Crafty Secrets August Linky Party

Good Monday morning, and welcome to the  Crafty Secrets August Linky Party!  Each month, Crafty Secrets issues a challenge to the design team to use new materials in a fresh, fun way and to share that information with you in the form of a tutorial.  Then, we invite you to play along with us by linking your Crafty Secrets creation to the Heartwarming Vintage blog.  Just click on the link above, use the Linky tool to upload a photo of your project along with a link to your blog or online gallery and one lucky participant will be randomly chosen to win a $50.00 gift certificate to the Crafty Secrets online shop!  That prize will go a long way, because the shop is loaded with sale items and wonderful bargains on digital downloads.  So it’s definitely worth playing along, don’t you think? So, let the Crafty Secrets August Linky Party begin!

Beach Time Custom Box and Fun Card Fold Tutorial

I had promised some of my followers a tutorial on how to make your own custom card box, so that is the direction I went in for this design team challenge.  My regular followers know how much I love the beach, so I chose the newly released Bathing Beauties digital art stamp set to make my fun fold card and custom box tutorial.  I have always loved the sassy  bathing beauties in this wonderful set of 24 vintage images, and I hope you will, too. 

This is a photo laden post, so you might want to go get yourself a nice cuppa or a tall glass of something cool to drink before we start.  Ready?  Ok…let’s get this show on the road.

  Here’s a look at the finished card and custom box.  To make this project, or one like it, you will need the following supplies: Radiant Digital Paper Collection, Bathing Beauties Digital Stamps from Crafty Secrets, Bathing Beauties Clear Arts Stamp Set (optional…but it is on sale, and there are only 3 sets left!) Travel Creative Scraps (also on sale!), a 5×7 kraft card base, a scoring tool, 2 sheets of heavy cardstock (one kraft, one the color of your choice) script stamps, coloring medium, beach embellishments of your choice, white glue, glossy accents, Versamark ink pad and brown and blue ink pads, foam tape, and ribbon. 

Fun Fold Card Tutorial

I think you are really going to love this  design.  It’s a mix between a mini album and a card and while it looks impressive, it’s really very easy to make.  Let’s begin by taking  a good look at the finished product, then I’ll show you how to make your own.

Here’s the card front.  It looks like a standard cutaway card front….until you open it!

It opens out like a little booklet or mini album.

Each fold in the card can hold another die cut page…how fun is that?

  Here’s another photo to give you a better idea of what the card looks like when fully opened:

I began by printing out six 5×7″ papers from the Radiant Paper Collection onto plain white cardstock.  I used my Spellbinder Mega Nestabilities Curved Rectangles to cut 5 of the largest die shapes for the card.  I used the white crackle finish paper to line the folded bits, and the die cut labels became the “pages” of the card.  I also saved one of the evacuated die cuts to use as a frame on the last page of the card.  You are simply gluing these rectangles back to back over the folds so that they match up and this creates pages that you can flip through.  Here are the diagrams for the card fold:

Begin with a 5×7 kraft card base. Open it flat on your scoring tool. Score every 1 5/8″ until you reach the center of the card.

Fold the first score line into a mountain fold, the second score line into a valley fold,,and the third score line into a mountain fold .

This is what your card will look like from the top

and this is what it will look like from the side

Next, I copied and pasted the bathing beauty images I wanted to use into Microsoft Word. I sized them where I wanted them, then printed them out.  I used smooth white cardstock that works well with alcohol markers, because that is how I wanted to color them.  Once the images were colored, I treated them with Glossy Accents and Stickles and set them aside to dry.  I fussy cut them from the paper, and used foam tape to secure them to the “pages” in my card. Once I had all my pages decorated, I carefully glued them onto the folds, making sure that the edges of each die cut piece lined up with its partner.  This way, you can’t tell from the outside that there are so many fun surprises inside the card.  I finished the card off with a bow and a posy.

One of the fun inside images on the card…I added Stickles to make the surf look sparkly.

...and here’s the flip side of that page, so you can see how the die cuts are lined up. 

Custom Box Tutorial

Often, when you make a really dimensional card like this, it won’t fit into a standard envelope.  That is when you need to make your own custom card box.  It is such a simple process, but it makes for a great presentation, and provides a keepsake box that serves as a gift all on its own.

  Here are the directions to make your own custom box:

Select two very heavy weight pieces of card stock.  I generally  use a piece of kraft cardstock for the base of the box, and then a coordinating piece of color cardstock for the lid.  For this card, I wanted the depth of the box to be about 1 inch deep.  The basic formula I use to determine what size I should cut my paper is as follows.

Measure your card’s width and height.  I added 2 1/2 inches to each of these measurements because I wanted a box that was 1″ deep and I also wanted there to be enough space around the edges of the box that my card would fit.  I cut both pieces of my cardstock to

7 1/2″ by 10″.  

Next, I scored the base of the box:

Then  folded all four score lines with a bone folder.  You will see a small square in each corner of your folded cardstock.  You will cut as follows:

Cut from the base to the fold line, then from the center of each tab to the score line.  This becomes the flap that you will glue, fold and insert inside each corner of the box.

Use a strong white glue on each triangular piece, then fold under the adjacent box side.  Secure with clothespins or metal clips for about 5 minutes to give the glue a chance to set up.

While the box base is drying, you will create the lid.  Start by scoring the lid at 7/8″ on all sides.

  Use a bone folder to crease each side, and cut the corner tabs as before, but do not glue the lid together until after you have decorated it.  This will make your life sooooooo much easier!

Once you have decorate your lid, follow the same steps to glue each corner.

I stamped on my box using images from the original Clear art stamps and a script stamp and postmark stamp from Artsy Banners.(This collection is only available in digital format now. I used the original clear art stamps.)  Then I cut images from the Travel Creative Scraps, treated them with Versamark and UTEE and gave them that wonderful vintage cracked glass look.  ( You can find a tutorial on how to do this technique here.)I layered on some fun brads, seashells, a bright tropical flower and my box was complete.

Line your box with tissue paper, if desired, add the card and a bow, and your gift is ready for giving!

Let the linking begin!

So what will you make for your entry in the Crafty Secrets August Linky Party?  You could make your own version of this custom box and fun fold card, or something entirely different.  Be sure to check out the other designers’ projects, as they will be sharing wonderful tutorials and crafty inspiration on each of their blogs.  And be sure to link up before August 12th, so that you can have a chance to win that $50.00 gift certificate!

That’s it for me today, folks!  Thanks for hanging with me through this looooong post.  I hope you were inspired!  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding these instructions.  (I find it’s a lot harder to tell someone how to make something than it is to make it myself. )  And thanks for all your kind comments.  I read and respond to each and every one because they make me happy right down to the tips of my crafty little fingers.  Until next time,

Cheerio,

kathy

PS…I’m also linking this project up to the Frilly and Funkie By the Seaside Challenge: http://frillyandfunkie.blogspot.com/2013/08/by-seaside.html