December 7, 2010

Make + Save: Creative Card Packaging

Hi there. Today I have another Papertrey Make + Save project for you. It's all about Creative Card Packaging and some tips on creating my signature Tent Topper Cards. (Note: If you click on the *Tent Topper Cards* label at the bottom of this post, you'll be directed to all of my blog posts that feature Tent Topper Cards). My Make + Save feature is exclusively for Papertrey Ink. I'll feature the projects here on the blog and links will be provided for the project supplies over at the Papertrey website. You'll be able to easily access all my Make + Save projects in one place. And for your convenience, you'll be able to order the supplies right from the Make + Save links.

On to today's project. Today's Tent Topper Cards feature the Rustic Snowflakes Patterned Paper and the Signature Series Cupcake, Flower and Dress form stamps and dies.
I began by stamping and die cutting the dress form, flower and cupcake images. I also die cut some XL Pure Poppy Felt, cut some Aqua Mist Twill Ribbon and cut strips from the Rustic Snowflakes Patterned Paper. Tip: At this time of year I choose to use colors that could easily be used for the holiday season...but could also be used for every day occasions. Notice that the colors used in my projects contains red and greens, but that I didn't use any actual snowflakes from the patterned papers.
To create Tent Topper Cards, the idea is that the card base is a smaller square and some sort of image sticks up above the card, thus creating a topper to the tent folded card. My card bases are usually 4.5" square when folded. The topper can be any size you want depending on what you will be using for embellishments on the square. If you zoom in, you'll notice that I used Guide Lines I Grid Sheets to add some visual appeal. If you want your Tent Topper Card to stay an A2 size card you just need to make sure that the finished card height is not more than 5.5" tall. I keep a ruler handy when making my Tent Toppers and adhere the topper portion slightly below the 5.5" measurement.
I chose to make 2 of each Tent Topper Card design. The basic layout is the same for each card. The tent topper part has a raised die image, some twill ribbon, tied Vintage Buttons and a stamped sentiment. All of the stamps are from the Signature Series sets. The base cards have various Rustic Snowflakes patterned paper along with strips of patterned papers and the Rick Rack felt borders.
Here I've taken photos of each design. The cute dress forms....
The flowers.....
And the sweet cupcakes.....
All of these cards are generic enough in nature that you can use them for a variety of occasions including birthdays, thank you notes, etc. This little stack of 6 cards with simple white envelopes would make a great gift for someone who loves homemade cards. And I haven't met a person yet who doesn't go ga-ga when they get a gift like this.
What makes giving cards as a gift even more special is the packaging. Using Papertrey's Clearly Creative Card Boxes are one of the easiest ways to package up pretty cards. And since they're clear, your beautiful work shines through. You don't need much else to make the finished packaging look really nifty.
The six cards and envelopes fit easily into my box. Just be careful that you don't use too many dimensional elements on your cards if packaging them into the clear boxes. I used some Aqua Mist Swiss Dot Ribbon to tie around my card box. Then I added a stamped and die cut cupcake that was fancied up with glitter, buttons and baker's twine. A simple eyelet through the top of the die allows it to be tied to the Aqua Mist Ribbon.And that's it. These little gift boxes travel well and look so cute tucked in with other presents under the tree. I hope you give them a try. Tip: Save a few cards from each stamping session and store them in a nice basket. When you need a gift, grab a variety of cards and tuck them into a clear box, all dolled up with ribbon and a fun embellishment. It makes for some very easy gifts that are always appreciated.

Remember, the links at the top of my post will lead you to supply lists and one stop shopping, all in one convenient place. Thanks for stopping by today. :)

6 comments:

Elizabeth S. said...

I just love these! I have not tried tent topper cards yet, and not I am rethinking why I haven't. Thanks for all of your inspiration!

Diane Jaquay said...

Oh how SWEET, and I really love how you've packaged these!

Lucy Abrams said...

Love them - and LOVE the box packaging. What a lovely gift.

Diana said...

I first heard and saw tent topper cards on your blog and have made several. I love how you recreate yourself, it's always fresh and beautiful, true talent.

Melissa said...

These are so darling Mish...I love your mix of patterns and colors...so very sweet.
Melis

MarieK said...

Nice colour combo and sweet use of the felt and tent card layout!
I love these new dies but I'm not sure how they work. Do you die cut first and then stamp or stamp and then die cut? Sorry if that's a dumb question but I'm used to punching out stamped images and I can't see how doing the same process with dies works - but maybe I'm missing something?
In any case thanks so much for sharing all your great packaging and card making!

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