...a Lantern Card for Blog Hop

Hi and welcome to my Blog entry for the PTI July bloghop. Thank you to PTI - this is so much fun and I learned loads from the last one.

I'm sorry - I apologise - it's another Halloween card!!

I have a confession - I don't actually have the PTI Vellum yet - It's on an aeroplane over the Atlantic somewhere - It'll be with me in a few days hopefully. So I used a piece of vellum I had that looked as though it was similar to the PTI stuff - hope that's ok.

I made this lantern card to fit a jam jar - I'm not happy about putting little votive candle holders next to paper. The jam jar completely surrounds the candle and flame and so I thought this was the safer way to go. If you make one of these I would urge you to do the same and use a small candle - make sure the flame is nowhere near the top of the jar.

I made my lantern card foldable so that it could be posted or stored until needed.

I have included a wee tutorial in case anyone is interested. (and I promise I will be putting up a tutorial for the previous magic halloween card soon).

I used my favourite set - Boards and Beams to make a spooky halloween house - Bats from the Spooky sweets set and two tiny little bits of foliage foliage from Spiral bouquet and my Punny valentine (the grassy bit).

Hope it tickles.



Lantern card tutorial


If you click on the pic it should get bigger.

Step 1Decide what size you want the card to be (I made mine fit a jam jar I had )- you need to have 4 sides of equal width and a small flap for gluing. You can just about see the pencil lines in pic 1 where I marked the side divisions before I stamped anything. The four pencil lines will become your 4 outer corners eventually.

I used an A4 sheet of black card (I can't wait for PTI Black!!)

I stamped my house image in Pallet Noir ink and clear embossed it. I stamped in the second section so that my join would end up at the back.

Step 2
Mask the adjoining sections, I used post-it notes.

Step 3
I added fences and foliage (- gleaned from the Spiral bouquet set and the My Punny Valentine set) I also clear embossed these.

Step 4
Cut out the window at least a quarter inch in from the sides and around the house and foliage. I ended the top of my window at least an inch from the top of the card. Cut out the house windows too.

Step 5
Stamp the house image onto a piece of red or orange vellum. Cut it out roughly - only the windows will be seen.

Step 6
Adhere the orange house to the back of the black one making sure the windows are in place.

Step 7
Cut a piece of white or pale yellow vellum just slightly larger than the window - take care that it doesn't extend over the corner (pencil lines) or you'll have trouble folding your card.

Step 8
Turn the card over so's it is right-side up and stamp a few bats (spooky sweets) - I added a moon using the large single polka dot from the polka dot basics set. I also embossed the moon with white embossing powder.

Step 9
Make a little base flap using any old sturdy card you have lying around. Measure the width of one of your sections and take off one eighth of an inch - draw a square based on this measurement. on one side draw a little flap for sticking. Cut it out and fold up the flap.

Step 10
Fold your card - remembering that the pencil lines are your outside corners. The two sections on either side of the house section get a little extra fold down their centre - make this fold inwards. It should look like the pic in step 10.

Add the flap to the back section, right at the bottom.

Step 11
When the black card is glued together down it's flap, push the base flap up into the card - It helps to give the card a little rigidity when you are displaying it without the jar inside.

Step 12
Stamp a little spider onto a piece of frosted shrink plastic - I cut mine out with an oval nestabilities die. cut two slots in the top end - I used a making memories slot punch tool. Shrink it in the oven or use a heat gun.

Step 13
Cut a tiny strip of orange or red paper to match the with of the slots on the spider tag and thread it through both slots - Adhere the tag and paper strip to the front of the card - Stamp a sentiment above - I used Spooky from Spooky sweets.

Steps 14, 15, 16
Your card is now ready to be lit. Please use a safe container for your candle and ensure the flame does not peep out over the top. Alternative lighting ideas: battery operated candle, glo sticks, (we had purple glo sticks in it one night and it looked really eerie - some idiot forgot to take a picture!)

Step 17
When you want to store or post the card - push the base flap out the bottom and squash flat - see how my 4 year old does it!!