: A tag is tied to the handle of the basket for a personal message. It is cut using the tag die from the Karen Burniston Tag Book die set. The bells are charms from the Church School Tiny House Add-ons colored with a silver gel pen. Karen Burniston’s Pattern Plate of Holly was coated a glitter gloss while the berries were colored with a silver gel pen. The holly leaves and berries were cut apart for decorations on the basket, tag and in the basket grass.
Sentiment: The “Happy Christmas” is from the Karen Burniston Word Set 3 -Holiday. It was cut three times from white, and the top layer was not weeded out of its original piece of cardstock while it was being colored with a silver gel pen. The three layers were glued together before being attached to the front of the basket.
Lights: I added an inexpensive string of LED fairy lights to the inside of the church. (You can find these at Dollartree and Poundland stores.) Because the lights restrict the movement of the Bam Boxes inside the church, the lights need to be removed to fold flat.
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Ully Cat's World 