Category Archives: Interactive

Golf Scene Father’s Day Card

Posted in Cards, Father's Day, Holiday Cards, Interactive by

Golf Scene Father’s Day Card

(inside: You’re Tee-rific!)

This post is a little late, but…

I found this digital paper of a water colored golf scene and thought it would make a nice Father’s Day card front.

The digital paper was from a file called Golf Clipart Bundle by LunaSkyeFinds that I purchased on Etsy.

To jazz it up a bit, I cut the panel with the Die-Namics “Framed Greetings Cover-up” die (discontinued?) from My Favorite Things, making sure to keep all the cut out pieces along with the frame so the pieces could be re-inserted back into the holes. I cut a few more of the frames from white card stock as well and stacked them with the printed frame piece on top. I then filled in the “holes” with the cut out pieces.

I decided to leave the front as is with no greeting; it’s on the inside…

The pop-up golf ball greeting panel was made with a circle die and a dots embossing folder (debossed side) for the dimples. The greeting was from a die set that included the shadow and words. The pop-up mechanism behind the ball was created with a die from the “Mini Pops Pop-up” set (#2246) from Karen Burniston. The stamp is from the “On the Links” set from Papertrey Ink (retired?). GKD Christmas Pine card stock and ink along with white were also used. I left lots of room for a handwritten message.

By using the layered cover die on the front and the pop-up element on the inside, I was able to make a simple card design a bit more interesting.

Sadly, I made this card for my dad, and while he did see it, he passed away the day before Father’s Day. It was sudden and unexpected, and he will truly be missed.

Thanks for checking out my card project.

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Santa and Friends Explosion Gift Box

Posted in Christmas, Interactive, Paper Crafting Projects (other) by

Santa and Friends Explosion Gift Box

Here’s another explosion box with pockets on the inside for gifting cash or gift cards (or anything small and flat).

I used the CREAlies “Create A Box Large – Explosion (or not) box Large” die set (#CCABL27) to create the 3 3/4″ square box. For this one, I used red and green card stock along with card stock from several retired Recollections Christmas themed packs that I bought years ago.

Instead of the tree in the center (as I did on my previous sample), I left the inside clear of die cuts so I could include a small gift along with the monetary gifts.

Change up the paper, and this box could work for any occasion! And as I mentioned previously, this die set also comes with connectors to create a non-exploding, traditional box if desired.

Thanks for checking out my project!

Vintage Christmas Explosion Gift Box

Posted in Christmas, Interactive, Paper Crafting Projects (other) by

Vintage Christmas Explosion Gift Box

I made a few of these explosion boxes with pockets on the inside for gifting cash or gift cards. I actually had 4 gift cards, but if I needed fewer pockets, the other flaps could just be decorated.

I used the CREAlies “Create A Box Large – Explosion (or not) box Large” die set (#CCABL27) to create the box. The set includes one die to create the top/bottom, a square to create the side panels and several more dies for the decorative panels. There is also a die to create “connectors” if you want the box to stay together and not “explode” when opened.

In addition to this large box (3 3/4″ square), there is also a medium box and a small box (sold separately).

The 3D Christmas Tree in the center was created with the CREAlies “Varia 3D Christmas Tree” die set (#CLVAR09).

I was inspired to create this box with the tree in the center after watching Karen’s videos (HERE and HERE). She shows a partial exploding box in her video which is another way to use this die set.

Just a note – The top and bottom of the box are created with the same die. Usually, the top of a box is slightly larger than the bottom half. As a result, the lid is very tight and a bit tricky to get on, especially if the sides want to keep falling! I ended up using my trimmer (instead of the included die) to create the panels for the sides, and I made these panels 1/16 inch smaller than the die would have made them. This helped a bit. I still used one of the additional (stitched) dies to create the decorative panels. Also, I created my own pockets as there is no die for that. (Karen cut one of the squares in half on the diagonal to create hers.)

The card stock for the base of my box is “French Roast” by Core’dinations. The patterned card stock for the outside is by American Crafts #368494 (no name given), and the paper used for the inside panels/pockets is “Christmas Joy” by Reminisce. The Christmas tree was made with “Merry, Merry” which is also by Reminisce. All of this paper has been in my stash for years, and it felt good to finally use it!

