Pop 'N Cuts Goes Grungy

I have a confession to make. I am now a confirmed pop-up addict. I fully blame Karen Burniston for this condition. Her 3-D Scallop Circle die whet my appetite, the 3-D Spinning Platform pulled me in deeper. Now, the Pop 'N Cuts has sealed my fate. Why make a plain card when you can make one that will blow someone's mind?!

This is the first card I've made since receiving the Pop 'N Cuts dies. Oh my goodness - it's such a fun and easy system! One of the great things about it is it cuts the card base as well as the pop-up inside. For the outside of my card, I cut kraft cardstock using the Pop 'N Cuts base die without an insert. I embossed the front using Tim's Steampunk Texture Fade and then applied dabs of Frayed Burlap Distress Crackle paint. I inked over the whole thing and generally grunged it up.

For the focal point, I cut the label from Karen's Sizzlits Love set out of kraft cardstock, painted it with a Pitch Black Dabber and then covered it with the new Ranger Brushed Pewter Distress Stain. When it was dry, I embossed it with Tim's Riveted Metal Texture Fade. I layered it onto a piece that I cut apart from the Pop 'N Cuts insert. It was also painted black, and then sanded. This is a birthday card for my brother, so I added a 50 cut from metal-covered chipboard that was first embossed using the Dot-Matrix Texture Fade. To give it a distressed look, I added lots of different alcohol inks and sanded it here and there.

The bottom was tied with the new idea-ology Paper Twine. I added a little tag that I cut from kraft cardstock using the tag die, also from Karen's Sizzlits Love set. The letters (his initials) were cut from kraft using the Alphabetical die. The whole thing was covered with Pitch Black Distress paint and then sanded off.

Here is the view when open. How cool is that pop-up?! I love that the insert is also a Movers and Shapers die. That means I can use any of Karen's Movers and Shapers magnetic dies and I can also use any of my Tim Holtz Alterations Movers and Shapers dies too. That makes customizing your card so much fun!

For the insert, I first painted kraft cardstock (yes, I do use a LOT of kraft!) with Pitch Black Dabber paint. When it was dry I covered it with the Brushed Pewter Distress Stain and then embossed it with Tim's Riveted Metal Texture Fade and sanded. I use the black dabber to add swipes of paint here and there. I had done this technique for one of my CHA Stampers Anonymous card using black cardstock, but I was out. I decided to play around using black paint instead and see if it would work. I did photograph my steps for a future tutorial if you'd like one!

Ooooh, my favorite part! I used Tim's Mini Gear die to cut out the center of the pop-up. Using the same die, I cut out a gear from chipboard and painted it with gold and black Dabbers. I added a piece of acetate behind the opening and then reinserted the die cut. I added more gears to the pop-up, along with a bunch of idea-ology bits and pieces. Fun!

The Happy Birthday was created in the same way as the tag on the front. This time I backed the letters with a piece of kraft cut using the Tattered Banners die. Forgive me if I use this technique on just about everything from now on!

Karen has a fantastic video that explains and show the amazing versatility of the Pop 'N Cuts system. I highly recommend it!



Most of the supplies I used can be purchased at Inspiration Emporium via the links below. Don't forget to use my coupon code - stamptramp - to save 10% off your order!

Sizzix Word Play Die	Sizzix Alphabetical	Sizzix Tattered Banners Die	Sizzix Gadget Gears	Sizzix Mini Gears Set
Sizzix Steampunk Texture Fade	Sizzix Diamond Plate & Riveted Metal Texture Fades	Dot-Matrix Texture Fade	Inkssentials Metal Foil Tape	Black Soot Distress Ink
Ranger Fall Limited Edition Distress Ink	Jet Black Archival Ink	Frayed Burlap Distress Crackle Paint	Adirondack Hazelnut Alcohol Ink	Slate Alcohol Ink
Meadow Alcohol Ink	Caramel Alcohol Ink	Adirondack Snow Cap Ink	Alcohol Ink Applicator Tool	Silver Adirondack Dabber
Ranger Dabber - Pitch Black	Gold Adirondack Dabber	Idea-ology Philosophy Tags	Idea-ology Tiny Fasteners	idea-ology Game Spinners
Idea-ology Long Fasteners	idea-ology Jump Rings	Idea-ology Wire Pins	Idea-olgy Mini Gears	Scotch Tape Glider
Vagabond	Tim Holtz Paper Distresser	Distress Embossing Powder - Walnut Stain	Idea-ology Sanding Grip

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