Techniques for Thursday -- Joy Fold Cards

Folding techniques -- it's a real love/hate relationship for me. I love the finished results and the interactive fun, but I'm very challenged when it comes to measuring and folding mulitple layers. Hence, the hate, or at least incredibly frustrated portion of the relationship. Practice makes perfect, though, right? Or at least increases the tolerance level! So, I've decided to attempt one fold technique each week. The first in the series is a slightly modified version of the Joy Fold Card as seen in this tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers. Here is the card in its closed form:

Stamps: Plant Shelf K097 , Three Leaf Background H534 . Ink: black, Old Olive. Cardstock: Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, My Mind's Eye DP. Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, turpenoid, oval Nestabilities, pink grosgrain ribbon, slot punch.

To open, you untie the bow and flip a partial panel (the striped DP) and then the image panel to view the sentiment:

Sentiment: God Bless Birthday G483

Final decision on the Joy Fold? It's a keeper. I ended up using it for a swap card, and after creating 10 Joy Fold cards the technique was a cinch, even for me! In case this card looks vaguely familiar to some of my swapping buddies, here's the original completed for the House Mouse Stamp of the Month Swap:

Stamps: Stampabilities 'Baking Mice', DRS Designs Dotted BG . Paper: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Making Memories 'Out & About Glitter Stack' DP, GP110 white. Ink: Stazon Timber Brown, black. Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, turpenoid, pink wide organdy ribbon, slot punch, polyshrink plastic, SU scalloped circle punch.

Slight modifications included creating a chocolate chip cookie charm out of polyshrink and placing the Inkadinkado kid sentiment on the inside of the striped DP panel:

This technique will definitely remain in the 'Future Use' file; now it's on to the next folding technique. I'm hoping that with a week in between each new fold, I'll have time to present a respectable example.

Happy stamping (and folding)!