Aloha, all!
This week we’re continuing with my Tuesday’s Techniques theme for September – Fun Folds. As a refresher, I decided that the folds for September are going to be easy to construct and are also folds that allow a card to stand up on a table or shelf. I love showing off a card that a friend sends me. And I’m so disappointed when I have to lay it down because there’s no way it can stand on its own.
Can I Call This a Half Gate-Fold?
Did you look at this card and say, “Oh, it’s just another gatefold card”? Actually, it’s not. It’s only half a gatefold!
Only the left side of this card opens up.
And when it opens up it has a surprise under that center flap. It’s another rectangle the same size as the front flap.
Once I decided on the construction of this card, I couldn’t help but think that this little “surprise” should have a “BOO” on it. And there was a “BOO” in the Banner Year Stamp Set – along with a spider web. Ideas took off from there.
Spider Webs are Everywhere!
Once I selected a Halloween theme for this card, and I had a spider web courtesy of the Banner Year Stamp Set, I had to figure out the rest of it. First I went looking for paper. I’d forgotten that I had ordered a pack of the Magic In This Night Designer Series Paper. I had an order that gave me some Stampin’ Rewards, and I’d chosen that paper, not yet knowing what I was going to do with it. Darned if there wasn’t a Black and Cajun Craze print that had spider webs in it! That in turn led me to the Festive Corners Stamp Set, that had a great spider web to put in a corner.
And that’s how the card came together. I used my Stamparatus stamp positioning tool to stamp the spider web corner in the upper right and lower left corner of the inside of the card. Then I finished the rectangle that with the upper left and lower right corners, measured it, and cut my Basic Black Cardstock mat that size. I used the same size for the front flap and the inside layer.
Sometimes Stamps Are Better Than Bling
I was going to stamp the “BOO” and the spider web, then add some rhinestones or foil die-cut images on the inside layer. But then I spotted the little spider in the Festive Corners stamp set, and figured it had to have a part in all of this. Away went the bling and in came the spider, hanging down from her web.
But I did add some bling to the card in the way of some rhinestones. Three of them show up on the front, and two of those three still show up on the inside! How did I make them black? I colored them with my Basic Black Dark Stampin’ Blend. Blends do a dynamite job of coloring rhinestones!
The Bottom Line
I have a set of layouts for both the Cardstock and the Printed Papers that I originally designed for this card. But, as often is in the case of a card design being made for the first time, some measurements changes. For this card, I decided on a sentiment and not just decoration for the front of the card. On top of that, I used the Ornate Frames Die set from last year’s Halloween designs to frame the sentiment. With all of that, and the expansion of the center element inside the card, I didn’t follow my design. Nonetheless, all of the larger pieces of cardstock/paper are going to work no matter how you change the center flap and inside element.
Here’s the link to the measurements. You can make those center pieces any size that works for your design. Just make them both the same size so the front one hides the inside! I hope you make one – or even two – yourself!
Happy Stamping!
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