Ada's First Birthday Card

What could be a more appropriate project for my very first blog project?!
It's a very simple design - it's the elements that make it look busy, so please don't be put off making this by thinking it's too hard - it's not, really!

Ada's First Birthday Card.
(I've re-made it, using different 'stash' and put the photos in the frame at the top of the page - couldn't get them to behave any other way!)

Materials
A4 cardstock in colour of choice x1.
A4 patterned paper (a) to suit x1
A4 patterned paper (b) to suit x1
A5 patterned cardstock for front of card. x1
Some small offcuts of acetate or card (colour match to paper b) for hinges.

Alpha letters for name (if wanted and will fit!)
Number ( ditto )
Elements (floral or to taste) x6
Handful of small random elements to suit. (I used K&Co Grand Adhesions - Baby Girl)
Four pieces of border trim

Metal rule
Craft Knife
Scissors
Adhesive of choice.

Method

Score A4 cardstock into thirds (like a gatefold) but fold both end leaves the same way.
Open flat, inside facing worktop.
Score each of the outside leaves in half and fold back on themselves.
Put to one side. Pic1


Now take your patterned A5 which you want on the front of your card.
Ascertain the centre line vertically and cut in halves. I used a large 'wave' pair of edging scissors for this.

Take your main cardstock again, and adhere these patterned pieces to the front flaps so they match together when the card is closed.
(I put one side on first, aligning it with the 'middle' edge fold, then, when the card is closed, you will then be able to use this edge as a guide for the other side.) Pic 2


Don't worry if your upper and lower edges are a little bit out - that's what craft-knives and edging scissors are for...! LOL!
Put to one side.



Take up your A4a of patterned paper.Trim the length to 20cm. This will be the basis for your 'inner'.
Now, you want to fold this too, but remember this is going inside the card and will therefore need to be a couple of mm narrower in the middle section, or it will ruck up!

The middle of the card is roughly 10cm so you want to fold the paper (making sure it's the correct way round!) so the middle section is just under 10cm so say 98mm, but measure your project first - your folding may not be totally precise - whose is? The 'wings' should, therefore, be in the ballpark of 51 mm each.
Pic 3


I don't have any problem using edging scissors but I know a lot of peeps do so it's entirely up to you and your perceived handiness with these weapons of destruction as to whether or not you want to edge your inner or not. I'll continue the description as to my recipe but don't edge the inner paper if you're not sure!

After ensuring the inner fits well, adhere this to the middle third of the cardstock.
Put to one side.

Take your A4b patterned paper and trim this also to 20cm.
Then halve the 20cm to two 10cm pieces.
(I've done it this way, rather than 'thirds' because A4 isn't quite 30cm, so you wouldn't have three 10cm pieces.)


Take the two 10cm pieces and adhere them inside the first and back leaves , so you're covering the base cardstock (white in my case). This bit can be tricky so take care and usea re-positionable adhesive if you have one! I used my Xyron510 with the re-positionable adhesive cartridge.
Pic 4



That's your basic card done. Now for the embellishments!

This card, by it's design, tends to 'spring' open, so you might find this a good time to think about incorporating a fastening of some sort!
Close your card, flatten it. Now let go! See it spring open?
Well, you haven't even got your embellishments in there yet! LOL!

I tied an organza ribbon round the outside middle of my original card but ther are a few different ways you could secure it closed using all kinds of snappers, buttons, brads and ribbons. By thinking about it at this stage, it gives you the opportunity to cover any brads or anchor-points on the back later.

In the inner leaf (where you adhered your patterned paper (b)) we're going to make little hinges on which to stick your embellishments. It's the same principle of pop-ups.

Take up your scraps of card/acetate.
I had three hinges on my original card,two on the right, one on the left, but feel free to do as many or few as you can fit in!
I've left my hinges white so you can see them better but you can match them to your paper b.
They measure approx 1cm x 6cm. Fold in middle then fold back 1cm from each end.

Pic 5 & 6

Now you can decorate the front pages as you like. I've used in the demo a K&Co Tim Coffey design called Young Girl, which is now, unfortunately out of print but I love it! You can, clearly, use anything that takes your fancy.



Inside the card you can, once again, do whatever floats your boat.
In Ada's card I used two die-cut circles, one plain and one scalloped matted onto each other then adhered inside. I wrote a short message on that.
Pic 7

Now the clever bit! (Well, I liked it anyway....)
Rather than cover your lovely papers with a huge matt with all the writing you want to do on it, look at the back view of my Ada's card (not the demo).

On the middle section at the back of Ada's card, you'll see a little package.
I'ts a little letter to Ada, telling her everything I want to say to her now and telling her what she is like right now. How she is walking and chatting away etc. I've written all this on a fairly plain patterned paper and folded it so it fits into a little jacket which I've adhered to the back of the card.
That will stay sealed until Ada is old enough to want to read what her Nanna wanted to say to her.
God willing, I will do one each year for her.
I hope I live to see her read them!

To finish off this masterpiece, you can, if you would like it to be special,
cover the backs of the front leaves to strengthen them and to cover any brads or anchors.
Pic 8


I hope you enjoy this project and if you have a problem either pm me on Trimcraft, e-mail me on eiglas@eiglas.co.uk or just post with contact details and I'll get back to you!


As soon as I work out how, I'll be putting on photos to match the project instructions.