Free Digital Cutting Files, Tutorial

Twirly Card

Hey There!

In case you didn’t see it at the time and also to include the files into my archives, I am sharing a project I previously posted on the KNK design Team blog.

I have a Twirly Card to share today, I have seen them referred to as a Pop-Up Twirly Card but essentially the motion of opening and closing the card causes a skewer on the inside of the card to twirl, this allows you to attach an element to the skewer which will also twirl. This style of card can look complicated but worry not, I have made a Cut File (at the end of the post) which may tempt you to give it a go :)

The picture below shows all of the materials you will need for the card base, you will need:

1 copy of the Twirly Card Cut File cut just smaller than A4 / letter size with your chosen KNK machine, I cut mine with Make the Cut and my Zing.
1 sheet of A4 / letter size Card
Strong adhesive tape
Twine or similar thread
1 Skewer

TwirlyCard1

Starting with the cut file piece, fold along your dashed lines ensuring that your tabs fold inward, it should look like the picture below:

TwirlyCard2

Feed the skewer through the space for it at the end of the tabs then wind some twine around your skewer a few times. Thread the twine through the holes in the card and attach to the back with some strong tape ensuring that your skewer twirls when your card opens and closes. You may find that the twine won’t let you open the card fully, this is fine as long as there is lots of spin:

TwirlyCard3

Cover all of the edges of your card with glue or tape, you can also see here where I attached the twine:

TwirlyCard4

Glue/tape your card base mechanism onto your folded A4 / letter sized piece of card, one side at a time. The outer layer of card is slightly larger which allows us to trim away the surplus with scissors and have a neat and tidy edge.

TwirlyCard5

To prevent the skewer from slipping through the tabs I used a small strip of adhesive tape on the skewer ends then wrapped some of my twine around it and liberally coated it with some glossy accents and allowed it to harden. You can repeat the process if needed to form a larger stopper.

TwirlyCard6

Your card base and mechanism is now finished and you can decorate your card. I cut some tall letters for the front of my card and popped them up with some 3d foam pads.

TwirlyCard7

You can now add an image or sentiment to the skewer inside of your card, experiment with the size to ensure that it will twirl freely before you attach it permanently. For the best results use 2 copies of your twirly element and sandwich the skewer between them.

As mine is a Birthday Card for my Dad, I layered my letters in different shades of shimmery blue card stock, I hope it will catch the light when he opens the card and it twirls. The letters are also included as a cut file at the end of the post.

TwirlyCard8

 

Here are your Free Cut Files – Formats: ai, dxf, gsd, mtc, pdf, studio & svg:
(click on the link below the image to download)

TwirlyCardbyBird

Twirly Card Digital Cutting File by Bird

DADbyBird

DAD Digital Cutting File by Bird