Woven Paper

Wow!  On CardSwap this week we were challenged to weave paper together and use it as an element on a card.  The MarksFinestPapers.blogspot.com challenge this week was to use score lines on a card.  I put those both together and came up with:

Please take the time to check out Meredith’s instructions on how to do the paper weaving. This was my second attempt as the patterns on the paper I tried to use first just didn’t work for the technique.  My mother would be so proud that I actually wove.  (She’s a real weaver.)

You can barely see the score lines surrounding my background paper, but I liked the way it made it stand out just a bit and gave it a little texture, too.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

Octagon Star Frame

For those of you that wonder at my posts appearing at 12:01am, I am not up that late, or that early, but I love having it there when people get up, so I schedule it.

This fold is fun to do, and makes something a bit different.

To start, you will need 8 squares of paper.  (I used 1-7/8″ squares, but any size will do depending on how large you want your finished project.)  You will also need a piece of card stock.

Flip your square over so the back side is up.  Then fold diagonally in half, so the left point touches the right point and crease, then unfold.  Next, fold from top to bottom, so the top point touches the bottom and crease, then unfold.

You should now have a crease going horizontally point to point and vertically point to point.  Take one side of the top and fold the side down along the center crease.  Do the same to the other side and unfold.

Do the same thing with the bottom two sides and unfold.

Now, to do the next step, I put my index fingers on the side points and use my thumbs and third fingers to fold the tops and bottoms back along the center lines (where you just folded).  You have to pull your index finger up and out-of-the-way as you are doing this, but you want those center pieces sticking up.  You want to fold the bottom point up to meet the top point.  As you begin folding it up, those center pieces will start to move out toward the sides.  When the bottom point is laying on top of the top point, crease along the center again.  Depending on how “square” your squares were, you may need to re-crease the small side triangles so they lay flat.  (I find that even though I use the markings on my paper-cutter, sometimes my squares aren’t perfect.  It’s okay.  Most of the time you really can’t tell on the finished project.  Just have an extra square or two in case one is too far off.)

Putting this together is the most difficult part.  Because the pieces do not attach to each other, you need some card stock or paper to adhere them to.  I used a rectangle piece of card stock, then had to trim it down a bit at the end.  (Not easy with the pieces are already adhered.)  You can start with a rectangle with sides that are 1/2 the length of one of your squares (for a 2″ square, you will have each side of your octagon 1″).  Or, you could make it larger than your finished piece, or even adhere to a square.  Put a bit of adhesive on the back, bottom edge of your first piece, then adhere it to your card stock or paper.  I lined my piece parallel to the edge of my card.  The top, bottom and each side should be square to each other.  So, I laid down my angle piece, to figure out approximately where my side piece should be, then attached that side piece parallel to the side of the card.  Then adhered the angle piece and worked my way around.  Each corner touches.

At this point, you could trim out the center area and around the outside, if you don’t want any of that background piece showing.  This works well as a frame around a picture, or with a sentiment or image centered in it.

Trying to punch my corners after all my pieces were adhered, was not easy, but it was possible to do.  This is just a fun way to highlight something.  Try it and see what you think.  As you can tell, each piece folds up some, so it has depth to it, but can fold flat.  The white card base is A2 size (4-1/4 x 5-1/2), and I used 1-7/8″ squares, which wound up being too large for my card base.  I will either hand deliver this one or make my own envelope to fit it.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

Tri Fold Foil Card

Sorry I haven’t been around too much, lately.  There has been a LOT to do since the car accident.  Anyway, I am back with a fun one.

Here is a card that uses a fun fold, embossed foil, and a Dreamweaver stencil for Spring.

It looks complicated, but really wasn’t too bad.

To start, you want a piece of heavy paper or card stock 5 1/2 x 12″.  Lay it with the 12″ side going horizontally and score at 2″, 4″, 8″ and 10″.  They put it with the 5 1/2″ horizontally and cut at 1 1/2″ from 2″ to 10″ (that is your first and last score lines) and again at 4″ from 2″ to 10″.  Now, you want to crease all those score lines with mountain, valley, mountain, valley folds.  On the center section, flip the second crease to a mountain and the third to a valley (opposite of the top and bottom).  Now, make pieces to decorate.

