Pop 'n Cuts Feature

Hi everyone! Today we are having a fun special Karen Burniston pop 'n cuts event at the Sizzix blog, where the DT members will use the pop 'n cuts base die. The base die includes the base you need for the pop 'n cuts inserts and as well as the Circle Label 3D insert pop-up. You can see all the pop 'n cuts dies here, and don't miss Karen's fabulous new line Hearth & Home (I used some of the new dies on my card too).

Don't miss checking out the Sizzix blog to see all the fabulous projects. There are prizes to be won too!

Lets start with the inside:

I love the pop 'n cuts dies, they are so much fun to use, and you give the recipient a great surprise. I decided to make a Christmas card, also using quite a few other dies by Karen, and lots of ink and stamps. There arestep-by-step photos below, but first I also wanted to show you the outside of the card.

The outside of the card also holds a fun interactive element, this great door, which opens to reveal another surprise. Love the new Openin Door & Wreath die and it will work on projects all year around.

I decided to use the Heart Movers & Shapers die on my pop-up. Place the insert inside the base die, and put the heart die inside the opening. Lots of the movers & shapers die fit, making it very easy to alter the circle pop-up.

Die cut a piece of manila cardstock. Here you can see how the heart is cut out from the centre of the circle. I will also use the two smaller hearts on the project.

Ink the paper with Antique Linen Distress Ink (forgot to include in the photo), the heart with Peacock Feathers and the edges with Vintage Photo.

Mist the paper heavily with Biscotti Perfect Pearls mist, for some great shine. I decided to mist my paper first and stamp later, since I wanted to use some distress inks for stamping and wanted the impressions to stay sharp. Dry with a heat gun.

Stamp with Christmas stamps using Archival Ink Coffee and Everygreen Bough Distress Ink. I used a variety of Tim Holtz Stamper's Anonymous Christmas stamps. I also stamped a piece of mica with a script stamp, using Stazon Jet Black ink, and glued it at the back of the heart with Glossy Accents.

Die cut the larger of the Fancy Frame from ledger paper and stamp a sentiment with Archival Ink Coffee.

Die cut the door once using manila cardstock and once using white mat board (the door frame on this photo is white cardstock, but I later changed my mind and used mat board instead, which really looks like a door frame, adding some dimension).

Ink the wooden parts with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo. Mist the smaller parts with the Biscotti mist and stamp the door with a woodgrain stamp using Archival Ink Coffee. Later, I stamped the smaller parts with the same music stamp used on the inside of the card.

I wanted to use the Flagpole w/Lantern & Sign die, both on the outside and on the inside. Most of the parts were die cut from manila cardstock, except for the lantern and the sign for which I used Specialty Stamping paper. When you cut the pole, it has three parts, with scorelines in between, fold and glue them together and you have a very sturdy pole. I inked them with Vintage Photo and some Brushed Pewter Distress Stain. The sign and lantern were inked with the Brushed Pewter too and when dry, I stamped the lantern with a texture stamp using Archival Jet Black ink and stamped a sentiment on the sign with alphabet stamps ('God Jul' means 'Merry Christmas' in Swedish). The lamp was inked with Scattered Straw, the larger heart with Evergreen Bough and the smaller one with Vintage Photo. Then they were covered in Glossy Accents and sprinkled with Rock Candy Stickles Distress dry glitter.

I carefully cut a small slit at the side of the circle on the pop-up so that the signpost wouldn't show behind the mica. I also cut the pole quite a bit shorter since I didn't want it to cover the face of Santa. I just had to add a bird from one of my favorite dies, Birds on a Wire. It was die cut from manila cardstock and inked with the same colours used on the card. Since the die both cuts and scores the paper, it is very easy to assemble the pop-ups, Karen explains it very well in this video. She has a lot of other great videos too, you can find them here.

I didn't use the base die to cut my base cardstock, since I wanted the card to be slightly higher to make place for the door on the front. On this photo you can see the text on the mica a bit better.

It is hard to photograph the shimmer of Perfect Pearls mist, you can see it better here.

I glued the fancy frame below the pop-up. You could leave it blank too and write a personal message in that space.

Here's a view from the top, showing the pop-up mechanism better. Such a fun surprise to open these cards.

And on to the front of the card. At first I was planning for the door to be seen on the inside of a room, then it kind of changed and became the outside, but when you open it you also look out, anything is possible in fairytales and on pop-up cards :) Assemble the door, instead of using the wreath on the die, I used the glitter heart, since I like to repeat shapes on the front and the inside of the card. The frame was inked and stamped with the same script stamp used on the mica flake on the inside.

And who would be knocking on a door on a Christmas card, if not Santa. Swedish Santa's don't come down the chimney, they knock on the door on Christmas Eve and personally hand out the gifts to the children. When he comes into the house, he always asks 'Are there any kind/well-behaved children here', which I wrote with alphabet stamps on the inside of the door. Santa was stamped with Coffee ink on Specialty Stamping paper, and the paper was inked softly with Tumbled Glass, Antique Linen and Vintage Photo and stamped a bit more.

I did the background by first stamping a wallpaper stamp on manila cardstock with Evergreen Bough and embossing with clear ink and then inking the whole area again with Antique Linen and embossing again. Finally, I inked it with Vintage Photo. You can find this technique in Tim Holtz Compendium of Curiosities II, page 44. Another little bird is sitting on the door.

A close up of the lamp post, with the combination of the distressed pewter and the dry rock candy glitter.

Thank you so much for looking at this long post!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:
Dies: Sizzix: Horizontal A2 Card w/ 3D Circle Label pop-up, Opening Door & Wreath Bigz, Birds on a Wire Sizzlits, Flagpole w/Lantern & Sign Sizzlits, Heart & Wing Set Movers & Shapers, Fancy Frame   
Stamps: Stamper's Anonymous Tim Holtz: Christmas Time, Mini Holidays 4, Classics #9, Classics #10, Wallpaper & Wood; Hero Arts Holiday Sayings CL343, Printer's Lowercase alphabet stamps
Ink: Distress Ink: Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Evergreen Bough, Scattered Straw, Peacock Feathers, Black Soot, Tumbled Glass; Ranger Archival Ink Jet Black and Coffee; Stazon Jet Black
Stain: Brushed Pewter Distress Stain
Mist: Ranger Biscotti Perfect Pearls mist
Glitter: Distress Stickles Rock Candy dry glitter
Surfaces: Ranger manila cardstock and Specialty Stamping paper; Sizzix Little Sizzles white mat board; Core'dinations Espresso cardstock; 7Gypies Postale Ledger paper 8x8 pad
Embellishements: Tim Holtz Idea-ology chit chat stickers; US ArtQuest mica
Adhesives: Ranger Glossy Accents; double sided tape