Swimsuit Summer Shadow Box Card

My name is Janet and I am a card maker! I don't know why but I felt a need to confess that to you. Ha ha! Anyway, one of the things I appreciate most about card making is that there are so many styles and designs of cards to choose from when making cards. There's never a dull moment!

Today I've made a shadow box card from an electronic cutting pattern offered by Lori Whitlock called Shadow Box Card - Swimsuits. I purchased the .svg file and cut this out using my Cricut Explore 2 machine. It's also offered as a Silhouette file if needed.

I've been eyeing this fun file for a while now. It's colorful and reminds me so much of growing up when a trip to the community pool was nearly a daily occurrence for my sister and I. Our suits were always left on the line overnight to dry and be pulled on again the next day. This pattern is really well suited for Pop Tone cardstock offered at CutCardStock and I am glad to finally be giving this one a try.

Below are the colors I used. I warn you that you are going to be wanting something sweet after reading these names. They really embody the Pop Tone colors of the cardstock in a yummy way:

• Box Panels: Pop Tone Sweet Tooth
• Frame and 2-Piece Suit: Pop Tone Wild Cherry
• Swimsuit and Sun: Pop Tone Banana Split
• Men's Trunks: Pop Tone Grape Jelly
• 1-Piece Suit: Pop Tone Blue Raspberry
• Clothes Line: Pop Tone Black Licorice
• Grass Hill: Astrobright Gamma Green
• Sky Background: Stardream Metallic Aquamarine

The first step after downloading the file was to import it into Cricut Design Space and cut all the pieces. There are many individual cuts for pieces and parts of the bathing suits and scene. I've learned to pull out a platter and put all my cut pieces on it as I go. That way I avoid misplacing even the smallest pieces. There's nothing more disruptive to your mojo than cutting all your pieces and then misplacing one or two!

It was pretty easy to determine where the colored pieces went. The white panels had the shapes cut out so I matched the shapes and glued them on. Here's what the three interior panels looked like after gluing.

I did the same on the front and back panels. These attach together to form the box that holds all the other inserts. Here are those pieces with 1/4" tear tape added to the glue tabs. I scored and burnished the score lines also.

I first put the box together by matching the sides of the front and back together. Check to make sure the box folds flat before going further.

The three interior panels go in next. You can tell what goes first because each panel's scene window is slightly smaller than the one before. It's easiest to fold the box nearly flat, insert the panel inside and work both side notches into the slits. These are not glued. They simply rest in the notches.

Here's what a tab looks like from the side when inserted correctly. After all are in place, check to make sure the box still folds flat.

To finish the card off, I decided to doodle on the swimsuits with white and black gelly roll glaze pens. I also added white Nuvo Drops to one of the swimsuits. Finally, I added a black heat embossed sentiment.

This card was really fun to put together. I think just about any age could make these with a little adult supervision. The end result is a unique shadow box. If you're interested in trying Pop Tone cardstock, it's on sale for the month of June.

Happy Creating Everyone!

 Janet - YouTube - Blog - Facebook - Instagram - Pinterest