Thanks for checking out my project!

To My Favorite Peanut

Posted in Birthday Cards, Cards, Interactive by

To My Favorite Peanut

One of the great things about making cards is the ability to customize them. My son asked me to make “a peanut card” for his girlfriend with an elephant and peanut image he found online. (Nicknames, inside jokes… lol!) I came up with a few different samples to start, and he pointed me in the direction he wanted me to go. The sample above is from Eric’s vision, using the papers, greeting, and design he chose. He decided he wanted a cute, festive look with a bold image.

We thought it would be fun to separate the head and make it wobble using an action wobble spring (Hampton Art).

I “traced” the image and then created cut files using my Silhouette software.

The original online image had soft edges…

…so some of the samples I started with were much softer looking. Here’s one of them:

For this one, I inked the edges instead of matting all the elephant pieces and peanut on black.

For Eric’s card, I used Glitter Card Stock (Recollections) and a sheet from “The Birthday Wishes Stack” (DCWV). The “Happy Birthday Sentiment” die is by Creek Bank Creations, and the bottom strip was computer generated. Both were cut and stacked several times to make them stand out better. The hat was hand cut from “Easter Stripe” paper (Reminisce); the “pom pom” was made with the “Flower & Flourish” edger punch (EK Success). The peanut was debossed with theTim Holtz/Sizzix “Dot Matrix” embossing folder (and then flattened a bit with my bone folder) to add texture to the shell.

For the second sample, I used a sheet of Studio Calico/American Crafts paper (#331575) and “White Plaid” by Core’dinations/American Crafts.

The elephant was cut from “Gray Kraft” and the peanut from the “Nostalgia” pack (both Recollections). GKD Stormy Sky and Dark Chocolate inks were used to ink the edges.

Thanks for checking out my card projects!

This content uses referral links as described in the disclosure policy on my sidebar.

Santa Slider Window Card

Posted in Cards, Christmas, Holiday Cards, Interactive by

Santa Slider Window Card

I know Christmas isn’t really about the presents, but gift giving is included in our celebration…

Christmas morning looks very different in our house now that my 4 children are adults. A few years ago, we moved from piles of wrapped gifts to a few small things and a monetary gift. I stressed about what we would do in the morning with very little to open and made it my mission to come up with a different “Christmas Morning Activity” for the kids each year instead. The first year was easy. They each received 10 wrapped boxes, each containing various amounts of money, and they needed to open them all to see how much their total gift was. Then it got trickier! We did a scavenger hunt one year where I hid a bunch of envelopes containing money near various holiday decorations around the house. They each got a list of clues, and when they found each decoration, they found the money-filled envelopes with their names on them. They worked in teams/pairs and tried to see which pair could find all their loot first. Another year, I hid puzzle pieces (for 2 identical Christmas puzzles) around the house, and the same teams/pairs had to find all the pieces and build their puzzle first. This year, I found a Christmas themed home version of an “Escape Room Challenge” which the teams raced to solve. I’m amused at the friendly competition between them as they attack the challenges each year!

Another difference for this year was that instead of giving them cash (which required a trip to the bank to make the withdrawl and then another trip back to deposit it into their accounts), I transferred the money directly into their accounts. It felt a little weird to just tell them I transferred the money so I wanted to come up with an interactive card to “present the gift” to them. (It took me a while to get to the card project for this post, but I finally made it – lol!!)

When the ribbon is pulled, Santa slides back to reveal the gift. (Theirs actually had the amount showing!)

(inside: Use it to buy something fun!)

I created the Santa from a Silhouette cut file called “Santa Cartoon” (design #283758) by Sarah Bailey. The slider window card was created from another Silhouette file called “A2 Santa Slider Window Card” (design #100187) by Lori Whitlock. This file includes a Santa as well, but I had already purchased the “Santa Cartoon” file so I thought I would go with that.

The designer paper is called Christmas Cheer Peppermint by Lily Bee Designs. The card stock is Gina K Designs Cherry Red, Christmas Pine, Warm Glow, white, black and a scrap of yellow. All the text was computer generated.

Thanks for checking out my card project (and for putting up with my narrative leading to it)!