Candy-Belly Card Tutorial!

I had a request for detailed instructions on how to make a candy-belly card so I figured I would just do a tutorial for the basic card. I didn't make the shape to put on the front of the card - you can decide what to use later. This is just for the card base and slider. :)

*Be prepared - lots of photos!



Step 1 - Cut an 8.5" x 5.5" piece of card stock and fold in half. Cut a piece of the same card stock to just under 4.25" x 5.5" - it needs to fit inside the front side of your folded card. Put a strip of adhesive just inside of the fold line on your card base. (I am using an OLD tape runner because it's white and easier to see - sorry for the sloppiness.) Place the extra sheet of cardstock onto the adhesive like so...



Now onto the next step...




Step 2 - Cut a 1.25" circle in the front of the card where you want the belly to be - this is the side of the card that has 2 pieces of cardstock. I use the Creative Memories Circle Cutter but you can also use your cricut and the multi-cut function. For the CM cutter you will need to cut the first layer, remove the circle and then cut the second layer. Don't move your cutting guide or the circles won't match up and use FIRM pressure to get a clean cut.




Step 3 - I use the Truffle Candy Mold by Wilton, cut one of the molds out of the tray leaving a .25" lip all the way around for adhesive. I like to use tacky-tape for the cup - it is a powerful hold! :) Place adhesive around the lip of the candy mold (the lip that is on the convex part of the mold) and around the sides of the card. Don't put adhesive on the section of the card where the slider goes - see the photo above.



Step 4 - Cut the piece for the slider at about 1.5" x 4.25" - you can trim any excess after you check the fit. Slide it into the card - it should fit flush with the edge. Once it fits well pull it back out and glue a ribbon onto the end for the pull. Once you decided what shape to use on the front of the card you will need to cut the 1.25" circle out of it before you adhere it to the front of the card. Here is the last card I made....



To add the candy or gum just pull the sider open. Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know if you have any questions.

Oh, I just wanted to add - you don't always have to use the same color cardstock for the inside cover and the card base. In my doll card I used blue for the inside cover and the slider because I wanted to use an edge punch and wanted the contrast. :)

Tutorial : Blending colored pencils with baby oil

Hello all! I have been experimenting with a new techique for using colored pencils. I was doing research about how to blend them and found lots of info on using Gamsol or Odorless Mineral Spirits (OMS). The one thing that bothered me was that it has toxic fumes - even if you can't smell it as stongly as other thinners like turpintine. So, I was on a hunt to find something non-toxic as possible. I found a few links that said they had used baby oil - hummm... smells good... used on baby's bum... can't be too toxic, right?

I knew that I had some baby oil somewhere so I dug it out and gave it a try... IT IS SO EASY AND WORKS GREAT!! I had also seen recommendations for Goo-Gone (which I had in the garage) so I tried it too just to compare. In my opinion there is no comparison - the baby oil just works better and easier. I am just using regular old Crayola pencils ($5.99 for 50 at Target)- I think they work just fine and you can't beat the price! :)

So, on to the tutorial...

Here are the supplies you will need....



A stamp
Dye-based or permanent/archival ink
Colored pencils
Baby oil
Blending stubs or q-tips

I like q-tips for larger areas but the blending stumps are the best for the small areas. I have tried ones made in China and Taiwan and don't personally see any difference. (I read a couple of place that the ones from Taiwan work better - go figure!)

Step #1 - Stamp your image.



Step #2 - Color your image. I like to laydown a heavy layer just inside the line, then lightly color the center of the area. Some people only color just inside the line and blend toward the center but I thought it left the center without enough color. You can play around until you get it to look right for you.



Step #3 - Baby oil. I recommend you put a small amount of the oil onto a cotton pad or make-up sponge like in the supply photo above. You just need a little bit and if you dip it directly into the oil your blender will be saturated. You can also blot the tip on a dry paper towel if you feel you picked up too much.

Step #4 - Blend. Rub the tip of the blender across the area with the most pencil first to breakdown the wax. Then, using small circles, blend the color toward the center. Continue blending from the areas of high color toward the center until you like the effect.



My advice - play around before you use it for a project! As long as you are not using too much oil you shouldn't see any oil on your finished product. Good luck and happy coloring! :)

How to make a shape card w/o the Design Studio!

One of my fellow crafters on The Pink Stamper's Facebook page was wondering how to make a shape card if you don't have the design studio. So I did a little research and this is what I came up with. I used a pretty complex cut so it would be a little easier to figure out if your shape was solid. :)

Step ONE - Cut your shape and pieces. Then cut 2 shadows of the shape. The black phones piece are the shadows. Assemble the piece on ONE of the shadows...



Step TWO - Use the plain shawdow piece as the back of your card. You want to score and fold about a 1/2 inch section on one side of the shape to glue to the top layer. For this card I only scored the base of the phone - the cord and handset are glued to the top layer... (This picture only shows the inside and back of the card.)



Now you can write or stamp your greeting on the inside of the card - since this is black I would put a layer of white down before I stamp. :) Let me know if you have any questions. Here's the final basic product!