Top Tip twisted easel box card

I love the challenges, and especially all the tips, at Top Tip Tuesday and just had to participate in their Birthday Celebration. Happy 1st Birthday, Top Tippers! There are plenty ways to win lots of prizes:

1. Enter an easel card or an easel box into the Challenge (deadline: 9/13)
2. Leave a tip on your blog
3. Visit a DT blog and leave a comment on there
4. Leave a comment for another challenger on their blog
5. Visit the TTT Facebook Page, 'like' the page and then tag us on a picture of your creation

I did them all! Hope you'll at least make a card for the challenge, as I'd love to see your take. Here's my Twisted Easel Box Card:

The bird was paper pieced; boy, those eyes were tiny!

I made matching embellishments & buttons with shrink plastic. The branches are stamped in brown StazOn on Bright White plastic, then edged with a green Copic; the flowers were stamped on one side on clear plastic with black StazOn and then colored with Copics on the rough side.

Here's my tip:
I love making matchboxes, but I worry about crushing when I mail them.The top piece can fold down flat (when the box is taken apart), but it's easy enough to get the bottom, slide-out portion to fold flat as well: Before gluing the box together, add diagonal folds to the inside sides. Glue the flaps onto the opposite sides, where you'll affix the brads, to add support (you can add paper on top of this to hide the flaps). If you use wet glue, I find that binder clips come in really handy to keep everything together during drying.

Inspiration: Top Tip Tuesday Easel Card Box Challenge

Stamps: Blubird by Carolyn Shores Wright for Stamps Happen, Inc., Great Impressions, K&Company
Paper: Core'dinations, stash, Hammermill
Tools: Fiskars papercutter, stamp block, MS detailing scissors, Sizzix Texture Boutique & embossing folder, Crop-O-Dile, Marvy heat tool
Other: ZipDry glue, StazOn inks, Offray ribbon, Copics, stash eyelets & baker's twine

Update 9/13/11: Wow, I won Top Tipper for this challenge! Can't wait to spend my $25 gift certificate to Stamp and Create!