Sunday, April 8, 2018

Tulips Bouquet Pop Out Card


Classic plaque medallion shape expresses 
"Specially for You" over an oval inner plaque, 
pointed-end swoosh banner and tiny heart. 
Single tulip stem hints about what will pop forward 
once the bottom of the card is lifted: 
a bouquet of nine tulips spilling from a slat-front, 
ribbon-tied crate. Five bridges built into 
the interior insert provide mounting for crate and stems. 
Message plaque that echoes the card's closed shape 
can be mounted in front of crate. 
Tie narrow ribbon or twine through double punch holes 
in front and back card bottom end as closure mechanism. 
Measures approx. 5" x 7" when closed, 5.5" tall when open. 

ASSEMBLY: 1. Identify and cut the shapes:
(not shown) banner alignment guide
A & B card front and back base shapes
C front accent shape    D front oval accent
E "Specially" word cut with extra 'S', 
double-stick 'S' for glitter-izing
F front tulip stem (not shown: two-part bloom)
G banner, "for" and "you" word cuts, heart silhouette
H interior accent shape with incorporated "bridges"
I message plaque shape for interior
J crate and contrast base
K three-part bow for crate
L center unit tulip stems and heads
N right unit stems and heads
M left unit stems and heads
2. Prepare the card base front by bending
forward on the upper perforation line.
3. Position and attach the front upper section
to the corresponding part of the back base,
attaching the shapes back to back.
4. Prepare the front accent panel by bending
forward at perforation line.
Then position, offset, over the card front base
with perforation lines matched, and attach.
5. Position the front oval accent, centered,
on the front card assembly, with the top edge
at the perforation line, and attach in place.
6. Position the banner (shown here with
accent studs in place at punch holes)
over the front oval accent, using 
the positioning guide cut shape aligned
at oval top, to assist. Also take care
that the side end points are close but NOT
beyond card edges, and equal-distant.
7. If desired, prepare a contrast or
glitter-ized 'S' accent for the 'Specially'
word cut. Remove the backing from
the double-stick paper shape. Then . . . 
. . . carefully position the double-stick
unit over the front of the paper 'S' shape.
Peel away the top liner, leaving the sticky
shape in place. then . . . 
. . . apply the glitter, and remove excess.
8. Position and attach the accent 'S' shape
over the word cut.
9. Complete the card front decoration by
positioning and attaching the prepared
tulip stem with two-part bloom (see step 14),
and positioning and attaching
the 'Specially' word cut unit.
10. Position and attach the individual word cuts
over the heart base shape, then . . . 
. . . position and attach to card front.
11. Prepare the interior accent panel so that
the bridges will "pop" forward appropriately
to provide glue-to surfaces for the bouquet components.
For better visibility, a kraft accent shape will be
used here to demonstrate:
A) flex the shape and bend/curl slightly forward
to allow fingertips to press inward front backside
to bend and crease perforations at top of OUTTER
(combination) bridge upper edges, top perf line
as valley fold and second perf line as mountain fold.
B) Also bend the center shorter bridge top two
perf lines in similar manner.
C) At the bottom of the bridges, and at the
panel center folds, bend the perf lines as valley folds.
D) As the bridge formation develops into
appropriate front/back bends, continue to ease
the bridges into their final shapes, bending
the upper "mountain folds" toward top of panel
and adding pressure at the crease lines . . . 
. . . until the panel can be carefully folded in half
the initial time with all perf lines directed accurately.
Apply pressure along all the creases . . .
. . . including
those that can be accessed from the back side.
This is how the bridges should be configured
when the creases has been prepared properly.
Position and attach the bridge on the interior
of the card base assembly, with offset margin
at sides, and with insert center perforations
of insert lined up at front/back seam perforation.
Test the card by closing and opening to make
sure that folds will function properly,
and applying pressure along the bridge folds
as needed to achieve flatness.
NOTE: make sure that small, non-bridge areas between
mid and side bridges at bottom are glued in place,
as well as dropped margin of top center bridge.
12. Prepare the crate and ribbon bow shapes . . .
. . . by layering and attaching together . . . 
. . . with bow assembly over crate face as shown.
13. For extra strength, consider double cutting
and layering each of the stem shapes.
14. Prepare the large 3-part blossoms
and the smaller 2-part blossoms . . . 
. . . by layering the teardrop shaped overlay
petals onto the appropriate bases . . . 
. . . until the blossoms are complete.
There are 5 large blossoms and 5 smaller
blossoms (including the front decoration
shown here, left) in this design.
15. Position and attach each blossom
to the appropriate head base on a stem.
NOTE that the stem head outlines are
slightly smaller than the blossom units to
make positioning a little easier.
16. Prepare the center front three blossom
unit by overlapping the bottom alignment
squares so that side and bottom edges
of the three seam cut shapes line up,
then attaching the squares together.
17. Prepare the left and right side blossom
units by positioning the single stem on top
of the double stem unit with bottom ends
aligned, and attaching together.
18. Prepare to attach the center blossoms unit
to the crate unit by identifying the guide mark cuts
on the backside of crate, then . . . 
. . . positioning the stem behind the crate unit
with the stem "square" between marks
and with bottom edges of all lined up,
and glue in place.
19. Position the side blossom unit so that
it arches across toward opposite side of card,
with stem end just above the perforation line
of the second bridge area, at the approximate
center of the bridge panel . . . 
. . . at the position where the inner edge of
the arch barely clears the middle bridge corner
as indicated. Glue stems in place to bridge.
Repeat for the opposite side blossoms unit.
20. Position the front center blossom unit
over the bridge assembly . . . 
. . . centered, with bottom edge slightly above
the card surface (to allow for card to bend closed),
and attach in place where backside touches
the middle and side bridge surfaces.
NOTE: it may be well to test bend the card
closed during the gluing process to make sure
it will function properly, then make adjustments
if necessary.
21. Position and attach the interior message
plaque to complete the card assembly.
22. Thread a length of twine through
the closed card's bottom punch hole pair
and tie a knot and bow to finish.

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