lawn fawn

My Better Half

| ullycatdesigns

Sometimes you just need to let your partner know that they are the better half of yourself.

I needed to do just that and chose some of my partner’s favorite colors and the cute Lawn Fawn “Let’s Toast” stamp set with its add-on pull tab die set. The double-sided plaid papers are Becky Moore’s Say it with Stamps for Photoplay on a green A2 card base.

First, I stamped the images with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored the toaster with a silver metallic marker. Next, I covered the main body of the toaster with Glossy Accents.  The toast, butter pat and butter dish I colored with blending markers and watercolor pencils.

Because I had never used this Lawn Fawn pull tab mechanism before, I found a video to watch for the assembly. It was easy to assemble, but since I had fussy cut my stamped images, I had to trim down the tabs of the mechanism for the toast to be attached to and not show the edges of the tab.

For the pull tab top, I used a scrap of the green plaid cardstock to cover the portion of the tab that shows when the tab is pulled up matching the vertical plaid line. After this cover was glued down, I added the brown oval with the arrow cut-out and folded it to fit the cut-out notch of the cart rather than using the scored fold mark.

The sentiments were stamped with Versamark Watermark ink and heat embossed with a black detail embossing powder onto white scrap cardstock. The front sentiment was cut out as a banner and adhered to the card front with foam squares and the interior sentiment was cut close and glued in place with its matching images.

To hint at the envelope’s contents, I stamped two pieces of smiling toast onto the back flap with brown ink.

Thank you for reading this blog post. Please like and leave comments 😊

Materials Used:

Dies

Stamps

Inks & Embossing Powder

  • Memento – fade-resistant Dye Ink – Tuxedo Black
  • VersaMark – Watermark Stamp Pad
  • Recollections – Detail Embossing Powder – Ebony
  • My Favorite Things – Premium Dye Ink – Milk Chocolate

Papers

  • Photoplay – Fall Plaids 6×6 paper Pad – Say it with Stamps by Becky Moore
  • White card stock scraps
  • A2 green card base and white envelope

Miscellaneous

Home for the Holidays

| ullycatdesigns

Going home to be greeted by family and friends is a Christmas tradition since the mid-1800s.  This slimline tower card uses Spellbinder’s Open House dies to an interactive card that emotes the feeling of being welcomed home. (I must give credit to @DebsyG of Craftworld and Sam Calcott’s Made to Surprise tower cards for the inspiration for this card.)  

Spellbinder’s Open House collection has a number of add-on sets for various holidays, but none include a door wreath. (I had to use an older Lawn Fawn Mini Wreath from their door collection to complete my card.) I did use the side panel set to add more windows to the doorway.

Card base: Using heavyweight white cardstock that is 8 ¾ inches tall x 8 ½ inches wide, I scored and folded at 1 1/8 inches, 2 2/8 inches, 6 1/8 inches and 7 3/8 inches. Next, I stenciled the card base with brick colored ink, a brick stencil and a small make-up brush (I find these inexpensive contour make-up brushes from Dollar Tree work as well as the expensive ink brushes.) The folds should go to the back of the card, to form a jut-out entryway often found on townhouses.

Stairs: A gray cardstock was used to cut the main steps with the sentiment “Merry Christmas.” The sentiment was backed with scraps of red paper. I found an old envelope that was just a shade darker gray that the cardstock for the step tops. The railing is cut from heavy black cardstock and glued only at the rod tips to the steps.  The stairs where then adhered to the center of the card base, which when folded shut is 3 ¾ inches.

Door and Windows: The door was die cut with the windowpane dies in one pass. The side panels had to be cut and then cut with the window die. The top transom windows were also die cut from white cardstock.

I positioned the die cut door over the stairs and used a pencil to trace where the windows and the door edges.

Using the pencil lines, I cut out the windows and three side of the door with a craft knife.

Positioning the side panels next to the door, I traced the window positions with pencil and cut out and did the same with windows over the door and panels.

I saved the window frames to be glued in place to scrap pieces of clear vellum on the back side of the door and side panels and transom windows. Then I glued the vellum backed door onto the card base door. The vellum backed panels and transom windows where also glued in place so that the vellum was sandwiched between the case base and the white window and panel frames.

