Christmas Easel Card with a Couple of Surprises

Hello crafty peeps!
Today I'm sharing my first easel card and boy was it a journey! I decided to try making my card with just a pair of scissors, an X-acto knife, a ruler and two paper punches and although it took me a little longer, you can make this card if you don't have any special crafting equipment such as a paper trimmer and Sizzix Die Cutting machine. I have to say though, having the tools to make a card makes it MUCH easier.

I made some mistakes, one still shows, but some mistakes and getting carried away with layers led to new ideas.

  I used paper from the DCWV Holiday Cheers Stack.

 

 

There is a place for a wallet sized photo or gift card that can be added with a little dab of removable/temporary adhesive or you can make it a pocket for cash or a tag.

   

  The easel card opens to reveal a section of which you can write a personal message, add a larger photo, place a stamped image or whatever you want. 

The back of my easel looked too plain so I added some color.

There are no large embellishments inside my card, so it folds flat for ease of mailing. I added a bow to the front, but it won't deform the card as easily as adding something to the inside.

  I recommend the video tutorial below for making the basic easel card. Michael of Notefolds.com tells you the exact sizes of paper you will need for construction of the easel and matting. He made it so easy I had to make one.

Video Tutorial   Out-Take
My background took off, dead pine needles and leaves continued to drop into the photo area and my card kept blowing shut. In fact I couldn't keep my card completely open for any shot. Funny!
Nice Fall color in the background though :)

  Happy Crafting!