Another Easter Iris Fold

Hi everyone.  It's wonderful Wednesday!  I hope your week is going well so far.  I have a fairly busy day today and tomorrow.  I am attending a meeting for my husband's charity this morning and have a couple of errands to run after that.  Tomorrow I am going to spend the day with my aunt.  I am really looking forward to seeing her.  We always have a lot of fun together.

Today I am going to share another Iris Fold technique card with you.  This one is also themed for Easter and is one of my favorites.  Let's get started.

 

Much of how I made this card is the same as yesterday so I will try not to bore you with the details.  I started with a 7" x 10" card , scored at 5" out of Whisper White card stock.  I added a 4 3/4" x 6 3/4" layer of designer paper I bought at a local craft store to this using my runner adhesive.  The final layer is another white piece cut to be 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".  This piece is what the Iris Fold would be done on and then added to the base card when complete.

 

This pattern is one of an Easter basket.  Now the handle of the basket is just a scrap of dsp and the eggs were cut out free hand.  The only part that is actually folded is the basket.  I started by placing the pattern onto my light box and tracing it onto the white card stock using a pencil.  I cut this out on my self healing mat using my craft knife.  I found 3 coordinating pieces of dsp to use for this particular pattern.  Once the basket was completed, I attached the handle and eggs to the top, carefully trimming off any excess.  Once the basket was completed I was ready to prepare it to attach to the card.

 

This time I added cut little butterfly brads to the corners of the folded design.  I used sticky strip on the back of the design and added a glue dot on top of the back of each brad.  This was then attached to the base card and was ready to send to someone special.

I know this seems like a quick post but I still have more tax stuff to go through.  Right now I am looking forward to Friday when I can have a day to myself and get some rest!!

I do hope you will stop by tomorrow to see what I have for you.  Thanks for stopping by today and I will see you tomorrow!

Revisiting the Iris Fold Technique

Hello to all and happy Tuesday!!!  I hope your week is off to a great start.  I have to spend part of this week getting all of our tax stuff gathered so we can go visit the accountant.  Not looking forward to that.  I guess we all have to do taxes though don't we?

Knowing I have such a task ahead of me, I decided to do a little organizing in my craft room today.  I happen to come across a couple of cards that I made for Easter.  I am not sure if I have posted these before so forgive me if I have.  I just thought they were cute and deserved to be seen again (or for the first time if I have not posted them priorly).  One will be shown today and the other one I will share tomorrow.  They both use the iris fold technique to make them and I knew I had not shared a card made this way in a while.  Anyway, let me show you the first one and we will get started!

 

I had to make this card larger than normal to provide room for the bunny.  It does fit on the regular size I make but it is edge to edge.  I started with a base card of Whisper White card stock cut at 7" x 10", scored at 5".  I added a piece of designer paper I bought at a local craft store that was cut to be 4 3/4" x 6 3/4" with runner adhesive.  The final layer for the front is the Whisper White that the bunny is created on.  It measures 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".  

 

To create the bunny you need your piece of white card stock, a pattern, a craft knife and several designer papers that coordinate together well.  A light box is helpful too if you have it.  I use one all the time.  I place the pattern on the box and place the white card stock over it.  Using a pencil, I trace the image onto the white.  Once completed, I place the white card stock on a self healing mat and use my craft knife to cut the image (bunny) out.  You can set the cut out bunny aside and use it later but all you need for this is the negative piece.  Then you follow the pattern of layering that is on your bunny pattern to do the fold.  I search for iris fold patterns on the internet all the time and that is where I have found most of mine.  Once the pattern is complete I try to make sure the paper is covered with tape so the pieces do not fall off or slip.  I use sticky strip to attach the finished bunny to the card after the brads are on the corners.

 

I had to show you a close up of the brads I used.  They are little bunny heads.  Aren't they cute?!!!!  I bought these at a convention years ago and love them.  They do not attach the bunny to the dsp but are really just for decoration.  Even thought I use sticky strip to attach the bunny piece, I also put a glue dot over the back of each brad for more security.

That's it for today.  I am so glad you stopped by.  Please come back tomorrow to see my other cute Easter card.  Until they, thanks for dropping in and have a wonderful rest of your day!!!!

Iris Fold Fish Card

Hi everyone and welcome to Thursday.  I hope your week is moving right along with few problems to disrupt your days.  So far so good at my house.

Today I wanted to share with you the card I made using the iris fold fish I showed you how to make yesterday.  I could have shown this to you yesterday but I had not had a chance to finish it so you had to wait.  Today my fish is ready so let's get started.

