A Retro Arcade Card for Someone Special

My husband is a bit of an arcade junky, so when I came across the Arcade Machine Builder Dies and the coordinating stamps from Trinity Stamps, I had to order them! Today’s card will be his next birthday card and what better way to celebrate than with a little old-school gaming?

For the color scheme, I turned to my Sarah Renae Clark Color Cubes for some inspiration. I settled on card #001, which features a fun combination of green and blue shades. I love using the Color Cubes when I’m stuck on colors because they take the guesswork out of putting a palette together. This particular combination seemed perfect for a masculine arcade card.

I discovered that the dies do not come with any assembly instructions, so I had to look at their website samples to figure things out. I’ll share my process below.

Mini Slimline

I created the card in a Mini Slimline size, which fits great with the assembled arcade.

To make a mini slimline card, I cut a cardstock panel that measured 7″ x 6″ and then folded it so that the finished size was 3 1/2″ x 6″. The widest part of the arcade game is 3 5/8″ so it fits with just a smidge of overhang. One could easily make this a larger card, but I chose not to.

I picked my cardstock colors and then laid each die on the color I would cut it from. I referred to the picture on the packaging for this step.

Assembling Each Section

After die-cutting, I began assembly. The arcade is put together in sections, so as I completed each one, I set them aside.

There are some very tiny pieces that make the controllers and buttons, so using tweezers is a must! They’re not difficult to assemble, they’re just tiny. After assembly, they were glued to the console piece.

Before I assembled the black screen onto its frame, I used 8 Bit Birthday and 8 Bit Alphabet to stamp and heat emboss the sentiment. I also stamped “insert coin to play” onto the white pieces. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a word stamp so tiny, but it stamped perfectly!

Of course, the sentiment is what really makes this card perfect for my husband. It says:

“You’ve unlocked level 69” (you could put any age here).

Final Assembly

To give the machine it’s base (or cabinet), I cut a green panel measuring 3″ x 6″. All of the assembled pieces would get glued to this.

Starting at the bottom of this panel, I allowed a 1/8″ border and glued the bottom section of the machine down. Next was the console section, then the screen and finally the top “ARCADE” section. I used scissors to trim across the top, once again leaving a 1/8″ border.

Finally, I glued the assembled machine to the slimline base.

The Inside Finishes the Greeting

Finishing the inside of my cards is a must, so I cut a white panel 3 1/4″ x 5 3/4″ and glued it to the inside of the green card base. Using 8-Bit Birthday, I stamped the following sentiment in green and blue inks: “Happy Birthday, Press Play to Celebrate”.

I’m pretty sure he’ll appreciate the humor—and hopefully he’ll consider this card worth a high score! In any case, I’m so glad I discovered these products from Trinity Stamps and I can’t wait to make more!

Now all I need to do is figure out what game we’re going to play on his birthday! My favorite has always been Spider Fighter, which definitely shows my age! LOL 🙂 If you like having some “classic/retro/vintage” related cards on hand, here’s another idea: Introducing Classic Hot Rods. I enjoy making cards that remind me of the good old days, don’t you?

Until next time,

~Krista

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