DIY cards

Tropics are definitely on the brain this week.  With two days of snow this week I’m ready for a tropical vacation.  Since I don’t have one scheduled, I’ll just look at this lovely tropical card and imagine a Mai Tai in my hand and the sandy beach under my toes!

It’s Friday today and I usually do Fun Folds on Friday.  This swap is perfect to share today.  My downline Karen created this card for our Mini Catalog Swap.  Didn’t she do a nice job?  The Fun Fold may look familiar.  I shared it with back in September.  It’s funny how different the fold can look when you use different products.  You can view the original post on this Overlapping Flap Fun Fold card here.  The original post will give you dimensions as well as a quick video on how the fun fold was made.

One fun feature that Karen added to her fun fold was the Velcro-type fastener to hold the top flap closed.  Sometimes with a lot of layers things don’t stay closed like you want.  Another option that would have worked would be tiny, thin magnets to hold things closed.  The nice thing about magnets is that you can hide them under cardstock.  I like the fasteners that Karen used because they’re almost clear.  You can hardly tell that they’re there.

Karen used some of the products from the Artfully Composed Suite in Stampin’ Up!’s new Mini Catalog on her card. So much fun to be had with Artfully Layered stamp set, the Tropical Layers dies and the gorgeous and fun Artfully Composed Designer Series Paper! I love the soft colors and bold designs of the paper and can’t wait to play with it.

Are you itching for a tropical vacation after seeing Karen’s card? I sure am! Have a great day. Take care and Happy Stamping!

Last Spring I started sharing Gatefold cards with you and there were many different types.  Today’s card is a slight modification to the original Gatefold card.  To see my post on the original Gatefold card just click here.

Today’s Full Pane Gatefold card differs from the original Gatefold card in that the front focal piece of the card is larger.  It’s also slightly easier to make because on the original Gatefold card you decorate both side panels with designer paper and need to place them so they align together at the center opening.  On today’s modification you just need to choose your favorite piece of designer paper, layer it on a coordinating piece of cardstock and adhere it to the left flap of the card.  Easy Peasy!  This card is a great way to showcase Stampin’ Up!’s gorgeous designer series papers while at the same time featuring a fun fold.

Here you can see the inside of this fun fold. The base of the card is the regular 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″. Instead of scoring in half at the 4 1/4″ you want the card folded at 2 1/8″ from each side. To make sure the edges of my card meet up perfectly in the center when closed I make one score mark at 2 1/8″. I then fold the card along that score line and then instead of scoring another mark I just fold the right side of the card closed and make sure the edges meet up and then just crease well. This way you know those edges will match up perfectly. Sometimes when you score you may not have the paper lined up exactly and the edges don’t meet up exactly. Just a quick little tip.

I used the same supplies on this card as I did on a Make-It-Mine card a few weeks ago. I love this pattern of the Beauty of the Earth Designer Papers and this color scheme. The sentiment is from the Time of Giving stamp set.

Have a great day! Take care and Happy Stamping!

Ah, the colors of Fall.  That’s what I like best about Stampin’ Up!’s Beauty of the Earth Designer Series Paper….the colors!  This Strap Fold fun fold was the perfect choice for highlighting this paper because I got to use two large panels of it.  Doesn’t this paper design remind you of a pile of leaves that you can jump in?  Ok….that your kids or grandkids could jump in?

This fun fold is pretty easy to make.  You just need to be a little strategic when adhering the strap so that you don’t see it when you open the card.  For the card itself, not including the focal point label and leaf and the inside piece for you message, you only need three pieces of cardstock and two pieces of designer paper.  Here are the dimensions:

Cardstock:  5 ½” x 4 ¼”, 4 ¾” x 3 ½” and 1 ½” x 4 ¼” scored at 1 ¼”

Designer Paper:  5 ¼” x 4, 4 ½” x 3 ¼”

The small section of the strap will be sandwiched between the large base piece of cardstock and the large piece of designer paper.  When you adhere the strap to the cardstock be sure to line up the folded edge of the strap with the left edge of the cardstock.

The large section of the strap will be sandwiched between the smaller front piece of cardstock and the small piece of designer paper.  To make sure I got everything lined up straight I used temporary adhesive to adhere the top piece of cardstock to the base.  A sticky note or two will work also.  I then folded the strap over the top piece of cardstock and used a pencil to lightly draw around the edges.  This showed me where to place the adhesive on the cardstock piece.  Once I had applied the adhesive I again “closed” the strap and then adhered the small piece of designer paper.  The basic card is now complete and ready to be decorated!

The label on my card is die-cut using the Tasteful Labels dies and the leaf is die-cut using the Stitched Leaves Dies.  Such a fun card!  The inside piece of Basic White cardstock is 4 ½” x 3 ¼”.  It needs to be slightly smaller than the front piece of cardstock so it doesn’t show when the card is closed.

Happy Fall Y’all and enjoy those colors!  Take care and Happy Stamping!