zebra matchbox birthday note

Here with another card that should have been pretty quick but took longer than it should have because I didn't know what I wanted to do. Next time it will be super fast since I know what I'm doing. :) I made this one entirely from scraps (love challenging myself like that).

I started with a 2.75 x 9 strip of brown for my base. I scored it at 1" and again at 5" (creating two 4" sections and one 1" section). You can do this with any length of paper. Just score at 1" (or whatever length you want your flap) and then score again at halfway of whatever is left. I glued a white insert into the card to write on. Then I glued the sides of the 1" flap down and added a brad. The brad shows through the back, I just glued a coordinating strip or blue on the back to cover it up.

In order for the top 4" flap to go into the bottom flap, I trimmed the corners from the 4" flap.

Before gluing everything down, I glued the blue strip on the main base and on the flap. I didn't measure. I just glued it down, cut at the edge and then repeated on the flap. Then I stamped the sentiment (Papertrey Ink) and created dots with my VersaMark pen. It was my first time using the pen (even though I've had it for a few months)...totally worth it. Get one.

The flower is a Fiskers punch. I had a bunch of these punched from a previous project but never used them. The zebra was cut from the gypsy, but I don't remember the size and I didn't save the file. (I really need to get better at that.) If you have a gypsy though, use one layer to create a visual template the size of your card. Then use a second layer to size your cut to fit the way you want on the card. Since you're working with layers, make sure all the layers are grouped when you're sizing so you know they will fit together properly. The zebra is attached with dimensional foam adhesive so it could easily overlap the bottom flap and still close.

The only other thing I did was color the black portion with a black glitter gel pen to add a little shine. You can't see it well I'm the pictures, but you can see it in person. It's very subtle. Another thing I tried that had a nice effect was cutting the white layer from photo paper. I like the gloss effect. You should try it. Just be careful handling it when working with ink, but that's good advice for any white paper. I'm a messy crafter so there are some ink smudges. No worries though. That's part of the handmade charm. ;)

Give it a try and challenge yourself to do an entire project with scraps. I always feel more accomplishment and pride with my scrap projects than I do with my other ones because they are more challenging.

from my happy place to yours,
Debbie