June 16, 2017

A Year of Card Techniques ~ June Blog Hop ~ Creative Card Folds!


Welcome to A Year of Card Techniques Blog Hop where each month we feature a different card technique.  We’ve assembled a team of card makers who range from new to advanced, so you’ll see a great variety of cards and ideas.
June‘s hop is devoted to basic card folds; featuring drapery/curtain fold, peek-a-boo fold or double-z gate-fold.  And we’re adding a twist of using double-sided paper.   We hope this gives you lots of ideas and will inspire you to try these card folds yourself...and pull out that double-sided paper as well!    If you would like to check out our past technique hops, you can do that here:
We have an amazing sponsor this month, Candy Spiegel.
Please take a moment to check out all the crafty goodness on her blog, Candy Scraps.
And the awesome prize this month is:
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We  really appreciate feedback, so please leave a comment on each of the blogs in the hop today.  While you are encouraged to comment at any time, only comments received by  Friday, June 23, 2017 at 8:00pm (EST) will be eligible to win.   The winner will be announced on Sunday,  June 25, 2017 on A Piece of (my) Heart’s blog, so be sure to check her blog on Sunday.
And speaking of winners, the lucky hopper from last month is SUSAN ELIOT; picked by Random Name Picker.  Congratulations, Susan!  Please get in touch with last month’s sponsor, Jodie Park, to claim your prize.
You should  have arrived here from the talented Sharon. If you're visiting  here first, you might want to start at the beginning so you don't miss a thing and increase your chances of winning by commenting on  each blog.

So here are my creations for this months challenge. I do love to make folds on my cards, but sometimes you have an idea and then...well, the paper is not quite right and the fold is not what you thought it should be and ....still it had to work. To make a long story short, this first card is cute, but I anticipated it to look a little different ;-)
I went with the drapery fold and thought about creating a flower with it. After a few pieces of scratch paper and some folds I decided it will be a butterfly. 
Next I tried to find the right spacing between the folds so the drapery wasn't to big. 
I did got a great one from my scratch paper, but when I folded my design paper I must have skipped to some measurements from another try....so my butterfly got a little bigger. I used a total of four drapery folds in two sizes. To keep them from unfolding I added a piece of red sticky tape all the way across the back of the folds. The body started out as an oval shape and after I was finished it looks more like a bowling pin LOL.

My second card is a Peek-A-Boo card which is one of my favorite folds, because it is super easy to make and always a great look. Again, you need a double-sided paper with two complementing designs. 
I picked the poka-dot paper for the outside and the flower one for the peek-a-boo part. First I adhered a piece of colored cardstock to the card base front flush with the right side of the card. I then cut my design paper down to 5 1/2" x 4 1/4". 
To make the peek-a-boo fold, measure the middle of the right side of the paper and cut in a straight line about 2/3 into the paper. 

Fold the corners back and adhere the paper to the card base on top of the cardstock. I placed a small foam dot under each fold so it would stay open but wouldn't get flat. 
I stamped my Happy Birthday with white pigment ink inside opening. To decorate, I used a few paper flowers, a double layered die-cut of a butterfly and a couple of rhinestones to finishing of this card.






For my last card I used a double-z gate-fold card as my base. I know, sounds complicated, but it isn't.

I picked a nice double sided paper to start with. I cut it down to 12" x 5 1/2". Next I scored the piece at 2", 4", 8" and 10".
To create the gate look, mark 2 3/4" from the bottom on the left and right side of the design paper. Now cut from the left mark up to the 4" score mark and again from the right mark up to the 8" score mark.

Next you fold your score lines, starting on the left side with the 4" score line...fold it to the right and fold the 2" to the left. Use a bone-folder to really crease the scorelines well.
The other side is done the same way; first 8" score line to the left and the 10" to the right.

Take the cut of pieces, flip them over and adhere them to the bottom of your base (in my case it is the grey shown on the bottom).

For the inside I picked some matching cardstock. I used barn red and cut it at 3 7/8" x 5 3/8" and adhered it in the middle part of the inside. Next I followed with the grey patterned paper cut at 3 3/4" x 5 1/4". Last I added a piece of cream colored cardstock cut at 3 5/8" x 5 1/8". I stamped my images and phrase on the inside.

For the "closure" I simply used a scalloped oval cut from gold glitter paper and an oval shaped cream cardstock for my phrase. I placed a piece of ribbon between the two and adhered it with foam dots only to the left side of the card.

Today we tackled some of the easier folds and I think my favorite ones are the double-z gate-fold and the peek-a-boo fold. They are quickly done and look great. The drapery fold is a bit time consuming, but still interesting to work with. I hope you enjoyed this months challenge, I sure did :-)

More detailed pictures of these cards will be here on my blog in the upcoming Fridays.

Now  you’re off to visit with my good friend Kim and her wonderful creations. Hope you had fun and thanks for stopping by.  See you next month with another technique!


Claudia

Always remember:
"Art comes from the heart.
So there is never a right way or a wrong way;
there is only Your Way."

