Embossed Greeting Card With Paper Moon Mobile

Hi, I'm back here updating this instructable to include the greeting card. Before I had said this is a "Super simple project." I still think the mobile is super simple however, the embossed card is a little more tricky.

I got a paper circle cutter online the other day and while fooling around with it I cut out some crescent shaped paper moons and realised I had stumbled on the perfect gift for a friend who just had a baby....Aww!

Be sure to checkout step 6 to see the video of the Paper Moon Mobile in action!

Supplies

Materials:

Colored cardstock and Black cardstock

Wooden skewer sticks

Black paint or Wood stain

Needle and Black Thread

Tools:

Circle cutter

Scissors

Computer and printer

Pencil, Ruler, Craft knife, Masking tape, Doublesided sticky tape,

Step 1: Design

I wanted a mobile that would hang and move in front of a little baby. The turning of the poles combined with the turning of the paper moons was going to be enough so I kept the design layout to a classic mobile layout. Lets just hope the kid isn't a natural born art critic.

With regards to the greeting card, I only came up with that idea once I had the mobile made and hanging and uploaded here on instructables but then I thought I´m gifting this mobile so it needs a better presentation. As much as the mobile looks amazing once hanging, it looks woeful all in a heap XD. At first I was just looking for a way to keep the mobile pieces intact, not get bent and not get all tangled up. But then I realised that it could become a greeting card at the same time. The black is a bit too serious for a new born baby but its great for embossing and also it contrasts a lot with the rainbow effect of the moons on the inside

Step 2: Cut Out the Moons

If you like doing papercrafts you might already have a circle cutter or a plotter to cut the shapes out on your computer. Or you could just trace the pattern onto the different colored cardstocks and carefully cut them by hand. The effect would be just as good.

If you like, check out the circle cutter I bought on amazon and they have other kinds to choose from. I also saw this video on youtube that shows you how to make your own circle cutter that's pretty cool. I think its a great little handmade tool and if ever I need to cut larger circles I will definately make it.

The dimensions of the moons are:

Diameter of the circle: 10 cms (4 inches)

Width of the moon at its widest 2.5 cms (1 inch)

The inside curve is the same diameter as the outside curve, so basically, strike the arc with the cutter to cut the inside curve. Then, don't change the radius of the arc on the cutter tool, just move it 2.5 cms off to one side and cut again. EtVoila! You got the crescent moon cut. Now cut the six of them and start thinking about more papercraft rainbow projects because you have a lot of paper left over XD

With the craft knife, cut a tiny slit as close as possible to the point of the crescent moons. With my design one of the moons will need the slit at bottom too but not all the way into the point. Somewhere back along the edge of the moon as seen in the photo here.

Here's a pdf template you can print out if you want to just cut by hand.

Step 3: Prep the Wooden Skewers

Basically cut off the pointy end of the skewers and cut one of them into two short lengths of 10 cms (4 inches). Unfortunately, this photo of the cut skewers is not accurate. I originally cut the pieces a lot longer but it made the paper moons bang into one another and the mobile was not free to move as much as it should. So they got trimmed after this photograph

Then paint them black or use wood stain. Or don't paint them I don't care...its not important

Step 4: Layout the Pieces

On a flat surface, also known as a table, put the long skewer across the top and the two smaller ones below on either side as you see in the photo. I find it helps to hold them in place with sticky tape. Position the Moons where they will go too and now you get an idea of the mobile's composition/shape/layout. Don't use sticky tape on the paper moons as they will get ripped.

Step 5: Tie 'Em Up

With the composition layed out before you calculate the lengths of thread you will need to hang everything in place. Give yourself plenty extra just in case.

I really dislike working with thread. I can't sew for the life of me. But what the heck, I struggle through it and the end result is totally worth it. I am no authority on how to use thread so I can't say anymore than:

Tie it up at one end

Tie it up at the other end

Step 6: That's It for the Mobile

So all that's left is to make sure the pieces of the mobile are balanced. My knots on the skewers were so loose it helped me be able to shift them back and forth until it was right. I put a tiny drop of superglue on each of the "thread and stick" knots so that they wouldn't slip and go off balance again

The video really helps to show off the motions off the mobile and how graceful the crescent moons look

Nice and colorful, cheap and cheerful...

...Now for the Greeting Card

Step 7: Custom Embossed Greeting Card

This turned out really nice but to be honest I was making it up as I went along.

At first I just wanted somethig to keep them flat like how a hardbacked envelope is used to make sure whatever is inside doesn't get bent. But then I pulled out this black cardstock I had and I realised I had to do it justice than that and make everything look neat and presentable. The rainbow colours against the black cardstock looked very smart indeed so I came up with a way to clip the moons in place.

Step 8: Holding the Mobile Pieces in Place

I first thought I could do it with small slits in the black card but in the end I cut small circles of cardstock with this hole puncher and put a small strip of double sided sticky tape on the back and carefully lined everything up and stuck the circles in place. The moons and sticks can be easily removed by simply folding back the edges of the circles and sliding them out.

Step 9: Embossing

Then I made a stencil for the embossing. I printed out the baby's name, stuck it with pritt stick to some thick cardstock (more black cardstock in my case). I carefully cut out the letters to make it into a stencil and stuck that with some masking tape to the outside of the card. I made sure the masking tape wasn't too sticky I stuck it to my fingers numerous times that way the stickyness wouldn't rip or tear the greeting card

Then turning over the card, I pressed hard with my finger until I could see the outlines of each letter. Then I went over it again with my round-tipped brass rod. I flipped it back over and it looks awesome!

I know very little about embossing but I learned a lot from this video including making the round-tipped brass rod

Step 10: Conclusion: a Mobile Is a Mobile, a Card Is a Card

There are two separate things here: the product and the packaging. Like I mentioned before, I came around to the idea of making the packaging into a greeting card when the mobile was completely finished. I love the idea but I think the sticks in the mobile are too chunky to be inside a card and all in all the card is pretty huge. In hind sight, and only if I wanted to put emphasis on the card giving shenanigans, I would try to make the mobile design smaller to be a more acceptable card size. But most importantly I would replace the sticks with a structure made from more cardstock in keeping with the rest of the materials. That would imply a bit more thought on the design: perhaps gently arching pieces or triangular pieces of card to replace the sticks.

If you're not going to make a presentation to someone of the mobile as a gift well then the sticks are perfect.