The pop-up cake die is fast becoming a best seller of the pop-up dies, in no small part because of the wonderful things being done with it by Stampin' Up demonstrators. If you're looking for ideas for the cake, definitely check in with your SU demonstrator, because I've seen some links that blow me away! (Mary Jo, I'm looking at you!)
We now interrupt this not-so-regularly-scheduled blog post for a shameless plug: if you're in southern Colorado and looking for a SU demonstrator, definitely consider Holle Wiktorek because she's amazing. Just sayin'!
OK, back to my post about the Cake die. Of all the pop-up dies, the cake has the most moving parts, and because of that, your product selections matter. If you don't use a stiff-enough piece of cardstock to make the cake structure, it may buckle under the strain of lifting those three tiers. If you don't use a strong-enough adhesive (I'm a HUGE fan of tacky tape) then it may start pulling up in places that should stay stuck down.
So, to ensure beautiful strong well-stuck cakes that will hold up through the ages, I've created a supplemental set of instructions for solving the two most common problems: center piece buckling and side pulling. It doesn't take but an extra moment or two to add these reinforcing steps, and your cake will thank you.
Here's the file: Download Reinforced Cake Instructions and Troubleshooting Guide
It's a 4-page PDF document that you can print or save to your computer. Pass it on to anyone who has the cake die. The last page is a Troubleshooting Guide that makes a handy reference.
Now let's look at some samples!
One thing I want to really stress is that the cake structure (the pieces you put together with the die) needs to be strong. (STRONG LIKE BULL!) Contrasting that, though, are the tier sides, which you cut yourself out of anything you like. The tier sides are for decoration. They are not structural. For those pieces, I recommend a lightweight paper - the lighter the better. If you make the tiers out of something light, it's less work for the cake structure to push it up, and it will unfold easier at the side bends, creating a rounder shape and reducing the "almond" effect. Also, it reduces the bulk inside the card, which means flatter cards, less postage, etc.
For this card, I used a flourishey die-cut piece of paper (KI Memories) for two of the tiers. Remember, the sides of the cake are not structural, so lacey is finey. (See what I did there?)
Anniversary Card, by Karen Burniston Sizzix Dies used: 656025 Pop-up Cake, 656075 Branch w/Leaves, 655675 Fancy Flourishes Set, 654828 Hollywood 61 Alphabet. Other Supplies: cardstock; Bazzill, Transparency; Creative Imaginations, Die-cut Paper; KI Memories, Pearl drops; Kaiser, Magnets; Basic Grey, Other: Silk flowers, brads, ribbon, cardboard
Here's how you might use the cake on a layout. In this case, I cut a hole in my card so the candles can be seen even when the card is closed. Open the card and the candles stand up on top of the cake.
In the lower right close-up photo, you can see the window, along with a decorative "5" brad that I added to the lower right corner of the layout so the card can be tucked underneath it and stay open for viewing. Remember, the cake needs a fully-open card to stand up in it's full "cakey" position. To keep the card closed, I used velcro.
I've talked about how to alter page protectors for layouts with interactive features before, so if you're looking for those instructions, scroll down to this post.
Here is a fake wedding card (meaning I have no idea who the Grants and the Smiths are) that I made to pitch this die idea to Sizzix. This card has traveled the country for about a year now, and no repairs have been necessary. If you use a strong adhesive and take the time to construct the cake well, it really will last!
There's a funny story about the next sample below. Bonnie and I went to Holle's for her National Scrapbooking Day crop. We had been demo'ing the pop-up dies at Archivers all day, and were heading up to Denver to continue the demo's for the rest of the weekend. We needed another cake sample and Bonnie had an idea.
Now Bonnie loves to stitch. All of her projects include stitched elements, so when she saw the In Stich'z line, from Bazzill, she swooned right there in the store and could hardly wait to use her templates that night at the crop. She had to leave the crop for a while to go pick up one of her boys from a basketball game and told me, in the meantime, to make her a cake structure that she could decorate with tiers stitched using one of the templates when she returned. (This template, to be specific)
In her absence, I was talking, eating, and having a marvelous time. I blame those distractions for why, with no forethought whatsoever, I constructed a bright orange cake structure inside of a green card. After completing it, the colors struck me as rather, what's that word?, oh yes; ugly!! The ladies at the crop agreed that it was a particularly putrid color combination but apparently were too polite to point it out while I was making it. "Bonnie will save this card!" I said, with confidence.
And she sure did! This ended up being one of my favorite samples. She wasn't scared by the orange/green at all. She dug through my stash and found an old piece of Fibermark fushia snakeskin paper, a needle, floss, flowers and buttons and went to work. In honor of her amazing-ness I put a "B" on the card and made it a "congrats" card, as in "Congratulations on saving my ugly cake!"
Since we're talking about the cake die, I'll re-post the flower-pot card. If you construct the cake upside-down (and you will have to put some extra chipboard reinforcing on the horizontal tabs) it looks like a flower pot. There are lots of other things you can do with this die, so don't limit yourself to 3-tier cakes!
And as always, I would love to see what you create with any of the pop-up dies!
RKQOTD (Emma: Hey Karl, let's play "Rock, Paper, Everything", only you can't call out "Bomb" or "Dadsy" because they beat everything!)
Hey there Karen - I have tried contacting you 3 times regarding the purchase of A double-page spread with a stand-up 3D house with no response - can you email me please babe
Posted by: Natalie May | June 12, 2009 at 06:45 AM
This post is absolutely amazing! I think you've made it so I'm not so scared of this die now! Thank you!
Posted by: Lorie | July 02, 2009 at 09:16 AM
Beautiful work! And thanks for all the tips! I just received my die and look forward to utilizing your handy dandy info!
Posted by: sharon f. / createdbyu | July 03, 2009 at 06:36 AM
Thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU! How was it I managed to come up with all three toubleshooting issues at one time?! I'm so talented! LOL! I'll be doing all the reinforcing from now on! An upright cake makes me happy!! LOVE IT!!
Posted by: Tessa | July 04, 2009 at 01:34 PM
beautiful works of art Karen!
Thanks for sharing:)
Posted by: Mary Jo Albright | August 29, 2009 at 05:18 PM
Wow! This is quite a collection what a nice cake.lol! Good work.
vee
Posted by: Bizu Philippines | February 10, 2010 at 09:44 PM
Absolutely magnificent!!! How brilliant your creations are.
Posted by: chinajo | June 13, 2010 at 08:05 PM