summertime & the livin's eas(el)y!

please click images to enlarge

hello again friends! hope this finds you well. there's lots of info & pics on this one, so please grab a beverage and hang out a bit!

today i made my first ever easel card. it was prompted & inspired by this adorable creation by Cindy Haffner a few days ago (while you're visiting her blog take some time & enjoy it- there are tons of things to inspire & amaze you!)
from Cindy's blog, i went to check out Beate's amazing reference tutorial on creating easel cards in all sizes.

i just so happened to have some super-cute, new, summery stamps from Kraftin'Kimmie and her blog has a fun color challenge up for this week too (BLUE, YELLOW & TAN)-so i knew it was a perfect opportunity to ink up these cuties & try something new! YAY! of course i used lots of MFT goodies too!

here's supply info:
STAMPS: Florence and her shell accessory, Sandcastle accessory is from the Jack stamp- all from Kraftin' Kimmie-Moonlight Whispers line, sentiments are from Kimmie's Beachy Sentiments set

INK: Memento Tuxedo Black, Memento Rich Cocoa

PAPER: half of an MFT fossil notecard, MFT perfect paper panels, MFT cardstocks (banana split & berrylicious), Bazzill kraft cardstock.

ACCESSORIES: MFT die-namics (jumbo scallop), MFT cork, copic markers, heavy twine, MFT earth girl wooden button, misc. beachy charms from my stash, Fiskar's threading water punch, hot glue gun (to ensure button will never fall off), dimensionals, 1/2" scor-tape

THE DEETS:
1. prep:
i stamped Florence, her shell and the sandcastle images onto MFT paper panels in black ink. The images were colored with copic markers & cut out.
i stamped some additional shells in cocoa ink on a scrap strip of kraft cardstock.
per Beate's awesome instructions, i made a horizontal, standard card sized easel base (5.5"x8.5" cardstock piece scored at 4.25" and 6.375" longways)

2. main panel:
i took half of an MFT fossil, scalloped notecard and used it as my front panel base. i added a blue mat, and a strip of yellow cardstock. i cut out my cork scallops using my MFT jumbo scallop die-namic steel die in my cuttlebug. this is a standard size, horizontal card base so the measurements are simple & it comes together quickly!
once the paper layers were created, i stamped the sentiment onto the main panel, added my little shell and sandcastle accents, and popped up Florence into a comfy spot using dimensionals.
this whole front panel was then attached to the easel card base using 1/2" scor-tape.
next i wound the twine around the entire card front, added a big wooden button and some fun summer charms (a flip flop & a sun) to a jump ring that i then threaded onto the twine. a simple knot tied it all into place. i was worried over time the charms & button might get too heavy so i hot glued the button down to ensure a good hold. the twine also adds a nice texture to the inside of the card since it wraps all the way around.

3.the inside of the card:
is a simple blue mat with a sweet sentiment added in black ink.
the bottom of the inside panel is the section of kraft paper stamped with the brown shells. to the kraft, i added a layer of yellow cardstock that i edge punched using my fiskar's punch.
a thin strip of cork above the shells, provided just the right amount of height in order to help prop the card open when it's standing up- you could do this with a larger embellishment or even a few more layers of cardstock- anything that helps to keep it open will work great.

these pics will make this more clear:


here's the card closed & ready to go into an envelope:
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here's the card open, showing the full inside:
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here's a side view of the card standing open, propped up on the bottom inner layer:
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whew! it's much easier to show you than tell you LOL!
thanks for hanging in there with my long winded explanations.

this card is really way cool and if you've never made one- do yourself a favor and try it- it's sure to make you feel good and i can't wait to see how my sis-in-law likes it when she gets it in the mail...though i'm a little worried she's going to request a bunch of them for her friends ;)

thanks for looking!
{{GIANT HUGS}}
xo
-g
^o^