Spring 3D Pop-Up Easter Egg Card & Blockheads Flower Stamps!

Hello Stamping Friends!

I think you guys are in for a real treat with my latest project!  

Here's my new Blockheads Design Team creation!

Spring 3D Pop-Up Easter Egg Card!

This one is so much fun but it is challenging with some tricky bits so you'll need all your wits about you before attempting it!  But don't worry its not too hard and my tutorial will walk you through it!  I received one of these cards as a RAK (random act of kindness) about 6 years ago and I've been wanting to design something with this template for some time now and I've finally done it, yay!  Unfortunately the card was not signed (always remember to sign your creations) and I don't know where this idea originated but I was able to dismantle and reverse engineer it.  While designing my project I made some changes to the original and now I think I've got an improved version for you to experiment with!

It's finally spring and I've been having loads of fun with the Flower rubber stamps from Blockheads Paper Arts and I knew they would be perfect for this project!  I've made a template for you to print out or just use as a guide line based on the included measurements.  So lets get started!

  

Draw the egg shape onto a sheet of white heavy weight cardstock.  It is more of an oval really coz it needs to be close to symmetrical as possible so it can stand. Then draw a mirror image of the shape with a fold line in between.

 

Apply colour to the entire egg using the 'Direct-to-Paper' method, staining the cardstock with Milled Lavender Distress ink.  Blend as you go with a piece of paper towel and then score and crease along the fold line with a ruler and a bone folder.  

 

Stamp the single Calendula flower image all over the egg shape in Versafine black ink and heat set to prevent smudging.

 

Cut out the egg and colour the flowers with chalks.  I used finger sponge daubers to apply the chalk to the images, starting with yellow, then orange and red for the centers. 

 

Fold the egg at the crease line and draw a crack line down the middle.  Cut the egg in half along the crack line.  Now you've got 2 broken halves of an Easter Egg. 

 

Then trace out the interior folding mechanism for the 'pop-up' part of the card.  Score and fold along the dash lines.  The main center fold is a mountain fold and the 4 triangle flaps are valley folds.

 

Stamp the large Tulips image twice and the single Tulip once in black Memento ink onto heavy weight white cardstock that is suitable for Copic markers and colour in the flowers.  Memento is a recommended ink pad for Copic markers.

 

I used RV10, RV12 and RV13 for the pink tulips, V15 and V17 for the purple tulips and YG03 and YG06 Copic Sketch markers for the leaves.  You can totally use your own favourite colouring products too of course.  I often use coloured pencils, watercolour pencils, chalks and Marvy brush markers too and they work just as beautifully!  You can find all of those alternate products at Blockheads! 

 

Then colour a background for the flowers that looks like a blue sky with fluffy white clouds in light blue Decorating chalks and a sponge dauber. 

 

Repeat the same process for the back of the egg pieces and the interior mechanism too.  Pretty much all the areas that will be seen once the card 'pops' open!

  

Cut out the flowers to create the 'pop-up' panel part of the card and the single Tulip image and layer it onto the front with foam tape or a pop dot for extra dimension.  Also cut out the extra Tulips and put aside until needed.

 

 

Use the 'pop-up' panel as a guideline and trace the outline of the flowers onto another piece of heavy weight cardstock.  Cut out the easel part of the 'pop-up' and also colour it with blue chalk.  Score and fold crease lines on the 'pop-up' panel and the easel back and attach them together with double sided sticky

tape.

Adhere the 'pop-up' panel to the center of the 'pop-up' mechanism section on either side of the mountain fold line. 

Trim or use a corner punch to round of the points on the flaps.  Apply double sided sticky tape to all four of the triangle flaps and adhere the back side of the 'pop-up' mechanism section to the 'back' portion of the egg halves.  Fold down the front of the egg and press down firmly to adhere the front flaps to the 'front' egg halves.

    

TIP:  If you want to include a written message with the card then do it now before assembling!  You can write it on the blank area on the base of the interior 'pop-up' section.

Test the pop-up card and determine where to start filling in the extra flowers and leaves on the 'pop-up' panel.  Adhere the extra flowers and leaves with double-sided sticky tape.  The photo below on the right hand side shows the difference it makes with the extra flowers added to the bouquet!

 

Stamp the word 'Tulips' onto white cardstock in purple Brilliance Pearlescent pigment ink.  The word comes with the Tulips stamp image.  

TIP:  I masked the portion of the flower near the word with a piece of regular sticky tape, inked the word and then removed the tape.  I was then able to stamp the word without any of the flower image getting in the way!

  

Cut out a ribbon label with a Spellbinders die and edge it with a metallic gold paint pen.  Thread the label onto a length of 'Sunshine' yellow satin ribbon.  I think I got this ribbon in the $1 section at Target (I LOVE the $1 section LOL!).  But you can find similar ribbon at your local craft stores.

