Diamond Top Kitty

This card was created for a challenge on the Paper Wishes Message Board - here. Instructions were given in the 2nd post for creating a card with a diamond topper.  

I made mine half an inch shorter (because of the dimension of the pot I had already made), so my instructions below reflect that:

• Start with card stock 5" x  9"
• Score in half lengthwise (2 1/2").
• Score the other way across one end at 2 1/2"
• Turn your card stark over so you can mark on the back.  Mark it at 3 1/4" at the center fold and 4 1/4" at each side (so marks on sides will be 1 3/4" beyond the 2 1/2" score line)
• Still working from the back, score lines between these 3 marked points.
• Still looking at the back of the card stock, we'll fold the 1st 2 folds as valley folds (mountain folds from the right side), and then carefully pinch the other two as mountain folds (valley folds from the right side).
• Crease all folds well with a bone folder.
• Decorate it!

I decided to make my card look like a kitten was popping out of a pot.  The pot was die cut using a Spellbinders die (Flower Pots) and shaded with chalks.  The cat was created using Stampendous Pop-up Kitties stamps & dies - colored with chalks, fine-line Sharpie, & a little Smooch Ink (see more details in a previous post - here).  The "grass" was hand cut from green glimmer paper, and the butterflies (here and on the inside) were purchased at a dollar store.  I cut away a little of the diamond so it wasn't sticking out below the cat's head.  The sentiment is Dazzles.

For the inside, I inked around the edges with a mix of Dried Marigold & Aged Mahogany Distress Inks so it would blend with the outside of the card.  With the little "roof" that pops out when you open the card, I decided I wanted to create a banner below it.  For that I took a strip of the same card stock that was used for the pot, folded it in the center and 1/2" over at each end, and attached it to the card as shown below - so it pops out when the card is opened.  This leaves me with plenty of room for my message.