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6.03.2013

pixels, pixels, everywhere....


Did you catch the awesome news?  I have been selected (along with 19 other amazing paper crafters) to participate in this year's Gallery Idol!  I'm super excited to have been given this opportunity again :)

For this round, the theme is "Defining Dad."  I wanted to make a card that would be perfect for a geeky dad (that's what my husband will be when we have kids!! hehe).  Of course I went the video game route- but decided to go old school with Tetris.  Whether you define yourself as a "gamer" or not, you cannot deny the awesomely addictive quality of Tetris!   



My card in interactive, so I decided to make a video of it in action.  Sorry for the shaky camera!  I didn't have time last night to set up the tripod.....



For a relatively simple card, there are surprisingly a lot of steps required to put it together. I'll walk you through 'em:


  • Step 1: Make lots of pixels
I cut strips of cardstock a quarter inch wide, then chopped them up into quarter inch squares, reserving one or 2 long strips.


  • Step 2: Shade the long strips

Instead of finding the perfect color of cardstock one shade darker than my pixels, I used a light grey marker to darken the color that I already had.
(note: ignore the marking on my grid mat. you do not need to color at a 45 degree angle! lol)

  • Step 3: Glue the pixels to the darkened strips in classic Tetrimino shapes (Tetriminos are the 4-square blocks used in Tetris)
I found that a pair of tweezers helped with accuracy


(a completed Tetrimino)

  • Step 4: Plan your project
I wanted to make sure that the word "DAD" nestled into the blocks when lowered down.  It was a lot of fun to play around with them and make different combinations!  I'm glad I still have some extras to play with :)


  • Step 5: Cut your panel of black cardstock
My panel is 4"x5.25"- just smaller than an A2 card base.  I also used an Xacto knife to cut a small slit- this will be important later when we add the interactive slider.



  • Step 6: Adhere Tetriminos to your panel
Once I had my arrangement figured out, I snapped a pic with my iPhone so that I could accurately re-create it on the black panel.  I used foam tape to pop up each piece.  Then, I placed the "DAD" letters in their spots, and grabbed them with a Post-It note.  This ensured that the spacing was correct when I mounted them to a small piece of cardstock.






  • Step 7: Make the slider
I cut a strip of black cardstock to go behind the front panel, and made a D pad ("directional pad"- its the thing on video game controllers!). I darkened the down arrow so the recipient knows to pull it down.  Then I adhered the D pad to the strip, and put it place at the bottom of the channel that I cut earlier. I cut a super thin little piece of adhesive and placed it on the slider, then adhered the "DAD" I made above.




Well, that's pretty much it (for the hard stuff, that is).  The last 2 steps are to mount the panel to the card base, add strips of blue to the sides, then adhere your secret message!  I typed mine using a pixelated font onto white cardstock, but you could stamp a sentiment too!


This card makes me smile, and I hope it makes you smile too!  

Now it's voting time!!  Please go HERE and check out the entries, then vote for your favorite!  If you think you want to vote for mine, then you can find a direct link to my entry on the side bar to the right.

Thanks for visiting :)

32 comments:

  1. So flippin clever! I love the bright colours on black and the reference to Tetris!

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  2. Love this!!! It is awesomeness to the max! Good luck!

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  3. So clever and so much patience! Way to go, Jennifer!

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  4. Wow!!! This card is seriously cool! Love the theme and love that it is interactive! Great job! Good luck with GI this year!

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  5. You are a genius. I don't know how long this took, but I'm guessing a really long time....totally worth it!

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  6. This is the work of a genius. Wowowow.

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  7. Jen, this is really cool! Very neat design!

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  8. WOW!! I love all the steps and details. A lot of work involved!

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  9. Jennifer, Congrats on a well-deserved Gallery Idol Selection! And that card -- oh my gosh, it must've taken forever! So creative -- and what guy in this century wouldn't love a video game card??? You rock! :)

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  10. Amazing effort and design, Jen! You will go FAR! Good luck on this round!

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  11. This is so cool! Love, love, love your creativity!

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  12. Such a fun idea, Jennifer. Love the bright colours!

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  13. OMG Jennifer!!! I love your creations...and this one is amazing!!! LOVE it to the max!!

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  14. Too cool! I am amazed by the interactive element!

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  15. Holy Cow!! Amazing job! I don't know how you ever thought of this!! So creative and awesome!! Good luck to you!

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  16. YOU ARE AWE--MAZING!!! I love love love your creativity!!! This is sooo clever and cool! Loved this game as a kid!!

    Girl, you're going to kick butt this season!

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  17. LOL! I'm awe-struck. This is the coolest card, Jen! That is amazing that it's a slider--you are so clever!

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  18. Very clever and what a great idea? Love it all. Thanks for sharing the tutorial as well, Jennifer! All the best!

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  19. AMAZING! Yep, that is all I have. :)

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  20. Awesome card! So cool that its interactive. Good luck!

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  21. GENIUS.....I tell you! I LOVED LOVED Tetris when I was younger (and still do!)......This is phenomenal Jen! Good luck with the next round!! :)

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  22. WOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!! I have enjoyed ALL of your interactive cards!! (you made some for the Online Card Class that I LOVED)but this one is by FAR MY FAVORITE!! I am SO EXCITED for you cause I think you'll be in the next round forsure with this entry!! =) THANKS SO MUCH for sharing the video and tutorial and have a FABULOUS WEEK!! =)

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  23. Oh My Paper Snipping Goodness! Jennifer, this is amazing! I'm sure there are a good many of us that can relate to this card! Such a creative and clever idea! And, I seriously cannot believe that you glued each and every one of those wee schmicks of paper in place! Well worth your time because this really is sheer creative genius!

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  24. Completely and utterly and fantastically and unbelievably and [many other adjectives] amazing Jen!!! So much work, time and effort and such a lot of heart and soul so obviously went into this!! *So* clever!! Best of luck getting through to the next round - I really *really* want this to be one of the winners!!

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  25. Wow. Only you could create something so cool.

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  26. Ahhhhhh! This is AWESOME!!! I reckon you'd already know that I'd think that though ;D
    So psyched to see your talent in Gallery Idol again. Rooting for you, friend!
    Hugs!
    x

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  27. Oh my gosh - this is beyond amazing! I have no idea how you came up with this idea, but I'd love to get inside your head to grasp just a fraction of your creativity for myself. Absolutely stunning! Wishing you the best in this and future rounds!

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  28. What an amazing amount of work and what a creative brain you have and wow, just wow! Congratulations on making it to the next round of Gallery Idol, Jennifer! I'm thrilled for you!!

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  29. This is just the cleverest thing. I love it. Thanks for tutorial.

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