Adhere the ribbon and the label to the front of the egg card and hide the ribbon ends inside the egg with double sided sticky tape.  Make a bow from the same ribbon and adhere it to the Easter Egg card with a glue dot.  Trim the ends of the bow into dove tail points.

 Finish off the card by adding yellow glitter glue to the centers of all the flowers on the egg for just a touch of sparkle!

 

 

The card does lie flat so will fit nicely into an envelope.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope I've inspired you to make your own 3D pop-up cards this Easter!  If you'd like to see more creations featuring Blockheads Paper Arts stamps and products then check out my fellow Design Teamster's blog, Karen of Dreaming and Creating!

Happy Stamping!

Leigh S-B

THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN

Designer for Blockheads Paper Arts

Domino Fairy Butterflies - About Art Accents Design Team Project

Domino Fairy Butterflies

Standing Domino Ornaments

Tutorial

I challenged my DominoART yahoo group members to create Make & Share projects for our August 2010 Challenge based on the poem 'To A Butterfly' by William Wordsworth.  I took from the poem the beauty and fragility of the butterfly and was inspired to design a 'double domino' standing ornament of a Fairy Butterfly!  I absolutely love fairies and I knew immediately I wanted to use the Masked Fairy Girl rubber stamps by About Art Accents!

There's a couple of different Masked Fairy Girls available but the two I used are on plate 147: Fairy Girls

 

  

For this tutorial I'm concentrating on the Blue Fairy Butterfly.  The Green Fairy Butterfly tutorial will be coming soon so keep an eye out for it!

I used 2 standard white dominoes and stamped the front and all 4 sides of both dominoes with portions of the Butterfly Masked Fairy Girl II in coal black Ancient Page dye ink.  Stamp and heat set each side separately to avoid smudging the images.

I always start my Sharpie colouring by laying in the darker areas first and then I use a lighter shade of the same colour to blend, shade and fill in the areas.  I used Blue and Turquoise Sharpies for the background.

 

The skin is Almond, hair is a combo of Brown & Marigold, dress and flourish detail is Purple & Lilac. I then added DecoColor metallic gold accents.

 

To finish off the bottom edge of the dominoes I edged and overlapped a bit onto the back of each so you don't see any white when the two dominoes are glued together.  Seal all surfaces with Judikins Diamond Glaze.

 

For my Fairy Butterfly wings I used some acetate wings I have for my ceramic art, but you can easily make your own!  I've made my own wings out of acetate before and they work great!  Adhere the wings to the domino with Judikins Diamond Glaze and then glue both dominoes together.  Even though the Diamond Glaze is meant as a dimensional accent and for hard glass-like surfaces it's awesome as a glue too!

 

I randomly bent and twisted metallic blue craft wire for the antennae and finished with a drop of Diamond Glaze on the ends. Once the glaze was dry I coloured it metallic gold and also added a touch of opal glitter glue.
I then glued the antennae into the top groove between the two dominoes with Diamond Glaze. I also accented the wings with glitter glue for a touch of sparkle.

I'm thrilled with the way my Fairy Butterfly turned out.
Even though I designed her to be a standing ornament you could easily make her into a magnet ornament too by just gluing a magnet to the back.

 

Happy Stamping!
Leigh S-B
THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN
www.VelvetPawCreations.com

About Art Accents Design Team 

"The Elegance of Natural Beauty" Part 2 featuring DominoART Pendants and Blockheads Stamps

Hello Stampers!

I'm so excited to share with you Part 2 of my "The Elegance of Natural Beauty" tutorials!  This is now my second project as an official Designer for
Blockheads Paper Arts and I'm having a blast!

If you haven't seen Part 1 yet then check it out here
"The Elegance of Natural Beauty" 
Vintage Domino WallART - Blockheads Design Team Project Part 1. 

Part 1 featured 4 of the 5 gorgeous flower panels available from 

Blockheads "Flowers Full Sheet 1 FL1001"

The fragile beauty of these Flower images inspired me to design something that would capture the elegance of nature and Part 2 continues along this theme with vintage Doublecross DominoART pendants.   I again wanted to focus on bringing out the beauty of the wood of the actual domino which in turn enhanced the elegance of the Tulips stamp.  But I didn't stop there!  I had so many ideas for this particular pendant I decided to include all the variations in this tutorial to show you how different jewelry embellishments can change the appearance of the same altered domino.
Enjoy!

