The Three Bears are Popular

Hello everyone. When I posted my Three Bears card (post below), I had no idea how popular it would be.  Thank you to everyone who left comments here on my blog, and at Big Red Scraps and on the private CTMH consultant board!  I have received about 15 private emails requesting instructions for this card, most wanting to know how I did the inside tent fold, and how to get a full sized border with the Cricut.  To be honest, I winged it :)  But, rather than answer all the emails individually, I thought I should just do up a tutorial to share with all of you.

First, the finished size of the card closed is 5x7". 

Here is another view of the inside of the card which shows the center fold a bit better:

This pic shows on scrap paper how to score and fold the inside paper. If you want your card to fold flat, use a lightweight paper for the inside, cardstock would end up pretty bulky.

Click the pic to see bigger



For the tent, just cut the paper on the center score line, and fold the flaps back to form a tent door.  I paper pieced Lucky pattern paper to make my tent, but you'd get the same effect without the paper piecing:

To adhere the inside piece to the card base, apply adhesive to the outside edges only, leaving the center pop up part free to move:

That's about it for the card...easier than it looks isn't it? Now you can embellish all you want!

Here's a tip for cutting out detailed images:  Stamp them in an ink color similar to the paper... I stamped the bears in desert sand ink onto kraft paper. This way, you don't have to be perfect with the cutting because the lines don't show as much as if you stamp the image in black ink. After the image has been cut out, ink the edges a bit with a sponge to hide any imperfect cutting.

And here is a CRICUT VIDEO TUTORIAL that explains the 'Fit to Length' button on the Cricut to customize a border.  I used the Plantin' Schoolbook cartridge to make the background trees border on the card, I made mine 11" and trimmed it to paper piece onto the card.

If you have time, you should check out the rest of Robyn's awesome Cricut Video Tutorials. I learned so much about using my Cricut that I never would have figured out on my own.   You can find her and all of her videos at My Pink Stamper.

I hope this post answers everyone's questions, and I expect I'll be seeing several tent pop-up cards in the galleries!   I'm happy to keep sharing my instructions if you promise to credit me with a link ;)

Thanks for popping by today!
Lorrinda

The Three Bears Make a Scene

This week's Heart 2 Heart challenge is Times 3!  We are to use at least 3 stamp images to create a scene on our project. 

I've been staring out of the frosted up windows at the monster winter we've been having, longing for warm summer evenings around the campfire...that is what inspired my card:



Click pic for larger view

That would be me ("Mama Bear") with the flaming marshmallow on a stick, and the bear at the bottom reminds me of my outdoorsman hubby.  But, the inside of the card has the real scene:



click pic for larger view



When I saw the Times 3 challenge, I immediately thought of the Three Bears, and this adorable CTMH stamp set 'C1363 Beary Best', and decided to make a rather masculine card with it.   Not that many men I know will appreciate all the fussy cutting that went into this...it took me an entire episode of "Young and Restless" to cut out all these images using micro-tip scissors and a craft knife.  But hey, I had a vision! Isn't it annoying when you have a vision of the finished product but neglect to take into account how much work it'll be?  No matter, the kids will give it to hubby so it'll be displayed in my house for a long time.  Or maybe I'll do what my mother does...she's been giving my father the same 3 or 4 greeting cards for more than 30 years!  She just puts them away, and rotates them year after year, and he never notices. Ha!  (How many of you can actually recall the birthday card you got from your husband 2 years ago? 'Nuff said.) I, however, have a room full of paper and stamps, and I'm always looking for excuses to make cards, so that's unlikely to happen here.  My point is: Save these over-the-top cards for someone really special. We'll be putting a gift card in it, so actually this card IS the gift and the packaging, so I didn't mind the extra effort with the fussy cutting.

Want to play along with our TIMES 3 CHALLENGE?  The super talented DT sure made a scene this week :)  You have to check out their inspiring works of art HERE. Then, pull out at least 3 images and create a scene on a card or other project, and link it up to Heart 2 Heart so we can all have a peek! Remember you must use mostly CTMH products, and you have all month to play along.  Our prize sponsors this month are Lori Brown and Angela Parchey, and our Guest Designer for March is Mary Gunn!  Go ahead, make a scene!

Thanks for visiting my blog today,

Lorrinda

Recipe:

All products CTMH

Paper: X7137B Lucky Level 2 Paper Pack

Stamps: C1363 Beary Best, D1467 Trees and Things (lantern in the tent), D1311 Oct Word Puzzle (Retired, used the star and the moon).

Ink: Cocoa, Outdoor Denim, Desert Sand, WhiteDaisy

Various CTMH Markers and Watercolor Pencils

Blending Pen and Waterbrush

Z280 Natural Hemp

Z1387 Wood Buttons

Pewter brads

White Embossing Powder

Also used Cricut and Plantin' Schoolbook cartridge for letters and the tree silhouette border on the card inside.

Home Made Gift Box

It's gift week at Heart 2 Heart, they want to see what we can make or dress up as a small gift for someone.

Well, PERFECT TIMING!  Who doesn't have little gifts to package up at this time of year? I have many small things, from perfume to ornaments as well as homemade goodies which need to be gift packaged. I like to give things in packaging that can be reused, I've kind of boycotted gift wrapping because it seems like such a waste of pretty paper. I much prefer reusable gift bags, or in this case a gift box which can be used as a decor item as well :)

Here's what I came up with:

Front

Back

And just when they think the house is the gift, they figure out that there is something inside:

Ta Da!! This one is full of cookies! 

I made these White Chocolate Cranberry oatmeal cookies,

and this little house holds them beautifully.

This looks difficult, but really isn't that hard. I've made quite a few of these now, and the possibilities for decoration are endless.  It starts with a template that you just print out onto your cardstock and then cut out.  Then you get to have fun with the embellishing.

The  reusable digital TEMPLATE for this little house can be found HERE.

To make this little house I used mostly CTMH products:

Cardstock in Desert Sand, Holiday Red and Topiary.

 Stamps D1377 Around the Block for doors and windows

and C1363 Beary Best for trees.

Inks in Topiary, Cocoa and Versamark

Z1366 Cocoa Ribbon Collection

 Embossing powder in White Daisy

Craft Heater

The white lace edging is from my stash.

The wreaths were made with paper shavings and Liquid Glass.

The snow is white glitter sprinkled over white craft glue.

I used strong Scor-Tape to adhere the parts together, this baby is going to last.

For more packaging inspiration, head over to the Heart 2 Heart Challenge blog for some fabulous ideas!

Thanks for visiting today,

Lorrinda

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This little box made the Friday Five this week!  How flattering to get chosen from among all the beautiful entries.  Thanks ladies!  Everyone's projects were so unique and inspiring, must have been a tough one for the judges.