I started with a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" base card of Marina Mist and scored it at 4 1/4".   I took my iris folded fish and layered it onto a piece of Night of Navy card stock cut at 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  I attached it using runner adhesive and glittery brads.  Once it was securely on the Night of Navy, I attached the entire piece to the base card by placing a glue dot in each corner and runner adhesive all over the rest.  I wanted to be sure it would be nice and secure.  One thing I did not mention yesterday is when I cut my Whisper White card stock to 4" x 5 1/4" I chalked the side that would be the front of the card with a light blue chalk and then turned it over to trace the fish and proceed with the iris fold process.  You do not have to do this.  It was just the look I wanted to have for my finished card.

Here is my little fishy up close.  As you can see, I added a blue rhinestone to mine for an eye.  After all, fish have eyes too.  Then I wanted to add a few bubbles that my fish could be blowing.  I chose to use these light blue sticker dots that I picked up at a local store.  I like them because they have that "wet" look and fit in nicely with a water setting.  If you missed my blog yesterday and want to learn to make the fish, please refer to the blog posted on September 26, 2012 and I will take you step by step through the iris folding process.

Finally, for the greeting I chose my Curly Cute stamp set and selected the "thinking of you" stamp.  I stamped it using Night of Navy ink onto Whisper White and cut it out free hand.  Once cut, I brushed the edges with Night of Navy ink and attached it to my card with dimensionals.  I chose to leave the inside of this card blank.  I did put a piece of Whisper White cut at 3" x 4" with edges sponged with Night of Navy ink in the card to either write on or add a stamp to at a future date.  This card can be used for many different occasions and who knows what I will choose to use it for when the time comes.

Well that's it for today.  I will be back with one more share for this week tomorrow.  I appreciate you spending some time with me today and taking a look at my fishy.  Thanks for dropping by and I will see you tomorrow.

Learn to Iris Fold

Happy Wednesday to you all.  As promised yesterday, I will devoting my blog today to teaching you how to do the iris fold technique.  The card I shared with you yesterday was a beautiful dolphin.  For today's lesson, we will be making a cute little fish.  Let's get started shall we.

The first thing you will need is a pattern.  I have found most of the patterns I have through the internet.  I simply Googled Iris Folding Patterns and visited some of the site that came up.  Once I find a pattern, I print it out and add it to my stash. Sometimes when I go to use the pattern I find that it is a little larger than I need.  I simply place it on a copier and shrink the image.  In this case I made a second copy at 75% of the original so it would fit on my card.  The pattern has the numbers on it as well as the pattern guide.  The guide will indicate how many colors of paper you will need to use.  In this case, we will be using 4 colors as there is a color A, color B, color C and color D.  Listed with each color are the numbers you will use the color with.  Now that I have selected my pattern it is time to trace it.

I placed my pattern on top of a light box and turned the light on.  Next I put a piece of Whisper White card stock cut at 4" x 5 1/4" on top of the pattern and placed the image where I wanted it.  I then used a pencil and traced around the image. 

Once your image is traced it is time to cut it out.  I took out my cutting pad, my craft knife and some blue painters tape.  I will use a small piece of the tape at each corner to hold the image in place so it does not move while I am cutting.  Painters tape is the best to use because it will release from your card stock causing little to no damage at all.  Once your image is secured, use your craft knife to follow the lines and cut the image out.

Here is my fish once it is cut out.  As you can see, my lines are not always perfectly rounded as they seem like they will be.  Do not worry about this.  Your image does not have to be perfect.

Once your image is cut out, place it over your pattern sheet and secure it to the sheet using the painters tape if you wish to do so.  As you can see, you will be able to see the numbers through your image opening allowing you to easily follow the pattern.  What you cannot see is the pattern guide.

To make it easier for me, I take a scrap piece of paper and copy the guide onto it.  This way it is off to the side where I can easily see it and I will not have to lift my image.  I also like to do this because I can cross the numbers off as I go along.  Now it is time to choose my papers.

As the pattern guide indicated I would knew I would need 4 different patterns.  To make my selection easier, I tend to use the designer series papers from Stampin' Up!  This particular set is retired but as many crafters know sometimes you have not used all your paper by the time it retires.  I tend to store mine in baggies and label them with the colors they include.  Now you can go to your local craft store and select papers that compliment each other and I have done that before.  I would recommend you store them together to make future selections easier.  Now we have our paper so let's get folding.

