Monday, September 5, 2011

Zipper Card Tutorial

Hey everyone, I hope you are having a wonderful Labor Day weekend! Today, I am going to share a project I made using a bunch of supplies that I honestly have never used much before. I am always willing to try new things, and I thought why not try! For a long time, I wanted to incorporate a zipper into one of my projects. I decided that Market Street Stamps and Tim Holtz products would be the perfect combination for what I am envisioning. Here is the step by step process of how I tackled my project! It was so much fun and I hope you try it after viewing my tutorial!

I wanted to use a product that was different then just basic cardstock. I chose the Tim Holtz grungeboard paper. The paper has a cool feeling and also it seems to be pretty durable. The size of the paper is 5" x 6". I also paired the paper with some of his inks: old paper, walnut stain, tea dye, and frayed burlap.


I used the Tim Holtz ink applicator with sponge attachments to create the look of this paper. I just used different inks and applied them in various areas of paper. I kept on applying the different shades until I had the desired look I was going for. The colors blend so nicely together, its like the inks do the work for you!


The next step is to stamp the Market Street Stamps: Bit of Burlap background stamp. I know that the background stamp is not big enough for the paper. No worries, just stamp the background above your previously stamped image. Be sure to get it as close as possible without overlapping. This line will be covered, because this is where the zipper is going to go!


This is where you are going to want to measure the notches for your zipper. Cut 1.75" from the top of the card (or where your two stamped background images meet together). Since it is a 4" zipper measure .5" from each side. I then measured in 1/8" so the zipper fits in there just right.


The zipper I bought was too bright, so I used some Chestnut Roan chalk ink to distress the zipper. I then used red line tape and applied it to the top and the bottom of the zipper. Be sure to use a sturdy and tacky tape, because it will fall apart when the zipper is pulled if its not super sticky. Or you could even use a sewing machine to stitch the zipper.


I cut off the access zipper that was hanging off the edges, then applied red line tape around the perimeter of the paper. I then attached this piece to a nice sturdy dark chocolate piece of Papertrey cardstock.


At this point in time I changed my mind of what I wanted to do with this card. Initially I was going to do the background stamp with just a large bird stamped in the lower corner. Then I decided I didn't want to do that. I then stamped a bunch of branches, birds, and leaves to give a less simplified look. I used the Market Street Stamps' Follow your Heart stamp set for birds, leaves, and branches. The birds and the leaves were stamped on Papertrey kraft cardstock. I actually recommend if you do decide to stamp a bunch elements onto the grungeboard, I found out it would be easier to do this before you put the zipper on. I noticed the zipper got in the way on one branch but I was able to still stamp it.


I stamped the "just a note" from the For All It's Worth stamp set. I attached it to a zipper with a piece of hemp. I then made the notecard the would be placed inside the pouch. The size of the notecard is 3" by 3.5" I used the Vintage Notepad and the Follow Your Heart stamp sets.


The note slides in perfectly inside the envelope pouch.


Here is the finished project!



Supplies Used:

Market Street Stamps: Bit of Burlap, Follow Your Heart, For All It's Worth, Vintage Notepad
Tim Holtz: Grungepaper, Old Paper ink, Walnut Stain ink, Tea Dye ink, Frayed Burlap ink
Papertrey: Dark Chocolate and Kraft cardstock
Chalk Ink- Chestnut Roan
Zipper- white 4"
Tape- Redline 1/4"
Hemp



I had a really fun time experimenting and creating this pouch and notecard. Zippers are a fun and are really an unexpected element that can be easily put on your projects. Thank you so much for taking the time to view my tutorial, I hope you enjoyed it!