Noel Accordion Tag

<

NOEL Pop-Up Accordion Tag

Materials

• Paper and Cardstock
• Foil Coated shiny metallic foil card-stock, Gold
• Foil Coated shiny metallic foil card-stock, Green
• Basic Grey Jovial Collection pack, Nice, Scarf, Nipping, Winter Garden
• Fancy Pants Rusted Sun, Pool Party
• #8 Manila "Gang of 4" Accordion Fold Tags
• #3 Manila Shipping Tags
• Piece of light-weight typing bond, cut into three 2"x 5" strips, glued to the seams of the tags
• White card stock scraps
• Stamps
• Hot Off the Press Mini Ornaments or similar mini-ornament
• Inkadinkado Clear stamp, Santa/Elf or similar Santa stamp
• Inks and Embossing Powders
• Memories Hunter Green
• Memories Art Print Brown
• Memories Cherry Red
• Memories Sky
• Versafine, Onyx Black
• Embellishments
• 1/4" Silk Ribbon, Red
• Art Institute Ultra-fine Glitter, True Red
• Martha Stewart Flocking, Swan White
• Aleene's True Snow craft paste
• Embroidered letters from fabric store, N, O, E, and L
• Tools
• Martha Stewart Crafts Punch, Branch
• EK Success Large Punch, Leaping Deer
• EK Success 1 3/8" circle punch
• EK Success 1" circle punch
• Fiskar's 1/8" circle hand punch
• Adhesives
• Aleene's Thick Designer Tacky Glue
• Other
• Standard Brass Office Brad
• 4 gummed hole reinforcers

Information

• The accordion tags are attached to each other only at the top and bottom edges. To reinforce them, I added a narrow panel of typing bond over the seam between the tags prior to covering the tags with designer papers.
• To put the holes back in the tags after covering the tags with paper, I punched them from the back side so I could align my holes with the original ones. I added gummed hole reinforcers to the front to highlight and protect the holes I had just punched.
• The little tag on the far left panel slides up inside the chimney to reveal a stamped and flocked Santa Claus. The tag slides on a cut slit in a hidden panel under the visible chimney so that the tag pulls straight up and can't be completely removed from the chimney.
• The pop-up gifts are simple to make. Start with a strip of cardstock as wide as you want the box to be high, and 4 times as long as you want the gift to be wide, plus a quarter of an inch. (For example, if you want a box that is 1 inch wide and 2 inches high, start with a strip that is 2 inches wide and 4 1/4 inch long.) On the right side of the cardstock, score the strip at the width increments across the length of the strip. (In our example, that would mean scores at 1, 2, 3, and 4 inches.) Mountain fold the strip at the score lines, and use adhesive to attach the 1/4" tab to the first panel of the strip, to form an open box. Glue the open box into a valley fold of the card or tag using a strong adhesive, making sure a corner of the box fits tightly into the fold. Add ribbons and bows as shown in the photo
• The tree garland at the top of the center panels was formed by gluing a strip of cardstock across the top of the panels. The strip is the exact length needed to stop the card from opening further than to a 90° angle so that the gift boxes beneath it are popped open to their perfect positions. The strip is folded in the center so it folds to the inside the tags when closed. The strip is covered with punched out tree branches for camoflauge and decoration. The little stamped and cut out ornaments were hung from the branches, attached with glue only at their tops so they will dangle.
• The reindeer "leaps" over the trees in the final panel of the tag on a circle attached to the tag with a brass tab. The circle has a tab attached to it as a handle to spin the disc, and is prevented from moving too far by a "stop" (a foam dot that gets in the way of further motion.)