Category: Fun Folds

Fun Folds

Brighter Tomorrow

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Hello, friends! I hope your week has gotten off to a good start. Thanks so much for hanging with me as I took a little break to tend to my hubby who was in the hospital. I’m pleased to report that we are now home! And as the saying goes, there really IS no place like home!

Over the weekend, I had a small bit of time to play around with some of the products I purchased from the new Annual Catalog. I kept things really simple and used a few sketches that I pulled from my sketch book.

Today’s card is a faux fold-over fun fold card. The center section lifts up, just as a fold-over would, but this card is constructed entirely of the card base without any extra layers like the usual fold-over design has. The front panel of the card is cut to give you a large center section and the two small side sections are adhered to the card base so that, rather than the entire card front opening, only the panel in the middle opens. I like to call this a fun fold cheat because it has all the pretty and half as much work — haha!

We begin with a base of Petunia Pop cardstock, which is one of the new In Colors. The base is cut to standard size and scored in the center. After selecting a side to serve as the card front, cut a one-inch strip on each side of the card front, leaving a larger panel in the center. Be sure you’re only cutting from the bottom edge to the center score line. Next, choose and cut a piece of the Thoughtful Journey designer paper so that it is slightly smaller than the entire card front. Then cut a three-quarter inch strip from each side. This will leave you a center piece of designer paper that should lay perfectly over the entire center flap of the card front, leaving only the small border of Petunia Pop on the top and bottom. The sentiment from Unbounded Love is stamped in Petunia Pop and black on a piece of vellum diecut using the Nested Essentials set. It’s adhered to the center section using glue dots on each end. A few sequins and a paper butterfly finish things off and draw the eye across the card to rest on the sentiment.

I have a few more cards to share this week from my weekend crafting mini session and hope to get back into the swing of things as we settle into an appointment schedule here at home.

Products used in today’s card:
Petunia Pop, vellum cardstock
Thoughtful Journey DSP
Unbounded Love stamps
Nested Essentials dies
Paper butterflies
Shiny sequins
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Clean and Simple · Fun Folds

Picked for You

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This week, we’ll be frolicking in the meadows and stopping to smell a few flowers along the way. Stampin’ Up! has a whole host of papers and stamps that put us squarely in the middle of beautiful fields and fragrant flower patches. And we’re going to explore some of my favorites throughout this week.

We begin today with a new take on an old fun fold. I recently ran across the hidden barn fold design and knew I had to give it a try. Why is it called a hidden fold? When the card is completely closed, the two sections of the front panel meet, they make the center cut virtually disappear.

So our take on this card begins with a base of Blackberry Bliss cardstock. The focal panel consists of a bottom mat of Lost Lagoon soft shimmer paper that is diecut using the largest Perennial Postage die, followed by a layer of Highland Heather cut just a tick smaller, and finally with our section of Meandering Meadow designer paper on top. To accomplish the two perfect sections, I cut the shimmery layer in half after I diecut it. I adhered the DSP and Highland Heather mat together first before also cutting them in half with the trimmer. Then these three layers were adhered together before carefully adhering them in place on the card front so that they meet together perfectly at the center. The sentiment from Charming Sentiments is stamped on white cardstock and diecut using the smallest Thoughtful Expressions die. The sentiment mat is cut from Lost Lagoon shimmer paper. A twist of silver & white sheer ribbon and Lost Lagoon bordered ribbon are adhered in between the two sentiment layers. Using dimensionals, the sentiment is adhered to the left flap of the card front. I added a few purple fine shimmer gems for sparkle and to move the eye diagonally across the card front.

This particular design is super easy to put together. And by changing the color palette and DSP, each card has a completely different look. This is going to be a go-to design for me if I need to make a whole host of simple yet beautiful cards!

Tune in tomorrow as we explore the rolling Hills of Tuscany!

Products used in today’s card:
Blackberry Bliss, Highland Heather, Basic White cardstock
Meandering Meadow, Lost Lagoon soft shimmer DSP
Charming Sentiments stamps
Thoughtful Expressions, Perennial Postage dies
Silver & white sheer trim, Lost Lagoon bordered ribbon
Purple fine shimmer gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Fun Folds · Terrific Tuesdays · Tutorials

Terrific Tuesdays: Episode 13

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Welcome to a new episode of Terrific Tuesdays, where each week we’ll explore new projects using some of the latest projects from Stampin’ Up! I know what you may be thinking….wait, it’s not Tuesday. And you’d be right. If you’ve followed me here or on any of the socials for the last several months, you may remember that I had to take a break due to a family emergency. And I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for sticking around and waiting for my return. While I’m back to posting more regularly now, it will still be necessary for me to take breaks here and there as we continue to address some long-term medical needs.

