Guest Designer Sweta

Hello crafty friends! I’m Sweta from Table_in_the_Attic, back this week with another fun project. Today I’m combining the Car Cruiser Dies with the Gnome Friends Chipmunk to create a card that has a special surprise — working light-up headlights! If you enjoy interactive elements, this one’s for you.

Step 1: Building the Car

I started by die-cutting all the pieces for the cruiser in teal blue, black, white, and red cardstock. To give the car a steel finish, I also cut the front grill and a few accents from silver mirror cardstock.

When adhering the pieces together, I left out some smaller details so I could pop them up later with foam tape for extra dimension.

Step 2: Creating the Chipmunk

For the chipmunk, I cut only the base layer and the little hands. Instead of using all the die-cut pieces, I chose to color him with Copic markers. (If coloring isn’t your thing, you can absolutely assemble him directly from the dies.)

To complete the scene, I added a large stamped-and-colored gift box, plus a smaller one designed to fit in Mr. Chippy’s hands.

Step 3: Preparing the Headlights

Here comes the fun part — making the headlights glow! For this, you’ll need:

• Pre-wired LED lights

• Copper foil tape

• A 3V lithium coin battery
  
  

Don’t worry — no electrician’s license required!

1. Punch two holes in the car’s front panel where the headlights should go.
   
   

2. Back the openings with vellum to diffuse the light.
   
   

3. Finally, cover the vellum with mirror cardstock (also hole-punched) for a clean, finished look.

Step 4: Wiring the Lights

1. Tape the LED lights over the vellum. Gather the two red wires (+) together and the two black wires (–) together.
   
   

2. Adhere Mr. Chippy to the car so you can determine the best battery placement. Lightly trace a circle around the battery to mark its spot.
   
   

3. Lay down copper tape over the marked spot. Secure the two red wires over this spot with more copper tape, then secure the black wires to the negative side of the battery again using the copper tape.
   
   

4. Test the setup by pressing the battery onto its spot. If everything is connected correctly, the headlights should glow!
   
   

💡 Tip: Use double layers of foam tape to create a snug spot for the battery to sit in. This prevents it from staying connected all the time, which would drain the power. Tape down any loose wires so they don’t peek out from under the car.

Step 5: Final Assembly

To finish the card, I:

• Adhered the car and chipmunk to a patterned panel from an older Brutus Monroe paper pack.
  

• Positioned the large gift next to the car.
  

• Added the smaller gift box with the word “push” on it (so the recipient knows where to press).
  

• Stamped the sentiment in the top right corner.
  
  

Now for the best part — press the box and watch the headlights shine! ✨

I hope you’ll give this light-up card a try. It’s such a fun way to add a wow factor to your handmade creations.

Until next time, stay crafty!
– Sweta

Stay connected with Jaded Blossom on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. You can also find me as @Table_in_the_Attic on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

Quick List of Supplies:

• Gnome Friends Chipmunk Die (Jaded Blossom)

• Carcruiser Die

• Surfacez Textured Cardstock (Sizzix)

• Bearly Art Glue

• Foam Tape

• Pre-wired LED lights

• Copper foil tape

• A 3V lithium coin battery