A Tower Block Card for Christmas

Today’s card looks like a feat of paper engineering!  While there is a lot of cutting involved, the construction of the card itself isn’t too bad and it comes together quickly.

This card offers so much to look at – and it folds flat for mailing.  Then it springs up and stands up on its own! 

I’ve used the Stampin’ Up! Penguin Playmates DSP which is available in the Sale-a-brations Catalog – but only until September 30, 2021.  You can’t buy this Designer Series Paper pack, though.  It is a premium that you will get free if your order is $50 or more.  And it is just so cute!  There are some wonderful prints for backgrounds in the package as well as some great little critters to cut out and highlight on cards.

This card is a perfect use for this Tower Card, as we will be using some of the tiny critters as well as the beautiful patterned sides of the paper in the pack.  You will need to choose 3 of the background patterns for this card. It was easy for me to find at least 3 that I liked in the Penguin Playmates DSP pack!

Let’s start with the measuring and cutting:

I find that creating all of the matted panels is the easiest way to get this card done:

• Starting with the 12 Basic White panels (C1), adhere the smaller DSP rectangles (C2 and C3) to each one and then to the Fresh Freesia panels (B).

• Repeat this step with the Basic White squares (D1) and the DSP squares (D2) so that all of your decorative panels are now ready.  (Don’t adhere them to the Fresh Freesia panels yet.  We’ll do that in a little while.) Voila:

Once you’ve scored the Fresh Freesia base (A), use Tear and Tape to create a box by applying the tape to the ½” flap and folding the base in half so that it adheres to the opposite end of the base.

This is the point that I would suggest that you stamp your sentiments on two DSP panels.  If you mount everything before you’ve stamped them, it will be a real process to get them done with the whole card assembled.  (Guess how I know…)

I used the “Hoping that your busy year comes together in Christmas Cheer” and “May this special season be wrapped in love & joy” sentiments from the Stampin’ Up! Perfectly Plaid stamp set for the panels. And now you’re ready to assemble the tower portion of the card!

Then, folding the box flat, adhere one of the Fresh Freesia bases to the bottom of the left panel up against (but not on top of) the fold.

Adhere another Fresh Freesia base to the middle of the flattened box on the opposite side of the fold.

Repeat with a third Fresh Freesia panel on the top.

Flip the flattened card over and apply the next three panels in the same way to the fold on the left, testing along the way to be sure that the panels do not block each other. If you need to, trim the various panels so that they don’t catch on each other as the card folds and unfolds.

Hint: Be sure that you remember to apply the Tear and Tape to the fourth side of the tower before you adhere the third group of panels. If you forget (like I did…), you will be trying to apply the tape in mid air! It’s do-able – but I found myself commenting with some colorful phrasing to get this done…just sayin’…

When your card has all of the long panels attached, it’s time to glue the small squares. Adhere each one to the backside of the panels so that all of the Fresh Freesia rectangles are decorated.

At this point, the only thing left to do is decorate the panels!  I began to add additional embellishments to each panel.  They included:

• 8 Snowflakes from the So Many Snowflakes die set cut from the Fresh Freesia Shimmer Vellum (If you don’t have the Shimmer Vellum, use some Fresh Freesia cardstock and Wink of Stella.)
• 6 cut outs of Penguin Pals from the DSP
• Some Stampin’ Up! Genial Gems on the centers and highlighting other panels if they were too simple

I also used my Stampin’ Up! Wink of Stella pen to add some sparkle to the little critters and their apparel – just for fun.

This is such a cute and happy card that will delight the person who receives it!  I don’t think that I’ve seen anything like this in any card shop – ever!

My Stampin’ Up colleague, Karen Titus, used a different holiday DSP package for her version of this card and it is adorable too! This architectural feat has a lot of possibilities!

Please don’t forget that the Stampin’ Up! Penguin Pals Designer Series Paper will only be available until September 30, 2021! 

If you are in need of a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator, I would be very happy to help with that as well.

Thanks so much for coming over today to see what I mean by “Paper Engineering”!!

Here are the supplies that I used for this card: