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Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Rotating Mechanism, Cheesy Card

I'm head over heels for mechanical cards. I spend a ton of hours planning and figuring out folds, tabs and slots.
This is a very simple card on the outside that will surprise you when you open it.

The SVG given provides the base card, the mechanism, the outline for the stamped image (electronic die) the cheese paths and the faux stitched front panel with the sentiment. Please notice, there's a matted panel on the finished card that was cut using a My Favorite Things Diagonal Stitched Die not included in the file. I also used a die to cut the front white panel on the finished card. I just like bettr the clean cut that dies provide for big pieces.
The sentiment was written with the Cricut, using a Pilot Precise V5 pen. This is a great COPIC friendly ball pen to have and fits perfectly on the pen adapter of your machine. Ungroup the pattern, select your top layer, change the function from cut to write and attach it to the underlying layer.
I wanted to keep the front of the card as simple as possible to draw all the attention to the inside of the card.
Don't be intimidated to try it out, there's only four pieces to this mechanism.

  1. Card base (peach cardstock)
  2. Mehanism (yellow)
  3. Rotating piece mouse)
  4. Mechanism cover (cheese)

The card base is an A2, top folding card in landscape mode, with cut marks indicating the main fold and the placement of the mechanism.
It is useful to mark the center folding line with a scoring  board for accuracy.
The mechanism has two layers, a scoring layer and the path itself. Ungroup the file, change the function of your top layer to score and attach it to the layer below.
The cheese has two layers: a solid bottom layer cut from a light orange cardstock and a top holey layer. I colored the inside of the holes using a dark orange COPIC marker and added some highlights with a white gel pen in the right places. I also inked the top layer using Scattered Straw Distress Ink on a Mini Ink Blending Tool.
I used Aleene's Tacky Glue to join both layers. I like using liquid glue to strengthen the cardstock.
For the Character, I used Express Blending Card, in my opinion, the best cardstock for smooth COPIC marker color transitions.
I used the mouse, the cheese and the sentiment from an OAK Tree Stamp Set, part of the Fall 2016 release called Marcello. I stamped the images using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored them with COPIC markers. I then cut them using the Electronic Dies OAK Tree Stamps gives for free at their site. I then, made a slit above and below the mouse's hands to insert the little cheese wedge.  Stamp your sentiment on the inside of the card base
Next, fold the mechanism following the scoring lines. Use the following image for reference.
Using a strong glue, adhere the mechanism to the card base, using the reference marks. Apply glue to the tabs and only to the tabs.
Fold the lower tab and attach it to the base. Align the corners of the folded tab to the reference marks. Press firmly and let it dry a couple of seconds.

Fold the mechanism down and close the card
Fold mechanism down.
Hold mechanism down
Press firmly. You can place an acrylic block on top to let it dry.
Open the card and check the for the mechanism to be working properly.
Glue the mechanism cover folding the tab back and aligning it to the reference marks.
Apply glue to both tabs
Align with left mark.
Align with right mark.

Press firmly
Or put an acrylic block on top
Finally, glue the character to the mechanism rotating arm.

Use this image as reference for correct placement
Allow to dry for a couple of minutes. Open and close the card several times to train the folds and allow for proper movement.

I hope you like this card. Please take time to leave a comment, subscribe and like us on Facebook.
Enjoy!

Supplies List


     
     
     
     
     
 

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2 comments:

  1. This card is soo cute! and, your directions are very easy to follow, especially with all the pictures. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. So very cute! Can't wait to make this!

    ReplyDelete

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