Good morning on a rainy Monday! Yuk. 

So here’s a colourful card, to lift your spirits.

A Poppy Pop-up Card!

I love Pop-up cards. They take a little time, 

but what a delightful keepsake they turn out to be!

Look tricky. Aren’t.

I used:

Tall Wild Poppies 

Wild Poppies Base

Poppies (BOTH Sale)

Old Mill

Barrow

Field Mouse 1

Field Mouse 2

Poppy Promarker

50 x A5 Theuva Card.

Craft Scalpel

Espresso Adirondack

Lettuce Adirondack

Scoreboard and folder.

Clarity Stencil brushes

I do like my old embossing Scoreboard. Call me old-fashioned, but it’s what I reach for whenever I want to score and fold a card! They’re especially useful when you are making pop-up cards, 

I can tell you! 

So here’s how.

Take a piece of A5 Theuva Card. 

Score across the card halfway down, 

turn the card over and score across the card again, one inch out from the centre-score either side. That will be your step-fold.

The thing about Pop-ups as I understand, 

(and I’m no Pop-up expert! This is just what I have worked out)

is that you need a lot of stamps to fill them and make them interesting. So the smaller the area, the easier to tackle.

So with that in mind, let’s make the area smaller! 

Cut some off the side! I took about an inch off.

So let’s deal with each area, starting with the top part.

Stamp the lovely Mill into the centre using Espresso. You may be able to see I blotted either side lightly before stamping.

Now it’s time to add the beautiful poppies. Just follow the picture below, using the centre scoreline as your guide.

The two poppy stamps belong together. They link into each other.

Next we need some pop out pieces. 

So stamp and cut out the elements below:

the barrow

half the mill scene

the mice (come with the territory)

For the fields, I added a fine-nib to the Promarkers and dot-dot-dotted the lines of the fields. 

Colours? I used Poppy, Pear green and Pastel Beige.

Next, colour in the poppies and pods. This is where you will find how brilliant Theuvacard is for Promarker work.

Here’s where your Clarity Stencil brush will come in VERY handy! Load one with Lettuce and dust round the edges.

Then cover up the mill area with a sheet of copy paper and add more green to what will become the shelf.

Remember we shaved an inch off the edge of the A5 card? Well, once you have decided you have done enough colour work, I would suggest we attach the artwork to a fresh piece of the same card, just to establish the pop-up part properly! 

Say that with your teeth in!

The trick is to score the fresh piece of card in the centre, too. 

Then, only add double-sided adhesive tape to the upper and lower areas – NOT on the step!

Just make sure the centre-folds line up perfectly before you stick down. (See picture below)

Colour in the barrow and the mice, and start adding the elements to the front of your pop-up step.

I have left room for a message – whatever it may be….

Any good ideas? Do share.

And this little picture I put on the front of the card.

The idea being, everything is a little triste looking.

The little mouse is looking forlorn…

But then! 

When you open the card, there is a burst of vivid colour, 

and the whole scene has come alive.

You see, that’s the fantastic thing about crafting. I look out of my window today, it is raining, windy and pretty grey.

So I turn my attention to this blog, and I escape into a splash of colour and fun. 

I think we will have a little SALE, to brighten the day.

If you decide to buy the Old Mill stamp, 

I have asked the guys at work to include both mice stamps as a gift.

Should you like the poppies, I have asked Tom to put them together, knock a fiver off, and add a free Poppy Promarker.

And if you need an Embossing Scoreboard, this one is the business. It comes with a bone folder, and I have asked Tom to deduct another fiver.

Theuva Card? Why not. If you buy one pack of 50 sheets, we’ll send you a second one FREE. I had best tell Tom quickly!

This is a Barbie-blog special, so if you can’t see these offers on the website, never fear! Tom and the Team know what I’m up to!!

SALE ends Wednesday 12.2.2014  at midnight.

much love,