Happy, Happy (adding letters to the stairs)

This is another variation of my double stairstep card. Instead of inserting a name in the circles that form the "bridge" between the panels, I made a more generic "Happy Happy" card to share. I used the Alphalicious font for the letters because someone who tried it said they had a problem, so I wanted to test it out. (If you'd like to see the original card or download the basic files to work from, here is a LINK to the post from last month).



Here is the cut directly after taking it off the mat before folding it at the edges of the circles. A few people have commented that they had trouble with the folds. As I mentioned before, I just hold the card in the air and gently fold by "pinching" at the join but you may want to try scoring along the lines of the panel sections to make it a bit easier to fold.



The folds are made as shown above, folding back from the front panels and folding the letters in toward the center panel.



I used the cake on a cakestand from the Celebrations cartridge for the center of the card. The file contains a page set up to cut all of the extra pieces for the card at once - it is marked "CUTTING PAGE" (there is also a page to show the preview of the actual card placement of the pieces needed). The photo above shows the mat ready to cut all of the extras.



Above you can see that mat has been labeled with the sizes of the pieces of paper needed for each cut - this makes it faster to repeat this card at another time. Be sure to check that you are loading the pieces on the mat in the proper locations (remember to check the arrow on the left).



Above you can see the mat with all of the "extras" after removing the excess paper. I cut the cake stand from glitter cardstock and usually I recommend doing a multi cut 2 times to cut this cardstock cleanly. This is the first element that cuts on this page so you can cut the entire mat and then click cut again, watch the cutting and stop it when the cakestand has cut for a second time. Stop the cutting through the computer to avoid having to shut down your cricut and the program to get things working again.



Here are all of the bits removed from the mat and ready to assemble.



Sometimes the glitter cardstock separates a bit from the paper backing when pulling the cut from the mat. I actually peeled away the paper layer from the entire piece to make the layer on top of the cake cut a little smoother.



Above is the card fully assembled flat on the table.



Here is the finished card standing up so you can see the bridging. If you don't have Alphalicious you can substitute another font with a stencil feature. Simply delete the Alphalicious letters and substitute some from a font you do have, centering the letters in the circles and hiding all unwanted contours.

Here are some fonts that have the stencil feature - Hello Kitty Font, Learning Curve, Don Juan, Alphalicious, Cursive 101, Doodletype, Making the Grade, Opposites Attract, Pooh Font, Printing 101, Printing Press, Zooballoo. There are a few more (such as Base Camp, Jasmine, Mini Monograms, Stamped & Tear Drop) which have some letters that will work but others that will not. Remember to hide the contours that you do not want to cut - in each case there is at least an outline of the shape and there may be more.



Above you can see an example from this file of the hidden contours from the "crown tag" feature. (I moved the letter toward the center to help you see the blue lines that indicate that the lines have been hidden and will not cut). If you have questions about hidden contours, here is a LINK to several posts about this option.

Happy Happy Stair Step Card - George

Happy Happy Stair Step Card - Plantin Schoolbook