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.

Easter Chick

MyMemories 4 isn’t just for scrapbooking.  You can make other things with it too.  See the end of this post to find out how to enter to win a free copy of MyMemories Suite 4.

This week, I decided to make an Easter card using the Easter pack that came with the MyMemories software.  Since there isn’t an egg in the provided shapes, I loaded a circle into the shape editor and made my own egg shape.  It was really pretty easy to do.

I created the apertures for the iris folding by layering two egg shapes for each egg, one slightly smaller than the other.  I colored the larger bottom layers pink and purple and left the top layers white.  After printing the card, I cut out the white egg apertures and added the iris folding.  The papers for the iris folding are also from the Easter paper pack.  After completing the iris folding, I added pink and purple glitter paper behind the openings.

I printed two copies of the chick and layered them using foam tape.  The bottom layer of the chick is the complete image and the top layer is just the top and bottom shell and the bow.

If you would like a chance to win a FREE copy of MyMemories Suite 4, check out the Scrapbooking kits at MyMemories.com, then come back here and add a comment with a link to your favorite pack and include a sentence or two stating why you like that pack. Only one entry per person, please. Comments must be posted by Midnight PDT, March 31, 2013 to be eligible. I will announce the winner by the end of the day on April 1. The winner must be willing to provide me with their e-mail address so I can send them the code for the free download (do not include your e-mail address in your comment!).

Christmas Dancer

The Yahoo iris folding group that I joined several years ago has recently become quite active (Yay!).  Each month we have the opportunity to sign up for a swap, or “Mingle.”  This swap is a little different from any other I have joined because you don’t get to find out what you are making until after you’ve signed up.  This adds to the challenge and the fun!  Last month’s pattern was a dancer.  Since I had started working on my Christmas cards, I decided to give the card a Christmas theme.

The background is metallic champagne colored card stock from DCWV.  After cutting the aperture from the background, I ran it through my Cuttlebug using the D’Vine Swirl folder.  I then sanded the swirls so the white core shows through. 

The dancer’s skirt and blouse as well as the red frame and background are all out of giftwrap.  I usually don’t use giftwrap for background paper, but I wanted to use the same colors in the border as I did for the iris folding.  I embossed the JOY stamped image with Red Tinsel embossing powder and I made the label using the Layered Labels template from PaperWishes.

Iris Fold Purse Card

I made this iris fold purse card for a challenge at the Yahoo Iris Folding group I belong to (and I won!). The pattern is a modification of a pattern made by Jannie. If you would like a copy of the iris folding pattern and purse template, you can join the Iris Folding group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IrisFolding.

Supplies

• Cellophane tape
• Glue stick
• Iris Folding - 24 Perforated Papers (Search Press)
• Funky flowers blue brad
• Red glimmer card stock
• Yellow scrapbook paper
• Scissors
• Birthday Greetings Stamp Set (HOTP)
• Perfect Medium stamp pad (Ranger)
• Red Tinsel embossing powder (Stampendous)
• Walnut Stain distress ink (Ranger)
• Stacked Daisy Dazzles - Red (HOTP)
• Design Tool Kit 1 (HOTP)
• Craft knife

Cedars of Lebanon Quilt Block Card

Here’s another card based on a quilt block.  I made this one with paper from Paper Wishes.  I just love the bright colors!

The technique for this card is a cross between iris folding and paper weaving.  the green squares were rather tricky to do.  You can find the pattern and instructions for this card on my website at: http://www.handcraftedgreetings.com/card.php?card_id=00232.

Pineapple Blossom Quilt Block Card

I made this card for a Birthday card swap at PaperWishes.  When my swap partner said she wanted a card for someone who quilts, I knew exactly what I wanted to make.  I’ve had a pineapple blossom quilt block pattern for years, but hadn’t gotten around to converting it into a template for card making, so I dug it out and here’s what I came up with.

You can find the pattern and instructions for it on my website at http://www.handcraftedgreetings.com/irisfoldinst.php

Iris Fold Sunflower

I made this birthday card with my Spellbinders Sunflower 2 die.  My original intent was to make a blue flower, but after I removed the die-cut flower, I noticed that the left-over blue paper had a perfect aperture for iris folding.  I used my pentagon template for this card, but the hexagon template would also work.

Red Hat

I made this card for a friend for her 60th birthday.  You can find the iris folding template for the hat on my website.

Birthday Cake

The focal point of this birthday card is done with a technique called reverse iris fold.  It’s really a lot simpler than it looks.  You can find the instructions HERE.

The picture I used is a combination of images from the Birthday Wishes collection at PcCrafter.com.

Reverse Iris Fold and 3D Ram

I just love Dwight Kirkland’s Father’s Day collection at PcCrafter.com.  The images are perfect for making cards for men (something I struggle with!).  I made this birthday card for my Nephew using both reverse iris folding and 3D decoupage.

