Birthday Cake Card Tutorial

I need to apologize to everyone who was hoping a tutorial for the birthday cake easel card would be posted shortly after I posted the card. We are "baseball central" at our house. Our 10 year old son is playing on a youth all-star baseball team this summer. For those of you who have no idea what this means let me put it this way - it's baseball, baseball, baseball - EVERYDAY! I'm not complaining but it doesn't leave any time for blogging. My son will practice two or three days per week and then play in tournaments four or five days per week. Oh yes - don't think you're given notice to plan because that doesn't happen. For instance, he has a game this friday at 5pm, and two games on Saturday - one at 2pm and another at 6pm. However, Sunday is "bracket" day which means we could play one game or three games and who knows what time. Absolutely crazy!! But we love it and our son is having an absolute ball - no pun intended.

Ok I digressed... I have been asked to create a tutorial for the birthday cake easel card I made back in April. I do not take credit for "inventing" this masterpiece. I wish I knew who did because they deserve a big applause. I saw this card on several blogs over the last few months and found one written in Swedish that I was able to follow. So, since this is the blog I used to create my card I will give credit to Elein Malein. I used her directions and added a bit of my own embellishments to create my card. If you are interested in step by step directions in English here's my tutorial - I do hope you make one and let me know the results!!



Supplies



Supplies Needed:

Card Base: (1) cardstock 12” x 5 ½”

Card Front: (1) designer paper 2 ¼” x 5 1/8”

             and (1) designer paper 2 ¾ x 5 1/8”

Card Inside: (1) designer paper 4 ¾” x 5 ¼”

Candle Box: (1) cardstock 3 ¼ " x 4 ¼"

Cake Top: (1) cardstock 2 ¾” circle

Cake Side: (1) cardstock at 1 ¼” x 9”

Extra designer paper for decorating - optional

Extra cardstock for matting - optional

6 birthday candles, ribbon, small piece of acetate,

embellishments for decorating,

paper cutter, scissors, glue, bone folder



Step 1: Card Base

Step 1

Card base: Cut cardstock at 12” x 5 ½”. Use your favorite scoring tool and score 3", 5 5/8" and 6 3/8".




Step 2: Card front



Step 2:

Card front 1: Cut designer paper at 2 ¾” x 5 1/8”

optional: adhere to cardstock mat cut at 2 ¾” x 5 ¼”.

Card front 2: Cut designer paper at 2 ¼” x 5 1/8”

optional: adhere to cardstock mat cut at 2 5/8” x 5 ¼”. Cut a piece of ribbon 11” long and adhere to card base front from edge toward 3” score line. Adhere “card front 1” to card base, centering it over ribbon.

Adhere “card front 2” to card base, centering it between 3” score line and 5 5/8” score line.

Step 3: Cake side

Step 3:

Cake side: Cut piece of cardstock 1 ¼” x 9” and score it at 1/4" and 1" on long sides.

Step 4: Cake Side

Step 4:

Cake side: Take cardstock and cut small triangle from edge to ¼” score line and repeat on opposite side. This will allow paper to wrap around the cake top without creasing.

 

Step 5: Cake Side

Step 5:

Cake side: Cut cardstock at 1 ¼” x 9” and use border punch to create decoration for cake side.

Step 6: Cake Top

Step 6:

Cake top: Using your favorite circle cutter (i.e. Nestabilities, Cricut, etc.) to cut a 2 ¾” circle from cardstock. Optional: cut slightly smaller circle from designer paper and adhere to cardstock circle.

Step 7: Cake Top

Step 7:

Cake top: Punch six holes around cake top same diameter as candles.

Step 8: Cake Top

Step 8:

Cake top: Decorate cake top as desired. Optional: Use snow maker marker to simulate frosting.

Step 9: Cake Assembly

Step 9:

Cake assembly: Bend all the small triangles away from center of cake side strip and apply glue to them. Wrap strip underneath cake top as seen in photo. Use small piece of tacky tape to inner end of strip to close it.




