Blooming Bouquet Card In A Box

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Hi Stamping Friends!

I have a super-amazing card to share with you today, but first…

OMG!  I can't believe that Sale-A-Bration is almost over!  There's just ONE WEEK LEFT to earn FREE products for every $50 order, when you have a $300 workshop, or when you purchase a Starter Kit!  Don't miss your last chance for goodies!

It's Time For "Last Thursdays" Monthly Class!

We'll be using some of the exclusive Sale-A-Bration items one last time in my "Last Thursdays" class, coming up this Thursday, March 27, at 6:30pm in my Too Cool Stamping Studio in Fort Wayne.  Cost is $10 for 4 cards with envelopes, or the class is FREE with a minimum qualifying order. 

Want to join us?  Please RSVP by 5pm on Wednesday, March 26, 2014. 

Class-To-Go Kits are available by request.

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Have you seen these awesomely amazing Card In A Box cards?  Some of my stamping friends got to make this project at my recent Wow Techniques Class, and it was definitely a hit!  It is a terrific "extra-special" card for all sorts of occasions.  Several of my class attendees were making them for Mother's Day cards—perfect! 

Learn How: Angie Juda at Chic 'n Scratch has a helpful tutorial so you can see how to construct the basic Card In A Box.  Here are the basic measurements to get you started:

• Start with a 9" x 5" sheet of card stock.
• Score along the 9" side at 2-1/8", 4-1/4", 6-3/8" and 8-1/2"
• Score along the 5" side at 2-3/4"
• Before folding, you'll want to slit on the score lines to form the flaps. 
• Only 3 of the flaps will fold, one stays unfolded to become the back panel.
• Cut 2 pieces of matching card stock that are 3-1/8" x 1-1/4".  Score along the 3-1/8" side at 1/2" and 2-5/8".  Fold into a Z shape.  These will be your stabilizers for the center of the box.
• Refer to the video for a better reference on assembly. 

Box Assembly TIP: Use Sticky Strip for secure construction.

It Folds Flat, Baby!  The best part is that this exploding box folds down neatly and fits into a standard A2 Medium Envelope. Too Cool!  It is thicker than most cards, so you would likely need extra postage.

A View From The Top—You can see that the box is hollow with no bottom.  I've added the two stabilizer pieces (you can only see one well), spaced about 1/3 apart, across the center.  These pieces will become the supports for the pop-up flowers. 

Bloomin' Bouquet—My bouquet was created with blooms from three different stamp sets and their coordinating punches: Mixed Bunch & Blossom Punch, Flower Shop & Pansy Punch, and Petite Petals & Petite Petals Punch.  I chose colors that coordinated with the Sale-A-Bration Sweet Sorbet Designer Series Paper: Summer Starfruit, Pool Party and Crisp Cantaloupe.  And, I layered many of the flowers with different sizes of blooms popped up with Dimensionals and topped off with Rhinestone Jewels. 

OK, I probably overdid it a bit, but I couldn't help it!  I just kept adding more and more and more!  It was so fun!  And, I wasn't done…

Butterflies—I used the Beautiful Wings Embosslit to die-cut some cute butterflies in various sizes, too.

Foliage—I needed some greenery, too, so I also die-cut some Pistachio Pudding leaves from the Secret Garden Framelits.

If you want to CASE my bouquet, here's a complete list of parts:

• Mixed Bunch flowers: 1 Pool Party, 1 Summer Starfruit
• Flower Shop: 2 Pool Party, 3 Summer Starfruit, 1 Crisp Cantaloupe
• Petite Petals: 3 Pool Party, 3 Summer Starfruit, 2 Crisp Cantaloupe
• Butterflies: 1 small Pool Party, 1 medium and 1 teeny Summer Starfruit & 1 small Crisp Cantaloupe
• Foliage: 3 Pistachio Pudding branches.

Assembling The Parts—Some of the elements are adhered directly to the back or onto the stabilizer supports.  I used 1/4" wide strips of Window Sheets to anchor my flowers at different heights.  I like Window Sheets because they are sturdy, thin and transparent.  If you don't have Window Sheets, you could also use strips of card stock (not as sturdy), or thin chip board (adds thickness). 

TIPS For Assembling The Bouquet:

• Start the elements higher in the back and gradually go lower as you move toward the front.  You can extend the flowers about 1/2" above the top of the box.
• I started with the larger elements first, then filled in the spaces with smaller elements.
• As you add elements, preview how it will close before you actually adhere it. You don't want elements to extend out too far or become so thick that your box won't fold flat. 
• You'll notice that because of the way the box "swings" closed, the elements at the back will be able to extend more to one side, and the elements in the front will be able to extend more to the opposite side.  You'll see what I mean when you have it in your hands. 

Flap Décor—Don't forget to add some of your elements to the folded down flaps!  I gave each of them a Crisp Cantaloupe background with 1-7/8" x 2" pieces of Sweet Sorbet DSP.  The front flap has a sentiment from Label Love, inked in Smoky Slate to match the box base, and punched with the Artisan Punch.

Outer Box Décor—I added Sweet Sorbet DSP to the outer panels of the box for a finishing touch.  The three smaller panels were cut at 1-7/8" x 2-1/2" and the large back panel was cut at 1-7/8" x 4-3/4".

Complete Supplies List:

• Stamps—Mixed Bunch (wood), Flower Shop (wood) OR Flower Shop Bundle (wood), Petite Petals (wood) OR Petite Petals Bundle (wood), Label Love (wood) OR Label Love Bundle (wood)
• Ink—Smoky Slate, Pool Party, Crisp Cantaloupe and Summer Starfruit Classic Ink
• Paper—Sweet Sorbet Sale-A-Bration DSP; Pistachio Pudding, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pool Party, Smoky Slate and Whisper White card stock
• Accessories—Window Sheets, Rhinestone Jewels
• Tools—Secret Garden Framelits, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Big Shot, Blossom Punch, Pansy Punch OR Flower Shop Bundle (wood), Petite Petals Punch OR Petite Petals Bundle (wood), Artisan Label Punch OR Label Love Bundle (wood), Simply Scored, Paper Snips, Sticky Strip, SNAIL and Dimensionals

Find all the supplies to create these projects & more at my Online Store!

I hope you enjoyed this amazing card!  Thanks for stopping by!

Angie

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