The thing I really like about this particular collection is most of the animals overlap the frame, which works very well for 3D decoupage.  Doing the background in reverse iris fold also gives the card more depth.

Cardinal

Coming up with ideas for cards for men is always difficult to for me.  As I was sorting through my scrap pile the other night, I found some good papers for a “man” card but I couldn’t figure out what to do with them until I remembered some Father’s' day clip art I had.  I used this cardinal from PcCrafter’s Father’s Day collection.  The technique is reverse iris folding with 3D decoupage.  I really like the way it turned out.

I had always wanted to do this picture in 3-D decoupage, but the thought of all of the detailed cutting kept me from it.  The reverse iris folding gives the card depth without all of the intricate cutting.  After finishing the iris folding, all that was left to cut out was the bird and the branch.  I just love how he pops out of the frame!

Welcome Spring!

It has been a long, wet Winter and I am very ready for some springtime flowers!  Here’s a card I made for a swap I was in over at Just Cards.

I cut the watering can aperture using the Sizzix watering can steel rule die.  I kept the punch-out from the middle of the handle and glued it in place after finishing the iris folding.  The folding was done using my basic triangle template. I used gift wrap for the iris folding papers.  The large flowers are from ProvoCraft and the little flower on the watering can is from Making Memories.  For the water drops, I punched a couple daisies from blue paper and cut the petals apart. 

Day and Night

Last week one of my co-workers asked me if I could make a thank-you card for a woman at his church who is moving away.  He wanted a quilt theme since she likes to sew and quilt.

I decided that I wanted to do something with iris folding, so I went in search of some quilt block patterns and found one called Day and Night that I really like.  Here’s my finished card.

While this isn’t quite iris folding, the technique is pretty much the same. The hardest part is getting the diagonal folds exact.  This is definitely one where you want to use a bone folder or other scoring tool to score and crease the folds.

I did the stamping and embossing before the iris folding as the heat from a heat gun can ruin some papers and could also melt the tape.  The clip art is from pcCrafter’s Crafty Kitten collection.  It is in 3D and I added embroidery floss where the thread comes off of the spools.  Here is a closer look.

You can find the Night and Day pattern and instructions on my website at http://www.handcraftedgreetings.com/irisfoldinst.php

Christmas Cards at Last!

Now that we’ve “killed the bird,” I’m finally ready to make some Christmas cards.  My sister came over today to work on packaging up some jewelry for a craft fair and while she was working on that, I made cards.  It was so nice to have another female in the house!  I love my boys, but sometimes I need some girl time.

I started out with some iris folding.  I have a rather large stack of pre-cut, embossed cards for iris folding that need to be used up.

 

When I got done, I thought they looked rather plain, so I added some clip art from PcCrafter.  The snowmen are from the Christmas Snowman collection by Teresa Kogut and the bear is by Laurie Furnell and is included in the Christmas Sampler 4 collection.

I haven’t done any dry embossing for quite a while, so for my next card, I got out my embossing board and embossed the border around the card as well as around the oval in the center of the card.  The star was made with a Coluzzle template and the JOY stamp is from Inkadinkado.

I used a stencil to trace and cut out the ornaments for the last card.  The tops and dots around the centers are drawn with a gel pen. I punched shapes for the centers and added a puffy heart, a jewel and a punched snowflake for decorations.

A New Cardmaking Friend!

Over the past few Thursday evenings I have been teaching my friend's daughter how to make cards.  It has been really fun and she is quite talented.  I showed her iris folding and I think she's hooked.  She made her first card using my fan pattern (sorry, I didn't get a picture).  Her second card was a seashell.  Here it is:

 

As you can see, she has quite an eye for design.  I'm looking forward to seeing what she makes next Thursday!

The card I made is for a man at church who is in the hospital with cancer.  The design was inspired by the memory of one Sunday afternoon when he was out in the field next to our parking lot with a fishing pole teaching one of our other members how to cast. 

You can't tell from the photo, but the fish and the lure are 3-d.  The images are from PcCrafter's Father's Day collection by Dwight Kirkland.

Iris Fold Fan

I came up with the idea for this card Tuesday while I was at work. That seems to happen to me a lot.  I come up with designs when I am away from my craft room and then when I arrive home, I have forgotten all about it.  Tuesdays are especially problematic because I go straight to night school after work.  After class is over I have to pick my youngest son up from high school because he is in the pep band and Tuesdays are game nights.  As a result, I didn't get home until after 9:00 p.m. and by then I was just dying to get my design down on paper before I forgot about it.

I created a pattern in SmartDraw, rummaged through my paper supply (which took a considerable amount of time) and got to work.  Here is the result.

The fan went together really fast.  I used the repeating pattern in some gift wrap for the iris folding.  The edging along the top and bottom of the fan is made from the edge of a paper doily.  The fan slats are cut from tan parchment card stock.  I think next time I will use some distress ink on them.  The flowers and leaves are made with paper punches.

