PPA4: Anything But a Card

I am so excited about today's project because I had so much fun creating it! This will be dropped off at my mom's office later today. I'm thinking she will love it!

This week's Pals Paper Arts challenge is to create anything but a card. This is definitely not a card, but it incorporates some new products from SU!

Here is how I made it:

• I used a sneak peek stamp set from the Holiday Mini (products available Sept. 1st). The set I used is called Sweet Centers. It was designed to accommodate the new Sweet Treat cups (also used in this project).
• Using my stamp-a-ma-jig, I stamped the petal image onto Whisper White card stock several times to create Melon Mambo and Rich Razzleberry flowers. This took some time to get right. The petals need to be stamped overlapping each other so that the 1 3/4" circle punch will fit in the center properly. I noticed that if I lined each petal up corner-to-corner, then snipped the flower out, the punch couldn't reach. Another way to use this stamp would be to punch out a circle from card stock and use the stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the petals to the hole. But that would be more suited for a card, since the flower would not ultimately be snipped out.
• Before snipping out the flowers, I pressed a Versamark pad all over my paper and heat embossed it with Iridescent Ice.
• Next, I took Rich Razzleberry and Melon Mambo card stock and lightly attached it to the back of the Whisper White stamped card stock using Dotto Removable Adhesive.
• With the two pieces of paper attached, I snipped out each flower. The extra card stock will be for the back of each flower for a cleaner look (see photo).
• After separating the two pieces and removing the adhesive, I popped out the circle on just the stamped flower piece. TIP: An easy way to do this is to flip the punch over so you can line up the image in the opening.
• For the solid card stock flowers, I took a ruler and the perforating tool from the Cutter Kit, and perforated the center of each one (see photo). The reason for this is so that the candy can be more easily accessed without tearing apart the entire flower.
  
• I filled my treat cups with some Skittles (smile) and attached them to the Melon Mambo and Rich Razzleberry flower centers (not the circle punched flowers).
• I created the stems by using some bamboo skewers. I covered them with Certainly Celery ribbon (SAB freebie) using sticky strip. More ribbon was tied near the top to mimic the look of leaves. TIP: Make sure to cut down the stems to different heights for more dimension!
• The top of each stem was adhered below the sweet treat cup on the solid flower using large glue dots (several all around-including the top!). 3 layers of dimensionals were added to all the other petals so that the top flower would be level.
• Lastly, I lined up and attached the top flower to the bottom. TIP: I kept all my flowers together through the whole process so I wouldn't forget which embossed flowers went with the solid card stock ones. Otherwise it could be a mess to figure out which one lined up with what (think turning the cut out top of a carved pumpkin over and over to line it up! At least that is what I kept thinking of :).
• I used an over-sized mug to hold all my flowers. Florist foam was pressed down into the bottom to keep them in place.
• I took pieces of Soft Suede and Chocolate Chip card stock and ran them through my Paper Crimping tool and then through a paper shredder to get a filler for the rest of the mug.
• Gorgeous 1 1/4" Striped Chocolate Chip ribbon was tied around the bottom. TIP: I used a glue dot on the front and back to keep it from sliding down.
• The final touch: my stamped tag. Using the Great Friend set, I stamped the frame in Soft Suede ink. Next I repeatedly stamped the stem image using Certainly Celery (without re-inking). Again using my stamp-a-ma-jig, I stamped the sentiment in the center. I colored it in using Basic Black and Melon Mambo SU markers.
• I got double duty out of my 1 3/4" Circle punch. It fit perfectly around the Great Friend frame.
• A small hole was punched near the top using my Crop-a-dile and Hemp Twine was tied through (and around a flower stem).
• The butterfly was created using a Martha Stewart punch and Razzleberry Lemonade DSP. Three little half pearls (non-SU) dot the center.

I hope this inspired you to make your own "anything but a card" project! Be sure to load your projects from your blog or online gallery at Pals Paper Arts- you could be a Pals Paper Arts Artist Pick!


Order Stampin' Up! online 24-7! Click Here!

Recipe: Stamps: Sweet Centers (available Sept. 1st), Great Friend (113792) Ink: Rich Razzleberry (115658), Melon Mambo (115656), Soft Suede (115657), Certainly Celery (105217), Basic Black SU Marker (100082), Versamark (102283) Paper: Whisper White (100730), Rich Razzleberry (115316), Melon Mambo (115320), Razzleberry Lemonade DSP (115675), Chocolate Chip (102128), Soft Suede (115318) Accessories: Sweet Treat Cups (available Sept. 1st), 1 3/4" Circle Punch (112004), Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049), Crop-a-dile (108362), Paper Snips (103579), Glue Dots (104183), Dimensionals (104430), Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder (101930), Heat Tool (100005), Certainly Celery Ribbon (SAB Freebie), 1 1/4" Chocolate Chip Striped Ribbon (115617), Hemp Twine (100982), Paper Crimper (101618), Sticky Strip (104294), Cutter Kit (106958) Other: Bamboo Skewers, Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch, Mug, Florist Foam, Stick-On Half Pearls, Skittles