Shadowbox Card with Tutorial

I made another shadowbox card, this time for my stepson. I wanted the finished piece to be 4 1/4" X 5 1/2", so while I followed a tutorial from an earlier card, I adjusted the measurements a bit.

Here is the finished card. My inspiration came from Monday's Greeting Challenge at The Outlawz - Kraft, Burlap and Beads. The Happy Birthday sentiment is by the Digi Shack. The other sentiment is mine and is here for the taking.

And here is the tutorial:

First I cut 3 pieces of cardstock:
One at 5 1/2" X 8 1/2"
Two at 5 1/2" x 6 1/4"

I scored the bigger piece at 4 1/4" to give me a 5 1/2" X 4 1/4" folding card. I used this behind my shadowbox for my message.

Then I scored the other two pieces along their long edges at 1/2" and 1" at each end. That left me with a 4 1/4" X 5 1/2" middle section in each.

Next I lined up a Spellbinders die on the center of one of my scored pieces and cut it out.

It's important to do this before folding at your score lines so your piece lays flat when you run it through your machine. I also like to secure my die with low-tack tape so it doesn't shift when I run it through.

 Then I accordion-folded (mountain-valley) along my score lines on the two shadowbox pieces. The piece on the right will be the inside of my shadowbox, while the piece on the left will be the top.

Now for the fun part. This is where I started decorating the inside of my shadowbox. I cut my patterned paper with the same die I used for my window and centered it in the middle. I used this as a gauge for applying all of my elements so everything would be visible through the window.

Once I finished decorating the inside, I used double-sided tape to adhere the top piece to the bottom. Sorry. I forgot to take pictures at this point. My bad. :(

It is best to secure one side at a time so you can line them up properly. The nice thing about this design is that you can fold the card flat (barring any bumpy embellishments) for mailing and it pops up easily when taken out of the envelope.

I hope this tutorial is helpful and thanks for stopping by.

Blessing hugs,
Teresa

Challenges:
The Outlawz Monday Greeting Challenge - Kraft, Burlap & Beads
Make It Monday - Always Anything Goes