John Deere Pyramid Mini

     This card is in reality a very simple concept. Imagine 8 square cards ( 2 1/2, 3, 3 1/2, 4, 4/12, 5, 5 1/2, and 6 inch) with a mat (1/4 inch border) on the front of each. Attach them one on top of the other. Then add tri-folds, flaps, and pockets. It looks much more complicated than it actually is. I learned to make this in a class taught by Leslie Parlette at Scrappn' Savvy. 

      I have my hard-to-buy-for brother's name for Christmas this year. I decided to make a mini album with pictures of him thru the years with tractors - his favorite topic. 

     I used a piece of linen ribbon to tie the album shut. The pic on the front was taken in 1944. Gary is sitting on the tractor seat while our father steadied him.

On the inside of the 2.5 inch card are two pics matted in circles.

     3 inch card: This had a horizontal tri-fold. I used this section to do a little journaling, added a die-cut Cheepers, the chicken and another pic taken the same day as the one on the front cover. In this picture you can see our oldest sister, Carol Ann. Patterned paper is introduced here. If you google "John Deere digital paper" you will find about 3 different choices on the web. I chose "Diggin Dirt" for several reasons. 

1. There were 15 different patterns.
2. I liked the tractor and deer graphics.
3. I contained plaids, stripes AND polka dots, not to mention this great chevron.
4. It is purchased from an Etsy Store with an instant download for only $1.50. This is my second time to purchase a collection of digital paper. The last time it was Mario paper. If you have a decent color printer, it is a fun option for hard to find themes.

     3.5 inch card: This is a simple layer. No fancy folds here. Even so, it is one of my favorite. Here you see my brother up on the corn picker and my dad standing below. On the right side are two more corn pickers. They kind of remind me of Heckle and Jeckle, but their names are Cawrl and Cawnie. Great names for crows!

     4 inch card: Here I used a pattern with John Deere tractors on a vertical tri-fold. This provided lots of opportunities for pictures. 

     4.5 inch card: Here my brother is showing off a planter and a tractor that he restored. I grabbed the John Deere logo off of Google images (for my personal use). It is placed on a gate fold. Inside the gate I used my fun crow stamps again. The pic of Gary and his pride and joy 1944 tractor (Where have you seen that year before?) is split between two panels.

     5 inch card: This section features a pocket on the left panel and a flap on the right panel. At 3 AM last Friday, I was laying in bed dreaming up this page. I couldn't get back to sleep, because I was trying to make it in my head. Finally the inevitable -- I gave in about 3:30. I got up and went to the craft room to put this together. 

     I placed Virgil, the pig and half a tree on the left pocket. There are two gift card envelopes die cut from the patterned paper as well as a fun tag for the pocket. On the right flap, I placed Brownie, the cow with the opposite side of the tree die. The cow has made an observation: "Herd there's a Deere in the barn!" When you open the flap, you see a barn with sliding doors. When you slide them open, you see a John Deere tractor, proving Brownie has made a good observation.

     5.5 inch card: I used this vertical tri-fold to place a series of pics from my brother's weekend adventures. One of his favorite pass times is to load up one of his refurbished tractors and take it to a show.

     6 inch card: This section is a regular fold, but with diagonal pockets. In the left pocket, are pics of my brother in his huge tractor shed where he works on his tractors. In the right pocket there are the words to a ballad written by my brother, Terry, to the tune of "Folsom Prison Blues". He wrote it about a two-seater John Deere tractor that Gary made, so Gary and his wife, Grace could ride together. I could not locate a picture of the John Deere tractor, but I was able to find a pic of Gary and Grace, as well as our brother, Lyle, sitting in different kinds of two-seaters. 

     Bottom of the album: I used this cute multi-colored gear paper here. 

     All totaled, I used 16 different die sets. 10 of these are those of Karen Burniston. I love going through my stash of dies, stamps, paper, embellies, etc. etc. etc. That is why I particularly love collecting die cuts.

Materials: 

     Patterned Paper: Happy Heart Creations - Diggin Dirt (Etsy Store)

     Card Stock: My Colors - Holiday Green

                                        Chocolate

                                        Snowbound

                       Bazzill - Candle Glow

     Die: Spellbinders - Long Scalloped Rectangles Large

                                 Long Classic Rectangles Large

            Elizabeth Craft Designs - Gift Card Accordion

            Momenta - Gift Card Holder

            Stamps of Life - Stitched Tags

            Burniston - Cheepers, the Chicken

                             Brownie, the Cow

                             Virgil, the Pig

                             Chicken Wire

                             Western Edges

                             Fence Pop-Up

                             Barn Pop Stand

                             Hey There Pop Stand

                             Nature Edges

                             Tree Top Pop Up

            Silhouette File: Corn Stalks by Miss Kates Cuttables

     Stamps: High Hopes - Caunie & Cawrls Lunch

                                      We're All Ears

     Copics: Y00, 04, 06, 08

                 C1, 3, 5, 7

     Embellies: Linen Ribbon - 1/8 inch

                     Twine - Ivory

                     Alphabet Beads

Challenges

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Critter - #87 - *

Creative Fingers Challenge - Paper Craft - #36 - December 21

Paper Girls Challenge - Die Cuts - #41 - *