The CASE of the Pop-Up Truck

 I saw a really great video tutorial at Darlenedesign.com, where she used the SU Loads of Love stamp set to make a really charming pop-up card.  You can see this idea in video form at her website.  I loved it, and since I owned these stamps, I ran with it for my BIL Ronny's birthday.

I made this--

 And this was only the outside!  When you open it, it looks like this--

Isn't this FUN?  (sorry about the shadows)   The gift card sure doesn't suck, either.  Here's another view of the back and pop-up part--

I really like the way that the candles spring off the cake on those pieces of wire.  The cake is another SU stamp, but I do not know where from.  It was a gift.  It JUST fit into the back of that pickup!

SO, to make this , I stamped the truck onto white card stock, and colored the wheels and windows with copic markers, N3 and N5 on the tires, and N1 for the windows.  I stamped the same image on my random Target DP and fussy cut it out twice.  I also stamped the cake onto some SU DP, and cut it out too, and then I added some color with copics.  I stamped extra candles as well (for the ones that go airborne), colored them and cut them out too.  Oh, and I stamped EXTRA extra candles, because I wanted to back the ones that were going onto the wires, for added support. 

To do the inside background, which was done on separate card stock from the front, I used some Studio G chalk ink in a blue, and after masking off a circle for the sun and the bottom , used my Tim Holtz blending tool to make the sky.  I reversed the mask and then did the grass in a green ink, also by Studio G, and I used a yellow to fill in the sun. ( I really wish they'd label those little stamp pads with color names.) 
For the card front, I split the amount of green and blue, and I added clouds I made with my new A Muse studio clouds duo dies.  They are such cute little clouds...  I added trees with the same green as the grass both inside and out. 

I hand drew the swirls on the front of the card.  That always makes me so nervous! 

To make the pop-up part happen, I cut about a 1/2" by 1" tab right on the fold of the inside of the card and pushed it through in the opposite direction, so it would support my truck.  I layered two candles onto one of the ends of my wire pieces, did it two more times, and then adhered them to the back of the truck, and added a scrap of cs behind the wires to keep them from flopping around too much.  I also added a reserved cloud die cut to use as the exhaust coming out of the truck.

While attaching the truck to the pop out piece, I really paid a good bit of attention to what things were going to do when I tried to close the card.  Making sure you don't have wires exposed or crushed tires is really important at this point.  Go slowly, and don't mash down your adhesive until you're sure!

The sentiments are from the birthday messages  clear vision set by Hero Arts.  This set has a terrific assortment of birthday sentiments.  I use it often.  I thought Seize the Cake was perfect!

To secure the gift card, I colored two corner chipboard pieces with the same ink as my grass, and attached them with some 1/8" scor tape.  Hold the pieces on the edges of your gift card during placement to make sure it will fit! 

All that was left to do was to insert the inside into the card base with some scor tape..  I had some overhang, and I trimmed it off with scissors.  It was pretty heavy, so I did use an extra stamp when sending it.  I have a feeling he'll love it!

Thanks for stopping by! 
All Best-
Richard

PS-  I will most likely have some more to show you this week!  Keep your eyes peeled!!

 

Birthday Cards for the Last Blast of Summer, and Some On the Road Fun

Hey, Readers!!

SO, I know it has been a while since I was here.  I had my birthday, and got LOADED up with stuff for card making, thanks mostly to my Dear Charlie (DC).  I am up to my eyeballs in new stamps and paper and ink and tools!  Woo to the Hoo! 

I actually made eight thank you cards, but I got a late start on them, and I wrote in and sent them BEFORE I realized I forgot to take photos!  ARGH!  They were really cute too.  Some were loaded up with stickers, some were CAS, some were hot pink and orange.....SIGH.  Dumb, dumb, dumb.  Oh, well.

ANYWAY--

My friends Susan and Karlah have birthdays coming up, on the same day!  So I made two of  these-

I just realized the colors kinda photographed funny.  They really DO all go together, I promise.

This project started with the bright orange cs from SU.  I took a background stamp with indeterminate words, and inked it up with versamark ink.  Then I put the paper on top of the inked side, and rubbed it really well.  I find this works better than stamping on the paper, because I invariably miss a spot of pressure somehow.  

I stamped some birdcages onto white cs with stamps from Amuse studio, the Life is a Song set, with orange and tan inks.  I added birds in blue and yellow, and then cut them out .  I highlighted the edges with more orange ink.  

 I used A*muse Studio card stock for the base of this card.  I really like their cardstock for bases, because the backs of all their cs is WHITE, so you can write inside it without any issue.  Looks very professional, IMHO.  Anyway, I really wanted to stamp with versamark ink a nice flourish all over the cs to make a nice design.  DANG, if my stamp wasn't filthy!  I don't know what I used with this stamp before, (inkadinadoo's dot flourishes, btw) but it did NOT come off, and left some nice brown marks on my cs.  SO lucky I was stamping with versamark!  I grabbed my white embossing powder and took care of that mess in a hurry.  Then I took a sponge dauber and did some resist technique with some studio g ink. 

Now, from the files of what NOT to do, I trimmed the edges of the stamped orange piece, backed it with  with some blue cs, wrapped it with a piece of blue organdy ribbon, and popped the whole thing on my cardfront.  With my permanent adhesive.  Oh.....wait..... I wanted to stamp a chain for the birdcage....oh poo...

Yeah.  It's all about doing stuff in the right order.  I was just kinda happy I actually thought about rounded edges and ribbons ahead of time. 

HOWEVER!  It's aaaaaalllllllllll fixable!  I just grabbed my stampamajig, and I stamped in my chain, right over the ribbon and everything.  What?  It worked.

