Severnista

What you will need:

• 12 x 12 inch white card stock
• Paper trimmer
• Die cutting machine
• Stamp & die set
• Background stamp and/or stencils
• Dye ink and matching card stock (I used Concord & 9th Nectar)
• Versafine Onyx Ink
• Fine tip waterbrush or fine tip blending tool
• Glue runner
• Foam tape
• Fine tip scissors
• Grid transparency

Instructions

First measure out your card base with three flaps. The largest size cardstock that I have is 12 x 12 inches so that means all three flaps will be 4 inches at their greatest width. Cut your base 12 x 5 1/2 inches. Then using a scoring board like the Scor-pal, score and fold at 4 and 8 inches. Final card size becomes 4 x 5 1/2 inches. You may need to slightly trim edges to have flaps lay flat. I find using scissors or a paper trimmer works best, not a guillotine trimmer.

Next pick out a stamp and die set that will fit the front flap of your card and a stencil for your second flap. Choose a stamp and die set that will fit within the 4 inch wide card base frame and has some lateral height for you to cut away the front fold, revealing the second fold. Choose a set that will work with a stencil that you have. The stencil on the second flap can be something like stripes or patterned like leaves and foliage. The image can coordinate with an overall theme or be as simple as Swiss dots. You could even use a background stamp or a stamp used multiple times as a background. I prefer the color I get with stenciling.

In this card I’m using Essentials by Ellen Mondo Orchid Stamp and Coordinating Die Set. I chose this set because of its proportional fit on the card front. Also it coordinates with the Monstera Stencil image that I use on my second fold as background.

Both products are from the Essentials by Ellen Island Greetings themed release a few years back, currently still available on Amazon, so get it before it’s gone!

Next stamp and die cut your focal image. I go ahead and make a few of these to have on hand if I decide to make another card or if I make a mistake and need an extra. I’m stamping with Versafine Onyx Pigment ink. If you do use this ink give it maybe 5 minutes to dry before you die cut the image so the ink is properly dry and doesn’t smear.

Next you will partially cut your image from the front flap of your card base. To do this unfold the top flap (so you’re only cutting through the top flap), align the die onto the flap and decide how much of the top portion of the die you want to cut around. I decided about half here. You will then only cover the die with your top cutting plate to where you want it cut.

After it’s partially cut you will need to complete the cut to remove this area.

Lay your already stamped die cut over the card front to determine how you want to cut the remainder off. I line up the two die cuts then use a pencil to sketch how I want to cut. One thing to note is that you may not want to cut too far down the left side of the image as this is your fold side and is part of the structure of the card.

Cut along your lines using fine tip scissors . You can also use a paper trimmer (with sliding blade) along spine of fold to start the cut just be careful not to cut too far.

Next work on stenciling your second flap. Fold back your front flap and place stencil over cardstock. I use a sticky mat that is placed in my Misty Stamping Platform to hold the stencil in place while I apply my dye ink. You could also tape the edges of the stencil over your cardstock just work slowly and gently so your card doesn’t shift. Here I’m using Concord & 9th’s Nectar.

Before stenciling or stamping on any of the flaps make sure that you are protecting the other flaps from ink transfer. Our cuts are never perfect so you’ll want to use scrap paper or sticky note paper to cover your entire third flap in case there is overlap.

Another option to avoid mistakes or ink transfer is to cut a base for your second flap, stencil it, then attach to your card. It may bulk up the card a little more but that’s a decision you get to make.

Next is to cut colored card stock to use as an insert on your third flap, stamp and adhere. Cut this piece 3 3/4 x 5 1/4 inches. Next partially stamp two corners using the same stamp or something themed similarly. I use the Misti for this and also lay a grid transparency sheet over my cardstock while I line up the stamp the way that I want it. I use the transparency when I stamp multiple times in different directions but don’t want to clean my stamp in between. It’s a very simple, helpful and inexpensive tool to have by your craft station. I adhere this insert with a tape runner.

Next we’ll go back to the front flap and add any extra stamping or embellishment. I use a small stamp called ‘Snowing’ from Altenew to add faux black splatter around the stamped image. I wanted to leave a little white border so I used sticky pad paper to mask off this area. I also masked off my other flap to avoid ink transfer.

Finally add low profile foam tape to the back of your stamped die cut and adhere. I would practice aligning it to your card front before removing the tape backing. This type of tape is very sticky once it contacts paper and can’t be re-positioned. In fact this is exactly what happened to me. As I tried to reposition I tore some of the card stock. It was a little mishap and easily concealed. With crafting there are big mistakes and little mistakes. Big mistakes usually mean the recycle bin. Little mistakes mean you have to get creative with a work around. Sometimes this leads to a finished product that you like even better!

One of the best work arounds is adding embellishment. To conceal a small yet noticeable tear, I added die cut tropical leaves and a tiny heart. I love it so much that I may go back and add the same to my first draft card which looks a little bare in comparison now.

Lastly, add embellishments to your focal image or a sentiment to the card. I used a watercolor brush to very lightly add Nectar inside the flowers to balance out a bit of the black. This idea comes directly from Ellen Hutson’s blog.

Below is my first successful card draft. You could easily add a sentiment to the front or even to the second flap as seen below.

This card was a fun challenge for me as I hadn’t made a tri-fold card before. It wasn’t until I saw this Hallmark card at the post office that I wanted to try. Isn’t this a fun look!