A Rose By Any Other Name - Iris Folded Handmade Card

Its been a while since I have posted on my blog.  One of the many 2011 New Year's Resolutions is to post on my blog on a regular basis.  I had made a bunch of Halloween, Fall, and Christmas/Winter Cards that I have posted at my Etsy store --- somehow life got ahead of me and they never made it to the blog.  I am starting fresh this year and have decided to get the last holiday cards up during the year and focus on posting the new ones that I create. Seeing that Valentine's Day is around the corner, I spent my vacation week designing some new creations to list on my shop.

Lets talk about Iris Folding.....a new technique that I have picked up these past couple of months.  Last year my parents got me a sewing machine because I was interested in doing some quilting.  I have never used a sewing machine before.  I have made clothes by hand which is time consuming but was something I enjoyed doing.  I even made my Prom dress.  Many, many, many ions ago.  With time not on my side, I thought it would be cool to have a sewing machine which would open up my creative juices.  Needless to say, I have made no quilts thus far.  However, I have made a few aprons and cat nip pouches for my little bundles of joy and my brother's cat.  I have also used the sewing machine for my cards.  I love the detail that it adds to the cards.  Its a nice touch to that handmade feel.

Okay...I'm getting off track...Iris folding reminds me of the quilt patterns that I admire so much and hope to add to my crafting down time.  Iris folding (a paper folding technique) originated in Holland and it got its name because the center of the design resembles the iris of the eye or camera.  The technique requires you to layer strips of paper that in the end will create a pattern.  A majority of patterns come with guides (numbers) to assist you in placing the strips of paper.  For the iris, you can use pretty much anything you want to decorate it.

There are a ton of books that you can purchase that have great designs to use as well as websites where you can download free templates...if you are really adventurous, you can even make your own template.  If you are new to iris folding you might want to head over to Circle of Crafters  --- great site for instructions, free templates and galleries of finished creations.  I also recommend checking out the video tutorial by Anne Hayward from Stamping with Blue Moon Creations'. 

When creating my cards, I love to have some depth and texture to them.  Iris folding is a great technique that adds both. The one thing that I have learned is that you want to use easy to fold paper.  Heavy paper makes the the design bulky and hard to adhere to the card.  However, you can use iris folding for other projects than just cards -- where bulk might not be a concern for you.  Other mediums such as wrapping paper, ribbon, bias strips are also a unique way to do iris folding.  I have found that origami paper is perfect for iris folding.  

I'm very lucky to live in San Francisco where I am 15 minutes from Japan Town (aka J-Town).  They have a lot of great shops that sell origami paper in my budget range.  I shop at Paper Tree.  The shop owner is fantastic and very knowledgeable about the paper they sell.  You can even order paper from their website.

The one thing about iris folding is that once you have chosen the pattern that you want to use, you have to cut the pattern out of the card stock.  This can leave some jagged edges when using scissors.  I have found that punches work well and if you have a die cutting machine you can cut out a shape using one of the cartridges.  However, some of the shapes of the iris folding patterns are unique and you might not have a punch or a cartridge with the exact shape.  Because I like a little dimension, I have found that you can fray the edges of the design using a razor blade and sponge the edges with stamping or distressing ink (you can also use a marker or any other medium).  I think it adds a nice touch to the over all effect of the design.

So...now on to my first Valentine's day card using the Iris Folding technique.


A Rose By Any Other Name - Iris Folded Handmade Card

I used the rose template from 460 Iris Folded Cards to Make: The Complete Iris Folding Compendium book by Maruscha Gaasenbeek and Tine Beauveser.  Just a little side note --- this book is AWESOME.  I highly recommend purchasing it.  Its a great value and the book has amazing patterns.  I can't wait to spend the day cutting out strips of paper and folding away.

For this card, I wanted the red rose to stand out and be the center of the card.  I chose black cardstock for the base of the card and layered the front and back of the card with another cut piece of black cardstock.  For the inside of the card, I used red cardstock (I sponged the corners of the red cardstock with black stamping ink before mounting the sheets to the inside of the card)  For the front of the card, I punched each corner of the second layer using the corner punch from Martha Stewart's Punch Around the Page String Lace two punch set.  I was lucky to purchase this on sale at Michaels on Thanksgiving (sale..sale...sale...baby).  Ebay is usually a good place to find her punches for cheaper and Artfire usually sells them for a little less than other stores.

SIDE NOTE --- The Punch Around the Page sets are a great product.  They come with the edge punch as well as the corner punch for the continuous punch design.  I only have the Martha Stewart line so I can only speak of her punches.  Each punch has guide wings that open and fold up (perfect for storing them I must say).  When using the edge and corner punches, you must keep in mind the dimensions of the paper.  The kit comes with directions (you punch the corners first and then the edges) on how large your paper should be in order to not to punch the corner through the edge punch.  You can also find the directions on how to use the Punch Around the Page sets in PDF format or check out the video tutorial.  Check out Craft Critique, for her step-by-step instructions on how she used the Punch Around the Page punches.

