Anything Podgy does.... easel cards, take 2

Hello there, i've just been reading Podgy's easel card post, he's impressed me, but I think his design is a little bit basic.

I decided to do a variation on his theme, and experiment with some twisted easel cards. Here is my easely peasely tutorial, just for you.

Take a square card




Fold the left hand side of the card, to form a triangle like so


This will form the front of your card, which we will now decorate




Choose a previously made topper, this image was stamped and coloured for us so we just needed to cut a frame for it using our Nesties dies.



Cut a piece of coordinating card to exactly the same size as your unfolded side of card.







Then glue your triangle like so



And adhere your cut card to this



Your card should now look like this.



Check the placing of your patterned paper before glueing



Then add 3d sticky foam to the topper



Be careful with the foam, it's double sided stickiness can cause problems


Once you have un-stickiefied your fur, chose a suitable cutter




And cut some card into funky strips


Glue to the centre of your patterned paper, or wherever you decide it looks best



Now, cut a piece of card, just big enough for a frame for a sentiment, and cut a slightly smaller piece of patterned paper, to fit just inside the card




Like so



Add your chosen sentiment



And use some more of those pesky sticky 3d
foam monsters, this time trying not to decorate yourself in the process



Here is the finished card.



As Podgy pointed out, the cards fold to fit in a standard envelope. Which is handy for posting to all your bear friends.


As usual I developed card making fever and made a few more with previously made toppers.






The topper box is looking a little empty now! Oops.

Eas(el)y does it

Good morning from Podgy, your favourite bear. Last night I had a whirring brain and itchy paws, so I decided to try out a new idea I'd seen in magazines recently; easel cards.

I thought it would be nice to try something different, so I pawrused the Internet for inspiration and found some really lovely creations. I thought the cards might be too difficult for such a small bear as me but decided it would be fun to try anyway.

Of course, half the fun of learning is sharing it with others so here is my tutorial on a simple easel card.

First, you will need to choose a suitable card blank



for this simple easel style an A6 card works well.

Next, gather some basic craft supplies






A comfy chair is a must for crafty bears, and we have a Therapod adjustable office chair, which is so comfortable, it's sometimes difficult not to nod off while card making



Zzzzzz, ugh! sorry, back to the tutorial...

Select your topper. Pooh used a lot of our stash in his recent mega card making spree, but we have been busy making more





Your chosen card blank should be in landscape format


And to achieve the easel effect you will need to fold what will be the front of your card in half, like so. This will create the easel of your finished card.



Now, you will need to cut a piece of cardstock to roughly the size of your unfolded (bottom) piece of card blank.








This can be a little smaller, but must be no bigger, as you need the card to fit into a standard sized envelope when finished.

Now apply glue to the folded front of the card, like so




And adhere your cut card, so it looks like this






Choose some coordinating patterned paper to add interest to your card. If you have punches and corner rounders, you can add some fancy edges to it.


To add a bit of a 'zing' to your topper, try adding some 3d sticky foam to the back



Be careful when using scissors, as they can cut your delicate paws


For the base of the card, you will need to add a 3d sentiment or similar, to allow the easel to stand properly. Cut a small piece of card




And add some 3d foam



This will create a platform for the easel to stand against, and prevent floppy cards.

Before sticking everything, make sure you are happy with the placement of your topper, then stick, stick stick.



I found some silver gems, which match silver in the topper, fabtastic for that extra special finish.



Here's what it looks like from the side



Once folded, it will fit into a regualr envelope, so no need to worry that you won't be able to post to your distant bear friends.



I hope you enjoyed my tutorial, now I'm off on a hunny search.

With love from the bears 🐻

Toptastic crafting

Hello, Pooh here today to show you how to turn your stash into lovely cards.

First, take your box of previously made toppers, or shop bought toppers, whatever is in your box




Have a good look through



And choose some variations of a theme, maybe all of one colour, or flowery toppers.

Then choose some pre scored cards of differing sizes, to match your toppers


Your Cuttlebug could come in handy for cutting patterned paper into various shapes to form the base of your cards.





As I chose to use square cards, I decided to cut my patterned paper into squares to match. Here's one of the papers and toppers I chose to use



Fold the patterned paper into 4, and place onto your chosen die, I used Sizzix framelits square set.








Roll the paper and die through your Cuttlebug, you may need to roll it through more than once with the paper being folded so many times, this will depend on the thickness of your chosen paper.


I cut squares from several different papers, all from the same paper stack, to match my flowered toppers.


Next, glue the back of your cut squares, and adhere to the card, spacing them evenly for a more pawfessional look. Be careful to not get glue on your paws, sticky paws are not good!




Now take a 3d glue dot or sticker and place in the middle of the back of your topper. Place the topper in the middle of your squares, and there you have a lovely card, or two, or more, depending on how crafty you're feeling.





With love from the bears 🐻