Iris Folding Dos and Don'ts

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It has been a long time since I have done any iris folding so last week I decided to make a card using that technique.  Most of the time when I've done iris folding in the past I've either used plain cardstock or paper with a subtle pattern.  This time, I wanted to use the yellow rose paper from the Through the Year paper pack.  I carefully selected coordinating iris folding papers from my stash (which is mostly gift wrap). I really liked the way the colors coordinatied and was hoping for a really pretty card, but when I flipped my finished work over, well...

It was less than spectacular (it actually looks better in the photo than in real life).  I tried dressing it up a bit with a yellow rose, which probably just made matters worse. The patterned gift wrap competes with the patterned background and your eyes just don't know where to focus.  I was really disappointed because I really wanted to use that background paper.

Back to the drawing board.  For my second attempt, I decided to go with a more monochromatic theme for the iris.  I chose a combination of solid blues with holographic and foil papers.  I think it turned out much better.

Once done with the iris folding, I added some sequins, a bow and a greeting.  I inked the bow with Huckleberry Fusion to give it a little more texture.

So, the lesson learned from this little experiment is, you can use a busy background with iris folding, but if you do, use un-patterned papers for the iris.

Materials List

• Cellophane tape
• Journey Craft Glue *
• Journey Foam Squares - Medium *
• Pineapple Smoothie Cardstock *
• Pool Play Cardstock *
• Create a Bow Mini Die Set *
• Hexagons Die Set *
• Journey Sequins Blue Skies *
• Special Day Organza Ribbon *
• Huckleberry Fusion Ink Pad *
• Through the Year Prints Paper Pack *
• Good Stuff Stamp Set (Retired)
• Giftwrap in varying shades of blue

* denotes an affiliate link - see my disclosure for details.