Whimsical Card Studio

Hello crafty friends,

Starting April 30th through May 3rd, the Dare 2B Artzy and Gelli Arts are collaborating and sharing all our projects with you. Both companies are doing a giveway - Gelli Arts will give away a prize pack including: 8 X 10 Gelli Plate - 4" Round - Mini Combs - Brayer and Dare 2B Artzy will give away 2 stamp sets, 2 stencils and an ink pad. You can find each company's products at Mega Meet in Novi, Michigan in booth 522. May 9-11. One prize will be awarded to two lucky people. Leaving a comment on all the posts will ensure you get the maximum entries. You can find the Gelli Arts blog here and D2BA here Also you can save 20% off orders with this code at Dare 2B Artzy: artzy20

Hello crafty friends,

I've created a fun interactive card with a festive piñata theme and I've written a comprehensive step by step tutorial with photos.

Before I begin the tutorial, here are a couple of other views of my finished project

STEP BY STEP:

Part 1: Decorative elements

· Cut Rinea foil 4” x 6” sheets in Starstruck (patterned) in emerald, violet and sapphire into small strips approximately 1 – 1¼” with a paper trimmer so you have at least 4 strips that are 1¼”H x 4", then add double sided adhesive (ATG) to back of foil covering completely and stick to paper as shown, slightly overlapping the colors and leaving no gaps

· Trim the copy paper around the foil so it will fit into the die cutting machine.

· Die cut the large donkey die out of the Hero Arts piñata set as shown above

· Using the two candy dies (lollipop and wrapped candy) die cut several out of the remaining pieces of foil left after die cutting the donkey until you have several pieces. I believe I had around 25 pieces to fill in the background. (not all shown in the photos below)

o Tip: to get more variation in the candy, take advantage of the places where two colors come together so one part of the die cut is a different color. I did this on all of the lollipops

· Before using up all the leftover foil, die cut the “eye” of the donkey from the purple and green foil, which cuts two separate pieces. One part looks like a little moon (as you can see in the picture below). You could discard the little moon shaped piece - I chose to use both.

· cut a small piece of copy paper and tape (ordinary scotch tape) on the back side of the donkey die cut so there is something to glue the eye die cut pieces on.

· Put some liquid adhesive onto the eye area (where you see the copy paper from the front) and place the eye die cut pieces.

Part 2: Build card base

· Trim the 8 ½” x 11 white cardstock in half lengthwise at 4 ¼” – this will leave you with two pieces measuring 4 ¼” x 11” (save 2nd piece for another card base)

· Score one of the pieces at the halfway mark (5 ½”) so when folded you have a top folding card (standard A2 size card base) – do not fold yet

· Before folding the base, a window will need to be cut out of the part that will become the card front – at this time also have the 4 ¼” x 5 ½” piece of black cardstock ready as it will form the frame around the window when card base is assembled

· Prep the card base plus black cardstock as shown below – the black piece of cardstock is laying on top of the bottom half of the white, temporarily taped so that it stays aligned with the edges. Place the smaller (3 ¼” x 4 ½ ”) rectangle die in the middle, leaving equal space around all sides. Using a ruler is best to ensure the placement is correct unless you are very confident with eyeballing it.

· Die cut the assembled piece – you may need to run through a few times or add an additional shim depending on your die cutting machine. You will be left with a window in the center of the white card base. Save the outer frame of the black cardstock for the next step.

· Take the black cardstock frame and place the larger (4” x 5¼”) rectangle die on it so you will have a thinner frame after die cutting it. Save for assembly of card.

Part 3: Acetate window & swinging piñata

· The white card base created in prior section is needed for this step as well as the piece of acetate

· Using double sided adhesive tape (1/8” Scor tape or similar), place the tape around the edges of the window (make sure you are adding tape to what will become the inside of the card)

· Pull off part of the backing so only a small portion of the adhesive is exposed, which will help you align the acetate easier. By placing the acetate first on the non-exposed adhesive, you can adjust the position then press down in the corners where the adhesive is exposed. It’s easy to then pull away the backing from underneath the acetate and press down as it is removed.

· Now it’s time to add the donkey to the top of the frame. The twine should be taped to the center, allowing enough room for the donkey to be positioned in the center of the window when closed. It may take a few adjustments to get this where you want it.

· Cover the adhesive on the inside of the card die cut another piece of white cardstock (can be the same white cardstock or a lighter weight from your stash) starting at 4 ¼” x 5 ½” and die cutting out the same size window with the smaller rectangle die, then glue over top of the acetate with scor-tape, creating a sandwich that the acetate and twine is sitting between. You can then trim off any excess twine outside the frame.

The picture shows what this looks like from the inside of the card at this stage. The “pretty” part of the piñata will be visible through the front of the card and swing freely when the card is opened. this also shows what the inside looks like by the completion of Part 4.

Part 4: Decorating inside of card

· Pre-arrange and glue all the candy die cuts on the inside panel of the card base so when you are looking at the card you will see them behind the donkey. Note the picture below shows the arrangement before I had added the swinging pinata in the prior step. You could do this in either order as it doesn’t make a difference.

o Tip: tweezers or a tiny bit of low tack tape can be very helpful in picking up the tiny pieces and adding glue.

· Fold card base and reinforce fold with bone folder.

Part 5: Decorating outside of card/stamping

· Glue the thin black cardstock frame on the front of the card to frame the acetate window from the front of the card

· If using a block to stamp with, use the black Staz on ink to stamp the first part of the sentiment which will be directly near the bottom of the acetate window

o Tip: use of a stamping positioning tool like the MISTI is highly recommended if you have one, as it allows you to stamp more than once if the first impression is not good.

· For the word “Fiesta”, stamp on the bottom inside of the card (Versafine Black Ink) where it will only be visible when the card is opened. Based on the exact supplies I used, you have about ½” at the very bottom to get this result.

· As a final touch for the inside I used a marker spritzer and the three Tombow markers to add more interest to the background. You could also splatter with coordinating ink if you prefer.

· Another touch for the plain black frame on the front is to add some glimmer using the Spectrum Noir sparkle marker (optional but really does make a big difference).

Supplies (in order used):

Rinea Variety - Peacock artist’s pack AP12V-PEA: colors used: Starstruck emerald, violet & sapphire

Sheet of copy paper

Double sided adhesive tape – ATG style

Hero Arts paper layering piñata die set

Die cutting machine (such as Sizzix Big Shot)

1 sheet of 8 ½” x 11” 110 lb white cardstock (I used Neenah Solar White)

Hero Arts rectangle infinity nested dies (sizes needed: 4” x 5 ¼” and 3 ¼” x 4 ½”)

Low tack tape (such as painter’s tape, washi, etc)

Double sided adhesive tape – 1/8” scor tape or similar with backing

Black medium weight (80 lb) cardstock – minimum size 4 ¼” x 5 ½”

Acetate - minimum size 4 ¼” x 5 ½”

Black & White twine – about 3-4”

Liquid Adhesive

Scissors

Paper trimmer

Bone folder

Simon Says Stamp Taco Party stamp set (or anything that will fit the theme and size of stamping area)

Staz-on ink black (for stamping on acetate)

Versafine onyx ink (for stamping inside of card)

Stamp block or positioning tool (positioning tool like the MISTI highly recommended)

Tim Holtz Marker Spritzer

Tombow markers: 725, 443 and 606

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