Fairyland Tunnel Book Tutorial

           Hi friends,  sharing a special Fairyland Tunnel book made with  gorgeous papers from Graphic 45 and Crealies dies .

Fairyland Tunnel Book

This tunnel book has 6 layers connected by accordion folds which helps the whole book fold flat and expand out accordion style on pulling!

Fairyland Tunnel Book

The book rests on a base made using the Crealies arch die and multiple layers of foam .

Fairyland Tunnel Book

The doorway in each layer keeps narrowing as you go inwards adding to the 3 D effect. One of the really cool features of a tunnel book is that you will be able to see  different elements when you look inside from different angles!

Fairyland Tunnel Book

Now let me take you on a ride into fairyland!
On the entrance is a little green fairy beside a  mushroom and lovely peach flowers with micro-pearl centres! To keep the design coherent I used Graphic 45 papers to make all the elements including the flowers, mushroom , butterflies and even the grass!!

Fairyland Tunnel Book

Hovering above the archway is another elegant blue fairy with the most gorgeous  shimmering wings! On an aside note: she was so tricky to cut but turned out so beautiful !

Fairyland Tunnel Book

Peeping in you get a glimpse of fairyland ,with all the magical creatures- cute bunny families, magical birds, whimsical little mice  and the ethereal fairies!

Fairyland Tunnel Book

Deep inside fairyland you can spot a peach fairy sitting atop magical flowers

Fairyland Tunnel Book

Behind her is "Momma" rabbit talking to her little ones!

Fairyland Tunnel Book

And at the very back is a magical trio of fairies having a meeting!

Fairyland Tunnel Book

When you angle your head as you come back you can see fairies at every level hovering above wonderland playing sweet music!

Fairyland Tunnel Book

 And if you are lucky you may even spot a baby fairy atop a chubby bird!

Fairyland Tunnel Book

Diligently guarding the entrance is a cute green fairy sitting delicately atop a pretty flower!

Fairyland Tunnel Book

And bidding you farewell as you leave is the elegant guardian fairy !

Fairyland Tunnel Book

 I hope you liked the journey through fairyland!
And here is the Tutorial
Tunnel Book Tutorial  

Tunnel Book Tutorial 

Tunnel Books are works of art which are rather easy to make with nesting dies, but in case you don't have a die-cutting machine do checkout this Tutorial which I made in 2011 with no sophisticated supplies whatsoever : Tunnel Book Tutorial 

Tunnel Book Tutorial 

I used the Crealies dies to  die cut  doors with progressively narrowing apertures from thick card-stock and pattern paper . You can actually use any large nesting die set in your stash.

The double layering is to give a sturdiness to the layers since they form the framework to add your  designs.

Tunnel Book Tutorial 

The most interesting part of tunnel books are the elements you see when you look through the aperture . You can use stickers, stamped images or fussy-cut images from pattern paper and arrange them over your apertures in such a way that the images in the layer in the front don't completely obstruct the images in the layers behind it.

Tunnel Book Tutorial 

As you can see my front most layer is really bare and the apertures get crowded as you go back. I did a lot of fussy cutting from the Graphic 45 Once upon a Springtime papers for this project. I had been hoarding those papers just for the right project !

Tunnel Book Tutorial 

Use fairly good quality paper to make the accordions . If you have a double sided paper it is especially advantageous as the accordions are visible both from the outside and the inside of the tunnel book. I used Graphic 45 papers from Artisan style to create 2 accordions. 

For this tunnel book I scored two  12 x 4.5 inch papers every 3/4th inches. I also had to use extra strips to create accordions for the outer layers and the jutting side panels.

Tunnel Book Tutorial 

First glue the accordions to the layer which will go at the very back. Leave one mountain fold and stick the next layer onto the mountain folds[ as shown by pink bone folder] on the accordions on each side

Tunnel Book Tutorial 

Keep sticking the layers leaving one mountain fold in between each layer to allow enough room for your tunnel book to expand.
Though it sounds very easy, I urge you to first experiment gluing the accordions with  scrap pieces of paper as it is a bit tricky and you can go wrong if you are not careful!

Tunnel Book Tutorial 

Finally have fun adding little finishing touches on the outermost layer and the optional base!

Tunnel Book

Supplies

Papers : Graphic 45 Once upon a Springtime, Graphic 45 Artisan Style

Dies :  Crealies

Easy Diorama Cards Tutorial

Diorama Cards

         Hi friends so excited to bring to you my first Guest DT post for Rudolph Day Challenges! This Challenge is very special to me as the theme is always Christmas and I looove making Christmas projects!Thank you so much Maureen for having me as your Guest DT.