But today, I’m bringing you a new Terrific Tuesdays video. Earlier this week, I shared a treat holder fun fold with a teaser that a video tutorial would be forthcoming and this is it! I walk you through this cute treat holder step-by-step and give you some pointers, i.e. lessons in avoiding mistakes that I learned the hard way! *wink* For those folks who like to watch and also follow along with written instructions, I’m including the PDF tutorial for FREE download.

I hope you enjoy this twist on our Terrific Tuesdays format!

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Fun Folds · Luv 2 Stamp Artisan Design Team

Big Hugs Giftie

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Our monthly Luv 2 Stamp Team challenge is using designer series paper and to include at least one 3D project in the mix. I decided to make a fun treat holder for my 3D project since I had just recently made a whole slew of this design for a craft fair.

What I love about this particular fun fold is that you can adapt it to numerous occasions based on what you stuff in all of the treat holder slots. For today’s design, I chose to focus more on afternoon tea time. But I’ve also used these little gifties to feature get well items, like a package of tissues, some tea and honey, and vitamin mixes. There’s really no limit to how you can tailor them to any occasion.

For today’s treat holder, I used a sheet of the Delightfully Eclectic designer paper. The decorative insert has a base of Gorgeous Grape diecut using the Thoughtful Expressions dies. The sentiment from Perennial Postage is stamped on white and then diecut using the All That dies. I cut a flower from the DSP to tie everything together. I hope to post a tutorial video tomorrow (cross your fingers) and will also share the PDF tutorial.

Products used:
Gorgeous Grape, Basic White cardstock
Delightfully Eclectic DSP
Perennial Postage stamps
Thoughtful Expressions, All That dies
Rainbow dots
Silver trim
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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Fun Folds

Sprinkling of Love

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The Bright Skies stamps and dies in the current Stampin’ Up! Mini catalog are some of my favorites because they allow you to make so many different cards for a variety of occasions. This is one of those sets that will remain in my stash even after the current mini catalog retires.

This card design uses a peek-through fun fold design to reveal the sentiment. And for me, the eye-catching twist on this fun fold is the use of the vellum.

This card is built on a base of Pretty Peacock. I removed 2 1/2-inches of the front panel to create the peek-through portion. A piece of the Sunny Days designer series paper serves as the base for the front panel. A sheet of vellum is diecut on each end using the Bright Skies cloud bank dies and then embossed with the Raindrops embossing folder. This vellum panel is adhered with dimensionals over the base. To create a variety of clouds, I stamped two of the four clouds on cardstock using the Bright Skies stamps and simply diecut two from colored cardstock. Dimensionals help create the cloud layers over the vellum.

The sentiment for this card is stamped in the inside message panel which is visible thanks to the peek-through panel we created with the front card panel. The little scene is created with the Bright Skies stamps and begins with the little hill of flowers. I used the back of one of the smaller clouds to stamp the hill and then filled in with the flower stems and tulips. And finished with the sentiment. A few foiled gems help the eye settle on the sentiment.

Peek-through designs are such a great way to dress the inside and outside of your cards at the same time.

Products used in today’s design:
Pretty Peacock, Shaded Spruce, Lost Lagoon, Smoky Slate, Basic White cardstock
Sunny Days DSP
Bright Skies stamps
Bright Skies dies
Gold foiled gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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Fun Folds

You Are Loved

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Happy Thursday, everyone! And more importantly for us here in the U.S., happy Thanksgiving! My family will be gathering today to celebrate but, more importantly, we will be together to laugh and spend time together. I am blessed to have a close-knit family who gathers together often, not just for holidays. We share in joys and sorrows and tough circumstances together. And when we have friends who are far away from their families for the holidays, we wrap them right into ours!

I hope you have reasons to offer thanksgiving today. And if you are far away from family, I hope God sends you friends who will love you like family. And it’s the idea of being part of a community that inspired this week’s card design. Let’s take a look!

The new Meandering Meadows designer series paper currently available in Online Exclusives is simply stunning, and each of the scenic sides of these papers lend themselves to beautiful cards with very little else needed outside of the gorgeous paper. There are a whole host of fun folds that allow us to retain large sections of paper while still providing variety of design and, of course, gorgeous cards.

