Every year I try to make their cards interesting enough to hold their attention for at least a few seconds by adding something interactive or different. This year they really seemed to like the cards - score one for Aunt Diane!
I used this Sizzix Accordion Flip 3-D Album
designed by Karen Burniston. It is called an album die but you can use just four panels to make a great interactive card. When I purchased the die, I realized that there is a second die to cut the matching frame and label but I foolishly thought "oh, I can just design a file to cut on one of my machines..." Well, I soon thought the better of this and went back and purchased the second die.
There is a great line that I saw on a sign at a craft show once - "Sure you could make it yourself...but will you?" This is exactly the same situation - I could figure out a file that would work but it is just simpler (and more supportive of the designer) to go ahead and buy the companion Frame & Label, Bracket die.
Since I was making three four panel cards, I had to cut twelve of everything. When you cut the album pieces it is a good idea to replace the top cutting pad with a Sizzix " crease pad"
to get nice even score lines that don't cut through the cardstock. This is basically a dense foam with a little more "give" to it than the regular cutting pad. I needed to add a couple of pieces of cardstock as shims to get a nice cleanly cut and scored frame section.
I didn't take photos of the entire process of assembling the card. There are some instructions included on the label of the die and there is also a video of Karen Burniston showing how to put the card together HERE.
Each of the boys has a color that has been used to help keep things organized since they were babies - red for Robert, green for Julian and blue for Max. I chose some striped paper to use to decorate the cardstock frames. The papers were from an older DCWV summer stack (I am working on reducing my stash...).
I also cut some white cardstock and stamped the birthday greetings on the two center sections and turned the striped section horizontally to decorate the first and last sections. I also added the "10" cut from gold cardstock with my old Sizzix Fun Serif number dies to the first and last sections.
The stamped centers are very simple. I used a stamp from the Perfect Fit - Birthday stamp set from CTMH for the "Happy Birthday" (I cut it in two pieces to fit the words vertically in the panel. The star is from the Casual Expressions set and the names were stamped with the A Typeface set.
This view shows the shape of the card once you do the mountain and valley folds and attach the center panels above or below the folded panels. It is simple to assemble but you might have to stop and think to be sure everything is connected together in the proper sequence.
I still have several of these little leftover frames to use on other projects.
The cards fit nicely in standard envelopes for letter paper folded in half (A - 9). I was able to put their gift cards in the same envelope beside the card.
Eleven candles on each cake (one to grow on) makes quite a bit of light. I took this photo with my new camera - no flash and no tripod. What a happy face!
Here are the birthday boys - in age order left to right. I suppose getting two out of three of them smiling is pretty good at this age!
I think I'll be making quite a few more of these cards and maybe some mini albums too. I might go ahead and cut a lot of the base pieces in neutral colors to save time for the next occasion.
September Scrapinar
Most of the country has gone back to school but the children in our town don't start until Friday. The start of the school year always puts thoughts of getting organized in my mind - and the Free Scrapinar for September is all about getting organized so I don't want to miss it!
You need to register to attend this free event. If you can't make it to see the webinar live, you will be able to view a recording for a short time after the live presentation, but the link for the recording will only be sent to you if you register in advance. Just click HERE to get on the list.
L'Shanah Tovah or Happy New Year to everyone celebrating Rosh Hashanah!
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Oh my I can't believe your nephews are 10. I've been following your blog since they were about 5 and enjoy seeing what you design for them each year. You outdid yourself this year Diane.
ReplyDeleteHi MaryAnn - Thanks for the compliment. Isn't it amazing how time flies! They were born the year our oldest son started college (he was away on a Freshman Orientation hiking trip but his younger brother got to meet the triplets in the hospital). It's hard to believe ten years have gone by this quickly!
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