Flashback Friday--Spring Birthday Accordion Fun Fold Card

Here's the big reveal from my last post, Sunday Sketch--Spring Birthday. Never ever have I made a card like this before, and you can see why it was six months late :-D

This amazing fun fold card is an accordion fold card. You can make accordion fun fold cards with or without the interlocking middle panel and windows. A quick Google will give you lots of inspiration.

This card was so amazing I made a video of it as it was hard to photograph.

Some more photos--click for full-size:

It's a little difficult to give exact instructions as the card was received, but I can give some general guidelines. I enjoyed the design and assembly challenge immensely. With this card, remember you are designing a front, four middle panels, the accordion and potentially the backside. Although I stamped the inside accordion, you'll see many stampers use scrap DSP instead. Go with whatever makes it special--the windows don't need to be a rectangle either!

• Take time to make a model card from scrap cardstock to work out the measurements. As I used one of the Ornate dies for the window frame, I had to make the cut out slightly smaller.
• The card is still 4.25x5.5" when folded. I used a 12x12" Very Vanilla sheet to cut a regular base and then I made another base with the left side 0.5" longer so I could attach them together to make one long accordion.
• The inside accordion is 2" tall and originally had six panels--but I realized four would work.
• Use a quality adhesives like tear tape or Tombow to keep the card together ;-D

Seriously, I felt like I used every stamp in the stash! I ended up taking group photos of the stamp sets so I would remember :-D Current ones are linked:

• Butterfly Brilliance
• Dragonfly Garden
• Enduring Beauty
• Everyday Details
• Grassy Grove
• Honeybee Home
• Nature's Beauty
• Nested Friends
• Quiet Meadow
• Textured Essentials
• Thoughtful Expressions

Other details:

• Petal Pink cardstock
• Very Vanilla 12x12" cardstock
• Flight & Airy DSP
• Early Espresso ink

Would I make another accordion fun fold card again? You bet!! I loved all the different elements and space to work with, plus they have so much potential and possibility! One could easily make a mini scrapbook or gift book for someone or create a seasonal display too.

 

Sunday Sketch--Spring Birthday

LOL this is a belated sketch for a belated birthday card--look for a post about this very special and complex card. You'll see why it was six months late :-) The complexity of this card required the inside to be designed, which was actually quite easy. The front, however, remained quite elusive and it was the last part of the card to be finished.

Stay tuned...

 

April 2022 Stampin' Up! News

Spring is just around the corner and so is the excitement of savings and new Stampin' Up! stuff. It's always an exciting time for me, personally, as I decide what to stock up on and what to wait patiently for. With that in mind, click to shop online and see the disconintued products and maybe save some bucks!

And of course as we say good-bye to the old catalogue, we welcome in new In-Colours, including three blue hues! The new colours are:

• Orchid Oasis
• Parakeet Part
• Starry Sky
• Sweet Sorbet
• Tahitian Tide

The new catalogue drops May 3, so stay tuned!

It's Here--2021-22 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue!

Don't worry--it's not pandemic brain setting in. The new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue starts May 4 instead of dropping in June. It's packed full of great new papers, lots of new florals and some old favourites. Plus, new In Colors--Polished Pink, Soft Succulent, Pale Papaya, Evening Evergreen and Fresh Freesia--will join us for the next two years. Contact me for a printed catalogue or shop with me online.

May Stamping Project - Mother's Day Cards

Making a handmade card for Mother's Day always takes me back to grade school! This year I reused some leftover card fronts from OnStage swaps to make cards for my MIL and my mother. I hate anything to go to waste in the craft room! I customized them and made 5x7" card blanks to affix the card fronts to. Voila!

If you miss purchasing them when the new catalogue comes out, they may show up on the Clearance Rack.

March Stamping Project: Happy Easter Egg Greeting Cards

Somehow Easter always sneaks up on me, so I designed a simple card for a fast turnaround. I made these double sided flat cards, but with a few changes you can make them into regular cards.



Supply list for four flat cards

• 1 sheet Elegant Eggplant 8.5x11" cardstock
• 3 sheets Whisper White 8.5x11" cardstock
• Elegant Eggplant ink
• Daffodil Delight ink
• Hello Easter stamp set (only available until the end of May!)
• Scissor snips, ruler and craft knife or Stampin' Trimmer
• Adhesive and Stampin' Dimensionals
• Stampin' Sponges

Click for larger

Cut a sheet of Elegant Eggplant cardstock into 4 4.25x5.5" pieces.

1. Cut two sheets of Whisper White cardstock into 8 pieces. First, trim the cardstock down to 7.5x10" sheets. Save the scraps for later. Cut the sheets in half at 5" on the longest side and then in half again at 3.75".
2. Trim the leftover strips to 0.75x3.5".
3. Stamp "Happy Easter" on the strips with Elegant Eggplant ink and notch each end.
4. On another piece of cardstock, stamp the largest egg in Elegant Eggplant. Colour if you wish.
5. Carefully cut out each large egg with scissor snips.
6. Sponge the front panel all over with Daffodil Delight and affix to one side of the Elegant Eggplant panel.
7. Take the back panel and sponge the edges with Daffodil Delight. Stamp leaves and a rabbit in Elegant Eggplant ink. Affix that to the Elegant Eggplant panel. Make sure both front and back are facing the same way and one isn't upside down :)
8. Stick down the Easter egg to the front.
9. Place 2 Stampin Dimensionals on the back of the Happy Easter sentiment and stick on the front.

One of the reasons that I chose the decorative egg over the striped one in the set was that it reminded me of eggs I used to make in school back home in Edmonton. The art of traditional Eastern European egg decorating is lots of of fun! Have a happy and blessed Easter!