I cut white card stock 1/8″ smaller than the sections for the two tall sections on front and back and the center sections.  I also cut heavy duty foil (kitchen type) 1/8″ smaller than that (both horizontally and vertically).  Then I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder from the Oriental set to emboss the foil.  To attach the foil to the white pieces, I put adhesive on the white pieces just in a bit and then laid the foil on top and lightly rubbed.  The embossing actually cut through the foil in a lot of places, but it still stayed mostly together when attaching and you couldn’t tell.  However, on one piece, it didn’t go on straight, so I had to lift it up off the adhesive and re-attach it.  The foil wasn’t quite as pretty afterward, so I used some ribbon over the top and you can’t really tell.

Then I attached all of those pieces to the card.  For the “middle” area, I just used a white piece to be able to write a message.  The back of the card can be used if more writing area is necessary.  After that, I used two of the scalloped ovals from Spellbinders and cut those out.  The “pink” piece is another piece of the background paper (a heavy-duty Bubblegum paper from Lasting Impressions), then I used the next smaller scalloped oval and cut another white piece.  Using a cute Dreamweaver heart stencil, I embossed the dangling heart onto the white oval and used a pink Sakura Glaze pen to trace over the top.  When that dried, I attached the two ovals together with 3D tape and used more 3D tape to attach to the card.  (Make sure the adhesive only attaches to front pieces and does not touch the middle section of the top or bottom as the card will not open otherwise.)

The card is not nearly as difficult as it appears.  Take the time to try it.  You can use lots of different patterned papers, if you don’t want to use the foil, but the foil turned out pretty nicely.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!  Take a few minutes to check out the three different challenges I am using this for.  You will definitely be inspired by all the gorgeous work by so many different people.

Enjoy your weekend!

Double Star Teabag Fold

The Double Star Teabag Fold or Kaleidoscope Origami is quick and easy to make, but really pretty.  I know I’ve posted this one before, but thought you might enjoy it again in a pretty pink.

You will need 8 squares of paper for this.  I used 1-7/8″ squares, though you could use any size depending upon how large you want your finished piece to be.  My finished piece is 2-5/8″ diagonally across.

Begin with the white, or wrong side of one of your squares up.  You want to fold the piece in half diagonally, then unfold it.  Now, with your square aligned like a diamond and the diagonal fold running up and down the center, fold the lower right edge up along that center fold.  Do the same with the lower left edge.

Now, the point at the top that is a single layer, fold down along the top of the folded pieces and unfold.  After that is complete, fold those top two edges down along the center line.

Fold the top point down along the fold line that you made earlier.  Then flip your piece over from left to right and fold the bottom point up so it is even with the two side points.

Do the same with the other seven pieces.  To adhere them together, you will put a small drop of glue on the lower left point and then slide that into the left side of that small folded up point.

 

 

 

 

Do the same all the way around.  Remember to lift the very first one up to slide it into the last piece.

Here is the front of the finished Double Star:

And the back:

You can use either side and each gives you a very different look.  If you had any trouble following along with my instructions, please watch the video below.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

Versatile Star

The Versatile Star is a fun folded project as you can change it up.  This is the basic Versatile Star.

To start, you will need 8 squares of paper.  I used 1-7/8″ squares, but you can use any size squares depending upon how big you want your star to be.

Begin with the wrong side of one of your squares up.  Fold in half, then unfold both vertically and horizontally.  You will wind up with a cross folded through your paper.

Now, you need to turn your square and fold, then unfold diagonally in each direction.

You should now have fold lines in a cross through your square, then between each corner in a cross.  Next you need to take the top left corner and the bottom right corner and fold them to the center point.

Take the upper right corner (that was not folded) and fold each side down along the fold line that goes through the center of the point.  Next you want to fold the whole piece in half along that same diagonal fold line.

Your bottom point is the part that has no other folds.  Take that point and fold it over to the right.  It will be folded along one of your previous creases.  Then take the point you just folded to the right and line that point up with the top of its section, so the corner of the fold you just made.

That section should now look like a triangle.  Take the point you just folded over and fold it in half straight down to the bottom point.  Unfold it, then open that section up.  As it is opening, the top point will go towards the bottom point.  Now smash it down so those two points line up.  It should look like a little square.

