TUTORIAL: SKETCH CHALLENGE FEATURING MY DIY SWING/FLIP CARD

Each month, Craft Project Central has a fun sketch challenge, and you can see this month's Creating Pretty Cards - Card Challenge #32 HERE.  When I first saw the sketch, it reminded me of Stampin' Up!'s Circle Card Thinlits, which I do not own.  Even though this month's sketch doesn't suggest using the flip-card dies, that's the kind of card that I wanted to create . . . and I did!

One of my friends was telling me recently how any Thinlits/Framelits die could be used to create a flip card, and this was a perfect time to see if I could get it right.  It worked, and it's soooooooo easy! I placed one of the acrylic cutting pads onto the platform, and then I cut a 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" section from a Magnetic Vent Cover, placed it on top of the cutting pad, and then placed two Magnetic Business Cards in the center with a narrow gap between them.  BTW, I have the old teal and black Big Shot, and I don't know if newer models come with the platform that I used.  If you have the Multipurpose Platform, you will probably need to open all tabs and just work with the thick platform (no tabs).

Place your die (I used one of Stampin' Up!'s Starburst Framelits dies) as shown in the photo.  Yes, it's best to have it cut-side-up so that it doesn't cut into your magnetic pieces.  Duh!  Next, place your card stock (5-1/2" x 8-1/2") on top, followed by an acrylic cutting pad. 

Run the sandwich through the Big Shot, and you should end up with a die-cut shape with an uncut strip down the center.  You'll need to make two scored lines--one on each side of the uncut strip--so that you can fold the card to swing/flip. 

Fold your card into shape, and then cut it to an A2 size.  I suppose you could do the math and get all measurements worked out so no cutting is necessary, but at least you have options when your die-cut and scored card is bigger than needed . . . you might want a wider panel on the inside and will have the freedom to cut your card that way.  ;-)

As you can see, I used High Tide designer paper and Settin' Sail stamp set (l♥ve this set!!!!) to decorate my card.  I used one of the Circles Collection Framelits to cut the Daffodil Delight circles.  To die-cut the designer paper, I just cut each piece slightly smaller than the panel where it would be adhered.  For the front and back panels, I used a pencil to trace the backside of the paper, and then placed the same size Starburst Framelits die onto the paper so that after cutting, there would be a small border around the die-cut window.  This worked surprisingly well!  Other Stampin' Up! products used to complete this card include Daffodil Delight seam binding, white 1/8" taffeta ribbon, and white Baker's twine.  For the stamped images, I used Pacific Point and Smoky Slate ink.

Whew!  I think this must be my longest post ever.  I hope the tutorial is helpful to you and would love to hear your thoughts.  Remember to create a card for Creating Pretty Cards - Card Challenge #32 and upload your card at Craft Project Central.  For every ten cards that are submitted, a winning name will be drawn to win a FREE one-month subscription to the site!  As a project designer, I have a FREE subscription to give, and all you have to do to enter the drawing is leave a comment about my project HERE.  I will draw a winning name and announce the winner with my Make-It-Snappy-Monday blog post on Monday, February 17th.