Here’s the full line-up in case you get lost:

32 comments:

  1. Claudia, I love your creative spin on the drapery fold. I've never seen this before! I'm with you, though, it was my least favorite of the three. Your cards, as always, are beautiful! Love hopping with you!

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    1. Thank You Kim...I love this hop since you work with techniques you sometimes wouldn't pick yourself, but you also find out what works and what doesn't...thanks for hopping along my friend :-)

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  2. I had to study that first one. What an awesome creation. And your peek-a-boo card is so adorable. The paper combination is perfect. Great hopping with you.

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    1. Thank You Debbie...funny the first one is for sure my least favorite and if there is one thing I learned from this hop.... on double sited papers, not all sides work together. Thanks for hopping with us :-)

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    1. Thank You Amanda. I know we usually are our worst critics, but it is funny...the first card was an ok one for me and seems like many of you like this one LOL....never fails :-) Thank you for hopping with us

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  4. I love your drapery fold card; so creative and innovative. So very clever.

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    1. Thank you foleysfriend...I think if I try to tweak the spacing of the folds a bit I might come out not as big, but it sure is very time consuming and lots of folding :-) Thank you for stopping by and commenting and good luck for this months drawing :-)

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  5. Love your cards, Claudia. The peek-a-boo is my favorite but they are all great! It was fun hopping with you as always.

    Sharon
    A Piece Of (my) Heart Blog
    **Make sure to visit my blog to grab some really great FREE Digi Sentiments.**

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    1. Thank you my friend, like always it is a pleasure hopping with you. I too think the peek-a-boo cards are the most versatile ones, but I kind of fall in love with the last fold too...still working on ideas for this one LOL

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    1. Thanks Jodie and thank you for hopping along with us this month:-) see you next month

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  7. Your butterfly is so creative! Awesome job - love your cards.

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    1. Thank you Wilma....you ladies make me laugh. Who knew that my least favorite would be a good one for inspiration to the rest LOL. I am glad you like them and thank you for sharing this hop adventure with us. See you next month :-)

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  8. They are all pretty, but I like the peek-a-boo the best. Great experiment with the butterfly, it is always fun to try out something different.

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    1. Thank you Denise, I agree this hop is all about trying something new and different which makes it so interesting for me. And not everything turns out, but that's part of a creative process. Thank you for hopping with us :-)

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  9. Claudia - always so creative!! That butterfly is amazing! I like your deeper cut/fold on the peek-a-boo card too. I picked a great month to start hopping again! :)

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    1. Thank You Michelle and I am glad you are hopping with us. We had many great techniques so for and more to come :-) So keep hopping and good luck with this months drawing ;-)

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  10. Beautiful cards! Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to attempt the folds!

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    1. Thank you Wanda. I know these folds can be overwhelming, but try the peek-a-boo one. It is really simple and not hard at all, but it looks so cute. I have follow ups with these cards and more instructions on the blog in the next two upcoming Fridays. Sent me a picture of one you made :-) I would love to see them. Just make sure to pick a nice double sited paper...Feel free to contact me if you have questions and good luck with the drawing this month. Hope you join us again next month :-)

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  11. They are beautiful! I never thought of making anything from the fold!

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    1. Thank You Gracie. Yes, folds can be a really nice feature on your cards, 3-D items or even pages. Some are easier than others, but two of the above ones are really great to start with. Check back for the next to Fridays for more details and thanks for commenting. Hope to see you next month and good luck :-)

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  12. Great cards - and I love the butterfly.

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    1. Thank You Nana711 and I am glad you enjoy the butterfly. Funny how this is one I would call and ops ;-) Keep checking back and for sure don't miss next months hop. Good luck with this months drawing and thank you so much for leaving a comment here

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  13. I love all of your cards but that butterfly is amazing! I really like the Happy Times one too. I made several of those, with that paper.

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    1. Thank You Ronda :-) I have to say not all folds are my favorite LOL, but they are fun to put on a card. It's all about the papers you pick and the Happy Times worked great. Believe it or not, we have all these papers, but it was so hard to find one that works with the fold techniques...Thanks for commenting and hope to see you back next month

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  14. Beautiful cards! Love the colors and patterned papers! Just so beautiful!

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    1. Thank you Jennifer and I am so happy to see you here again. Make sure to check back for next months challenge and good luck :-)

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  15. Great cards! I love that clever butterfly and the peek-a-boo card! Such pretty papers! Your double-z gate-fold turned out awesome too! Lots of fabulous folding ideas along the hop!

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    1. Thank you Denise for hopping and commenting along. Those folds are a lot of fun and I hope you will try it too :-) Check back for next months technique and good luck with this months drawing :-)

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  16. Thank You my friend and I hope you are feeling better. Looking forward to hopping with you again next month....and we need a coffee break ;-)soon

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  17. My fave is the peek-a-boo, too! Great cards. Wonderful hopping with you again. (And the butterfly is beautiful, too!)

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