Double Pocket Card Tutorial

I hope all of you have had a chance to go through the Michelle Perkett Studio DT Blog Hop!  What fabulous creations from everyone that was involved in this hop thanking Michelle's first DT for their inspiration throughout their tenure.  Michelle gave us her new image, Leilani, to use for the hop plus she introduced two other beautiful digis to also celebrate the occasion.  If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, go to Michelle's blog to start at the beginning.

I tried to post this tutorial yesterday, but we finally had rain to cool us off from our 90 and 100 degree heat.  Unfortunately, we usually have good storms to go with the rain, so our electricity kept getting knocked out.  Sorry for the delay, but it's here now!  I've only done one short tutorial, so I hope I made this easy enough for everyone to understand.  I prefer to see videos myself, but this way is much easier for me right now.

This card shows tags sticking out of both of the pockets.  I love pocket cards because I like to add a special note when giving the recipient a gift card.  I don't like everyone to be able to see private notes, and this type of card really fits the bill.  I originally found a video on You Tube for this type of card, but when I went to make it, it was just too small to show off the image I wanted to use.  Needless to say, I played around with regular paper to make a pattern that would work.  Note to self - write down all dimensions instead of relying on the pictures!  It's amazing what the measurements look like at different angles! 

Now for the details!  This card front will fit on top of a 5" x 7" card base.  The base of this card is actually a "Z" fold card.  The overall dimensions will be 14 1/4" x 6 3/4", but since most card stock isn't that wide, you will have to make this card with two pieces of cardstock adhered together.

SUPPLIES

Cardstock: Four pieces -

First piece 9 1/2" x 6 3/4"

Second piece 5" x 2 3/4"

Third piece 3 1/4" x 5"

Fourth piece 2 1/2" x 4 1/2"

Coordinating pieces for matting your image

Design Paper: 3 pieces -

First piece - 4 5/8" x 61/2"

Second piece - 4 5/8" x 3 3/4"

Third piece - 4 5/8" x 2 5/8"

Card Base 5" x 7"
Adhesive

Ribbon - 5"

Fibers
Edges of doily to fit

White Gel Pen

Embellishments
Paper Cutter
Scoring Board and/or Bone Folder

Fiskars Oval Cutter or Stencil & Scissors

Cut the FIRST base piece of cardstock to 9 1/2" X 6 3/4".  Score this piece at 4 3/4".  Cut the SECOND base piece of cardstock to 5" x 6 3/4".  Score this piece at 4 3/4" and fold over with a bone folder.

Take a piece of design paper that you want to be on the top section of the card, and cut it 4 11/16" x 6 1/2".  You can cut it shorter, but remember that your tag will be going up and down so it could catch if it's too short.  Put adhesive on the back of the design paper and place it on top of the largest section of the 6 3/4" x 9 1/2" (not including the cutout section) piece of scored cardstock.  I added stitch lines to the design paper with a white gel pen. 

Now, cut another piece of design paper to measure 4 11/16" x 3 3/4" that you want to be in the center of the card.  Again, you can cut it shorter than 3 3/4" high, but the tag for the gift card will also be going in and out of this pocket.  Put adhesive on the back of the design paper and place it on top of the smallest section of the 6 3/4" x 9 1/2" (not including the cutout section) piece of scored cardstock.   Add the faux stitch lines with a white gel pen.

Cut the last piece of design paper 4 11/16" x 2 1/4" that will go on the bottom section, or the piece of the cardstock that is 6 3/4" x 2 3/4".  I used a border punch on the top side of the cardstock, so you may have to adjust the heigth of the design paper to compensate for different sized edge punches.  Just measure from the bottom of the lowest cut piece to the bottom of the cardstock and subtract 1/8" so you have room for the border.  Now is a good time to put a ribbon on the card before you glue it to the front of the cardstock.  Finally, you can put the adhesive on the back of the design paper and adhere it to the cardstock.  Finish this piece off with some more faux stitching with a white gel pen.

Now you apply the adhesive.  I like to use a good non-foam strip adhesive here, but you can also use a strong liquid glue like Scotch's Quick Dry Adhesive or even a good quality double stick tape.  The picture above shows where you will place the adhesive on the cardstock pieces except that I cut off the left side of the big piece that also needs tape.  It's easier to get the proper amount of tape if you place it on the left side versus the right side.  The top piece will have the design paper on the right side, not like it's pictured. The adhesive on the left will fold over the top of the right side piece to make the first pocket. The bottom piece will have to be flipped over, so the design paper will be on the other side. I cut the top section of this piece with the border punch after I took the picture, but it's much easier cutting it first. Make sure you also place the adhesive on the flap on the left side. This will be what holds it to the cardstock piece on the top to make the second pocket. Now, flip this piece over and adhere it to the bottom section of the bigger piece.

