Materials

2 Sheets of JS Stardream card - Opal.
1 Sheet of JS Stardream card - Mars.
1 Sheet JS Mirri silk card – Gold.
JS Messy Rabbit – Hopping Happy rubber stamp.
JS Messy Rabbit – Rabbit Couple rubber stamp.
Lyra Aquacolor crayons
Versafine stamp pad – Smokey Grey.
Detail Gold Embossing powder.
Versamark stamp pad.
JS 7mm red organza ribbon.
Embellishments.

Sticky Stuff – I used: - large foam pads, Collall photo glue, silicon glue, sellotape, and 12mm (½ inch) double sided tape.

I also used a length of a polythene bag for slider.  A good quality freezer bag is ideal.

(Picture showing the card with the sliding hearts extended)

Step One

Using the Opal Stardream card cut two rectangles 10cms x 13cms.  Round off the corners.
Using the Gold Mirri silk card cut one rectangle 11cms x 14cms.  Round off the corners.

Using the Versafine Smokey Grey stamp pad, stamp the Messy Rabbit, Hopping Happy stamp on one of the cut pieces of Opal Stardream card.  Stamp a second rabbit on a piece of the leftover card.

Using the Versamark stamp pad, stamp the hearts from the Rabbit Couple stamp set around Hopping Happy.  Emboss with Detail Gold embossing powder. Embellish the hearts.

Emboss before adding the ribbon.

Attach a length of 7mm red organza ribbon to the topper.   (See Pic)

Colour in the second rabbit image.  The illustration which comes with the stamp shows how the rabbit can be coloured.  I used the Lyra Aquacolors crayons which I scribbled onto an old stamp pad lid and wet using a fine paintbrush.  You can mix the crayons together to get a different colour/shade.  On the illustration Messy is darker round the edge to give depth to the image.  To achieve this effect with Stardream which is a coated cardstock, I coloured a section of the rabbit, let it dry for 30 seconds and then slightly dampened the colour where I wanted a lighter image, and quickly dabbed it with a piece of kitchen paper.  I was able to achieve a lighter tone on the ears, haunch, and stripe the leaves using this method.

Cut out and curve the coloured rabbit.  I use a dolly peg with one of the prongs removed and sanded to soften the edges of the peg, to curve my decoupage.

Using silicone glue, attach the cut-out rabbit on top of the uncoloured image.

Step Two

Make a heart shaped template. Using a piece of waste card, measure a rectangle 8.5cms x 9cms.  Mark the centre line and draw half a heart shape inside the rectangle.  Fold in half and cut out.  Use the template to cut out two hearts from the Mars Stardream card. I also cut two smaller hearts using the Gold Mirri silk card.  (See pic at top).

Step Three

Using the Gold Mirri Silk card cut two rectangles 4cms x 10cms.  Round off the corners.

Fix the small heart on top of the large heart and position the heart so it overlaps the rectangle by 1cm and is equidistant top and bottom.  I used a ruler and the grid on my cutting mat to line the hearts up.  Fix in this position, making sure the glue/DST does not protrude over the edge of the heart.  One heart should be fixed to the left side edge of the rectangle and the other heart to the right side edge of the other rectangle.  (See pic).

Step Four

Using the second piece of Opal Stardream card mark centrally an 8cms x 0.5cm section down the 13cms sides of the card and cut out. Round the corners (See Pic A). Although this part of the card isn’t seen, the coated cardstock helps the polythene to swivel freely.

Cut a length of polythene 8cms wide and long enough to wrap round the centre section of the piece of card.  Stick a length of sellotape along one of the 8cms edge leaving ½ of it free to stick the other end of the polythene. (Don’t stick the polythene together yet).

Place a piece of waste card on top of  the card and wrap the polythene round the centre section of the card, making sure the sticky side is uppermost, so that when the wrap is completed the other end of the polythene can be stuck on top of the sellotape to form the slider.  Cut away any excess polythene and sellotape and remove the waste card.  You should now be able to swivel the polythene slider round the centre section of the card.  After you have tested the swivel, position the sellotape at the right-hand side edge of the slider card (See Pic B).

Step Five

Cut two lengths of 12mm wide double sided tape 8cms long (they must not overhand the polythene slider).  Attach one piece to the FRONT of the left gold rectangle “A” centring it down the length of the rectangle.  (See Pic A).  Attach one piece to the REVERSE of the right gold rectangle “B”, again centring it.  The blue dotted line shows the positioning of the double sided tape on the reverse of the rectangle. (See Pic B).

Position the rectangles so they overhang the side edges of the slider by 0.5cm.  Use the grid lines on your cutting mat to align the rectangles/hearts.  Remove the DST backing and fix to the polythene slider.   Place the left rectangle to the back of the slider and the right rectangle to the front of the slider.  Check that the hearts will slide from side to side.  (See Pic)

Fix large foam pads along the top and bottom edges of the front and back of the slider card, trimming if necessary so they don’t foul the slider mechanism.

Make a small hole in the right-hand heart and attach a piece of ribbon as a pull.

Step Six

Remove the paper from the foam pads and fix centrally to the rabbit topper.  Again I used the grid on the cutting mat to align the topper.  (See Pic).

Step Seven

Close the hearts into the slider and fix the topper to the front of the card.  Add a sentiment.  There is also space on the hearts to write a hidden message.  Pull the side piece of ribbon and the hearts will open out at either side of the card.

Alternative Design

Showing a card I made using the same principle but making a tiered topper from the Pamela West CD and Nestabilities to create oval scallops for the hidden message.

Sheila Weaver