Mini..... Card?

Choosing the right combination of dies, papers and embellishments makes my job so much easier. Creativity doesn't thrive in a vacuum, so choosing dies from the Pop 'n Cuts range by Karen Burniston and papers and embellishments from the Far and Away collection by Teresa Collins two fantastically smart and creative designers is half the battle.

Pop 'n Cuts allow you to create effortless 3D pop up cards using your Big Shot machine. The concept revolves around a base die which cuts the card and a number of magnetic drop in dies which create the pop up detail.

I wanted to create a scrapbook layout of my recent teaching trip to Portugal but I had so many images I wanted to use that I didn't quite know where to start. The obvious thing would be to make a mini album but time was pressing, so that's something I will have to come back to at some point. That's when that most elusive mistress inspiration struck!

Here is a quick run down of the dies and papers used:

• Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit (658300)
• Sizzix Pop'n Cuts Base Die - Card, Square w/Ornate Edge 3-D (Pop-Up) by Karen Burniston (658378)
• Sizzix Pop 'n Cuts Magnetic Insert Dies - Suitcase 3-D (Pop-Up) by Karen Burniston (658377)
• Sizzix Bigz Dies - Suitcase by Karen Burniston (658366)
•  Sizzix Sizzlits Decorative Strip Die - Paper Rosette (656931)
• Far and Away Paper Collection by Teresa Collins
• Tim Holtz Kraft-Core Cardstock (Nostalgic Collection) by Core'dinations

I started by cutting the base card using the XL base die from map patterned paper before inserting the suitcase 3-D pop up die into the base die.

Next, I die cut the pop-up centre and trimmed off the edges before distressing with inks and scuffing the top and bottom edge with the blade of my scissors. Once I have the look I require I placed the Pop-Up centre into the base card.

I die cut an ornate swirl which is attached to the base die from textured gold card together with a gold circle which I cut in half. I folded the halves and attached them to each corner of the card along with the decorative swirl.. Next, I used some decorative elements from the Far and Away collection, namely two banners and the Balloon motif to decorate the front of the card. as a finishing touch I used my PC and printer to create the 'Porto 2013' motif which I then die cut using the large Framelits circle from the Big Shot Starter Kit., I decorated the centre with a button and mounted it onto the base card along with the assembled banners.

To decorate the centre of the card I cut a strip of orange text paper which I folded and lightly inked the edges before attaching to the base card with eyelets before adding a couple of  paper elements (lightly distressed) from the Far and Away collection before mounting onto the foot of the base card.

The next task was to create a suitcase to hold my photos. i folded a piece of chipboard in half and placed it against the bigz die in such a way that it cut a mirror image. To find out about folding techniques using steel rule dies go to die cutting 101 and look for Folding Techniques on the Sizzix UK website. the one used here was the single fold technique. I used a dress makers pattern wheel to add a faux stitched effect around the edges and added some embossed detail to the front before using distress inks to enhance the detail. Next, i die cut the handle, corners and luggage straps from brown Kraft-core card and distressed with a sanding pad. The buckle was cut from the textured gold card.

I used the paper rosette die to cut a strip of card cut this in half, I concertina folded each half and attached them into the case as shown before die cutting and attaching the tag with a thin strip of the brown Kraft-core. I used my PC to print off my photos and matted each one onto a rectangle of different card from the Far and Away collection. I die cut 5 corresponding circles of card to act as tabs which I attached to the rear of each photo prior to distressing with inks.

I cut a strip of the red/blue diagonal stripped paper and attached another die cut 'Porto 2013' motif decorated with a threaded button to add the finishing touch. The finished project is a perfect compromise between a card and mini album, all I have to do is untie the string around the handles of the suitcase and the memories with come flooding back, Happy Days!