Changing Picture Birthday Card

This adorable cutie is my mother when she was 2 years old.  She recently turned 75 (although she’s as youthful and active as a 30 year old!), and I thought this “Changing Picture” card was perfect for her birthday.  When you pull the tab, the photo “magically” transforms from her toddler photo to her present day photo.

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

I first saw this project in a book called Making Mechanical Cards by Sheila Sturrock.  (She calls it the “Venetian Blind Variation” Technique and includes the needed templates to copy and cut out.)  Sara Sandberg did a video tutorial HERE of this technique which I found very helpful.  On her site, she includes all the templates for this project in a variety of file formats (including svg files, studio cut files, and pdf files for hand-cutting).

I originally watched her video on YouTube and didn’t see her templates so I created my own cut files using the templates that are included in the book.  After I was done my card, I discovered her website!  Ugh!!!  Anyway, it worked out ok because the first time I tried to make this card, I glued my photos on the photocopied templates as suggested.  I was having a hard time making the photos slide/change smoothly; the edges kept getting caught.  When I created my cut files, I did it as a “print and cut” and printed the photos directly onto the templates.  The photos slid much more smoothly this time around.

My photos were about 2 3/8″ x 2 3/8″ (about 6cm x 6cm).  (I think she recommends a 5cm square photo with her templates.)  The green panel with the cupcakes is called “Birthday Wishes” from the “It’s Your Day!” collection by Nikki Sivils.  The printed frame was made with digital paper from a set called “Birthday Digital Paper” by GraceGraphicDesign which I purchased on Etsy.  The white frames were made with a cut file from the “4 Vintage Frames (Design #24374)” set by Lori Whitlock which I purchased from the Silhouette Store and were cut with my Silhouette.  The pink center strip is Gina K Innocent Pink card stock and was embossed with a Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder.  I used a heavy weight white card base to make it easier to push and pull the tab without bending the card.

Thanks for checking out my card project!

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Tropical Birthday Shaker Card

(Inside Text:  May your birthday be filled with sunshine, smiles, laughter, love and cheer!)

Wow, it’s been a while!  Great to finally have some time to get back in my craft room…

Our family has several men who celebrate summer birthdays, so I thought I’d design a card with a tropical theme.  I ordered the stamps for this card just before I went on vacation with my family to Ocean City, NJ.  While sitting on the beach, I thought about what I would do with these images when I got home and came up with the shaker card idea.  I brought the shells and sand from the beach home with me!

The image stamps are called “Tropical Island (L-24219)” and “Birthday Flamingo (J-29905)” and are from RubberHedgehog Rubber Stamps.  The birthday stamp is from the “Happy Birthday To You” set, and the sentiment on the inside is from the “Happy Birthday Duo” set, both from Gina K Designs.

I made another version of this card with the “Let’s Party (G-9610)” stamp from RubberHedgehog Rubber Stamps.  I love this stamp for a party invitation as well as a birthday card.

The tropical island image was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white card stock and was colored with Copic Markers (G24, G28, E55, E57, E59, E42, E43, and E44).  I masked the colored image and inked the background with Gina K Powder Blue, Sweet Mango, and Ocean Mist ink.

The flamingo was stamped on the frame with Versamark ink and embossed with Ranger black embossing powder.  (A portion of the image was lost when it was stamped  over the cut-out portion of the frame.)  I then created a cut file and die cut with my Silhouette Electronic Die Cutting Machine for the body of the flamingo so it could hang over the shaker window.  I stamped the body onto this die cut with Memento Tuxedo Black ink (click HERE to see how) and colored it with Copic Markers (R14, R29, and BG18).  Then, to make it bolder to match the embossed legs better, I stamped over the colored image with Versafine Black Onyx ink.  I was able to stamp over the image because I used my MISTI for all my stamping so it was easy to line up the image to stamp it a second time.  The colored die cut was lined up over the embossed image on the frame.

The greeting was also stamped with the Versafine Black Onyx ink.

The solid card stock is Gina K Blue Lagoon and Ocean Mist, and the patterned paper is DCWV Green Woodland Stripe.  The background panel was embossed with a Darice “Basketweave” embossing folder to add some texture.

I cut the printed frame with my Silhouette, and I used a sizzix die (38-0163 Frame Rectangle) to cut fun foam (3 layers glued together) that I used to raise the frame up to create the pocket for the shaker window.  This window needed to be pretty deep to accommodate the thickness of the shells.  (Here’s a video showing you how to create a shaker pocket with fun foam.)  I also used a small piece of thick acetate for the shaker window, and raffia ribbon to finish it off.

The Mod Squad Challenge this week is “Lazy Days of Summer” where we are encouraged to create a project that makes one think of the lazy days of summer.  Lying on a hammock on the beach…ahhhhh!  (Sadly, this site is no longer active.)

The “Let’s Party” card will be entered in the RubberHedgehog 2016 card contest.

Thanks for checking out my card post!

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