Inside Mechanism:  To create the set-back house interior, I cut a 8 ½ inches tall x 5 ½ inches wide piece of lightweight white cardstock. I scored and accordion folded at ¼ inch, ½ inch ¾ inch, 1 inch, 4 ½ inches, 4 ¾ inches, 5 inches and 5 ¼ inches. Next, I cut a floor from some woodgrain paper and the wallpaper from a small, patterned paper.  These piece where adhered to the center of the inside mechanism. 

The woman is an older Spellbinder’s small die of the month that can hold a pie, a present or a small fir tree. I chose a present popped-up on a foam square. The woman is glued to the wallpaper and floor before the inside mechanism is glued onto the back side of the card base.

The finishing touches are a tiny wreath I had in my stash that is glued over the door and attaching the mail slot and doorknob (cut twice and glued together for depth) to the door front.

The back of the envelope is stamped in red using a Tim Holtz rubber stamp “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

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

Dies:

Stencil & Stamp

Inks

Papers

  • Colored cardstock scraps
  • Pattered papers from Colorbok and Mrs. Sparkle paper pads
  • White cardstock
  • Clear vellum
  • #10 Business envelope

Additional Supplies:

HELLO Sunshine Flip

| ullycatdesigns

Everyone needs sunshine and the feeling that someone is thinking of them. This flippy flappy card uses dies by Lawn Fawn for the pop-up mechanism as well as the sunshine motifs.

When I began this card, I made a prototype card first to figure out how the mechanism worked.  I watched an assembly video and still got it wrong by putting assembling from the front instead of the back. (See photo below.) The pop-up ended up working, but the flap was too long. (I recommend watching the assembly video several times or assemble the mechanism going step by step with video.)

For my actual card I changed up some of the design to make the sunshine really pop. Adding some ink to the background die cut helps emphasize the sun rays . The sun frame is cut from yellow, and the back sun outline is cut from orange with its center circle taped into the hole in the inked background.

The “Hello Sunshine” sentiment is cut twice from a darker orange cardstock to add some dimension. A fine tipped glue bottle makes gluing the fine lines of the letters easy.

The pop-up sun face is adhered to a strip cut from some clear plastic packaging.

To give the card recipient a hint at what is inside the envelope, I stamped the back of the envelope with a background sun burst pattern stamp from Hero Arts using a brown ink onto an orange envelope.

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

Dies:

Stamps

Inks

  • Ranger – Distress Ink – Fossilized Amber
  • Memento – Fade-resistant Dye Ink – Rich Cocoa

Papers

  • Cardstock in various shades of yellow and orange
  • Heavy weight white cardstock
  • Orange A2 invitation envelope – Staples -Brights

Additional Supplies:

Fishing Birthday Card – Teepee Style

| ullycatdesigns

This card was created to compliment an autumn birthday teepee card I had made earlier which was done in oranges and browns.  This one plays off the orange by using the contrasting color of blue with accents of browns and green. The recipient likes to fish so I used a fishing stamp set by Stampin’ Up and papers from my storage box of “masculine papers” (brands listed under supplies.)

Teepee cards-so named because of the shape, are easy cards to construct from three squares of cardstock that are all the same. You score each diagonally from one point to the opposite point and fold in half to form a triangle. Then you glue one of the squares to the left side triangle and another square to the right side of the triangle/center square. I recommend watch Sam Calcott’s Mixed up Crafts video for a step by step. (My card base is made up of three 5 ¾ inches squares of double-sided paper by Craft Consortium.) I cut three 5 ½ inch squares of green paper by Graphic 45 and then diagonally cut the square to get the 5 triangles I needed for the middle mat layer.

Once again, I want to have peek-a-boo-doors on the teepee card, so I added two flaps using the smallest and the medium circle dies in the Lawn Fawn circle flaps dies set cut into the top layer of triangular cut paper. Because I wanted to use the doors as platforms to set a hook and a large fish on, I used pop-out cubes to make them stand away from the card base.(My card used patterned blue paper by Authentique cut from 5 ¼ inch squares.) I also cut two additional circle flaps from the same blue paper to cover the back sides of the flap doors and squares to inlay behind the flap door matching the pattern. The pop-up cube to support an object is common, but I really learned the power of it from Karen Burniston’s Frame Pull Pop-up.

