Happy Birthday Money Cake

Here’s a fun way to display a monetary gift!

I cut the pieces from the Money Cake svg file from Dreaming Tree with my Silhouette electronic die cutting machine. Here is a video showing how it goes together. I resized mine to 130% since I needed slightly larger holes to fit 4-5 bills in each of the 20 holes. (The recipient is always looking for singles, and I wanted to include 85 to match her age.)

The greeting is from the Birthday Blessings stamp set from Gina K Designs (retired). (A graduation “print and cut” panel is included with the download if this were to be a graduation gift.) The card stock is an old Love Nicole print (from A.C. Moore) that I’ve had forever along with GKD Bubblegum (card stock and ink).

Thanks for checking out my project!

13Oct2025

Bitty Ball Pop-Up Dinosaur

Bitty Ball Pop-Up Dinosaur

Earlier this year, I created bitty ball pop-up animals using add-on die sets designed by Karen Burniston. I then decided I wanted to create a dinosaur, but there was no add-on set for that. Hmmm…

I saw one (and only one!) sample on Pinterest which I really liked and figured I’d just CASE but later realized that it had a stegosaurus-like body and carnivorous (T-Rex) teeth. I loved the plates on its back, but I just couldn’t figure out how to change the mouth and head size/shape to go with that body.

I contacted customer service on Karen Burniston’s site, and asked if they had any suggestions/samples of dinosaurs to share. The one they sent (from their design team) was great, but it was huge and more complicated/realistic than what I was going for. (I wanted it to be similar in style to the three I already made for my other kids.) Honestly, I was half hoping they would design an add-on, but they didn’t take the bait – lol!

After much trial and error, I came up with this guy. (Not quite as impressive as Nicky’s creation, but…) I used the Bitty Ball Pop-Up set and adapted pieces from the alligator in the Animal Add-Ons 4 (#1185) set.

Paper from the “Greens” card stock pack from The Paper Studio was used. I added texture to the body panels with the “Reptile 3-D Texture Fades” embossing folder by Tim Holtz/Sizzix, and inked the edges of the layering pieces (I should have done them all) with Gina K Designs Dark Sage ink. The black circles for the eyes and nose were punched with my Fiskars “Bubbles Border Punch” (retired?)

The card stock I used is white core. I would NOT use this in the future as you can see the white on all the edges and in the cracks of the embossed panels. 😦

If placing in a card, he folds flat for mailing.

As with the others I made, this was just flattened and placed inside the card (not attached) and “jumps out” when the card is opened. The card base has a 1/4 inch gusset to accommodate the extra bulk.

He’s fun to just play with too!! 🙂

Thanks for checking out my project!

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

6Feb2025

Bitty Ball Pop-up Animals

Posted in Birthday Cards, Interactive, Paper Crafting Projects (other) by lisababitz

Bitty Ball Pop-up Animals

It’s the beginning of February, so it’s time for a “triple” project for Kelly, Kevin and Keith’s birthday!

Karen Burniston has quite a few fun pop-up die sets, and I thought I’d use her “Bitty Balls” to make some cute pop-up elements for my kids. However, instead of attaching their favorite animals to the insides of their cards for a pop-up surprise, I just placed them inside so when the cards were opened, the animals jumped out at them. Fun!

These animals are designed to fit in an A2 size card, but these guys are a bit bulky, so I made a 1/4 inch spine gusset on the card base to give them a little more room when the card was closed. (Pictured is just the card base before the front was added.) The card base started at 5 1/2 x 8 3/4 and was scored at 4 1/4 and 4 1/2.

As I mentioned above, the bodies of these animals were all made with the “Bitty Ball Pop-up” die set by Karen Burniston. Additionally I used her “Animal Add-on 2” set for Kevin’s elephant and Kelly’s giraffe, and her “Mini Ball Add-ons 2 Monkey and Lion” set for Keith’s monkey. (The monkey was designed to be made with the slightly smaller Mini Ball, but the pieces also work with the Bitty Ball.) Soft Stretch #12 rubber bands were used inside. Here is a tutorial video for assembly.

Keith’s monkey…

For the monkey, card stock (3 colors) came from the Recollections Nostalgia pack. Scraps of yellow and black along with 10 mm google eyes were also used. All the edges of the add-on pieces were inked with Gina K Designs Dark Chocolate ink and were embossed with the Stampin’ Up Subtle embossing folder (retired).

Kevin’s elephant…

Recollections Grey Kraft card stock was used for the elephant’s body and the add-ons. The debossed side of the Darice Crackle embossing folder (retired?) was used for his skin texture, and GKD Stormy Sky ink was used on the edges to help the add-ons stand out against the body (since they were all the same color). I used a black marker and the leg die (as a stencil) to add the black spots.

Kelly’s giraffe…

Three sheets from the DCWV “Neutrals” textured card stock stack were used for the giraffe. The edges of the light pieces were inked with GKD “Warm Cocoa” ink. The add-on set comes with 3 individual dies for the spots (1 small, 1 medium, and 1 large) – which I cut over, and over, and over! Maybe I should find giraffe printed paper next time – lol??

There are quite a few other add-on sets and tons of creative variations using these pop-up balls. Fun, fun, fun!!

Thanks for checking out my post!

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

24Dec2024

Santa Belly Gift Box

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

Santa Belly Gift Box

This cute guy was designed (by Lori Whitlock) as a “belly lantern” (with cut out panels backed with vellum for the belly), but I changed it up a bit with solid panels to make it a gift box.

Santa is 9 inches tall, with a 3 inch sphere (inside) for his belly. The panels that create the round “belly” are attached with tabs (and not glued) so they are easily removed. (As I mentioned, I made this to hold a small gift, but a battery operated tea light would go inside if it were made as a lantern.)

If all of the panels and circular pieces are removed, it folds flat for storage (or mailing if the recipient would like to reassemble him!).

I cut all the pieces with my Silhouette, but an svg file is also available for purchase.

There is an assembly tutorial that shows how to create the belly portion of this project. I used the photo to see how the rest of the pieces went together. (There are several designs, but assembling the belly portion is the same for all of them.) Besides the card stock, I used the “Dainty Diamonds” embossing folder from Stampin’ Up to add texture to his belly, and I created the belt and fur on the embossed panel myself as these were not included in the file.

Thanks for checking out my post!

20Dec2024

Standing Die and Stamp Storage

Posted in Organization and Storage, Paper Crafting Projects (other), Tutorials by lisababitz

Standing Die and Stamp Storage

I am always amazed at how messy my desk becomes when I get going on a project and how often I’ve “lost” dies and stamps amongst the creative clutter! I created this stand-up storage tool on which to temporarily place the dies and stamps I need so I know where to find them while I work.

The black side is a magnet and can hold wafer thin dies (or other metal bits and bobs). The white side is a laminated surface and can hold clear or cling stamps. (You can also jot notes on it with a dry erase marker.)

It folds flat and fits in a regular A2 size envelope or card sleeve for storage. Because of this, I can keep it with my cutting plates and platform, and it is also great for travel when I craft away from home.