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Saturday, 19 June 2010

Piano Pop-Up Feedback

Just to let you know that we had tea with my Mum and Dad on his birthday and he was absolutely thrilled with his card! He said "Oh look at the little keys!!" and he loved the floating notes too! He was chuffed that the music said "...Happy birthday dear Dad..." as well!

When you see the recipients' faces it's worth all the trouble to make something special, and rushing against the clock too.

Afterwards I showed him the video, which he was also impressed with, and enjoyed seeing his card being made. Isn't technology wonderful?

Another lovely thing happened - for my recent birthday my mum had given me a dressing gown which was too small (and really wasn't "me" - I tend to wear kaftans these days as I spend so much time in a state of undress due to my health that at least I can look dressed even if I'm not!!), so she asked me to give it back to her, and she'll probably give it to my aunt instead. Anyway, she then gave me a cheque (for much more than she'd spent on the dressing gown!!) and said "This is probably more use to you." It certainly will be! I am using it to set myself up with lots of nice new equipment and materials, so I can really get stuck into my new creative passion. Are you all envious?

I've found some bargains on Ebay and other places, and for a couple of days now, some nice parcels have been arriving in the post! I'm having such fun opening them all, and giving nice feedback on Ebay and writing to thank everyone. The only fly in the ointment is that for the past few days I've felt pretty poorly and unable to do anything. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

As soon as I am able, I'll get going again, and set up the video camera and you can see my beginner's efforts! Once I get going on my Tim Holtz distress inks this could be a somewhat messy process but let's hope that it's only the paper that gets distressed...

4 comments:

  1. i ant to cry i made this card 6 times and i failed pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase i cant make it fold teach me its important for me i want to give it to my friend >teach me step by step please

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am sorry you are having such struggles, Anonymous. Not knowing specifically what the problem is, it's hard to give pointers, but I would suggest that you try making it bigger than mine - I mentioned in my original post (or possibly on the video) that it was a bit fiddly to do at that size. You also want to use a good quality, not too heavy cardstock, one that folds cleanly without splitting or disintegrating, or it will give you disappointing and frustrating results. Also, follow carefully which folds are "mountain" and which are "valley," to make sure the folds go the right way so the keyboard will stand up. Try scoring them, and crease them well, and then push up each piece separately. Once you've got them all going the correct way, open and close the card several times to "set" the mechanism.

      If you are struggling with this design, it might help you to do some basic folds first, to practise the technique. I highly recommend the Extreme Cards and papercrafting Blog (http://extremecards.blogspot.com)
      where you can find a whole pop-up course, going from basic to complex folds. This may help you to walk before you try to run.

      Finally, try and relax and enjoy it! It is, after all, supposed to be fun!

      Let me know how you get on.

      Shoshi

      Delete
  2. Hello Shoshi, I know it has been a while since you've made the piano pop-up card for your father, but I absolutely love this card and I would like to do a variation of it, but I need the template for the keyboard. I have attempted to make it without a template and it is not going so well. I finally figured out how the folds go without a template, but when cutting the card stock, it seems to make it look kind of beaten up, it doesn't have a clean look to it. So I was thinking that if I had the template for it, it would make my life a little easier. So, if you still have it would you kindly email it to me at antoinette.bell@gmail.com

    Thanks a bunch,

    ~Antoinette

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am not sure if the other message made it to you or not because my computer just did something funky. So just in case you didn't the message, I am asking for the keyboard template for the piano pop-up card. That card is awesome and I have made my own keyboard, but it doesn't look as clean as yours, so if you still have it, is there anyway you can email it to me at antoinette.bell@gmail.com

    Thanks a bunch,

    ~Antoinette

    ReplyDelete

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