POP up love!

Well for my birthday I finally got my hands on the base tray for Karen Burniston's Pop 'n Cuts die system and I really really love it. You can make the coolest cards with it! Here is one I made for my sister-in-law's birthday (KATIE DON'T LOOK ANY FURTHER! lol) :

The magic happens when you open the card:

There is an inner 3-D pop up element that is part of the die that cuts the card. Anyway, it is endlessly customizable and you can make all sorts of fun things with it. I can't wait to make more cards! If you want to know more about how this works, check out the videos on the Sizzix website.

Now, for some more details on how I made this card. I knew I wanted to make an ocean/mermaid themed card because Katie loves mermaids. I was checking out Tammy Tutterow's Tuesday tutorial from last week and thought her Picket Fence Distress Stain felt stamping technique would be really cool for the watery look I wanted. Go check out her tutorial for all the details but short version is you use a shape cut out of felt to stamp with and it creates varying textures which makes a nice effect. Tammy used a die cut cloud shape for her project but I hand cut a "swoosh" shape and used that:

Lots of blending with Distress Ink, flicking with water, and misting with Perfect Pearls gave me just the watery look I was going for. The stamped and die cut "seaweed" and coral shapes are actually from sets that are supposed to be tree branches. It pays to think out of the box to extend the uses of your supplies! The shells and mermaid were "water colored" by using a drop of Distress Ink from a re-inker bottle as my paint. Just dab a wet paintbrush in and paint away (use waterproof archival ink to stamp your image first!) Some dabs of Liquid Pearls added a little under sea bling. Ta dah! See, pop up wonderfulness!

Speaking of popping up, the March challenge at Inspiration Emporium is about creating a project that POPS. You don't have to use the Pop 'n Cuts dies, it can really be any technique that gives your project some dimension. Go see the details, join in and you have a chance to win $50 to spend in the store! Most of the supplies I used to make this card can be found at Inspiration Emporium - see the links below. Use the code JUICE on your purchase and save 10%!