I like to start by cutting my paper into strips wide enough to cover the widest area where a piece will be needed.   Once I have the strips cut, I will cut off a piece from the end and fold one edge down as shown in the photo.  

Looking at the first strip I cut, I am sure you can see it was too long for the spot where I was to place it.  Simply cut it down so it will cover the area.  Place the piece with the folded side towards the number line and tape it down.  There is no special tape for this.  I simply use plain old regular scotch tape.

You will continue with the cutting of strips, folding and taping down around your image following the numbers.  Do Not do all of one pattern color at a time because your iris will not look right.  You need to go in numerical order - 1,2,3, and so on.  If you are afraid you will confuse your patterns, write down which pattern goes with which set of numbers on your pattern guide.  If you have it off to the side, you will be able to refer to it any time you forget which pattern you are on.

Once you finish going around and around and have covered all the numbers, this is what you are left with.  Doesn't really look like a fish does it?  It always looks like a mess.  You will have the center section open as this is the iris of your image.  Carefully remove your painters tape. 

Once you turn your image over, you will be able to see your fish.  As you can see, you get a nice spiral effect using this technique.  Again you have to follow the numerical pattern number by number.  You can choose to leave the center of your iris open if you would like to do so.

Personally I prefer to cover my area up with a small piece of paper.  I usually look at my image from the front and decide which pattern will look best showing through.  All you have to do is flip the fish back over and tape the paper to it.  Sometimes I will add a rhinestone to this area instead of paper.  Other times I add both.  It just depends on my mood.

Well I hope this tutorial has been helpful.  I am pretty sure I covered all the steps.  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.  I will do my best to answer you.  

If you want to see what I do with my fish you will have to come back tomorrow.  I will have a card made using this cute fishy.  I hope you will all come back to see him.  Thanks for stopping by today.

It's A Special Day

Happy Happy Birthday to my beautiful daughter Heather!!  I am so proud of the woman she has become and am sending lots of love and good wishes her way on her special day.  I made her a beautiful sunflower card that I shared with you last week as well as the recipe box.  So for today, I wanted to share a card that I made with her in mind.  She has always loved dolphins and I thought I would share a card with a dolphin today in her honor.

I chose to do the iris fold technique for this card.  I started with a base card of Tempting Turquoise cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  For my second layer I went with  Pacific Point card stock cut at 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  The top layer is a piece of Whisper White cut at 4" x 5 1/4".  I added Stickles glitter glue dots in turquoise and bright green to the white for added detail after the dolphin was complete.  I attached the white to the pacific with runner adhesive and glitter brads in turquoise and green after the dolphin was done.  The pacific with the dolphin was attached to the base card using glue dots in the corners and runner adhesive all over the back to ensure it would hold tight to the base.  

Here is a close up of the dolphin.  As I said I used the iris folding technique which is a paper folding process.  You start with a pattern, cut out your shape and follow the numbers to place the folded strips of paper.  I know it sounds confusing so I have decided to show you the step by step process of doing this as I did with the stain glass technique.  I will share it with you tomorrow on my blog so please look for it.

The paper I chose to use for this is a retired set of designer series paper from Stampin' Up!.  It is several years old so I do not remember the name.  Since you want to have papers that coordinate, I tend to cut my dsp into 6" x 6" squares and store them together in a baggie.  That makes it easy for me to find paper that will work well together quickly.

For the greeting, I used the stamp set Create A Cupcake.  I stamped the greeting using Tempting Turquoise ink onto Whisper White card stock and punched it out using the word window punch.  I layered this on top of a turquoise modern label and added a rhinestone to each end.  I then attached it to the card using dimensionals.  

The nice thing about this technique is it provides a focal point on the front of the card and really does not need many more embellishments at all.  The actual folding of the paper and placement does not take long at all.  After you have done a few of these you will get faster and faster at it.  

Well that's it for today.  I will be back to teach you the technique tomorrow.  Please stop by to learn and give the technique a try.  Thanks for dropping by today!!

The Witch's Shoe

Happy Tuesday!!  I hope your week is off to a good start.  Mine seems to be going okay so far.  It is kind of boring but what excitement can you expect from laundry and housework?  I am so glad I have my craft room to retreat to and find some fun things to do.