I backed the image with the yellow bird onto more blue cs, and popped it up with some mounting tape.  The orange cage is popped on with some foam squares, which sit just slightly higher than the mounting tape.  I like the multiple depths that achieves.  I only wish I had used a darker ink on the sentiment, but I definitely know better than to try and restamp over something like that.  We're just gonna call it "subtle".

So, these turned out to be pretty cute, and I definitely got a nice lesson in PLANNING.

In other news-
I went to the A*muse Studio "On the Road" event in Nashua NH last weekend, and had a BLAST!  Yeah, I was the only guy in the room, no big surprise there....We made SIX projects that afternoon, and they look like this-

These were SO fun, especially the little favor box that was SO easy!  I really love the loose leaf cardstock, and the woodgrain, which comes in several colors.  They were kind enough to gift us the Life is a Song stamp set, so I used it to make the card in todays post!  I had a great time!

Thanks for stopping by! 

All Best-

Richard

   

Very A*Mused, Indeed

Last Sunday, I was fortunate enough to make my way to Arlington, MA, to participate in an open house held by the lovely and talented Ms. Liz Ballard.  Liz is an A*Muse Studio consultant, and I happened to find her on my search for a copic marker instructor.  She led me into another area for the copic stuff, but she was kind enough to invite me to her open house, to meet some of her peeps, and to get acquainted with A*Muse studio. I had never been to Arlington, and I was definitely into seeing some new product lines...who isn't? 

Anyway, she had a small gathering, and together (more or less) we each made our versions of these really fun cards--

Adorable, right?  Notice I have no watermark on these photos.  These are Liz's design work, not mine.  I was just lucky enough to be able to make and take them with me!  Thanks for a great time, Liz, Andrea, Mary Sara, Amy and Kathy!!

Aren't those clouds just TOO cute?  Those were made with an A*Muse Studio die.  Had to have it, and the one that die cuts GRASS!!  And some Christmas stamps, and some paper......You know, I pretty much spent WAY too much money.  In fact, when Charlie asked me how much I spent, I had to tell him, "Nunya."  As in, Nunya business. 'Sright.

Speaking of the grass die, Liz was so sweet to let me play with hers.  I cut a couple of pieces, and smuggled them out with me.  I really liked them SO much.  I can't wait for my order to arrive, but I have to, because Liz is holding it until I am able to shop the Holiday catalog after Aug. 22.  Wah, I say.  Wah.

Now that the pity party is over, I'll show you what I did with the grass cuts.

I made these--

So, these had an interesting creation.  I had the two pieces of grass die cuts, each of them about 5 1/2" long.  I really had no idea WHAT I was going to do with them, but I really wanted to use them asap.  SO, out came all the inks, papers and stuff. 

I got out a sponge dauber, and I sponged SU grass green on the blades of grass. I set them aside, and on a piece of white cardstock, I put down some post-its to make a mask, and I sponged more grass green onto the lower 2/5ths of the paper.  I turned it around, and sponged SU Ballet Blue on the top part, leaving some light places to make some clouds.  I added the grass die cuts, popping just the bottom one off the cardstock, in order to give the illusion of depth.

Ok. Sky and grass.  Lots of empty space.  Lots of possibilities.  Now what? 

I pulled out some SU stamps, Pocket Silhouettes, to be exact, and went to town with some SU inkspots , and made the garden of flowers.  Then, feeling like it was a bit flat, I pulled out my GinaK Designs Follow Your Dreams set, and added the dragon flies, stamping them both on the card stock, and onto a scrap to be colored and cut out to stick on for more dimension. 

Ok. Looks pretty good.  Pretty good, but not great.

I cut it in half!  Way to give the elements much more importance! 

I knew I wanted to use some of the new A*Muse paper I had just picked up, so I pulled out a sage piece and made it the card base for both of the cards.  Then I grabbed some of my new papers from my friend Michelle, these DP pieces are from MME-Quite Contrary.  I scallop edge punched the checked paper, and pierced the scallops with my piercing tool.  Then I layered it with some DCWV teal card stock, and in the first card, I popped it off the card front with some mounting tape.  I think it almost looks like an awning. 

Then some more DP, with a green cs backing, this from one of my value packs.  Yup, still trying to use that bad boy up.  Truth be told, I really do like the lighter weight for layering; I just would avoid it for card bases.

Some ribbon and brads from AC Moore, and it's done! 

But wait.  Hmmm.....

I think it's still just a tiny bit flat.  Not to worry!  I have a Glitter pen!!!  After going over stems and dragonflies and flowers, I felt that the negative space was the thing that was still bothering  me, so in a moment of inspiration, I did the random flightpath of the dragonfly, my mind's eye's version of it, anyway, in the less populated areas of the card base.  Now we're talking.  Done and done.

I think my favorite part of doing cards is the organic emergence that happens when you just grab your stuff and get started.  There are definitely some cards that have hit the heap and will never see the light of day, for sure, but I even have a few early cards that just want some tweaking.  And I'll get to those one day.  Really.  But just stamp and cut.  DO it. I looked at that grass die cut for no less than 4 days before I got inspired.

My list of followers has really grown, thanks to my buddy Melanie's blog candy bribe (which is over, sad to say).  Thanks to everyone who's joined on recently, and continued love to my tried and true gang! 

I turn 48 (!) tomorrow, and having 48 followers to mark the day would be so cool!  That's only 4 more.  Surely you know a friend who could use some bloggy inspiration?  

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Say hello, why don'tcha?

All Best--

Richard