Today’s card design is based on a fun fold, known as a Split Panel, that I learned from fellow demonstrator Jackie Bolhuis with Klompen Stampers. This fold came by its name because the front and back panels are split apart and held together by a Z-fold in the center. I chose the portrait orientation, but you could easily turn the design landscape.

The two panels of the base of this design are Pretty Peacock cardstock. I wanted to draw out the beautiful pinks in the clouds and flowers in the sheet of Meandering Meadow DSP I selected, so I chose to mat the sheet with Moody Mauve. I used the Deckled Rectangles dies to cut both the mat and DSP panel. I tied a piece of silver and white sheer ribbon around the bottom of the panel before adhering to the card front with dimensionals. A few pink tinsel gems in opposing corners add a little sparkle and allow the eye to move across the focal panel. Although difficult to see in these photos, I highlighted the pinks in the clouds and across the mountain front by going over them with Wink of Stella. It’s a truly stunning effect in person! I stamped the sentiment, from the Softly Said stamp set, in the center of the inside fold-out. The message panel is framed on one side by a scrap of the DSP I cut for the card front.

I made this card with a particular friend in mind. Life has thrown my friend a lot of difficult things lately, and I wanted to offer a word of support. You know, I think we should do more of that these days. Life is hard for so many people, and some feel like the whole world is against them and they have no one who cares about them. A simple word of support or encouragement can make all the difference in whether that person carries on. Food for thought as so many of us are blessed to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends today.

Products used:
Pretty Peacock, Moody Mauve, Basic White cardstock
Meandering Meadows DSP
Deckled Rectangles dies
Silver and white sheer ribbon
Tinsel gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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Fun Folds · Packaging

Oh, Happy Day

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Did you catch yesterday’s Terrific Tuesdays video? This week’s episode is all about gift card holders and was inspired by today’s card design! I love finding fun ways to give gift cards. I recently ran across this super fun gift card holder shared by fellow demonstrator Heidi Collins. I knew this would be the perfect design for an upcoming family member’s birthday as this young man is all things outdoors.

The gift card holder is built on a standard single-panel base of Night of Navy cardstock. The patterned papers are all from the Let’s Go Fishing designer series paper pack. The fold-out gift card holder portion in the center is built on a piece of Basic Gray cardstock, which is scored into thirds. For the front-facing panel, I decided to add a little interest to the navy mat by embossing it using the 3D Rope embossing folder. The sentiment panel is stamped on Smoky Slate cardstock with a border stamp from the Heartfelt Hexagon set and a sentiment from the So Sincere stamp set and then punched with the coordinating hexagon punch. The gift card pocket is made with a piece of Let’s Go Fishing DSP with the notch created by the hexagon punch. The cute vellum sentiment panel on the gift card pocket has a heat embossed sentiment from the Gone Fishing stamp set and is diecut using the Nested Essentials dies. There are a few bobbers and some line underneath the vellum panel to carry the theme through and for a bit of visual interest. The message panel is a simple piece of white paper with a strip of Night of Navy diecut and embossed using the Gone Fishing dies.

This gift card holder was super easy to put together! And with several more upcoming birthdays and the Christmas holidays just around the corner, as well, I love having a cute way to give gift cards that can easily be tailored to each individual recipient and occasion.

Wanna know more? Check out this week’s Terrific Tuesdays video to learn how this design was adapted for holiday gift-giving!

Products used for today’s design:
Night of Navy, Basic Gray, Smoky Slate, Cherry Cobbler, Basic White, vellum cardstock
Let’s Go Fishing DSP
Gone Fishing stamps & dies
Heartfelt Hexagon stamps & punch
Faceted gems trio
Linen thread
Silver embossing powder
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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Fall · Fun Folds

Love Spending Time With You

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Do you love learning new things? I’m learning new fun folds to add interest to my card designs, and I really love this one that I learned from fellow demonstrator Jacki Bolhuis with Klompen Stampers. She calls it the Split Front Fold, but I like to think of it as the Cut and Twist because you cut out the center of the front panel and twist it up to make it a focal panel. What I really love about this fun fold is that you can get stellar results whether you dress up the front focal panel or leave it as a stand-alone, like I did here. So many possibilities!

