Flowering Zinnia DSP cards - simple fun fold

I make a lot of cards for donation and depending on the organization I share my cards with, one has very strict rules about no embellishments. And because most of these organizations need lots of cards, I keep them fairly simple. But I still want them to look nice. And I always try to include a few simple fun folds in each batch.

I found a blog with a simple fold back fun fold but it was in metric. I tried to convert it to inches but had to tweak it a bit, plus one little size change as well. In the end, this is what I came up with and since this was back in April so I made a bunch of Mother's Day cards:

Card base: 4.25” x 11” scored at 1.5” and 5.5” Fold at the 5.5” line to create the basic card, then fold the  1.5” score line to the left so that the front of the card is shorter.

DSP panels: 3.25” x 4” qty 1 and  1.25”x4” qty 2 Attach the larger DSP panel on the left and the other two on the folded back area and on the “inside” of the card.

And here are close ups of each card: 

And as you can guess, this is a GREAT way to make a bunch of cards, as well as use up scraps and strips! Hope this inspired you to create some easy cards. Thanks for stopping by.

Peaceful Dock Father’s Day standing front panel card

Ah life has been extra busy these past few months so…whoops…forgot to finish posting several blog entries! Including a perfect Father’s Day card! I love fun folds but they don’t have to be complicated and this one is a simple one that stands up nicely and yet folds flat into an A2 sized envelope.             

To make this card, the card base is 8.25” x 5.5”  (note that this is .25” shorter than the standard 8.5” page width! I’ve made this card several times and tend to forget to remove .25” off of that end each time!!!). Then score the card base at 2”, 3” from each edge. Fold the 2” score as a valley fold (a “V” shape) and the 3” score as a mountain fold (the opposite direction). And then use a bone folder to get a crisp fold. The folded card base should fit easily in an A2 envelope.

I used an older DSP in my stash that looked “masculine” but don’t know the exact name. I adhered two panels on each side that measured 1.75” x 5.25”. The background of the front is 1 5/8” x 5.25” and the slim panels between the sides and front (which you can’t see in these photos!) is 3/4” x 5.25”.

The front panel is 3.75”x3.75” and I stamped it with the row boat from the Peaceful Dock stamp set. 

And on the back I’ve adhered a white panel 4 x 5.25” and attached it only on one side of the back so that it will allow the card to stand freely, but also fold and fit into the envelope:

I’ve made this card design several times and even made a bunch for donation! It’s easy and it’s fun. I hope you try it! 

“Celebrate” card using Lovely & Beautiful DSP and Simply Beautiful bundle, stamped & sponged

At first, the large prints of flowers in the Lovely & Beautiful DSP pack and corresponding Simply Beautiful stamp and die set were so intimidating! The prints were beautiful though so I decided I needed to get over that. LOL

I embossed the background using the floral embossing folder from the Cheers & Sips Suite of products. And then I stamped the large floral and two sets of double leaves on a piece of scrap white cardstock and die cut them out.  I used finger daubers to add color, purposefully making the color uneven in places. The gold strip and gold flower centers all pull together with the gold on the printed DSP. A small “celebrate” message (from the Banner Sayings stamp set and corresponding punch) set the tone for a celebration.

Here’s a close up of the background embossed panel. I love how an embossed background adds a touch of elegance and fills the background without being too busy:

And here’s a close up of the coloring of the focal flower and the sentiment was also sponged to match. I purposely tried to let go and not try to make every petal of the blossom and leaves have an even coverage. I rather like the way the flowers turned out!

And in closing, a second card made in the same way:

I hope you enjoyed these cards…I loved making them! Thanks for stopping by 😉