I made 3 Christmas themed Mini Diorama Cards otherwise called Shadowbox Cards

Diorama Card

          My first Diorama Card has a little scene with a gingerbread house in the backdrop, sparkling silver glitter foam snowflakes hanging down, a decked up Christmas tree and the star....a cutie snowman waving Hi!

Diorama Card

The 2nd Diorama Card has our Jolly fella, Santa bringing presents! There are snowflakes hanging down and rising up from 2 layers of the diorama.

Diorama Card

And being a Rudolph Day Challenge .....I just had to make a card featuring an adorable reindeer! Rudolph has brought some presents to the ginger bread house!

Diorama Card

 And here is a closeup of the faux snow on my diorama  made using texture paste and a stencil!

Diorama Card

These Mini Dioramas were so easy to make  and I made all 3 in an evening!
Here is the Tutorial
Mini Diorama Card Tutorial 
Materials
Shapes- handcut or die cut
Handcut :You don't need to have a die cutting machine to make this diorama card though having one can make your job quicker! See this post on a completely hand-cut Diorama/Tunnel Card Tutorial
Die-cutting : You can use any shaped die you like......and they need not be nesting dies either! You basically need one die to cut out the base and front of the card and another die to cut out an aperture .
Scoring tool / Scale and blunt knife / used pen if you dont have a scoring tool
Paper and Adhesive : Sturdy Cardstock required and Liquid glue prefered
Embellishments- die cuts, stickers, stamped images ....or whatever you fancy!

1. Cut out 2 frames- one will form the base of your diorama and one will form the front part from which you will cut out a window.

Diorama Cards Tutorial 

2.On your die cut/ handcut frames- score 2  lines 1/2 inch  from the edge and from each other on either end as shown above.

For my set of cards I used the largest die from Spellbinders Labels 8 die set and my score lines fall at 1/2 inch, 1 inch , 4 1/2 inch and 5 inch.

Diorama Cards Tutorial 

3.Cut out an aperture from the center of one frame leaving approx 1/2 inch from the inner score-lines made earlier. I used a Couture Creations Victorian Square die to cut out my aperture

Diorama Cards Tutorial 

4.You can dress up the front of your card with pattern paper  but its easier to ink it up !

Diorama Cards Tutorial 

I created faux snow using texture paste and the TCW Microbial stencil

Diorama Cards Tutorial 

5.Fold the front frame of your card : Once your texturing is dry...valley fold and mountain fold your score-lines as shown.

Diorama Cards Tutorial 

6. Fold the base of your diorama : Here the folds go in the  opposite direction.... as you can see in the picture below.

Diorama Cards Tutorial 

Valley fold the inner score and then mountain fold the outer score line. Do this to the score lines on the other end too.

Diorama Cards Tutorial 

7. Now have fun designing your diorama...You can make it as complicated as you want by adding multiple layers or keep it very very simple!!

Easy Diorama Card Tutorial 

8. Decorate the base of your diorama : You can stamp/ draw/ use stickers or whatever you fancy to dress up the inside of your diorama card.

Diorama Card Tutorial 

I used  a DCWV pattern paper with a gingerbread house design on it and stencilled it with the same stencil to create a snow fall effect.
9. Add a  layer to span across your diorama using a strip of cardstock or a die-cut border longer than the  central part.

Diorama Card Tutorial 

In these Christmas themed Diorama cards I used  the Memory Box Frostyville border  die cut in glitter foam to span across the  top of my diorama card.
 You can alternately just use a strip of cardstock to span across the aperture which in this case measured 3.5 inches and I used a card piece measuring 4 inches and stuck it to the folded shelves as shown

Diorama Tutorial 

10. Optionally add more layers on to the front and back frame!

Easy Diorama Card Tutorial 

If in addition to the "easy to add" central layers , you want to add more layers, take a strip of  cardstock which is = length of  the central part + some extra on either end to act as small tabs. Add your diorama elements,[ which in my card are the stamped Rudolph and a "gift" ] on to this strip of card and stick it to the front /back  frame using the tabs on the ends of the card strip.

Easy Diorama Card Tutorial 

Here you can see the  layers of the  diorama card!

Diorama Cards Tutorial

Once you have decorated the back frame and added all the layers you want stick the front window frame onto your base by apply glue on the  shelf.

Diorama Card Tutorial 

Decorate the front of your card if you wish and your Mini Diorama Card is done!!