When I was thinking about what I wanted to share with you today, my mind seemed to jump to Iris Folding. If you have never heard of this technique let me explain it to you.  It is a paper folding technique.  You begin by finding a pattern of something you want to create.  I have found a lot of mine online and printed them out to use.  Once you choose your pattern, you trace it onto a piece of card stock.  I use my light box when I do this and it is easier on light colored card stock.  Once it is traced, get out a cutting mat and your craft knife and cut out the image.  If you need this on a darker card stock, trace it onto a white first and cut it out.  Then you can use that as a pattern to trace around on the dark color.  All the patterns I have let me know how many different pieces of designer paper I will need to have.  It usually ranges between 2 to 5.  You want to try to get dsp that goes together so it will look really nice when you are finished.  Let me show you the card I made and we will go from there.

I used a base card of Gumball Green cut at 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  I added a layer of Elegant Eggplant cut to be 4 1/8" x 5 3/8",  after I attached the shoe to it, using runner adhesive.  For the top layer, I used a piece of dsp I bought years ago from a craft store.  The dsp used for the Iris Fold was also bought as individual pieces from a local craft store.  Since the dsp is black on the front, I traced the pattern onto a piece of white card stock and cut it out with my craft knife.  I then laid it on the back of the dsp and traced it onto there.  I then cut that out.  This let the hole of the image and I could lay it over the pattern which shows how to place the paper.

Here is a little closer look at the shoe.  As you can see the dsp takes on a spiral look and I think it is pretty cool looking.  The center of the iris is always left blank.  I like to fill it in with something and this time I chose a pair of eyes to be looking out at us.  I thought this was really cute and would be memorable.  The dsp is cut into strips the size you need for each piece laid down.  The edge of each piece of dsp is folded to give that clean edge look.  Once you lay a piece down you secure it using a piece of tape - just regular tape that you use for everyday things.  The most difficult part of this is attaching it to the card itself.    I started by putting runner adhesive onto the Elegant Eggplant piece of card stock and then attached the shoe. But in my mind, this is not secure enough.  

That is why I used these cute little Halloween brads.  You can use brads or eyelets to secure the corners of the image to the card stock underneath.  I just like to know there is something holding the image securely.  I picked these brads up at a craft show several years ago.  They are brooms and I thought they would go nicely with the witch's shoe.  Once the brads were attached so the image was secured onto the eggplant card stock, I attached the eggplant to the green base card with the runner adhesive.  

If you like this technique, start searching for patterns online.  You will find there are many and the technique is fairly simple to do.  It's kind of fun too.

That's all for today.   Please come visit me tomorrow and see what I have to show you then.  Thanks for dropping by today.  

An Egg-stra Special Card

I am hoping I do not miss any days of posting this week but I will tell you we have been having problems with our internet connection.  One minute it works and the next it doesn't.  Our internet company see no history of broken service so it seems it may be our router.  We have reset it and so far so good.  But who knows what will happen next.  I am so technologically challenged that I am glad my husband is here to help with this one. 

Today I wanted to work with the Iris Fold technique.  It is a paper folding technique and the results are beautiful I think.  So let me share the card I made with you today. 

 

Isn't this a neat looking Easter egg?  I chose to use Lucky Limeade as my base card color.  It is cut at 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  I then took a piece of Basic Black and cut it at 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  The Whisper White I used for the egg is cut at 4" x 5 1/4".  Now before you can start adding layers to the base card, you must make the egg.  So let me show you a close up of it and tell you a little about how to make it.  

 

I took a pattern I had found on the internet of the egg and placed it on my light box so I could trace it onto the Whisper White.  Using a craft knife, I carefully cut out the shape from the white.  I set the cut out egg aside and was ready to start my folding.  On my pattern, it told me I would need 4 colors of paper and the pattern is numbered so you know where to place each color.  I always leave my cut out piece on top of the pattern so that it shows through.  This allows me to see where to place each color.  I used some leftover DSP I had from a long time ago.  I like using DSP (designer series paper) because it is coordinated to work well together.  The center of the egg is actually left open but I like to put a piece of dsp over the hole to make it all closed.  The gem in the center of it is something I picked up at my local craft store.  I adhered it on using a glue dot.  I applied glue dots all over the back of the egg to adhere it to the piece of black card stock.  I took out 3 of my pastel colored Stickles glitter glues and added dots all around the egg.  

 

Using my paper piercer, I poked a hole in each corner of the egg/black card stock so I could  use brads.  I added a bunny and a butterfly to both the top and bottom of my egg.  Once these were in place, I put a glue dot on the back in each corner and runner adhesive all over the black card stock.  I then attached it to the Lucky Limeade card stock.  

