Bunny Easter Card with Xyron Adhesive and Doodlebug

This is my first post for the Xyron Design Team! I love Xyron adhesives (and lamination!). I have a 9 inch Creative Station that also accepts 5 inch cartridges. I have an old 9 inch Xyron as well - still in working condition - my husband uses it a lot to make player aids and other stuff for board gaming. The new design is much more compact - great for a craft room!

I like to add permanent adhesive to cardstock and paper before die cutting, or add it to die cuts that I cut using my electronic cutters (Silhouette Cameo 3, Cricut Maker). Instant stickers! This makes it easier to assemble, especially when there are lots of pieces.

The theme for this card is Spring/Easter. I chose to use Doodlebug Design Bunnyville paper (6x6 pad). This formed the color palette for my card. I used Karen Burniston's Twist Panel Pop-up dies for the inside of the card - a fun surprise when opened!

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Making the Card

1. I looked through my library of SVG files to find a bunny that closely matched the one in the Doodlebug Design Bunnyville paper pad. I chose to use the Easter Bunny from Miss Kate Cutables. I didn't want the cheeks, mouth, or shading though. I also wanted to add a bow and outfit to more closely resemble one of the bunnies in the paper pad designs. I used the "easter bunny-apart" SVG file and cut it with my Silhouette Cameo 3.

Used the Silhouette software to edit the file. First resize the image (I think I used 3 inches in height - just use the grid to measure one of the bunnies as you drag one corner until you have the size you want), then ungroup the image to separate the images. I deleted all images I didn't want (i.e. remove all but the simple eggs and delete bunnies 3, 4, and 5 counting from the left). Note: in my screen shot further below, you will see an extra white bunny layer, without a face but with ears cut out, on the right - I didn't end up using it; my original intention was to use it for filling in the eyes and nose but the pink bunny layer worked well enough for this, as you will see. Just cut the white bunny (ears filled in) on the right with pink cardstock (you can change the fill to pink if you like).

To edit the points, first select the layer to edit then click the tool below the move tool - if you hover over it, it says "Edit Points." Now you can click on points and drag to move, remove them (delete), or change the curves (by moving attached handles). I deleted all points for mouth and cheeks. Holding the control key while clicking brings up a menu (I used a Mac; this is the same as a right click). In hindsight, I wish I had made the eye holes bigger and moved the face further down. The eyes are not as big as they look in the original image above. Note: the colors do not matter - the cardstock that you cut does. I changed the fill (color) to match what I wanted in the final cuts. Again, you really only need three bunnies, the one with the face, the outline, and the white one (which I made pink).

Optional: to make a girl bunny, I found a file with a bow and edited/resized it. If you don't have one, just skip this and make a boy bunny with blue clothes. My file before cutting looks like the one below (you may want to save the file before proceeding to cut).

2. On your Silhouette cutting mat, arrange the cardstock and patterned papers. I cut each piece a little bigger than necessary to give me some wiggle room. Place each piece on the physical mat to match its corresponding image placement on the software mat grid. For example, the grass is between 4 and 5 1/2 inches vertically and between 0 and 3 inches horizontally. I added green patterned paper in this area. Your cursor should have lines going in each direction so you can read the positions on the rulers easily.

Cardstock and Papers Used

• White bunny: white cardstock
• Gray outline: light gray cardstock
• Pink bunny: pink cardstock
• Grass and ground: Gingham-Linen Rainbow Petite Prints
• Blue and orange eggs: Gingham-Linen Rainbow Petite Prints
• Yellow and pink eggs: Dot-grid-daisy-stripe Rainbow Petite Prints
• Girl bunny clothes: Dot-grid-daisy-stripe Rainbow Petite Prints

Silhouette mat with cardstock and patterned paper (don't need right white piece)

After cutting and removing most of the scrap parts

3. After cutting all the pieces, run them through the Xyron 9" Creative Station with Permanent Adhesive (you could use a 5" cartridge instead). If I have a lot of pieces, even small ones, I put them through my larger machine - I just use something like a bone folder to scoot them in so they touch the adhesive area before rolling them through. Alternatively, you may use the Xyron 1.5" Sticker Maker for small items.