Step 10: Candle Box

 Step 10:

Candle box: Cut cardstock to measure 3 ¼ " x 4 ¼" - this will fit 6 candles. Using your favorite scoring tool, score the shorter side of paper at 1/2", 7/8", 2 3/8" and 2 3/4". Turn the cardstock 90° and score at 1/2", 7/8", 3 3/8" and 3 3/4".

Step 11: Candle Box

Step 11:

Candle box: Cut away the shaded areas in the photo to the red lines. Cut on score line indicated by green line in photo.



Step 12: Candle Box

 Step 12:

Candle box: Trim tabs and fold score lines as shown in photo.






Step 13: Candle Box

 Step 13:

Candle box: Cut small rectangle in center of candle box – be careful not to go past score lines.

Cut small scrap of designer paper to measure 2 ½” x 1 ½” and punch small decorative window in center and adhere to box top covering slightly large window. Adhere acetate to inside of box.


Step 14: Candle Box

Step 14:

Candle box: Use small scraps of designer paper to decorate sides of box if desired.

Fold at score lines to create box leaving one top end open to allow access for candles



Step 15: Card Inside


Step 15:

Card Inside: Cut designer paper to measure 4 ¾” x 5 ¼”. Dry fit candle box and cake to mat. Use pencil to lightly mark location of candle box. Do not adhere mat to card base yet.



Step 16: Card Inside



Step 16:

Card Inside: Using the pencil markings created in step 15 as a guide – cut small two small slices (indicated by red line) on mat to feed ribbon.



Step 17: Card Inside

 Step 17:

Card Inside: Cut matching mat for designer paper at 5” x 5 3/8”. Adhere designer mat to cardstock mat making sure ribbon has already been fed through slits. (Photo shows candle box and cake already adhered to mat but this is more easily done in step 18)



Step 18: Card Inside

 Step 18:

Card Inside: Cut ribbon at 11” and glue to inside of card base from the 6 3/8” score line to edge. Adhere card inside mat to card base and center over ribbon. Adhere candle box and cake to mat.




Step 19: Card Finish

Step 19:

Card Finish: Use ribbon to close card and have some fun decorating card front. For example, stamp a cute image and color, add a sentiment and flowers – be creative!

Birthday Cake Easel Card

There have been a few versions of this card on the web and I fell in love with it immediately. It wasn't until the other day that I found directions. I copied off the instructions but failed to write down the link to the blog. I am so sorry about that because this person's card was very beautiful.

I will at some point create a tutorial on how to make this very creative card so check back soon. It was really much easier than I thought!  The stamp is "Leaning Tilda" which I won from Jacque's wonderful blog. I colored with Copics - BG000, B02, B05 (top); R32, R35, R37 (pants); E00, E11, E13, R20 (skin); and C3, C5, C7, C9 (hair). I even put a little border around the cake for additional decoration using a Martha Stewart border punch.

I hope you enjoy and once the tutorial is uploaded you must make one yourself!

Tutorial: Post-It Easel Card

In February I posted an Easel Card that also holds post-it notes. Some have asked for instructions on how I created it. I've never created step-by-step instructions before for any card I've made so I hope this comes out ok. I'm not sure who created the original Post-it Easel Card but I first saw it on Stephanie Hester's blog - My Card Shack - so I'll give her the credit.  I changed her dimensions a bit in order to fit 3x3 post-it notes. So I hope these instructions work for you and please send me links to your own Post-it Easel Card!

Supplies Needed:

Paper Cutter

Bone folder

Scissors

Small circle punch

Permanent Adhesive

Cardstock for base:  4 1/4" x 9"

Cardstock for box: 4 1/8" x 4 1/8"

Carstock for card: 4 1/4 x 4 1/4"

Cardstock for card mat: 4 1/8" x 4 1/8"

Designer Paper for card mat: 4" x 4"

Step 1:  Take cardstock for box that is cut at 4 1/8" x 4 1/8" and score 1/2" from edge on all sides. Cut score lines from edge to next score line. Do this on two parallel sides as shown above. Fold all sides inward using bone folder.

