Happy Birthday Fishes!

Hello! I hope that everyone is off to having a wonderful weekend! It sure is hot and humid down here in Florida! 

I wanted to share a box card that I made last month for my husband's birthday.  He's an avid fisherman, so I knew that I wanted to do something related to fishing.  Now, you may look at this and think that this is too big and 3-dimensional to be called a "card".  But, believe it or not, it actually all collapses to fit into a 5x7 envelope!

For the base (box) of my card, I used my Exclusive Box Card Die Set by The Stamps of Life.  I then used one of the smaller dies in the kit to cut out a "window" in the front of the box.  It might be hard to tell from the picture, but I added a piece of clear acetate inside the box to cover the window but to still be able to see through into the "lake" or "river".  I added some cardstock inked with distress ink as my water and then some grass behind it to show where the land started.  The trees were so much fun to make!  And very easy.  They came from the CottageCutz Rustic Sign & Trees Die Set.  I added some distress ink to give them some extra shading and depth.  I die cut some fish (by Joy! Crafts) on white cardstock and then colored them with my Copic alcohol markers. I used the Fintastic Friends stamp set by Lawn Fawn for my scenery inside the water.  I had initially used the adorable little fish from this set as well, but I later figured that since I was giving this card to my husband, I didn't want the fish to be too "cute".  On the sides of the box, I added both a fisherman (also by Joy! Crafts) and my "Happy Birthday Fishes" sentiment from the "You're Fantastic" Stamp Set by My Favorite Things.  I believe this stamp set has since been retired but can still be found for sale on different websites.  I actually added real fishing line to the fishing pole and attached a small fishing bobber or lure (by Simon Says Stamp) to the end.

Now, to attach both the fisherman and the sentiment, I simply cut a long & thin rectangular piece of mid-weight cardstock and folded both ends (in the same direction) where the piece attaches to the sides of the box in the shape of a small box or square.  This enables the piece to fold down easily when pushed.  Once that was complete, I then simply attached the fisherman and sentiment to each foldable square.  This way, both pieces were now able to fold with the main box card base in order to fit into an envelope and then be popped up again once opened.

Thank you all so much for dropping by!  I hope you enjoyed my card today!  If you liked this card and want some more crafty inspiration, don't forget to check out my INSTAGRAM feed!

Wishing you all the most wonderful day!

♥ Rachel

        

Products Used:

• The Stamps of Life Exclusive Box Card Die Set
• The Stamps of Life Grass Die
• CottageCutz Die Cuts Rustic Sign and Trees
• The Stamps of Life Acetate Sheets
• Joy! Crafts Die, Fish 
• Lawn Fawn Fintastic Friends
• Joy! Craft Cut & Emboss Dies-Fishing Fun/Fisherman Standing 
• "You're Fintastic" Stamp Set by My Favorite Things 
• "Dads and Grads" Stamp Set by Simon Says Stamp