"The Elegance of Natural Beauty"
1 Vintage Domino Pendant = 4 Different Styles

Tutorial Part 2

Supplies
Blockheads "Flowers FL1001" rubber stamps
1 Doublecross Domino
Ancient Page dye ink pads:  Chocolate and Sienna
Archival Jet Black ink pad
Violet Sharpie marker
Heat/embossing gun
E6000 glue
Krylon sprays Workable Fixative and Sealer
Paper towel
Drill or Dremel and a 1/16 bit
Drill vice
2 Brass eyehooks
Brass jump ring
Jewelry pliers
Various vintage jewelry pieces
Brass charms
Vintage (or new) Topaz crystal/rhinestone

So before I go on to show you my DominoART pendants I'll briefly recap how I went about altering the actual domino.   I drilled holes into both ends of the Doublecross Domino with a Dremel and a 1/16 bit.   It is best to use a vice when drilling so please take all necessary precautions when working with power tools!

FYI:  Doublecross dominoes have been out of production for years now so you will be very lucky if you can get your hands on some!  But you don't have to use dominoes to achieve the same look!  You can totally re-create my projects using any kind of wood for your pendants!   Using the 'Direct to Domino' method of applying ink, I dabbed on the Ancient Page dye inks (Sienna and Chocolate) randomly and rubbed the inks into the domino with a piece of paper towel.
I wanted to enhance the wood grain and imperfections of the domino and was really happy with the results.  Next I stained the sides of the domino with Chocolate Ancient Page and heat set the ink with a heat/embossing gun.

  

I used Jet Black Archival ink to stamp the Tulip flower panel onto the domino and heat set again.  Then I sprayed the domino with Krylon Artists Workable Fixative to ensure the inks didn't bleed when I sprayed them with the Krylon matte sealer.
I really love the 'old world' quality of this piece!

Glue the eyehooks into the drilled holes with E6000 glue and put them aside to dry.  TIP:  Note the way each eyehook faces coz you need to remember to glue them in the direction you need each one to be.  The bottom eye hook was the only one I needed to face forward so that I could attach the jewelry pendants or charms with a jump ring.

So that's how I went about altering the domino.  Now I can share all the fantastic ideas I have for the different pendant variations for this beautiful Tulip themed piece!

As I'm sure you've already guessed from my previous tutorials I like to play around with different variations before deciding on the final look for a piece I'm designing.  The following examples also give you a good idea of how you can design a piece that can be interchanged depending on what style you're going for!

Variation #1

'Subtle Elegance'
pendant featuring vintage re-purposed jewelry

 

I embellished the altered domino by adding a vintage drop pendant from my bits and pieces collection of broken jewelry.  The orange stones and topaz rhinestones compliment the colours of the domino perfectly!  To finish the look I hung the DominoART pendant from a brown suede necklace I made.  Which I think added just the perfect touch for subtle elegance.

Variation #2
'Vintage Elegance' 

pendant featuring vintage re-purposed jewelry and extra bling!

 

For this variation I kept the vintage pendant but added more bling!  I included the brass filigree fan which I also embellished with a large topaz rhinestone and strung the pendant onto a 2 tier gold ball chain for a lot more drama.  I would have adhered the charm and rhinestone to the domino with Judikins Diamond Glaze if this had been the final look I had decided on.  But I didn't coz there's more to see ;0)

Variation #3
'Elegance of Nature' 

pendant featuring a Dragonfly charm

 

Now for this variation I wanted to try out focusing more on the Nature theme of the piece.  I kept the gold 2 tier ball chain necklace and added a large brass Dragonfly charm.  I think this piece has a less formal look but still very pretty.

Variation #4
 'Violet Tulips'

pendant featuring vintage re-purposed jewelry

 

Of course I kept my favourite for last!

For this variation I took the design one step further by staining the Tulips purple with a Violet Sharpie marker.  As I applied the Sharpie ink to the flowers the Ancient Page stained domino took on different shades of purple depending on where the dye inks were darker or lighter.  I also added shading to some of the petals by applying more Sharpie ink to those areas which gave more depth to the design.

I re-sealed the pendant with another coat of Krylon fixative and matte sealer.  I then attached the vintage jewelry pendant I liked best (coz of the purple crystals and peach coloured opal stones) with a jump ring and completed the look with a the purple cord necklace I made.  To me this pendant has drama and elegance all rolled into one.  I'm an Amethyst girl so I just love this beautiful necklace ;0)

Thank you for stopping by to check out my 2nd Blockheads Design Team project!  I'd love to hear what you think of it and don't hesitate to ask me any questions. Please feel free to go ahead and share my blog with your friends ;0)

If you want to see more great projects featuring Blockheads Paper Arts rubber stamps then check out what my fellow Design Team members, Karen and Diana, are up to!

Happy Stamping!

Leigh S-B
The Sharpie Domino Queen

"The Elegance of Natural Beauty" Vintage Domino WallART - Blockheads Design Team Project Part 1

Hello Stampers!