Do the same thing with each of your other seven squares.  To attach the pieces, you will lift up the left edge of that little square you made at the end, put a drop of glue, then slide the right edge of the little square on the next piece under it.  You will be lining up the fold that goes diagonally through your little square with the edge of the next piece, so the center points are together.

 

 

 

There are a lot of folds to this one, but it turns out cute and you can change it up, too.  Here is the front of your finished star.

And, the back:

Now, if any of this confused you, here is a video that should help:

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

Star Flower Fold

Here is another teabag fold or kaleidoscope origami pattern for you.  This one is called a Star Flower.

You will need eight 1-7/8″ squares (as long as they are square any size is probably fine) and a bone folder is helpful for this one, but not absolutely necessary.

 

 

You will want to start with the white or back side of the square up.  Fold in half diagonally, then unfold and fold in half the other diagonal direction and unfold.  You should now have the white side up with a cross going from corner to corner.

 

 

 

 

 

Fold each corner in to the center.  You will wind up with a square.

 

 

 

 

Fold in half backward along one diagonal (flaps will be on the outside).  You will have a triangle.  Now, fold that triangle in half.  The folded corner should be at the top and the open corner at the bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

You will want to pull open the top section.  As you open it, the bottom corner will start to go up to meet the top point.  Now, fold that flat.  You then want to fold the top corner of just the top layer down to the bottom point.  Unfold that.  The crease you just made will help with the next step.

 

 

 

The next step is to fold that top section you just folded down into a rectangle.  To do that, you will pull open the front part of it.  The bone folder helps with this, then pull open the other side while keeping the first side open.  This isn’t easy, but it is possible.  Fold this flat along the center crease you made before.  It should now look like the second image down on the right side of this picture.  Take your piece and flip it over from right to left.  The angled side should be from top center down to left point.  Take the right bottom point and fold it up along the center line.  Now fold the bottom left point up to the top center point along the center line.  It sounds confusing, but you can get it.  If you are really confused, watch the video below.

 

The point that you just folded up, you need to fold in half towards the inside.  I fold it to the bottom point on the outside, then fold it in.  Your first piece is now complete.  Do the same with the other seven pieces.

To attach the pieces, you will put a bit of adhesive on the top of the small section that is left at the bottom left and tuck that behind the piece you just folded.  Do that all the way around and attach the first piece under the fold on the last piece.  You now have a beautiful piece to use however you want.  Here is the finished Star Flower again.

 

If the words were confusing, try watching the video to see what I did.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

Hearts and Flowers

As it is almost Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d give you a fun teabag fold called Hearts and Flowers today.

To start this one, you need four 1-7/8″ squares. 

You want to flip one of the squares over so the white side is up.  Fold the square in half horizontally, then unfold it.  You will take the top half and fold that in half to the first fold line.

Now you want to fold it in half vertically, then unfold it.

Place it so the folded over section is at the top and the square is face up, white side down.

 

Take the top right corner and fold it down along the center fold line.  Do the same with the left top corner.

Now, fold the top point down so it is half way between the corners that have been folded down and the bottom edge.  Then unfold and flip the folded part to the other side.

After that, you want to squash the top colored (front) sections so the fold line from the center is along the top edge of the folded back piece.

Do that for each side.

Fold the side sections in to the center fold.

Now, fold the top point (from the squash you did above) down along the fold.  Do this for both sides.

The next step is to fold the very top points over, so it isn’t pointed.  You don’t have to fold much towards you, just the point on each side.

Flip your piece over and you should see the heart on the other side.  The heart will be colored over white bottom section.

To adhere, you can put a bit of adhesive on the white section and slide the next heart piece along that one.  The last piece is the most difficult to get in, but it will slide in.  You may have to fold the bottom corners of the white section in a bit.

What you wind up with should look like this.  You can use this as it is, or as a flower head and draw in a stem and some leaves.  If you just want the heart, you can slide the white section behind something and have the heart over the top.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

Don’t forget the Winter Warm Up Crop is going on over at CardMaker Magazine’s CardSwap this weekend.  Go check it out and play along!  It is a lot of fun and is being sponsored by Elmers and Spellbinders, so there will be some fantastic prizes!

