A Cheaper and Greener Way to Make Pop Up Box Cards

     I love making pop up box cards.  You don't have to buy those expensive stamps and punches from Stampin' Up!®.  I have stamps from the clearance bin at A.C. Moore, and I use basic circular and oval paper punches purchased (with a coupon, of course) from the craft store.  Other embellishments can be clipped from recycled greeting cards, printed out using the clip art program on your computer, or even cut from magazines.  I save every tiny, left over piece of scrap booking paper.  It might end up as a balloon, heart, or butterfly shape in a future project.  There are numerous videos on YouTube which show how to make box cards.  Here are two of them:







     My cheaper, greener twist on things is this: don't waste your money buying acetate sheets for mounting your embellishments.  I wash out and remove the labels from plastic sticky bun and salad greens containers.  Then I use scissors and a paper cutter to slice these containers into 1/4" strips.  How much will you save?  I checked prices at Staples.  Clear acetate sheets cost about $1.00 each when purchased in a box of twelve sheets.

Orange citrus cleaner is good for removing the label adhesive.  If the adhesive is especially stubborn, use WD-40 and thoroughly wash off the oily residue.

I probably didn't need to include this step - split the container in half.

If you are being extremely frugal, you might get an extra strip from this wide edge.

Cut off the ripply sides of the box using scissors.  Use a paper cutter to slice the clear top of the box into strips.  I find 1/4" is the best width.  If you don't have a paper cutter, use a marker and scissors, or you might try using some type of straight edge and a box cutter. 

The bottom of the container is ridged.  You can cut following the ridges to get nice strips.  If you want a really strong mounting strip for a big, heavy embellishment, leave the humps on the sides of the strip.  It adds a lot of strength.  Otherwise, trim out the humps for more "invisible" strips.  The finished card looks better if the embellishments flop around a little. 

Chopping away.  You'll probably toss out the shorter strips, saving just the longer ones at the center of the box.  You be the judge.

Here are my free mounting strips.  A legal-size envelope works well for storing them.  

I made this cards for someone who just became a United States citizen. 

This is a third anniversary card.

A Birthday Card
The banner is suspended between two plastic strips. 

     UPDATE: One of my crafty friends tells me that a two liter soda bottle makes nice mounting strips.  Yes, it does.  I suppose any #1 plastic will do a nice job.