Wednesday, August 12, 2009

O Christmas Tree Pop-Up



Today I turn 44. So, I thought I'd share a sneak peak of something I bought as one of those "present(s)-to-myself". This exclusive Stampin' Up! Sizzix Bigz XL die will be available in the upcoming Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini-Catalog, which will be active from September 1, 2009 through January 4, 2010. The die is called "O Christmas Tree Pop-Up" (#116822) and will retail for $42.95. This Bigz XL die and a complementary ornament Sizzlits die were designed by artist Karen Burniston.

I used some Bazzill Bling cardstock and my Cuttlebug to cut out the pieces for my tree assembly. To create this pop-up, you will need one (1) cut of each of the largest tree shapes, four (4) of the smaller tree silhouettes, four (4) of the triangular tree pieces, and one (1) of the base piece (which attaches your tree pop-up to your card base if you choose to use it in a card fashion). Of course, this Bigz XL die is highly versatile for use in home decor, holiday decorations and other Christmas projects. Here are the cuts used in this project:



The assembly of the actual Christmas tree pop-up is relatively easily and I highly recommend reading the enclosed instruction sheet with the die before you begin. After a bit of awkwardness the first time, it becomes a logical process. Amazingly, the assembly of the tree does not require any adhesive or other fasteners. It is comepletely built on a tab and slot construction.

Here are a few shots of the construction portion of the project:








Once you have your basic pop-up tree constructed, the real fun begins: trimming your tree. As I mentioned, there will be a Sizzix Sizzlits die that will cut a star tree topper and various shaped ornaments in the Stampin' Up! Holiday-Mini catalog. (You'll have to wait to see that! I can't just spill everything...). For this tree, I thought it might be fun to use some of my Basic Grey Bling jewels to decorate my tree. Using various colors and shapes of stones, this is what I ended up with:






The fact that I used so many three-dimensional rhinestones as decorations does not make this pop-up tree the ideal candidate for a card. But, I did it anyway so that you can see the possibilities. The one little odd piece from the original cuts is all that is required to attach the tree to a card. Here, you will need a bit of adhesive. I have to admit that I'm absolutely intrigued by the engineering behind this pop-up mechanism. It's quite brilliant.






This is but one of the new and brilliant ideas and products coming in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini 2009-2010 catalog. The stamps are adorable and the accessories are all MUST HAVES. (Trust me, if you saw my preview order you'd understand!) Over the next couple of weeks, I'll continue to give you a few sneak peaks of things coming down the pike in Santa's Big Bag of Surprises. Until then, Keep Crafting!

3 comments:

Diane said...

Happy Birthday! You share a birthday with my oldest son - he turned 24 on the 12th.

The tree is great - I love things that pop up and the bling you used for decorations looks fabulous!

I hope you had a good time and did something special for your birthday.

Girl can Knit - Cherry Lane Knit Stamp Quilt said...

Super job and I have a link from my blog to yours because you have nice 'directions' to cutting the tree!

Tammy's Crafting Spot said...

My moms birthday is the 12th as well. This is a great gift to give yourself the tree came out amazing.. I MUST get this die now...thanks for sharing