A Triangle Corner Card for Your Favorite Sailor

I am frequently looking for cards for men – and there are not as many as I would like.  But many of the coastal and sailboat images work for a lot of men – even if they are not particularly keen on boating or fishing.  I mean, who does not love the coast line and the blue, green, and tan color schemes?

This is a wonderful card that has a terrific “mantle presence”.  It’s truly a unique card that is almost a diorama!

This is a bit of paper engineering, although most of the complication is in the decoration.  The basic foundation is pretty straightforward.  Here is a picture of the basic foundation of this card:

Here are the cuts for today’s version of the card:

THE CARD FOUNDATION:

1. Cut the card base from Very Vanilla Thick cardstock into an 8-1/2” x 8-1/2” square and score at 4-1/4” on each side so that it may be folded in quarters. Then carefully cut one of the score lines to the center of the card. This will allow the card to fold open and stand up for display.
2. Create the decorative triangles per the card cuts in the chart and center the DSP triangle panels on the Night of Navy triangles.
3. Choose the sentiments that you wish to use. I used sentiments from the Stampin’ Up! Let’s Set Sail Stamp Set. The Sailboat Builder Punch will create the sailboats very easily.
4. I used the Stampin’ Up! Double Oval Punch to create the two sentiments in the corners and the Night of Navy cardstock punches for the mats. Quick and easy sentiments!
5. My card also uses the crane image from the Waves of Inspiration bundle. If you have the bundle, this stamp has a corresponding die. If you don’t, it is an easy image to fussy cut.
6. Stampin’ Up! Lighthouse Point Bundle offers the large lighthouse die cut that I used with Sahara Sand and Night of Navy cardstock. Also, the smaller lighthouse stamped image created the smaller lighthouse. This bundle also offered the sentiment strip that I used for the Happy Birthday message which is a direct CAS from the bundle itself!

THE EASEL:

7. Fold the 3-1/2” x 8” piece of Sahara Sand cardstock in half. With the 2-3/4” circle die from the Stampin’ Up! Layering Circle die set, place the die so that there is a slight overhang along the crease. This will act as the “staging” for the easel.

8. On one side of the circle and parallel to the “hinge,” score the top circle piece in half. This will fold up so that the decoration will show when the card is open.

9. Then score the upper circle in half to create the easel mechanism. Using your adhesive of choice (I used Stampin’ Seal), glue the bottom half of the circle. Place the plain circle on top and glue the lower half to the easel mechanism so that it stands up as shown here:

10. Using the Night of Navy scalloped circle die cut, attach the easel assembly to the center.

11. You will need to create a “stopper” for the easel to lean against when the card is on display. I used the Stampin’ Up! Classic Label Punch, which I believe may be retired. However, this is essentially a paper strip that is just under ½” with pointed ends – so it is easily hand cut. I created 3 of these and layered them so that I was sure that the easel would stand up reliably. You can also use Stampin’ Dimensionals as well.

THE DECORATIONS:

At this point, the card is assembled, and the decorating can begin! The only warning that I have for you is to be sure that your decorations do not get glued to the folded back panels.

So, I guess that you could say that the “OBJECT OF THE GAME” is to adhere the decorations so that all panels that need to move are able to – AND – so that nothing is visible when the card is closed.

To keep the card open, I decided to use Velcro or hook and loop circles. These are 3/8” circles that I purchased through Amazon – although I believe that I have also seen them locally (Home Depot?) as well. These are a lifesaver. But you might also want to use the teeny tiny magnets that are also available from Amazon.

It is now time to do the real engineering-figuring out how to fold the card shut.

Then I close it in half again with the cut side on top:

THE SENTIMENT PANELS:

There are two sentiment panels:  one for the back of the card as you can see in the picture above and one for the belly band.

1. I created the sentiment panels using the largest die from the Stampin’ Up! Hippo and Friends Die Set die and a panel of Very Vanilla cardstock along with a second die cut using Night of Navy cardstock. (Although the die set that I used here is now retired, there are other dies that would work well too – like the Stampin’ Up! Stitched Rectangle Dies.)
2. TIP:  To create a mat with two identical die cuts, cut the Night of Navy piece in half and then adhere it under the Very Vanilla medallion so that it appears to be a frame. The very cool part of this tip is that it allows you to a get a lot more use out of your punches and dies- and who cares what the back looks like?
3. I used sentiments from my very most favorite stamp set:  Stampin’ Up! Peaceful Moments. This is one of those that I consider a “classic,” having a place in my collection for many years to come!

THE BELLY BAND:

1. Using the Night of Navy 1” x 11” strip, loosely wrap the folded card with the band. Although you do not want it too loose (so that it falls off), you want it loose enough so that it will slide on and off the card without catching on anything.
2. As I am doing this, I lightly crease the band on each side so that I can burnish the creases and it remains “user friendly” for the recipient.
3. Adhere the two ends as they cross each other on the front of the card – and trim any length that looks too long. Cover the seam with the sentiment medallion and use a strong adhesive to complete the belly band.

Although there are a lot of instructions for this card, I do not think that it is difficult, once you understand how it opens! The decorating is fun if you follow the “OBJECT OF THE GAME” instructions above!

But I can tell you that the recipient of my card was blown away! And what card maker does not want THAT reaction!!  He ran around the party showing everyone how the card worked – like he was going on 8 rather than ??8!!!  I was thrilled!

And once you “get” the directions, this design is very adaptable to a lot of the other motifs that you can find in the Stampin’ Up! line … like… oh… maybe this one:

There is a huge list of products that I used. However, there are a lot of items that have perfectly acceptable substitutes. If you have something else or if you are willing to fussy cut some of these images, you can do this card just as nicely with things that you already own:

Here are the items that I think you need to get the exact match: