A Novel Apple

Oh, it's soooo hard to cut up a book!  Even for a favorite thing like an apple.  This book happens to harken back to when I taught 3rd grade and a student beat up the cover pretty badly.  So...I decided I could stand to cut this one up...  This is also a testament to why I tend to hang on to things - I really do need them!

The new stamp set, You Are The Most Wonderful, from Paper Sweeties May Release inspired this novel apple/gift card holder project.  Love the font on this set and it's cool how it works.  One stamp says "You are the most WONDERFUL" and then you can add any of  the other stamps like Mother, Father, Friend...  or in this case:  TEACHER.

The sentiment here is heat embossed in white and then I stamped the Teacher sentiment again, just slightly offset, with white ink so it looks a little like chalk.  Then I just smudged it with some more white ink.  A handcut little apple from the book (with the strategically placed children) ties it with the Novel Apple.

This apple is really easy to make.  You can draw your own template or you could use a file, like this one below from The Cutting Cafe.  I made quite a few pumpkins like this a couple of years ago, so I figured it out and just changed the shape to make the apple.

Print out or draw half an apple.  You don't need a stem.  Mine is about 3 inches tall.    Tear off the covers of your book.  Cut out your apple pattern and place it on the spine of the book.  

  Draw around it and begin to cut out pages.  To keep the apple somewhat consistent all the way around, it's best to cut only about 4 pages at a time.  I also continue to use the template for each set of 4 pages, instead of drawing around the pieces I've already cut.

Tear the pages away as you work.  When you've cut all the pages, hot glue the spine edges together.  (Now for a little secret:  sometimes you will have bare spots when the pages fan out.  You can cut out some extra apple shapes from the scraps and glue them into the bare spots.  Depending on size, it may be necessary to cut them from another book.)  I used distress ink to highlight the edges and some of the pages.  I hot glued a stick from my yard and a book page leaf on the top.  You could add a tag, tie on a ribbon...  And you'll have an apple fit for the most wonderful teacher!

Go by the Paper Sweeties blog to see more DT ideas and the Paper Sweeties store to see the entire May Release.  

Thank you for stopping by!

Supplies

gift card holder file    |    fired brick distress ink    |  shabby shutters distress ink

pink apple paper    |    black cardstock