Put pieces into Xyron 9" Creative Station

Use a bone folder or other tool to push small pieces further in

Die cuts after going through Xyron Creative Station plus Xyron Sticker Maker with one small die cut (blue egg)

4. To make the card base, cut yellow cardstock 4 1/4 x 11 inches; fold in half to form a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inch top folding card base. Cut light blue cardstock 3 3/4 x 5 inches. Cut bunny/chick/sun patterned paper from Bunnyville 6x6 pad to 3 1/2 x 4 3/4 inches; adhere to light blue using Xyron Mega Runner. Adhere to front of card with Mega Runner.

5. Using rectangle die from Twist Panel Pop-up, die cut light blue cardstock; adhere to card front near center bottom as shown. Assemble Easter Bunny as follows:

Cut the body off the pink bunny at the chin, rounding from one side to the other with the shape of the head. You will use the body for the bunny clothes. On the white bunny, line up the light gray outline at the ears - only stick down the ears, leave the rest up. Line up the pink body with the feet and arms but do not press down. Gently put the gray outline over this and trace inside arms and legs (try not to get any pencil on the gray outline).

Pencil in lines as guides for cutting clothes

Remove the pink body and trim inside the lines to make clothes that fit over the bunny's belly. Check your cutting and retrim if necessary.

Trimmed down pink clothes

Line up ears of white bunny on pink head but do not press down yet. Use a pencil to lightly mark the eye locations (I marked it darker in the photo so it would show up). Use a brown alcohol marker (I used First Edition Graphic Markers 51 Chestnut; you could use Copic Sepia E37) to color where eyes will be. Be careful not to get any in the nose area. Adhere white layer over pink. Adhere bow where shown if desired.

Add brown marker behind eye area

Optional: once I had a template, I used it to cut the pink flowered pattern from Dot-grid-daisy-stripe Rainbow Petite Prints - you could leave it pink cardstock or trace it on blue if you want to make a boy bunny. Stick down the clothes then the outline.

Use template to cut flower pattern paper

Bunny with new clothes

6. Adhere grass ground (long oval) at bottom of blue frame on card front. Adhere grass where shown, then eggs and finally bunny.

7. Cut out "hippity, hoppity, Easter's on it's way!" label from Bunnyville 6x6 pad. Trim sides so dots are about 1/8 inch all the way around. Use 1/4 inch Corner Chomper to round the corners. Use foam tape to pop up label on card; see video below.

8. Create the inside card using Twist Panel Pop-up dies. Cut light blue cardstock 3 3/4 x 11 inches; fold in half. This will be the inside liner on which the pop-up mechanism (die cut) will go. Watch the video below before assembling. The cardstock and papers I used are listed below the video.

Pop-up arms: light blue cardstock
Pop-up panels: yellow cardstock
Panels are all decorated with patterned paper from Bunnyville
1st Panel: sunshine paper cut with rectangle die, square house scene with 1/4 inch rounded corners
2nd Panel: Easter words cut with rectangle die
3rd Panel: animal stack with 1/2 inch rounded corners
4th Panel: jelly beans cut with rectangle die, square "Happy Easter" (trim excess)
Top decoration: bunny family with 1/2 inch rounded corners
Banner flags: triangle - flower, chick, girl bunny; fishtail - boy bunny, flowers, sunshines

I used my Mega Runner for most of the adhesive and liquid glue for the rest (e.g. to glue twine behind panels). To sting the banners, cut a small slit in the middle of the curves, top left 1st panel, top right 2nd panel, top left 3rd panel, top right 4th panel. String the banner flags along the pink/white twine before securing. Once you are happy with how it is strung, glue twine from behind and trim of any excess.

Supplies

• Xyron 9" Creative Station and Permanent Adhesive
• Optional: Xyron 1.5" Sticker Maker
• Xyron Mega Runner
• Silhouette Cameo 3 Cutting Machine (or Cricut Cutting Machine)
• Karen Burniston in Cahoots with Riley and Company Dies: Twist Panel Pop-up (1009)
• Miss Kate Cuttables SVG: Easter Bunny
• Doodlebug Design 6x6 Paper Pads: Bunnyville, Gingham-Linen Rainbow Petite Prints, Dot-grid-daisy-stripe Rainbow Petite Prints
• Cardstock: White, Pink, Dark Pink, Light Gray, Yellow, Light Blue
• Brown Alcohol Marker: First Edition Graphic Markers 51 Chestnut (you could also use Copic Sepia E37)
• Bone Folder (Burnishing Bone)
• We R Memory Keepers 1/4" and 1/2" Corner Chomper
• Twine: Pink/White

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