Closed 8 Point Star Fold

Here is a new teabag fold for you.  This one is the Closed 8 Point Star.

To start, you will need 4 squares.  For this one I used 2″ squares.  Now, cut each square in half diagonally, so you will wind up with 8 triangles.

You want to lay each triangle with the long side straight across the top.  Then, fold it in half from left to right, so the long side has a fold in the center.  Then, open it back up.  Make sure the right side is up.

Take one side and fold the side point down to the center point.  Repeat on the other side.

Now, the open point with the two folded over points should be at the bottom with the fold at the top.  Take one of those points and fold it to the side, lining up the edges.  Repeat on the opposite side.

Then, flip the piece over so the back side is up.

The single point should be at the bottom with the fold at the top.  (See the top right image.)  Now, fold the edge on the right up along the center fold line.  Then, do the same on the left side.  Flip your piece over and turn it so the folded edges are at the bottom with the long point at the top.

Do the same for all 8 pieces.  To adhere the pieces, put a bit of adhesive on the right side, towards the bottom.  Line the left folded edge along the center line.  Attach each piece in the same manner.  Before attaching the last piece, put a bit of adhesive in the same place on it, so the first piece will adhere to the top of it.

Here is your final piece:  The back is pretty impressive, too: The fun part about this star is that instead of adhering the pieces in this manner, you can flip the pieces and put the long points together in the center.  As you don’t have anything to adhere them to on the next piece, you will have to have a small circle or something to adhere the points to.  It makes for another interesting looking fold.

Try it and see what you think!

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

Square Crossed Star

Here is another teabag fold called Star Squares.  It looks like one square on top of another, but turned.  It sounds confusing, so here’s a picture to help you out.

This one takes eight 1-7/8″ squares of patterned paper and a bit of adhesive.

 

Start with the white side of one square up and fold diagonally, then unfold.  Now, fold it the other diagonal and unfold.  When you open it up you should have an “X” folded in your square.

 

 

 

Now, fold the bottom to the top and unfold, then side to side and unfold.

You should see an “X” and a cross folded into your square.

 

 

 

Fold your square into a triangle with the fold on top and the point down.

Gently take on of the sides along the fold, open it slightly and push that crease so it goes down and into the center.  Do the same with the other side.  You should now have a diamond with the opening at the bottom.

Take the top flap on the left and fold it down along the center crease.  Fold the top flap on the right and fold it down along the center crease.  Piece one is done!  Now, do the same with the other seven pieces.

To adhere the pieces together, put a little adhesive on the left side of the center section and slide the flat side area of the next piece on top, so the center point (with all the folds) is to the center.  Add all pieces.  On the last piece, you will have to put some adhesive on top of the right side and lift the left side of the first piece up into place.

Are you impressed?  You just made a fun Teabag Fold, or Kaleidoscope Origami.  If you had any problems, watch the video below.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

Teabag Fold: Four Directions Star

It has been quite a while since I’ve shared a new teabag fold with you, so here is a new one, the Four Directions Star.

You only need 4 squares of paper for this one.  As long as they are square, any size will do, though for mine I used 1-7/8″ squares.

Take your first square and flip it over to the white side.

Then you want to fold it in half and unfold it.

Now take the bottom half and fold it to that center fold line.

Repeat with the top half.  Unfold both.

Take the top left corner and fold it down along the top fold line.

Fold the bottom right corner up to the bottom fold line.

Now, fold the top section down along the previously made fold line.

Take the top right corner (folded over now) and fold it down to the bottom fold line.

Fold the bottom edge up along the bottom fold line.

Fold the bottom left corner (folded over) and fold it up so the side edge is even with the top and the bottom edge is straight up and down along the center.

One piece done!  Fold the other 3 the same way.

Take the right point on each piece and that will be what you are lining up.  The first piece, keep laying horizontal and put some adhesive along the center, but slightly to the left.  Put the point of the next piece at the top along the center (to the left side of the center).  Put the third piece in the same position, but along the second piece.  The fourth piece will go in the same position on the third piece (it will be going down towards you, now).  Put the fourth piece on top of the third piece, but under the first piece.  It sounds confusing, but is quite simple if you watch the video below.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!