For this card, we begin with a base of Early Espresso and a single sheet of the leaf pattern from the All About Autumn designer paper pack. The base is is a standard size but scored at the top rather than on the side. To achieve the cut and flip, with the long edge up, you cut 1 1/2-inches from one side and then make a second cut of 2 1/2-inches. This leaves a 1 1/2-inch strip just beyond the center fold, along with the two pieces that were cut. The larger piece gets twisted up vertically to serve as the focal panel on the card front and also holds the smaller pieces of the card front together. I chose the leaf pattern of All About Autumn to serve as the star of the vertical focal panel. The foiled pattern on the back side of the leaf sheet serves as the two decorative strips at the top and bottom. A little twist of linen thread gives a little punch to the focal panel. To allow the beautiful patterned paper to really shine, the sentiment is stamped on the card base so that it shows through the peek-through window in the card front.

What do you think of this new Cut and Twist method? I’m excited to try some other designer papers with this unique fun fold!

Products used:
Early Espresso cardstock
All About Autumn DSP
Linen thread
Adhesives

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Fun Folds

Joy to my Heart

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Sometimes I find myself a little stumped with design ideas for beautiful designer papers because the thought of cutting them up gives me pause. But I’ve learned that there are a whole host of fun folds that afford an inspired design while sparing gorgeous designer papers.

I recently ran across a small modification to the Z-fold that gives even more space for designer paper. As you look at the closed card, you may be thinking that the design looks oddly familiar. That’s because this fun fold is a combination of both a Z-fold and peek-through, but rather than cutting the one-inch strip from the card front, the card front is scored at the one-inch mark. Then this small flap is folded back toward the card front.

This card design begins with a base of Crushed Curry card stock. It is cut to a standard size of 4 1/4 x 5 1/2-inches with the 1-inch panel scored and folded back on the front panel. Two sheets of a single pattern of Meandering Meadow designer paper are needed for this design — one for the card front and flap and the other for the inside panel and inside base. I chose the beautiful fields of yellow daisies for this card because it perfectly represents the cheerful sentiment. The smaller strips of patterned paper are the reverse side of the sunny daisy paper. The focal sentiment panel is comprised of a vellum banner diecut using the Nested Essentials dies and a smaller sentiment panel diecut from Crumb Cake cardstock using the Autumn Leaves dies. The sentiment is from the So Sincere stamp set. To add a pop of additional color to the sentiment, a few sprigs of greenery cut from Pretty Peacock using the Bold Bouquet dies is tucked in the center. A scattering of sparkle gems add visual interest and move the eye across the design.

I really love this new fun fold variation and am looking forward to putting it to use with a few of my other favorite designer papers. What do you think of this fun fold variation? Interested in giving it a try? Check out the PDF tutorial here.

Products used:
Crushed Curry, Crumb Cake, Pretty Peacock, vellum cardstock
Meandering Meadow DSP
So Sincere stamps
Nested Essentials, Bold Bouquet, Autumn Leaves dies
Tinsel gems
Dimensionals
Adhesives

Fall · Fun Folds

Because You’re You

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For today’s card design, I challenged myself to use paper scraps for as many elements as I could. I had accumulated a number of scraps of All About Autumn after completing projects for a team event. So those scraps set the color palette for this card design.

We begin with a base of Early Espresso cardstock. A 1-inch peek-through panel is cut in the card front. The predominantly vanilla mosaic foil from All About Autumn serves as the decorative base for the card front. Scraps of Mossy Meadow and copper foil serve as the peek-through elements on the base panel. A scrap of Moody Mauve foil is mounted askew on the mosaic foil to add visual interest and a color base for the vellum sentiment panel. The mauve also helps to bring out the copper metallic of the leaves and sentiment. The leaves are diecut from Oxidized Copper designer paper using the Autumn Leaves dies. The veining of the larger leaf is diecut from Crumb Cake cardstock to add a little definition without detracting from the overall design. The sentiment is stamped using the Pansy Patch set and heat embossed in copper atop a vellum panel that is diecut using a Deckled Rectangle die. The vellum sentiment panel and leaves are layered using dimensionals. The brushed metallic dots draw the eye to the sentiment panel in the center.

Do you save your paper scraps? If so, do you have success in using up your accumulated scraps? I’m a scrap saver and pretty efficient at being able to use them. I do periodically purge my scraps since the smaller pieces can sometimes take over. I love how these scraps worked together for this design!

Products used:
Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, vellum cardstock
All About Autumn (retired), Oxidized Copper DSP
Pansy Patch stamps
Autumn Leaves, Deckled Rectangles dies
Copper embossing powder
Brushed metallic dots
Dimensionals
Adhesives

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