This is my Christmas
card for 2010. Now that hopefully most people would have received it by now I wanted to share it with you all. It took me a long time to figure out how I wanted to do this card and it went through several trials before this mechanism worked. I wanted my friends to open the card and have the tree stand up without having to hold it. The cover is medallion in garden green and the Merry Christmas is from all holiday in red punched out with circle punch. Satin real red ribbon tops the wreath. My DH thought it was confusing to open the card - feels like you're going to rip it- he said so I added the sign that says open in whisper white craft ink.
When you open the card there is a SU retired sentiment embossed with silver EP using versamark and my - yes photoshopped again!- picture of my three little not so wise men on the right.
This is how I envisioned everyone would see the card.
I die cut the X-mas tree using the big shot and the star from the matching tree decorations sizzlet in gold cardstock. I diecut 2 of the same star with the bottom slit and glued them together so they would lay flat on the tree. I also embossed the tree using the petals-a-plenty folder- it was hard to fit the whole thing as it had variable thickness so I had to run it back and forth on 4 sides to make it emboss- it would have taken a lot more time embossing individual pieces although it would have been easier- when you are making close to 90 of these, you have to cut SOME corners!
On some of the trees I did add some sparkle with the 2 way glue - making little dots in the middle of the poinsettia with red and others in the fine cosmos glitter pack.
THe bottom piece to stand it up needs really good taper so make sure you use sticky tape to make sure it really adheres. Unfortunately this piece almost always gets too deeply cut and I have had instances where it tore.
To ensure a good and long lasting mechanism so it could be opened and closed for many years to come, I added a strip of scot tape on the other side to make sure it held well.
The tree standing mechanism was really a tough one for me. I tend to be pretty good at engineering things but I had a really hard time- I thought of a picture stand type back and played with many different variations which all failed on one account or another. My MIL brought over some pictures she had developed at Costco and I saw that the closure on the envelope was done with adhesive tape and BAM! it hit me- I could use the same type of idea.
SO I punched a oval on the bottom of the card where I wanted the tree to open and stick and stuck a piece of packing tape underneath so that the sticky part would show on top - it's the same idea as the glitter window, remember that technique?- then I stuck another piece of tape where the sticky would touch on the side of the picture opened (see picture to the right- yes I know the tape is somewhat unsightly but I embossed the words and the tape is clear so it does not show SO terribly much). When you close the card this sticks to the sticky oval.
The thing that keeps the tree up is the sticky on this side that when you stick to the oval allows for temporary stick that keeps the tree up but you can unstick and close to store flat.
This was what the card looked like completed.
This is the detail on the tree and the ornament top.
This is the detail on the tree skirt- I stamped snowflakes using bliss blue onto premium copy paper- it is thinner so it flattens out better although it costs more than regular copy paper it is definitely worth it. I cut quarter sheets of it trimmed to line inside of dark cardstock cards to have a white writing surface too.
This sentiment is from Peaceful Season the level 2 hostess set from the holiday mini. I love all that elegant scroll work.
card for 2010. Now that hopefully most people would have received it by now I wanted to share it with you all. It took me a long time to figure out how I wanted to do this card and it went through several trials before this mechanism worked. I wanted my friends to open the card and have the tree stand up without having to hold it. The cover is medallion in garden green and the Merry Christmas is from all holiday in red punched out with circle punch. Satin real red ribbon tops the wreath. My DH thought it was confusing to open the card - feels like you're going to rip it- he said so I added the sign that says open in whisper white craft ink.
When you open the card there is a SU retired sentiment embossed with silver EP using versamark and my - yes photoshopped again!- picture of my three little not so wise men on the right.
I added a flap of cardstock in red that you fold back and you stick it on the oval and voila the tree stands up on its own.
This is how I envisioned everyone would see the card.
I die cut the X-mas tree using the big shot and the star from the matching tree decorations sizzlet in gold cardstock. I diecut 2 of the same star with the bottom slit and glued them together so they would lay flat on the tree. I also embossed the tree using the petals-a-plenty folder- it was hard to fit the whole thing as it had variable thickness so I had to run it back and forth on 4 sides to make it emboss- it would have taken a lot more time embossing individual pieces although it would have been easier- when you are making close to 90 of these, you have to cut SOME corners!On some of the trees I did add some sparkle with the 2 way glue - making little dots in the middle of the poinsettia with red and others in the fine cosmos glitter pack.
THe bottom piece to stand it up needs really good taper so make sure you use sticky tape to make sure it really adheres. Unfortunately this piece almost always gets too deeply cut and I have had instances where it tore.
To ensure a good and long lasting mechanism so it could be opened and closed for many years to come, I added a strip of scot tape on the other side to make sure it held well.
The tree standing mechanism was really a tough one for me. I tend to be pretty good at engineering things but I had a really hard time- I thought of a picture stand type back and played with many different variations which all failed on one account or another. My MIL brought over some pictures she had developed at Costco and I saw that the closure on the envelope was done with adhesive tape and BAM! it hit me- I could use the same type of idea.
SO I punched a oval on the bottom of the card where I wanted the tree to open and stick and stuck a piece of packing tape underneath so that the sticky part would show on top - it's the same idea as the glitter window, remember that technique?- then I stuck another piece of tape where the sticky would touch on the side of the picture opened (see picture to the right- yes I know the tape is somewhat unsightly but I embossed the words and the tape is clear so it does not show SO terribly much). When you close the card this sticks to the sticky oval.
The thing that keeps the tree up is the sticky on this side that when you stick to the oval allows for temporary stick that keeps the tree up but you can unstick and close to store flat.
This was what the card looked like completed.
This is the detail on the tree and the ornament top.
This is the detail on the tree skirt- I stamped snowflakes using bliss blue onto premium copy paper- it is thinner so it flattens out better although it costs more than regular copy paper it is definitely worth it. I cut quarter sheets of it trimmed to line inside of dark cardstock cards to have a white writing surface too.
The extra real red CS was about 5 x 3 1/4 or so scored on one side with sticky tape on it to again really stick to allow for repeated play with the tree.
This sentiment is from Peaceful Season the level 2 hostess set from the holiday mini. I love all that elegant scroll work.
I'm going to make some birthday cake cards like this too to see how well it holds. I have not been able to find a way to make this mechanism work with a standard card without it flopping all over the place but I think it is worth the extra paper and postage- what do you think?
Happy Holidays!
Lynda
3 comments:
Wow... what an awesome card... Sounds like it took a lot of time to figure out. You're quite the engineer! It looks very cool. Hope the receipients of your card appreciate the time and effort it took to make them!! Thanks for sharing...
Your creation is lovely and so carefully thought out! Wow, I am amazed at your fortitude to create SO many of such an intricate card! I know that every recipient will treasure it for years to come. Thanks for sharing. -Mary
Love it! You are sooo talented Lynda! Hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!
Post a Comment