Diorama Cards

Hope you enjoyed the mini Christmas Dioramas and liked the Tutorial !

These Mini Dioramas wont fold flat so you need to make a box for them if you plan to gift them. If you want to make a flat folding Diorama card here is the Tutorial link : Interactive Diorama Card Tutorial 

Supplies : Dies :  From Crafters Corner:Spellbinders Labels 8,Memory Box Frostyville border,Heartfelt creations Delightful Daisy Die , Couture Creations Victorian Square, 

Stamps : Winnie and Walter In Bloom Elsa's Flora Stamp Set , Imaginisce Reindeer,Heartfelt creations Delightful Daisies Stamp ,Rubber Dance Art Stamps Cozy Christmas

Stencil : TCW Microbial Stencil

Rainforest Tunnel Card and Tutorial

Tunnel card

There are 3 Indian card challenges going on for which I wished to participate  but didn't have the time to make 3 cards. After much pondering created a 3 in one card.

I needed to make

1.A window card with a sentiment for Anita's challenge- Lots of windows in this tunnel card!

2.A card with doodling for the Crafty JC challenge - drawing here is pretty much doodling and I am thrilled to say with a lot of contribution from my daughter .

3.A card inspired by rain for the Indian Craft room Challenge-this is a rain-forest theme card.I had to refresh my memory by researching the fauna and flora of a rain-forest for this card.

Ever since I saw the tunnel book concept I was fascinated. It looks so complicated but is in fact quite easy to make and hence sharing a tutorial.

Tunnel card

The specialty of the tunnel card is that you have to look through the window from different angles to see the full panorama.From each angle you will be able to see something new! we were able to achieve this effect in our card as you can see in the photos taken from different angles.

Tunnel card

How to make the tunnel Card [ also called Peep show]

Here I have used an A 4 sized card folded in half and cut for the front panel of the card.You can use whatever size you want.

Make the accordion spine of your tunnel card or tunnel book

• Take fairly sturdy card stock with height equal to the height of the front of the card 
• Score  lines on the card stock as shown.The score lines  should not be too close together as it will be the support for your inner panels. I scored the lines at 2 cm intervals.You can use an embossing tool or a pen which has run out of ink to score the lines.
• Fan fold or accordion fold the score lines. The number of  folds you need depends on the number of panels and how much space you wish to give between the panels
• Make 2 similar accordion folded spines 

Tunnel card Tutorial 1

Make the panels of the tunnel card

• Make as many panels as you wish.I have 5 panels here.
• You can use card stock which is thinner then the accordion spine if you are not embellishing it heavily.
• The inner panels should be the same height as the front panel and cut slightly shorter in length than the front panel to help easy flat folding of the tunnel card.

Tunnel card Tutorial 2

You can use photo-editing software, graphics programs or do it hands on like I did to design your panels.

Tunnel card Tutorial 3

Overlap images and lay the panels on top of the lower one to design the position of your images.

Tunnel card Tutorial 4

Avoid heavy embellishments on the inner panels to prevent buckling.

Tunnel card Tutorial 5

Here we have filled in the greenery of the rain forest using sketch pens. I would have like to use paint but since it can buckle the panels of the tunnel card had to avoid. 

Tunnel card Tutorial 6

Shown below are the steps to make the panels- plan your scenery, cut the aperture and complete the scenery after cutting out the aperture.

Tunnel card Panel making steps

Here is my little one helping to embellish as well as draw the scenery.

Tunnel card Tutorial 7

Here is the panel which my daughter[ just turned 5 last month] helped to plan.The red flowers and cherries + the major part of the greenery is her work.She was so proud of her work.

Tunnel card Tutorial 8

As you go to the back of the tunnel card.make the border of the panels progressively wider.This gives the best effect for the tunnel card. Cutting the apertures smaller as you go towards the back panels makes your borders wider.

Tunnel card Tutorial 9

Assemble the tunnel card

Stick the panels of the tunnel card to the spine as shown.

Attach all the panels on one side and then start attaching to  the other spine. Fold the card flat while attaching to the 2nd spine to ensure that your tunnel card will fold flat and not buckle.

Tunnel card Tutorial 10

Tunnel card top view

You can dangle light weight embellishments from the back side of the panels for added effect.

Tunnel card close up

The tunnel card will stand on its own for a stunning display.

I hope you will have fun with this tutorial. You can make a tunnel card of your holiday photos by just cutting out apertures and layering them.You can use it to make a special card or even for a school project.
This is a super fun project for little ones- they can have fun with drawing, painting and using stickers[ mine just loves stickers!!]