Bear Hugs Birthday Flip-its Card

Created for the Oak Tree Stamps Design Team

This is the second card I made using Oak Tree Stamps' Bear Hugs set! If you missed the first one, you can find it here; I had altered the stamp to look like a panda bear. This time I left the bear mostly as is, coloring it with neutral tones in contrast to all the colors in the birthday card.

Making the Card

Hint: when making cards, I suggest beginning by first choosing your patterned paper. This way you can match the card base and other elements to the colors in the pattern.

1. From blue cardstock, die cut a card base using the main die from the Square Flip-its #2 set.

2. Die cut the decorator pieces from patterned paper. Adhere where shown. Cut a square 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 inches. Stamp "You're the Beary Best!" in the center. Add doodling around the edges. Adhere to back side of flip panel. Optional: cut another larger decorator piece from white cardstock to stick to the back of the card as writing space. (Note: there is another photo of the back of the flip-it further on.)

3. Stamp bear in appropriate black ink on alcohol marker friendly paper. Color with alcohol markers. Find the list of Copic markers I used below Supplies. Hint, in the darker furry areas, color the bear first with the lightest color then start adding "hair" in progressively darker colors - add more of the darker hair in the shadows, leaving the highlight areas lighter. Add highlights to the bear's eyes and nose with a white gel pen. Rough cut around bear - leaving about half an inch of space. Adhere to a piece of black cardstock. The black behind the bear will show from the flip side of the card.

4. Cut around the outline of the bear plus around the arm that will hold the balloon string. From the back side of the bear, go around the edges with a dark gray marker (I used N7) to get rid of the white edge line. This gives it a more polished look.

5. Die cut balloons from red, green, and yellow cardstock using Balloons Triplits Die Set (I chose my red balloon to be larger than the yellow and green). With black pen, doodle around the edges of the balloons as desired. Die cut three strings from black cardstock.

6. To create the banner, cut a strip of white cardstock about 3/8 inch wide and maybe 4 inches long (you will cut it to size later). Lightly make pencil marks 2 1/8 inches apart where the greeting will go, sort of in the center of the banner to give you some wiggle room. Pencil "Happy Birthday!" within those marks. I tried to mimic the Bear Hugs font. Alternatively you could use a stamp. Ink over in black. Hold the banner in position on the card and mark the left edge. Cut banner to about 2 3/4 inches (the right tail will stick out). Cut a V from the right side. Hint: I make a small dot in the center where the V will meet then cut from each side. Doodle around the edges of the white banner with black pen. Cut red cardstock 1/2 inch wide and a bit longer than the trimmed down white banner (about 3 inches). Adhere white banner down center, lining up the left side flush. Trim a V on the right side to match the spacing around the banner. Adhere the banner as shown.

7. Temporarily place bear, green balloon, and string in place. Carefully adhere string end under balloon, plus under the loop, then balloon (not getting glue on back where it sticks up over card). Add dimensional tape under bear (again noting where bear sticks up over card and avoiding that area). Put string under bear's paw and stick him to the card.

8. Glue both balloon strings and yellow balloon as shown. Use dimensional tape to adhere red balloon. Tie a bow with the green ribbon. Adhere enamel dots and bow as shown.

Supplies

• Cardstock: Black, (Bright Colors) Blue, Yellow, Red, Green
• Patterned Paper: DCWV DIY Project Stack Birthday (Confetti) PS-009-00014
• Oak Tree Stamps: Bear Hugs
• Alcohol Marker Friendly Cardstock (e.g. Bazzill Coconut)
• Alcohol Marker Friendly Ink (e.g. Memento Tuxedo Black)
• Sizzix Framelits Die Set 12PK - Card, Square Flip-its #2
• Sizzix Triplits Die Set 10PK - Balloons
• White Gel Pen
• Black Pen (.5 Copic Multiliner).
• Dimensional Tape
• Enamel Dots
• Ribbon: Green

Copic Markers Used
Fur: E37, E35, E34, E33, E32, E30
Foot Pads: E97, E95, E02, E01
Edging: N7

Rainbow Foiled Greetings Birthday Card

This is a fun card to make - and relatively easy as well. The foil is really beautiful - super shiny! Unfortunately it doesn't show up well in the photos. There are a number of foils on the market now, including Therm-O-Web Deco Foil and Heidi Swapp Minc Foil, both of which maybe applied to laser printed sheets using a laminator (preferred method) or an iron. For my card, I used Rainbow Deco Foil.

Making the Card

1. Warm up laminating machine.

2. Create a document in Word or other text editing software. Type whatever words you would like to see on the card, centered one per line. Select a different font for each line. There are loads of free fonts on the web, in case you are looking for something more interesting than what you already have installed. Be aware of the size as you edit. I made a 5x7 card with layers of cardstock; I tried to keep the words within about 4 x 6 inches. I made the words in a tapering pattern, small to large then back.

3. Print your words on white cardstock using a laser printer (a jet printer will not work - you need heat activated powder toner).

4. Cut a piece of Rainbow Deco Foil a bit larger than the words. I cut the piece so that the blue started at the top. Place inside a carrier (I used blank white paper). Check that the laminating machine is fully heated up. Run through laminating machine. Let cool a few seconds before peeling off. If this is your first try, check a corner to be sure the foil is adhering properly. If not, you may have to run it through again. Alternatively, an iron may be used, although I had better results with the laminator. Cut down to 4 3/8 x 6 3/8 inches (hint: you may want to mark in pencil before cutting so words will be centered).

5. Cut a piece of dark teal cardstock 7 x 10 inches; fold in half to form a card base.

6. Cut a piece of red foil cardstock 4 3/4 x 6 3/4 inches. Cut a piece of orange foil cardstock 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches. Adhere orange to red, then both to card base.

7. Die cut large stars from foil cardstock, one red and one orange, using Sizzix Triplits Die Set 10PK Balloons set. Die cut small stars from red and orange foil cardstock. Die cut candle as shown, using Sizzix Triplits Die Set 9PK Cupcakes set. Adhere die cuts to foiled sheet as shown.

8. Adhere decorated foiled sheet to card.

Supplies

• Laminating Machine
• Cardstock: White, Dark Teal, Red Foil, Orange Foil (Foiled Cardstock by American Crafts, it may be out of print)
• Rainbow Deco Foil (by Therm-O-Web)
• 659927 Sizzix Triplits Die Set 9PK Cupcakes (Candle)
• 659925 Sizzix Triplits Die Set 10PK Balloons (Stars)