Okay back to my card ---- after I punched out the corners for the top layer of the card, I sponged the layer with a black stamping pad.  I use a napkin and q-tips or an applicator for sponging.  It really depends on what I am sponging.  After sponging the top layer, I cut out the shape for the iris folded flower and frayed the edges,  Using a small applicator, I sponged the edges with black stamping ink to add some color and gloss. After already picking out the shades of red origami paper that I was going to use for the flower, I began cutting strips.  When I fold the strips, I like to use a glue runner to close the folded strip before adding it to the design.  It definitely helps with keeping the piece closed and makes it easier to attach to the design.  Using a bone folder, I then folded each of the strips of paper.  Once all the paper I was going to use was folded, I was ready to assemble my rose.  I prefer using a glue runner when assembling the strips of paper.  Tape tends to add more bulk.

Once assembled, I sponged the rose with black stamping ink to add an aged effect.  I used black beads for the iris.  The beads took some time to adhere to the card.  I adhered each bead one at a time in the design of the iris. I then cut out the stem of the rose using green cardstock and sponged the stem with black stamping ink.  When the rose was complete, I attached the top layer to the card base.  And now we have a beautiful card for Valentine's Day or any other occasion you want to celebrate. 


Materials Used
Black Card Stock
Red Cardstock from Bazzill Basics
Black Stamp Pad
Martha Stewart's Punch Around the Page String Lace
Origami Paper
Rose Iris Folding Template from 460 Iris Folded Cards to Make: The Complete Iris Folding Compendium

Card for Got Scrape? Challenge

Every Good Witch Looks Forward to the Witching Hour - Handmade Halloween Card

My first entry in a challenge.  The challenge was to make a fall or halloween scrapbook page or card.. I decided to enter a card I made last month.  I used my mini monster cartridge for the witch and for her face I used the male a monster face assortment from peachy keen.

Beatrice was made with several layers of die-cuts (she is a very thick girl). Black flocking powder was added to her hat and dress to give her more texture. Her cute little face is stamped and colored. Her stringy reddish-orange hair is cord. Details on Beatrice include purple ribbon on her hat and a quarter moon brad on her little dress. Beatrice is mounted to the card with pop-up glue dots to give her a 3-D effect.

Retro Inspired 50's Funny Pages Handmade Card

I thought this paper was great when I picked it out at Michaels.  I was there looking for paper for Father's Day cards and came across this decorative paper by Creative Imaginations.

The sheet has a bunch of different comic panels with various phrases.  I choose the ones you see on the card.  The sheet is black and white and is vary retro 50's.  I added some color so the panels using a red marker and outlined the panels and the phrases in black.

Each panel is layered on brown cardstock and machine stitched.  The phrases were attached to the card using mounting tape to give it a 3-D effect.  The base and inside of the card is layered in cream and brown.  The panel edges have been sponged with black and brown stamping ink.  




Materials Used
Funny Pages from Creative Imaginations
Cream and Brown Cardstock from Bazzill Basics
Machine Stitching
Brown and Black Stamp Pad
Red and Black Markers

Ode to Charlotte York Goldenblatt

Did I tell you how much I love my Cricut.  Ok...I love my Cricut.

I made the base of this card about a month ago.  I like the color combination of pink and brown.  I didn't know what I was going to add to the front of the card, but when my Forever Young Cricut cartridge arrived and I opened it up, the little light-bulb flickered.  I love all of the images on the cartridge, but found this purse to be the perfect fit for my card.  Once assembled, it screamed Charlotte York Goldenblatt from Sex and the City.  I like all the gals in SNTC and will probably create a card representing each of the ladies at some point in time.

The card is layered in Vintage Pink and brown (sorry, didn't write down the the exact color name) for the brown cardstock from Bazzill Basics and this cool decorative geometrical design cardstock from Jolie's Chocolat. The pad is awesome and have created a bunch of cards using the decorative paper.  I highly recommend purchasing it if you get a chance.  I machine stitched the decorative paper to the card using brown thread.  I purposely created the stitching with a few waves to add a little dimension to the overall feel of the card.  The inside of the card is also layered in browns and pink.

Now for the purse and accessories....I used a different sheet from the Chocolat pad for the outside of the purse and layered the same decorative sheet used for the main frame of the card for the lining of the purse.  I added some beads to the purse for a decorative feel.  Of course no purse is complete without accessories.  I cut out gloves, lipstick, and a mirror using pink, brown and gold cardstock.  For the mirror, I used silver cardstock for the mirror and gold cardstock for the handle.  I also embellshed each accesory with beads and added some gold and brown stamping ink to the edges.  I cut out several layers for each of the accessories to give them some thickness.  All the accessories have been attached to the purse with glue dots.  The purse is attached to the card with glue dots.   

