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Anastasiia Tysevych – Czech Republic
Tamara Morton – United Kingdom
Welcome to another day of G45 Brand Ambassador introductions. Today we highlight the fabulously talented Altered Artist and card maker extraordinare, Kathy Clement. In this post, Kathy shares a Youtube tutorial starring three stunning, 3D, interactive cards made from our Place in Time – DCE, By the Sea, and Portrait of a Lady collections. Each inspiring cards will motivate you to pull out your Graphic 45 papers, scoreboard, and paper trimmer and get crafting these impressive yet deceptively simple designs.
"Hello, G45’ers! It’s Kathy Clement here with you today. I am so excited to share my very first 2017-2018 Graphic 45 Brand Ambassador blog post with you. Today is all about having fun with fancy fold cards. But before we dig into all that fun stuff, Charee has asked that we share a little bit of information about ourselves to kick off the new term.
I live in beautiful North Carolina, USA, with Dale, my darling husband of 40+ years. We had the
privilege of raising 5 fun and fabulous children. Now we have the immense pleasure of being
grandparents to three precious girls whom we call “The Littles.” Most days you’ll find me in my
sunny little studio making cards, dabbling in mixed media, designing mini albums, and enjoying
all the many adventures that the fabulous world of creativity affords. I also love to bake, spend
time with “the Littles”, cook big meals for our family, walk on the beach, go junkin’, and read.
Although I have a passion for all kinds of crafty adventures, I have no formal art training. Cards are my favorite thing to create. I especially enjoy creating interactive cards, and I put as much work into the insides of my cards as I do the outside. Adding tags and pockets, sweet little treats like tea bags, or chocolates and surprise panels in a card really gets me excited.
I like to stay up to date with what’s going on in the crafting world. I’ve always loved color and design, so I try to pay attention while reading magazines or even looking around in stores to see what colors and patterns seem to be trending. Is there a new technique? I want to learn it, and I enjoy taking online classes when time permits.
In preparing for this post, I learned that in the world of cards, there are several trends that excite me. Fancy fold cards, shaker cards, and pop-up cards are getting a lot of attention right now. Adding buttons to cards is also making a comeback, and metallic elements are huge right now. I decided to take some time to learn a few new fancy fold cards to share with you here today. I’ve incorporated some of these other fun trends in the designs.
I’ve prepared a YouTube video tutorial so you can learn how to make 3 Fancy Fold cards. You’ll learn how to build the base for a Double Gatefold Card, a Step-Out Card, and a Fanfare Fun Fold Card. But first, let’s take a look at these gorgeous cards.
By Kathy Clement
One of the great things about fancy fold cards is that they really bring the WOW factor to any project. The other great thing is that they really are fairly simple to make. They look impressive and complicated, but I’ll show you in today’s video tutorial just how simple it is to add that WOW factor to your next card making session.
This Double Gatefold Card started with 2 simple 5” x 7” side fold card bases. I overlapped the cards, added a couple of extra score lines, and voila! Double Gatefold card magic!
I chose to close this Double Gatefold card with a belly band, but you could also use ribbons to tie the gates closed.
And when you’ve slipped the belly band off the card, it’s just like watching the curtain rise at the theater.
As each panel of the card opens, there are more and more goodies to look at. Finally, you find the postcard pocket in the center panel.
The July images and prints from A Place in Time work really well with By the Sea. I’ve added some journal cards from that collection to finish the inside of my card. The vintage postcard from A Place in Time makes a great pocket, too.
Tip:
Always remember to use your bone folder to burnish the score lines on a Fancy Fold card. Crisp fold lines are essential when you are making a card with special folds.
Tip:
To create a quick and easy pocket, use a postcard! Just glue the sides and bottom edge to your card base and then slip in ephemera cards, journal cards, tags or other goodies. Everyone loves surprises!
Graphic 45 Supplies:
Other Supplies:
By Kathy Clement
Step-out cards are just loaded with dimension. They also provide you with lots of nooks and crannies to decorate with pretty papers like the patterns and images in By the Sea.
One great thing about Step-Out cards is the fact that they fold flat for mailing…
Then pop open for display. How fun is that?
Tip:
Be careful when gluing images to your card front. You don’t want to get glue on the back layers of the card, or it won’t open properly. To prevent this from happening, turn your chipboard piece upside down on the card front and make pencil marks so you’ll know where to place the glue.
Tip:
I used a craft knife and ruler to create the center slit that allows the step out mechanism to work. When using a craft knife, there are 2 important things to remember. First, always test your blade to make sure it is sharp. A dull blade will not cut cleanly. Second, I find that if I cut my paper on a glass surface, the knife glides through the paper like a hot knife goes through butter. You can use the glass from an old picture frame, or a glass cutting mat like the one I use in the video tutorial.
Tip:
To add realistic beach effects to this card, I scribbled on the card base with Art Institute Dries Clear Adhesive then sprinkled with real beach sand. Do this over a sheet of paper, so you can tap off the excess sand once the glue dries.
Graphic 45 Supplies: 8×8 By the Sea Paper Collection (retired)
By Kathy Clement
This is probably my favorite fancy fold card design because it is part card, part folio, part pop-up. It looks like a really complicated and fussy design, but the truth is, It’s all just straight lines! Isn’t that a relief?
I started with a standard 6” square top fold card base made from heavy cardstock. Because of the weight of the fanfare fold, you need a really sturdy base to work with.
The front of the Fanfare Fold card opens to reveal a beautifully hidden folio.
I decorated this panel with a pretty pocket and tag combo, then topped it with this gorgeous chipboard element to add even more dimension to the design.
Tip:
Cut sentiments from a collection’s text pages for picture perfect color matches. I snipped the word “Beauty” from the 8×8 “Grace” paper then glued it behind the G45 Staples Ornate Label Holder.
Tip:
Use a scallop corner punch to create the pretty shaped edges on this card.
Decorate the inside of your Fanfare Fancy Fold Card with decorative papers, journal cards, and sticker elements. This is a great style of card to present for weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, or birthdays, as photos from the event can be stored in the folio. It's like getting a card and a gift in one neat package.
Graphic 45 Supplies:
Other Supplies:
Are you ready to get started making your own Fancy Fold Cards with Graphic 45? Join me as I create all three of these card bases in this video tutorial. I’ll also share tips and tricks for the finished cards you see here.
I’m so glad you could join me today. I’m very excited to share another year with all you fabulous G45’ers here on the Graphic 45 Blog.
Cheerio, Kathy Clement "
This week's prize package includes a Vintage Hollywood 12×12 Paper Pad, 12×12 Patterns & Solids Paper Pad, 2 Chipboard, Tags & Pockets Die-Cuts, 8×8 paper pad, Ephemera & Journaling Cards, Black ATC Tags, Square Tags & Pockets Mini Albu, Square Deep Matchbook Box, Metal Drawer Pulls, Metal Lion's Head Knockers, and Vintage Hollywood Stamps, total value $135+. To enter to win this prize package just leave a comment here and/or on our Facebook page. The winner will be announced, Friday, June 16th.
Thanks for joining us today to celebrate another addition to the Graphic 45 Brand Ambassadors. We are so grateful to have Kathy with us this year and for sharing these incredible cards along with such a helpful tutorial video. That should keep you busy until tomorrow when we are back for another featured member. Please share some of your favorite Kathy creations in the comments below.
Happy Papercrafting!
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