I fussy cut all of the card’s stamped images and sentiments after I had use watercolor pencils to color them. The happy Birthday rosette is made from a foiled topper from a card kit and ribbon gathered by needle and thread and then glued to the back of the topper.

The back side of the card has a cream-colored triangle for a personal message. The card is secured with a hook and loop square glued to one corner of the back flap and the connecting triangle.

I intended to have this card fold flat to fit inside a catalog envelope (9 inches x 6 inches) but I put the fisherman with his long pole and fishing line on the wrong panel. (Yes, it is real fishing line glued between two layers of the stamped fisherman and pole). The fisherman and the fish should have been where the other is, so that when folded flat the overlap lays on the cream panel so it will fit into a 9 x 6 inch envelope. But this card will be mailed in a larger padded envelope with a small diagram so the recipient will know how to stand it up for display and for good CRX. The back of the envelope is stamped with a fish.

Supplies

Dies

Stamps/Ink

Paper

Miscellaneous

  • PVA Glue – Cosmic Shimmer Acrylic Glue
  • Hook and loop tape
  • Foam squares
  • Metallic organza ribbon from my stash
  • Zebco – OmniFlex – 20 lb. 9.1 kg Line – monofilament fishing line
  • Needle and thread

Watermelon Shaker Truck

| ullycatdesigns

Watermelon Truck -front-CU

Cold watermelon on a hot summer’s day – what could be better? How about a shaker card of a watermelon truck.

This card was the first I’ve made from Queen & Co. complete card kits. The kits come with dies, self-adhesive foam/acetate shakers, shaker fillers, stamps and 6×6 paper pads. The instructions are straightforward and easy to understand.

I have augmented the kits with some tiny watermelon slices I had on hand as well as the Lawn Fawn ants and watermelon stamp set.

The kits add to the possibilities of my Spellbinders Sunday Drive and Truck Large Die of the Month -OCT18 as the accessories are in a similar scale to all the vehicle sets.

The envelope was stamped with the Lawn Fawn stamps while the card sentiment is from the Special Delivery kit and was heat embossed in glossy black.

Watermelon Truck -card envelope

Supplies

Dies

Stamps

Paper

Inks

Miscellaneous

Autumn Forest Birthday

| ullycatdesigns

Autumn Forest -inside

I am a paper hoarder and have been looking at this lovely set of forest animals Craft Consortium paper for months, taking it out thinking about what I could make from it. Putting it aside to see if the muse strikes.

A fall birthday for an animal lover became my muse. I used my favorite Lawn Fawn Scalloped Box Card Pop-up die set to cut the base and decorative squares for the card.  The papers are double-sided so I was able to mix and match the squared to be just flowers or flowers with the fox. I fussy cut the owl and oak leaves from another sheet in the collection. The birthday girl’s special day falls at that time of the year when some flowers are still blooming, but the occasional autumn leaf my drift down.

The main elements are cut from the inside covers of the 6×6 paper pad.

Autumn Forest-assembly -outside

Because I have made this box a lot, I have taken to use the largest stitched die in the set and extend cut a large square to make a stiffer back to the box and as a place to write a personal message.  To extend cut using a die cutting machine, simply place one edge of the die just off the edge of the cutting plat so it won’t cut when going through the machine.  Move the die to cut the other side of the square again placing the die edge just off the cutting plates. It may take you a few tries to master this technique, but once mastered you can expand the uses of your die collection.

To assemble the box I decorate the front and back sides of the flaps before I connect the tabs using red double-sided tape. (See assembly video) If you follow the steps in the video, you should have a perfect box.

Hot Foiling

I am just learning to do hot foiling using a Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foiling System. Having watched a number of videos on how to hot foil, I tried out a number of sentiments in rose gold foil. I used two of my first attempts on this card.

Autumn Forest -inside-CU

I used glue to adhere my elements on to the cross bars and a foam square to give some dimension to the owl.

Autumn Forest -front-Flat

When decorating always remember you can add elements to be seen only when folded closed.