I did not get a picture of the inside of the card but I want to tell you my plan for it.  I will take the egg shape I cut out to do the Iris Fold and will stamp an Easter greeting onto it.  I will add dots of the same glitter glues to decorate it so it coordinates with card front.  

I seem to feel a little scattered today so if you have any questions about this card please feel free to ask.  I would be happy to answer them.  I hope you will come back by tomorrow to see if my internet is still working and if I come up with a card to share.  Thank you so much for dropping by today.

 

 

Santa's Ride

I decided today to go back to my favorite paper folding technique -- Iris Fold.  I have so many patterns for this technique that I really do need to spend a day going through them and trying all of them out.  I happened to come across a set of Christmas ones and thought it was the perfect time to work on those.  So here is the one I chose today:

 

This particular pattern called for 3 coordinating papers.  So I went to my scrap box and took out 3 of a retired DSP from Stampin' Up!.  The color is Always Artichoke.  I like this dark green color and chose it for the base card.  The greeting is stamped in matching ink and comes from the current stamp set call Four the Holidays.  As you can see clearly, my hand rocked slightly when I was stamping it and it looks a little shaky at the end.  

 

I tried to get a little closer to the sleigh but did not want to cut much of it out.  The runner of the sleigh is made from Brushed Silver card stock.  It is adhered to the front of the card under the cut out part for the sleigh.  Let me refresh you on the Iris fold technique.  You begin with a pattern of what you are going to make.  Lay the pattern on a light box and put your piece of card stock on top of it.  Trace the pattern onto the card stock.  Then place your traced image on a cutting mat and cut the image out using a craft knife.  Lay the card stock with the cut out image on top of the pattern again and follow the pattern to get your layered look.  I find my patterns on the internet mostly.  You can google iris fold patterns and it will come up with sites for you to visit to check out the patterns.  It is really an easy technique.  

I am off to work on my Christmas cards again plus a few other items.  I got a little behind.  I suffer from depression and migraines and believe me when either of those flair up I get behind on everything.  Oh well.  Thanks for stopping by today.  See you tomorrow.

Happy Halloween

Welcome to a brand new week and a big HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all.  I hope you all had a nice weekend.  Mine was filled with a family dinner, lots of laundry, and a day of pumpkin carving.  It is tradition in our little family to carve pumpkins.  We select a day near Halloween, have both our girls and their boyfriends come over, carve pumpkins and eat a meal together.  It is a lot of fun and I enjoy the time with our daughters so much.

I sat down on Saturday this past weekend to work on a couple of cards and could not decide what to do for today.  I knew it would be Halloween but that's not going to be the theme of the card for today.  I wanted to completely go a different direction and do something cute to share.  So I decided to Iris Fold again.  You remember it is a paper folding technique.  Today's card would be perfect for someone who just had a new baby boy.  Subtle changes would easily make this a girl's card.  Here we go.

 

This card measures 5" x 7".  I used a white card as my base.  The water drop paper is from my local craft store.  I love the little button brads that I used to attach my little duck to the water drop paper.  By changing out the background paper to a pink and using pink buttons, this would become a little girl card.  Of course if you want to use it for a shower where you do not know if the baby is a boy or a girl, I would go with neutral colors like pastel green or yellow to make a gender neutral card.  As for the duck, it would stay the same.  Let's look at the duck for a minute.

 

Here is my little ducky close up.  I am hoping you can see that I started with a piece of shimmery white card stock.  Using my light box, I traced my duck pattern on the card stock.  Once the tracing was finished, I used my craft knife to cut the duck out.  My color choices for the duck were pretty easy.  I will admit I used non Stampin' Up! card stock to make this card.  I wanted to use a yellow that was a little softer than my SU! ones.  The orange is one I had in my stash of papers.  I love the look of the folds.  In a way, it reminds me of the feathers on a duck.  I used a blue brad for the eye simply because I liked it.  

Now it is time to get ready for all the trick or treaters!!  I hope you have your candy ready.  Remember to be careful out there tonight and keep you animals inside.  Have a Spook-tastic night.  Thanks for stopping by and I will see you tomorrow.

Ice Cream Anyone!!

Welcome to Thursday everyone.  We are getting close to another weekend.  Where does the week go?  I always seem to have so much to do and no time to do it.  Before I know it the week is gone and my list still has items on it.  One item I crossed off is my class that was scheduled for tonight.  There was just not enough interest in it so I will have to try to reschedule for another time.  Oh well, guess I will get some other task done instead.