 

Materials Used

Acid Free Cream Cardstock
Decorative Paper from Chocolat Jolie Paper Pad

Pink and Brown Cardstock from Bazzill Basics

Beads

Machine Stitching

Gold & Brown Stamping Pad

Vintage Inspired Jeweled Blank Handmade Card

I made this card a few months ago using some this great heavy decorative paper from the Chocolat Jolie Paper Pad.  I wanted to do a little something with panels and came up with this design.  Not really complex but think it came out fairly well.  

I layered the white card stock card with pink cardstock (from the Jolie pad) and then worked on layering the panels.  The top two panels and the bottom panel are 3 layers (brown cardstock, decorative brown cardstock, and a embossed decorative pink cardstock) all from the Chocolat Jolie Paper Pad. 

I had these old antique looking jewels (top two panels) that I picked up at a garage sale sometime in the past few years.  I knew they would be great for a card but didn't have any idea what exactly I would do with them.  The larger shell-shaped jewel is from an earring I wore when I was in middle school (yes, 1980's).  The top two jewels are attached using wire and the large jewel is attached with a gold brad.   


Materials Used
Acid Free White Cardstock
Decorative Paper from Chocolat Jolie Paper Pad

Jewels 

Wire and Brads

 

Quilled Baby Congratulations Handmade Cards

I have made two quilled Baby Congratulations cards for my friend Crystal.  All she told me was that she needed a congratulations card and for whatever reason, I decided that they both needed to be quilled.  

The first one I made was for one of her friends that lives in Hawaii.  So, I went for a Hawaiian theme.  I had this light yellow and sage leaf embossed decorative paper that would be perfect for the card. I layered the decorative paper on light yellow cardstock and a light olive green card stock.  I found the perfect design for the quilled baby carriage at Inna's Creations.  I quilled some orange flowers to give it more of an island fell.   The Ho'omaika'i 'Ana (Congratulations in Hawaiian) tag is printed, sponged with stamping ink and mounted to give the tag a 3D effect.

For the second card, she wanted me to do a navy theme.  I was stumped.  What the heck was I going to do.  I decided a quilled stork carrying a baby would be ocean like and a quilled anchor would add the Navy touch. The card has several layers.  First I machine stitched the navy blue cardstock on off-white cardstock.  The second layer is dark blue with blue polka dots cardstock from the Fall/Halloween pad I purchased from Oriental Trading Company last year.  The third layer is this decorative washed blue cardstock from It's Time Breaking Free Adventure Series by Jen Wilson. 

The quilled anchor sits on two separate layers created using the polka dots cardstock and a decorative blue waves paper (Surf's Up) from My Mind's Eye by Zoe Pearn.  The Congratulations tag is also layered using light blue cardstock and white cardstock that has been sponged with blue stamping ink. 

I layered and machine stitched the inside of the card to match the front.  And there you go....many hours later...the card is complete and ready to send.

Materials Used For the Hawaiian Themed Baby Congratulations Card
Acid Free White Cardstock
Yellow and Olive Green Cardstock
Light Yellow and Sage Leaf Embossed Decorative Paper

Quilling Paper
Yellow and Light Green Stamping Pad 

Materials Used For the Anchor's Away Baby Congratulations Card
Acid Free White Cardstock
Navy Blue Cardstock

Dark Blue Polk Dots Decorative Paper form Fall/Halloween Pad by Oriental Trading Company

Washed Blue Decorative Paper (It's Time) - Breaking Free Adventure Series by Jen Wilson
Blue Waves Decorative Paper (Surf's Up) - My Mind's Eye by Zoe Pearn

Quilling Paper

Machine Stitching
Blue Stamping Pad

Add Your Etsy Mini to Blogger

I found this great blogger at Simply Wired Custom Jewelery who has detailed how to add your Etsy Mini to your blog.  Check out her site.

I'm going to post her 1st Step just for reference.  
Add Your Etsy Mini to Blogger

This tutorial covers adding an Etsy Mini to your blog. For this example, I'll be showing you how to add the Mini to one of your sidebar columns (rather than directly in a blog post). Since the sidebar content remains static regardless of what blog post a user chooses to view, I figured this would be the most commonly used option.

Alrighty...here we go (by the way, if the pics are hard to view, you can always click on them for a larger version):

Step 1: From Your Etsy, click the Etsy Mini link, located at the bottom left of the screen (for this screen capture, I highlighted it for you so it would stick out better).