lawn fawn

Watermelon Shaker Truck

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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

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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

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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

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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.)

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

IMG_4989

Brighten Someone’s Day

| ullycatdesigns

IMG_3893

What do you send someone who can’t have visitors, flowers or food?

  A pop-up box full of spring flowers.

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I like using the Lawn Fawn Scalloped Box Card Pop-Up as a base for any kind of thinking of you card.  It is different from most store bought cards and it allows for a variety of possibilities.

For this card I used Stampin’ Up’s Tearoom Copper Vinyl Stickers to decorate the card sides and envelope.  I used papers/cards from Stampin’ Up’s Tea Room Specialty Designer Series Paper  and  Tea Room Memories & More Card Pack.        

The flowers are from the shaded tulip Stamp & Layer set by Susan Bates for Papercraft Inspirations magazine, issue 182  Stamped using CraftSmart and Hampton Art mini ink pads.

IMG_3894