Autumn Forest -back-Flat

If you want to have the full experience of opening up this card, click here to see video of the box card being opened.

https://spark.adobe.com/video/HnJo2aUX5ZHal

Supplies

Dies

Foiling

Paper

Miscellaneous

Balloons and Flowers Pop-Up

| ullycatdesigns

Hot Air Balloon-side view

My challenge to make a sweet and up-lifting birthday card for someone who was not happy about celebrating her birthday alone. I had the “Flying High” Craftwork Cards paper collection which has muted neon colors along with pinks and turquoise blue. It is cheery with it has hot air balloons and loads of cute die-cuts and foiled sentiments.

I decided on a box pop-up and used the low and wide shape of the Lawn Fawn Scalloped Box die set which fits into an A2 envelope. Th box was cut from the second darkest pink shade of lightweight cardstock in the Recollection’s Pink Buttons paper pack.

Hot Air Balloon-flat

I punched out the flower die-cuts and shaped them with my fingers and adhered pearls and dots embellishments to their centers. Next, I adhered the flowers to long strips of clear acetate from leftover packaging.

Hot Air Balloon-CU

I assembled the box following the video instructions by Kelly Marie, using strips of clear acetate for the crossbars adhering them in place with clear tape which bends well. All the decorative papers are from one sheet of paper from the “Flying High” collection as well as all the decorations.

The finished card folds flat. A small hot air balloon from the Tim Holtz Collection Little Things stamp set was stamped on the back flap of the envelope.

Hot Air Balloon-open

Materials Used:

Dies

Stamps

Inks

Papers

Miscellaneous

Stick-on pearls and dots from Dollar Tree and

CRX – Card Recipient Experience

| ullycatdesigns

You create the most delightful card that moves went you pull a slider or you create a box card that folds flat, and the recipient of the card gets it in the mail and has no idea how to make it work.  This is not the ideal card recipient experience (CRX) you want.

In the web designers world, they talk about User Experience (UX). For us in the not so digital field of card designers, we need to think about CRX or how we let our users know how to operate the card if the recipient is not use to receiving interactive cards.

Arrows indicating direction to pull a slider tab are common.  Including a diagram of how a box card should look when completed is simple enough. Or you can get creative and string a “pull here” tag on a thread that can be removed once used.

A great card is both beautiful to the eye of the beholder and easily explained if it involves moving parts.

Dies/Stamps Used:

You’re In My Thoughts Box of Flowers

Lawn Fawn Scalloped Box Card Pop-Up

Build -A-Bouquet Stamp Collection for Papercrafter magazine issue 118 

Stamped in black ink and colored with Crayola Signature Brush & Detail Dual-ended Markers

Tea and Tulips Box of Flowers

Lawn Fawn Scalloped Box Card Pop-Up

Stampin’ Up’s Tearoom Copper Vinyl Stickers

Stampin’ Up’s Tea Room Specialty Designer Series Paper

Tea Room Memories & More Card Pack.

Shaded Tulip Stamp & Layer set by Susan Bates for Papercraft Inspirations magazine, issue 182

CraftSmart and Hampton Art mini ink pads.

Paris Easel Card

Paris in the Springtime Die set from Die Cutting essentials  issue 49

Karen Burniston’s Pop It Ups for Elizabeth Craft Designs 1104-Hanging Charm Pull Tab die set

“Pull Here” stamp from Concord and Ninth’s Mail Drop Stamp Collection

The Upside to Playing

| ullycatdesigns

IMG_4989

The upside to playing with new materials is you don’t have to perfect, just have fun with the materials and be creative.  This little pop-up box card has gotten embellished when I’ve gotten some new materials. First, the brown box was just to test out the Lawn Fawn Scalloped Box die set. I had a jar full of tiny rubber stamps I gotten from one of the big craft store chains and used the “Hi!” “celebrate” and “smile” stamps to decorate the side flaps. A new box of neon colored pencils came into play around the stamps.

I set the box on my Inspiration Shelf and forgot about for several months until I got a new box of Prima watercolor pencils (the kind you color and then go over with a wet brush to blend the colors.) I needed something to color and found the Lawn Fawn Little Town Hillside die cut in my bits and pieces stash to color.

Again the box went back on the Inspiration Shelf until I got a tiny snow fall stamp which I tried out on the hillside. (Not sure of the brand or where it is on my crafting desk at this point.)

IMG_5141

My Inspiration Shelf of cards people have sent me, purchased or test cards like the box.

IMG_4989