Day 18 - "P"

Who doesn't love giving and receiving presents on Christmas morning? To see the anticipation of the early morning unwrapping, especially when there are little children involved, is one of the best parts about Christmas for me.

YOUR TURN: Create a card or papercraft project using the letter "P" as your prompt.

Click on the link below to add a photo of your creation to the challenge:

CLICK HERE

INSPIRATION WORDS:

pudding, partridge, pears, presents, pine, pop-up cards, pyramid card, pocket card, pastels, purple, plum, paint, paper piecing, pleating, parchment, pearls, pencils, petals, photos, plaid

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Tutorial - Pop-Up Frame Cards

Who doesn't love a great pop-up card?! The best ones not only have the wow-factor, they're also easy make, and fit nicely into a standard envelope. Today's card ticks all the boxes! 

1. For the base, you'll need one piece of cardstock measuring 7" x 4" and one piece measuring 12" x 4".

2. Place each piece horizontally on your score board and score at 1" and 6". Fold along the score lines.

3. Use nesting dies to cut a circle, square, or oval from the centre of the 7" x 4" piece of cardstock. You'll need to make two nested cuts to create a gap between the card and the central shape.

4. To decorate, you'll need one piece of patterned paper measuring 3/4" x 33/4", one piece measuring 33/4" x 43/4", and another piece measuring 33/4" x 43/4" with an oval cut from the centre (note: the oval needs to be larger than the oval cut in the base cardstock).

OPTIONAL: add some gold mirror card that is 1/8" larger than the patterned paper.

5. Secure the patterned paper to the 7" x 4" piece of cardstock as shown below. The narrow section at the top of the card will be visible from both the front and inside of the card when completed.

6. The oval you cut in step 3 is secured to the back of the card using a thin strip of cardstock and glue. You can place the strip in any position you wish. (NOTE: I actually secured the strip horizontally toward the bottom of the oval to hide it behind the embellishments)

7. Decorate the centre of the card as desired. I used die cut images and a sentiment, positioned over the edges of the oval.

8. Place the 7" x 4" section of card face down on your desk with the bottom of the card pointing to the left. Place the 12" x 4" section of card face down on your desk with the 1" section to the left, next to the other piece of card. See below.

9. Fold back the 1" strip on the larger piece of card and apply glue or double sided tape. Secure it to the 1" strip on the smaller piece of card. 

10. Apply glue or double-sided tape to the 1" strip at the bottom of the smaller piece of card, and secure it to the card below creating a box shape.

11. Press the card closed and decorate the front panel with patterned paper, mirror cardstock, an image, and a sentiment, plus any other embellishments you desire.

NOTE: The 1" strip is visible from both the front and inside of the card.

12. OPTIONAL: Add a piece of white cardstock, mounted on mirror card, to the inside panel.

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Day 27 - "Y"

Last year I used yellow to colour a poinsettia, which is something I hadn't done before but ended up liking a lot. This year I decided to try again with the yellow, choosing a gift stack from one of my favourite sets and teaming it with a Christmassy sentiment.

YOUR TURN: Create a card or project using the letter "Y" as your prompt.

Click the link below to add your creation to the challenge:

CLICK HERE

INSPIRATION WORDS:

Yule, yuletide, yule log, yellow, yo-yo spinner cards

Products:

Day 26 - "W"

For something a little different, I've challenged myself to use a "white with one" colour scheme for today's card. The trickiest part is using enough neutrals to be able to discern between the different gifts without actually turning them grey instead of white. 

YOUR TURN: Create a card or papercraft project using the letter "W" as your prompt.

Click here to add a photo of your creation to the challenge:

CLICK HERE

INSPIRATION WORDS:

Wise Men, winter, wreath, workshop, wrapping paper, wonder, waterfall card, window card, watercolour, Wink of Stella, watermarks, wax resist, weaving, white, white on white, white with one.

Stamps and Dies:

    

Tutorial - Matchbook Card

These cute little matchbook cards are a wonderful way to present someone with a gift card or some birthday money. You could expand the centre pocket with a gusset to add a larger gift, such as a fancy chocolate or perhaps a beautiful herbal teabag.

1. To create the gift card pocket on the inside of the card, you'll need a piece of card stock measuring 51/2" x 21/2".

2. Lay the card stock horizontally on your scoreboard and score at 1" and 31/2". Fold along each score line.

3. Apply a line of glue or double sided tape to one side of the card stock and secure the ends together to form an open-ended pocket. (If you prefer, the pocket can be made from a heavy weight piece of patterned paper).

4. I used a circle punch to add a little arc to the top of my pocket. Although not really necessary, it's a nice finishing touch and helps to identify it as a pocket. Set aside.

5. Take a second piece of card stock measuring 81/2" x 4". This will form the outside of the card. (Please note: I added extra width to the card so I could punch a decorative edge along each side. If you prefer to have plain sides, cut your card stock to 81/2" x 3" and skip step 7.)

6. Lay the card stock horizontally on your score board and score at 3/4", 43/4" and 5". Fold along the score lines.

7. If desired, use a border punch to add a decorative elements to both long sides of the card stock.

8. To decorate, I used some coordinating patterned paper squares cut to fit each space, including the front cover and the inside pocket.

9. Apply a line of glue or a small piece of tape at the very bottom of the pocket. The adhesive should be no wider than 1/4" or you may have difficulty opening and closing your matchbook card. Place the pocket inside the card, flush with the first score line. Bring the bottom flap up and secure over the adhesive.

10. Decide on the type of fastening you'd like to use. Traditionally, matchbooks are simply stapled closed at the bottom, but you could apply brads, which is what I've done, or even some stitching. To apply the brads, I punched two evenly spaced holes all the way through the bottom of the matchbook card, then pushed the brads through and secured them on the back of the card.

11. Decorate the card as desired. I applied a stamped sentiment and image to the front of the card and another sentiment on the inside.

12. To close the card, tuck the top flap under the bottom flap just like the old matchbooks used to do, and voila... you're done!

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