Tutorials

Joy Fold Card Tutorial

So, what exactly is a 'Joy Fold' card???

Basically, as you can hopefully see from my card above, it's a card that has two interlocking flaps...one smaller than the other...that opens to reveal a hidden message or image.

I'm going to show you below how I made my card. I'm by no means an expert at this type of card...though I have made a couple before...and this is not the only way to do it, but it gives you the basic principles.

To start with, cut your card blank in whatever shape & size you like - mine measures 5.75 inches square - then cut the front flap in half:

Then, cut the smaller flap - again this can be whatever shape & size you like - mine is 4x8 inches, then folded in half:

The photo below shows how the two pieces will fit together...notice how they open in opposite directions:

The smaller one will be stuck underneath the shorter flap on the main card, so that they overlap:

Now for the fun part...decorate the pieces however you like - here's the main card:

And the smaller flap:

Remember...it needs to open the 'wrong' way:

Then, stick the pieces together:

All that's left to now, is to add something to hold the front flap closed...I've added a sentiment cut out with Nesties...you only want it to overlap by a small amount - you still need to be able to open it!:

To make it easy to open (and close again), I mounted it on to thick foam pads:

Here's the finished card:

And open:

Materials used on my card:

Image Stamps - Penny Black 'Christmas Critters' & 'Holly-Jolly' sets (coloured using watercolour pencils)

Papers - My Mind's Eye 'Wonderful Winter'

Nestabilities - Scalloped & Classic Circles dies

Sentiment Stamp - Cuddly Buddly

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Side Step Card Tutorial

1. Using an A4 piece of card for the base of my card, I marked out the following measurements (click on the photo for a larger view):

2. I then cut along the red line (using a craft knife & a steel ruler), mountain folded along the blue lines, and valley folded along the green lines (creasing the folds with my bone folder to get a crisp fold). My base card then looked like this:


Here's a view from the front, so that you can see the 'steps':


3. My next step was to cut the card to decorate the front of the card, and each of the 'steps'. I also added a strip of ribbon at the bottom at this stage, so that I'd be able to tie a bow around it once I'd assembled the card.


4. I then attached the panels to the card using DST. There's no need to decorate the parts I've left white, as these will not be seen when the card is assembled.


Here's a view with the card standing up, so you can see how it's beginning to take shape:


5. I then coloured the images I was going to use, stamped my sentiment, and matted all of them, ready to put on the card.


6. Finally, I added the images and sentiment to my base card using foam pads, and tied a bow around the ribbon strip I added earlier.

Materials used on my card:

Images: 'Splashing Maggie' by Sugar Nellie; Hand drawn rainbow (coloured using watercolour pencils)

Sentiment stamp: from the 'Kids Quotes' set by Inkadinkado

Tools: Cuttlebug 'Tiny Bubbles' folder; Nestabilities 'Classic Circles' and 'Scalloped Circles' dies

Ribbon: Hobbycraft