Today, I went back to a technique I have shown before but not for awhile.  It is called Iris Folding.  It is a form of paper folding used to create a design.  You begin with an outline of what you want to make, trace it onto the card stock and cut it out with a craft knife.  I use a light box to do my tracing.  It makes it much easier.  This particular card has been made for a birthday.

 

Now I will admit, all supplies for this card are non Stampin' Up! products.  I have a bin of paper from before I was a demonstrator and got my shiny card stock from a local craft store.  The cute little ice cream brads I used are an item I bought several years ago at the stamp convention (which by the way is coming up on Nov. 5th and 6th).  I really enjoy this technique.  The finished look is always so beautiful.  I love the way the cone looks.  I was lucky and found a scrap that had ice cream on it for my background layer.  This card is a 5" x 7".  Let's look at the cone a little closer.

 

The layering of the cone is my favorite part of this.  Finding the coordinating papers for the scoop part of this was the most difficult part of it.  Once I chose the paper the rest was easy.  The technique is simple paper folding which is layered in a spiral formation.  Some people choose to leave the center open while I prefer to cover it with a piece of the dsp.  

Well I know this is a short post but I really have a lot to do.  So off I go to work.  Thanks for dropping by today.  See you tomorrow.

Paper Folding

A few years ago, my mother in law showed me a technique she had learned to do when making cards.  It is a paper folding technique called Iris Folding.  It sounded difficult but once I did it, I found out how easy it was to do.  I wanted to share a card I made recently using Iris Folding.

 

You begin by tracing a pattern onto a piece of card stock.  In this case, I used a teddy bear.  I used my light box to trace it.  Once finished, I carefully cut it out using a craft knife.  That left the shape of the bear as an outline.  Some patterns you use for this are available online.  They have the shape and the recipe for the paper to use.  It will tell you if you need 2 ,3, 4 or more different designs of paper as well as have a numbering system to guide you in your placement of these sheets.  Basically, it is simply cutting or tearing strips of paper to fit the space and folding it to give the nice edges.  

 

In this close up you can see I used 4 designs of paper that coordinated.  You will follow the number pattern (1, 2, 3, and so on) to lay the folded strips down.  Although you might be tempted to do all on one design of paper at a time, you will not achieve the spiral effect you should.  You must go in numerical order to have it turn out right.  You can also see the folds.  The strips are adhered to the back of the design as you lay them down using ordinary every day scotch tape.  I added a few gems to my teddy to give him eyes.  In the center, it is your choice to either leave it open allowing the card stock you attach this to to show through or you may do what I did which was put a piece of paper over the hole to close it.  The gem is just for added decoration.   Since the bear is a little bulky when finished due to the layers of paper and tape, I like to attach it to another piece of card stock using either eyelets or brads.  This piece you attach it to could be the front of your card or another piece of card stock you will be attaching to your card.  

Many of the designs need a piece of card stock that measures 4 1/4" x 5".  This is the size of my normal cards so it basically will become the front.  I added glitter glue dots to spruce it up a bit.  I promise that even though I have probably confused you, it really is a simple technique and easy to learn.  You can always Google "Iris Folding".  There are sites with free patterns available as well as instruction.  I bet you could even find a video on YouTube if you look.

Thanks for stopping by today.  See you tomorrow.

Do You Know How To Iris Fold?

Today's share is highlighting a technique called iris folding.  It is a paper folding technique that can create some beautiful cards.  I thought I would share one I made a while ago for one of my daughters.

 

On this particular card, the iris folding was done to make the dolphin.  I start with a template of a dolphin which I trace and then use my hobby knife to cut out.  The template I happen to use is designed for iris folding therefore it has the pattern on it and tells me how many different colors or styles of paper I need to use.  In this case, it is 4.  The technique is quite easy as it only involves cutting strips of paper (or tearing them), folding them, and using a good tape to secure them down.  The finished product leaves the hole in the center which I chose to leave empty.  Sometimes I put a piece of paper there too or I will use a gem to add a little bling.  Let's take a closer look.

 

I used a gem to make the eye of this little guy.  In case you are wondering, I used a sticker set I found at a local craft store to make the rest of the outside of the card.  Now your iris fold dolphin will be a little puffy and thick.  I like to adhere mine by using either eyelets or brads.  Then I know they are secure.

I have several different patterns for this technique so you can expect to see it again in the future.  Let me know what you think of it.  I have also done this with left over wrapping paper as well as with ribbon.  

I will be back tomorrow with another card to share with you.  I hope you stop by to see it.  Thank you so much for dropping by today.