Free Popup Gift Tag

tag1

I love Popup Card Studio SOOOO much that after signing up for a Christmas-themed gift tag swap, I immediately decided to design a gift tag that would also be a popup card:

tag2

I wanted a whimsical design and easily located a free Rudolph image using Google and traced it in MTC. I employed my usual approach of starting the design in MTC where it always seems easier to visualize the final product. I used a free font called Christmas Light Indoor for the To and From elements. Then I copied and pasted those into Popup Card Studio and created the popup design for the inside of the tag. I exported this popup as an SVG file to reopen in MTC. It’s important to note that if you are a KNK Force owner, you need to do this so that the fold lines can be broken and rejoined before the file is exported and opened in C3 for cutting to the Force.

I used both the Maxx Air and the Force to cut all parts. Because the Force has easy and accurate PNC, I used it for the colored To/From pieces and for the Merry Christmas greeting. I also used it for the popup insert because the Force has dual heads, thus capable of scoring and cutting the popup all in one step. Given that I was making 16 of these tags, I needed efficiency!

While the Force was doing its cuts, the Maxx Air handled the cutting of 16 sets of red, white, green, light brown, dark brown, and black pieces used in these tags. Now, if only KNK USA would come up with a machine to do all of that tedious gluing it took to create Rudolph’s head! LOL When I started organizing the file to share with everyone, it occurred to me that some crafters might like Rudolph to also be a single PNC element so that the tedious gluing of small pieces would be eliminated. No problem! I added several variations to the file that I’m sharing here.

The file contains an MTC format file, a SCAL format file, and individual SVG files for those cutting with the Force or importing into a different program. Also, for those using other design software, the PNC elements have been included as individual PNG files. To verify sizing, the tag should be 4.75″ in height.

If you’re into popup cards, think about buying Popup Card Studio. It takes a little practice maneuvering in the software but there are lots of free videos to help you learn it:

PCS Demo

Intro to PCS

Two Line Card in PCS

and dozens of other PCS videos here: Susan Bluerobot

If you have any questions, please post!

Creating a PopUp Card

Today is one of THOSE days! It took me ALL day long to make this video thanks to a dozen interruptions and two dozen silly mistakes! lol But it’s now ready. Here’s the actual card to show the final result:

and then I have both this final card final and a practice file for you to use when viewing the video:

Popup Final File

Popup Practice File

The video to watch is here:

And I created a second one that might make it clearer where those fold lines and cut lines are being placed:

A special acknowledgement to several members at UK Scrappers for coming up with a clever way to position the upper fold line in just the right spot. I borrowed that idea and then came up with my own way of putting in the fold lines using the guidelines in KNK Studio. All of my methods will work the same in Design Master. Also, if you are unfamiliar with welding titles to frames, then master that part in Chapter 4 of the KNK or DM User Manual before starting your own popup card using my tutorial.
For an extra challenge… Recreate the wave of welded flowers…. I’ll explain how I did that on Monday. 🙂