I've been stamping up a storm in my studio and now I'm eager to share with you my first project as an official Designer for Blockheads Paper Arts!  

Stacey D sent me her gorgeous "Flowers Full Sheet 1 FL1001" to work with.  These images are original and exclusive to Blockheads and are definitely a must have for your stamp collections!  The unmounted sheet is available untrimmed or cut on cling cushion! 

I was really taken with the fragile beauty of these Flower images and wanted to design something that would capture the elegance of nature.  I was inspired by the shape of the flower panels at the bottom of the sheet to use vintage Doublecross dominoes coz of their long thin size.  I wanted to focus on bringing out the beauty of the actual wood of the game pieces which in turn enhanced the elegance of each stamped flower image.  The Wall-ART I designed reflects the simple elegance I was going for in the long linear feel of the piece which is then softened by the glow of the gold and the gentle curves of the 'S' hanger and connectors.

I hope you'll enjoy reading my tutorial and keep an eye out for Part 2 of 

"The Elegance of Natural Beauty"!

"The Elegance of Natural Beauty" 

Vintage Domino Wall-ART

Tutorial Part 1

Supplies 

Blockheads "Flowers FL1001" rubber stamps

4 Doublecross Dominoes

FYI:  Doublecross dominoes have been out of production for years now so you will be very lucky if you can get your hands on some!

Ancient Page dye ink pads:  Chocolate and Sienna

Archival Jet Black ink pad

Krylon sprays Workable Fixative and Sealer

Paper towel

Drill or Dremel and a 1/16 bit

Drill vice

8 Brass eyehooks

Gold wire

Brass jump ring

Swirl Christmas ornament hook

Jewelry pliers and wire cutters

Heat/embossing gun

E6000 glue

I used 4 Doublecross dominoes for this project and drilled holes in both ends with a Dremel and a 1/16 bit.  Whenever you're working with power tools always remember 'Safety First' and wear protective glasses and a mask.  Drilling into the dominoes made the wood burn and caused it to give off some smoke so a fumes mask would be a good idea if things like that bother you.  Always put your dominoes into a vice when drilling coz it's not a good idea to try and hold them!  You won't be a very happy artist if you drill into a finger or two!  

Before you start drilling its best to mark the placement of the 

holes to ensure they're all centered!

Now the real fun can begin ;0)  The next step is to stain the dominoes by applying Ancient Page Sienna dye ink directly to the game pieces.  This process can get quite messy so you might want to protect your manicures and wear some gloves!

There is no right or wrong way to do this.  I just pounced the ink on randomly and then did the same with Ancient Page Chocolate dye ink.  I t

hen rubbed the inks into the dominoes with a piece of paper towel.  The inks really brought out the grain and imperfections in the dominoes.  Which is exactly what I was going for.

For a richer colour I added a bit more of the Sienna and blended it gently.  This process is purely subjective and I just played with it until I was happy with the way it looked.

I then stained the sides of the dominoes with the Chocolate dye ink and also edged each one by dabbing the dominoes directly onto the ink pad.  Once I was finished with the staining I heat set the inks with a heat/embossing gun.

I used Jet Black Archival ink to then stamp each domino with a different Flower panel rubber stamp and heat set them again.  I just love the 'old world' quality of these, so divine!  I only used the first 4 of the above dominoes for the Wall ART, the Tulips domino will be featuring in Part 2!  So check back soon to see what I've created with it ;0)  

Next I sprayed the dominoes with Krylon Artists Workable Fixative to make sure the inks didn't bleed when I sprayed them with Krylon matte sealer.  It is best to spray multiple very light coats of both sprays.  The inks will bleed if you apply it  too heavily!

Glue the eyehooks into each domino with E6000 glue and put them aside to dry.

In the meantime I made the 'S' shaped connectors with gold wire and used them to attach each domino together.

TIP:  Note the way each eyehook faces, coz you need to remember to glue them in the direction you need each one to be.  The bottom eye hook was the only one I needed to face forward so that I could attach the cloisonne sunflower charm with a jump ring.  

I finished off my Wall ART with a large brass 'S' shaped Christmas ornament hook.  Here's a closer look at each domino.

I always like to play around with different variations before deciding on the final look of a piece I'm designing.  Here's a peek at what the Wall ART would look like with round jump rings as the connectors instead of the 'S' ones.

Thank you for stopping by to check out my first Blockheads Design Team project!  I'd love to hear what you think of it and feel free to ask me any questions ;-)

If you want to see more great projects featuring Blockheads Paper Arts rubber stamps then check out what my fellow Design Team members, 

Karen and Diana, 

are up to!

Happy Stamping!

Leigh S-B

The Sharpie Domino Queen