You can find the pattern for the fan on my web site at: http://www.handcraftedgreetings.com/irisfoldinst.html

I will probably be making another one of these soon. I have all the paper picked out, it's just a matter of finding time. Lately my evenings and weekends have been extremely busy.

Some Bunny Loves You!

I had the day off today, so of course, I spent some time making cards.  Here is a Valentine's card I made that combines iris folding and 3-D decoupage.

 

For the iris folding, I drew a heart with one of my graphics programs and used it as a pattern for the cut-out.  I used the largest triangle from my iris folding triangle template which can be found here:
http://www.handcraftedgreetings.com/pdf/triangleIris.pdf

The iris folding paper is gift wrap I purchased some time ago at the dollar store.

For the crowning touch, I used this little bunny from Colleen Parry's Petals and Patches collection at PCCrafter.  Isn't she adorable?  The decoupage was done in five layers and didn't take very long at all.  When using more than three layers for decoupage, I use card stock between the layers instead of double-stick foam squares, otherwise it makes the card too thick to mail.

List of materials:

• A2 Red glittered card blank from DCWV
• White card stock (print the bunny on this)
• Pink card stock (print Some Bunny Loves You on this)
• Fiolex Girls font
• X-Acto knife
• Drawing software (or draw heart free-hand)
• Three different colors of giftwrap cut in 1" wide strips (about 18" of each color)
• Heart jewel
• PSX Mini heart brads
• 5 copies of Bunny from the Petals and Patches collection at PCCrafter printed about 3 inches high.
• Precision tip scissors
• Glue

You can find detailed instructions for iris folding here:
http://www.handcraftedgreetings.com/irisinst.html

Stained Glass Window Card

I finished the stained glass window on this card several years ago, but I never could figure out what to do with it.  Yesterday, someone sent me an e-mail asking if I had a pattern for a stained glass window, so I decided to dig this card out of the unfinished box and finish it.

The clilp art is from PCCrafter.  The bride and groom are from the November 2005 PC Hug Club "Topper" set.  The bird is from the Friends Forever collection by Tricia Santry.  I did the bride and groom in 3-D using three layers.  I started to use pop-dots between the layers, but they were too thick, so I glued three layers of lightweight card stock together and used that instead. It was a little more work, but the spacing is much better and I don't have to worry about the card being too bulky to go in the mail.

You can download the pattern for the window at: http://www.handcraftedgreetings.com/irisfoldinst.html

If you've never done 3-D decoupage before, there's a brief description on my website at www.handcraftedgreetings.com/cfbirthday.html (see steps 10 and 11).

Ice Cream

It is HOT here and there is nothing quite like ice cream for cooling down, but if you're trying to watch your weight like I am, ice water would be a much healthier choice.  With that in mind, here is a guilt-free triple-scoop cone just for you!

This card is a combination of techniques.  The background behind the ice cream cone is iris folding and the ice cream cone itself is paper piecing.  The corners and the border between the upper and lower sections were made with decorative scissors.

The ice cream cone is base on clip art from PCCrafter's Summertime collection.  I printed out the line art, then used my light box to trace it onto different colored pieces of scrapbook paper.  Paper piecing is a really good way to use up small scraps.

I cut the diamond shaped aperture for the iris folding with my Coluzzle nested diamond template.  Here's the pattern for the iris folding:

I had initially planned to include the writing around the outside of the iris folding, but I didn't think it would work well for this card.

The corners were made with paper that is green on one side and blue on the other.  I cut the paper into four one inch squares and then used my decorative scissors to cut the squares in half diagonally like this:

I flipped the lower-right half over (the paper used in this example was blue/brown instead of blue/green).

Then I layered the brown paper on top of the blue paper like this:

Here's the card I used the brown/blue corners on:

Now, go make an ice cream cone for a friend!

A Quick Iris Fold Birthday Card

I am on a break from school and work this week and have been catching up on all the house and yard work that has been neglected over the past quarter.  One of the things I was determined to do today was clean out my craft area.  For some reason, my craft table is the repository for every piece of paper that comes into my house.  I spent the morning filing, shredding and recycling and finally accomplished my goal.

As I sat down to my empty desktop, I discovered that I just couldn't come up with any good ideas.  Just great, after struggling with writers block most of the quarter, now I have card maker's block.  Maybe this is a sign that I'm too stressed out. 

I decided to rummage through my supplies in search of inspiration and I found some iris folding card blanks I cut out last fall.  I am short on birthday cards, so I chose one with a birthday theme.  This was a good start.  Now to find some paper to go with it.  After rummaging a bit more, I found a book of iris folding papers I forgot I had.  Here is the result...

The book of iris folding papers is from Search Press and is simply called "Iris Folding." (ISBN 1-84448-114-X) It contains a total of 24 sheets. The colors are green, red, yellow, orange, purple and blue.

You can find iris folding instructions and patterns at http://www.handcraftedgreetings.com/irisfoldinst.php.