Step 2:  If you'd like you can cut 4 strips of designer paper at 1/4" x 2 7/8" and adhere it to the back side of the the box. It's a lot easier to add the strips at this stage prior to the sides being closed than after. On one side punch a notch using small circle punch. Be sure to only punch half a circle.

Step 3:  Place a bit of permanent adhesive on the small tabs created on each corner. The adhesive should be on the outside of the tab. Adhere the tabs to create box. Photo was take without the strips. I learned the hard way that this should have been before this step.

Step 4:  Take cardstock for base that is cut at 4 1/4" x 9". Use paper cutter with bone folder or scoring blade to score cardstock on long end at 4 1/4", 4 3/4", and 6 7/8".

Step 5:  Use bone folder to create a valley fold at 4 1/4" and 4 3/4" and a mountain fold at 6 7/8".

Here's another view of what the base should look like folded

Step 6:  Place strong adhesive (I used scor-tape) from the edge of the card base to the mountain fold (edge to mountain fold measures 2 1/8").

Step 7:  Take cardstock for card that is cut at 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" and adhere it to the base. The edge of cardstock base should match the top of the card. This will means the top half of the card is double layered. Adhere box to card base - if you leave 1/2" space all around the box will be centered.

Step 8 Optional:  Adhere the cardstock mat cut at 4 1/8" x 4 1/8" to the card, and then place the designer paper cut at 4" x 4" on top of the mat. Decorate as you wish. 

Spring is in the Air

The sun is finally shining and the temps here in Georgia are rising. It's a beautiful spring day and sweet Tilda is out enjoying the day as well.  I have been coloring, coloring, coloring and completely forgetting to actually assemble a card. I signed up for Angie Hunt's Distress Ink watercolor class over at Color Me Creative. I've been practicing but still not quite happy with the results. I suppose we are our own worse critics. Once my finished image meets my standards I promise to share!

The stargazer lily was made using a poinsettia svg file I found on the internet somewhere. I cut it using my Cricut with white cardstock, airbrushed it with Copics RV11 and little dots on the pedals were made with Zig's colorbrush "cola". Card recipe is:

Designer paper:  DCWV Pocket full of Posies

Image:  Tilda with Hawaii Flower and Wheelbarrow

Stamp Ink:  Memento

Tilda's Hair:  E21, E25, E29

Tilda's Skin:  E00, E11, E13

Tilda's Dress:  BV00, BV02, BV11, BV17 and Diamond Stickles on lace

Wheelbarrow:  C3, C5, C8, E31, E33, E35, E37

Leaves & Grass:  YG91, YG93, YG95, YG97

Flowers: RV11, RV13, RV17, RV19 with a little Diamond Stickles

My First Magnolia Card

A few weeks ago I came across a line of rubber stamps that features the most adorable little girl. The stamps are called Magnolia and I am quickly becoming addicted. Since receiving my first order two weeks ago I already own six stamps with another 5 on the way. 

Tilda and Edwin are the characters from this company and come in an unbelievable variety of scenes. I am really drawn to those that are sitting. These little kids can then be masked and stamped again so they appear to be sitting on any number of items - benches, chairs, jars, etc.

The members of the Magnolia-lious group on Yahoo are the worst type of enablers. They create the most gorgeous cards which feed my addiction and force me to order more. Magnolia-lious seems to be the favorite vendor for these stamps so check them out! 

A member of this group, Stephanie Hester, posted a link to her blog - My Card Shack - where she shared her Easel Card with Note Holder.  Stephanie is incredibly talented so I couldn't resist and just had to make one of my own featuring Edwin with Pen.  I changed the measurements of the card a bit in order to hold standard 3 x 3 post-it notes and included a little ribbon to keep it closed.  I took a bunch of photos while I made this and will be happy to provide instructions and measurements in my next blog post. In the meantime, I'm happy with the results and hope you like it!