You can now have fun decorating the front of the card.  I put this 4 1/4"oval section with a 4 5/8" matt on this card.  I glued the edges of a doily in between the matting, or you could even use ribbon here.  I like the doilies because they are lighter and less bulkier.  The main thing you'll want to do with the doily is to cut the bottom section (part that you'll glue to the back) about 1/4" apart making sure you don't cut into the design you want to show on the front.  This makes it easier to go around the rounded edges easier (ignore this if you are doing this to a square or oblong piece).  I used a heart shaped doily on this piece, but other shapes will work fine.  To add the oval to the front, you can't put adhesive on all sides to secure it like you normally would.  Lay the oval where you want it placed, and then place the adhesive so you can slide the tags back and forth across the pockets.  I only used two pieces of adhesive like what is shown on the picture, but use what you think is appropriate.  You can also use a smaller oval or even use a circle for your image here.  This portion helps hide the tags, so it's up to you to use what you want.  Some people even leave the front as is or add just a few embellishments.  I based my oval on the size of the image I was using.

Now that the card front is done, you need to make the tags.  The bigger tag is 3 1/4" x 5".  Measure 1" from the top left and right sides and make a small mark.  Go down 1" from the left and right sides and also mark those spots.  Cut diagonally from the top and side marks, and then repeat this on the other side.  The second tag is 2 1/2" x 4 1/2".  I made a mark on each side 3/4" from the sides.  Then, I made another mark at 7/8" on each side from the top down.  Cut these diagonally from each side like you did on the other tag.  In order to keep the gift card or other type of card from getting lost in the pocket, I made a pocket with a small plastic bag.  First, find a bag that the tag and card will fit into comfortably.  Cut the bag 2" from the bottom up, and then tape the excess over and tape it at the back.  Also make sure to tape the plastic bag to the cardstock at the back.  Now, punch a small hole in the top center of each tag and tie fibers or ribbons through the holes.  You can also use reinforcements on the front and back of the hole if you like. 

Finally, you can glue the card front to the card base.  Since this is heavier than your basic card, you will want to make sure and use a good adhesive like I mentioned above.  I finished this card by decorating the inside with some stickers that matched the front of the card.  My finished card is shown below.

Well, I hope you are able to make sense of my tutorial, and I look forward to seeing what you make.  Just leave your URL to your project in my comment section, so I can stop over and check it out.  If you have any problems with this, just leave me a comment or send me an email and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

~~  Lee  ~~

Puppy Love D2D Card Tutorial

I've been making so many Valentine's Cards for the veterans in the nursing home, that I almost forgot to make some for my kids...again!  Since my youngest & her hubby train, board & groom dogs, I thought a dog card would be in order.  I was real pleased when I saw that the progressive challenge image over at Designed 2 Delight was no other than 2 dogs called Puppy Love.  I had my image, now I needed to do something different.  I decided to make a shaped card, but I didn't really think this one totally out before I started it.

Since I have tons of stencils, I chose a size that I liked and made a pattern on scrap paper.  I wanted it to open in the center to show the image, so I made another heart and cut it down the center.  Now, how was I going to put it together without piecing it?  I laid the cut pieces to each side, but it didn't fit exactly when I folded it together.  I tried again, but this time I did it all in one piece, laying the cut pieces on each side of the main image.   I folded the pieces up and it worked, even though some of the bottom sides were cut down some in size.

Next, I picked my design paper for the front.  Place the card, open side down on the backside of the design paper so it will fit properly.  After cutting the heart out of the design paper, make a cut down the center of the design paper with a straight edge and Exacto, or you could even line it up and cut it in your paper cutter.

I decided to go a bit more complicated on this card, so everything had to line up at a diagonal.  After deciding what direction I wanted the paper to go, I pushed a pin at the top and bottom center to mark my starting spots.  The first side was then cut out.  Line the right sides of the paper up so that the patterns will match.  Mark the paper again with a pin at the top and bottom.  Turn the paper with the wrong side down and then draw the other side of the heart.  Cut this side out and then you can cut out the sides with deckle edge scissors like I did.  I also inked all the edges with Memories brown ink.

For the inside center of the card, you can draw the pattern on the right side of the paper if you want design paper on the inside.  I wanted two different papers, so the sides of the card had to be drawn on the back side of the paper again.  You want to outline the card with the cut side facing down.  After this heart is cut out, line it up to one of the sides before you cut out the center just in case the cut isn't perfectly down the center.

Now all that is left to do is decorate the card!  I've had these 2 dog ribbons from Hobby Lobby for awhile, so I used this instead of some newer ribbon (I'm still working on downsizing my stash!).  I also haven't used many rubons, so I used 2 different sets of American Crafts rubons on the front of the card.  The inside of the card has a sticker from EK Success on the left and a stamped and embossed the PSX sentiment on the right with Memento Tuxedo black ink & Mark Ent. EP.  The paw prints and dog bones came from Hobby Lobby and the rhinestones were from my stash.  The image from Designed 2 Delight was colored with colored pencils and attached with a tape runner.  I thought I was done until I tried to set the card up. 

Ooops!  That was a little technical item I forgot about!  It doesn't stand up on it's own! :o(  Oh well, I just stuck it on a 6" card base and glued a 2" strip of matching paper in the center of the card base so it wouldn't fall flat.  I added some more American Craft rubons to the sides of the card and now it was done.  Phew!  That was a long post!  As you can see, not all of my experiments work, but I was lucky this time that it could be fixed without any major problems.  If anyone out there has a better idea on how to make this card so it will stand on its' own, email me at:  grandma_lee_t@yahoo.com   ~  Lee  ~

Challenges:

Puppy Love digi image at Designed 2 Delight

Use Pink! at Crazy 4 Challenges

Paper Folding at Crafty Angels