Shopping My Stash With the Jingle Belles

The Jingle Belles have teamed up with the ladies over at Shopping Our Stash for a joint challenge which is perfect for me because I have been on a Christmas card binge and Heaven knows I have a stash...  I was inspired by this card on Pinterest to make some cards using iris folding (sort of) and long retired Christmas paper, embellishments and stamps.  If you are not familiar with iris folding, this website has a description of the technique as well as a tutorial and patterns (some free!).  True iris folding requires lightweight paper because you are, well, folding it and cardstock would get too bulky.  Since I wanted to use cardstock, I  cut strips of paper and then sponged the edges to give them some of the definition that a folded edge would have.  I did not have a pattern, but after several attempts, I managed to draw my own.

 Now iris folding can be a little unnerving because you are working from the back and cannot see how your card is coming along:

I was pretty proud of myself for coming up with my own pattern until I realized that I had forgotten a critical detail that I would have noticed if I could have seen the front as I worked.  The completed card will be the reverse of the image you see on the pattern.  I had intended the red to be on the outer side of the ornament.  Oops!  Lesson learned.

If you don't have a pattern and are not not sure if you are up to drawing your own, this card uses strips of paper to get the general effect but without the iris.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Materials used, all from Close to My Heart unless otherwise noted:

Card 1:
Paper: Pear and Partridge (retired), Cashmere and Colonial White cardstock
Ink:  Metallic Gold by ColorBox, Cranberry
Stamp:  A Very Merry Christmas (retired)
Embellishments:  Pear and Partridge complements (retired), Ariana assortment (retired)
Other:  Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Card 2:
Paper:  Frosted (retired), Silver Metallic paper by Recollections (not longer available from Michael's, Colonial White cardstock
Ink:  Metallic Silver by ColorBox
Stamp:  A Very Merry Christmas (retired)
Embellishments:  Colonial White ribbon and Blue sparkle (both retired)
Other:  Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, Create-a-Flake Five Shapebilities by Spellbinders

Iris Folded Hearts

I can finally post my valentines!  You see, it has come to my attention that my darling husband reads my blog.  Of course I am flattered but this does make posting cards I have made for him somewhat problematic...

This week the ladies over at Heart 2 Heart want to see a Close to My Heart product that we love. Hmmmm.  What do I love most about CTMH?  The sparkles?  The ShinHan markers that allow me to have sparkles in many colors?  Thinking back to my introduction to CTMH, the thing that attracted me immediately was the paper.  I love all the layers of color and pattern.  I have been wanting to try iris folding, which is a cool technique where you place folded strips of paper across the back side of a cut out shape so that the design spirals into the center leaving an opening in the middle that is reminiscent of the iris of a camera lens.  Here is a link to a more detailed description and tutorial.  The heart pattern that I used can be found here.  First I made a practice card which my husband and I gave to our daughter:

I used a very old paper, Sweetheart, and this Sketch from Try Stamping on Tuesday:

I like how the plaid pattern swirled almost looks like marble.  To finish the card I used one of the zip strips from Heartstrings which is available through the end of March.  That is another cool thing about CTMH's paper:  Each background and texture paper has a ready to go border along the edge.  I rounded the corners and had a sweet CAS card that reminds me of a Picture My Life card.  Now that I had mastered an iris fold heart it was time for the main project, my husband's valentine:

For the background I selected one of my all time favorite papers, For Always.  I love the vintage look and all the texture.  Although it has been retired as a paper, it lives on in a Picture My Life card pack, so I know I have a fall back when I use up my stash.  For the iris folding I used a metallic paper that has been in my stash for so long that I don't remember where I got it.  The roses take advantage of something else I like about CTMH's paper, the white core.  After I cut the roses out of Champagne cardstock using the Artisite Cricut cartridge (F key, accent 2), I exposed the white core by using a file to remove the color from the edges of the petals.  Then I sponged some Blush ink along the inside edge of the spiral before rolling it up using one of my favorite tools, the quilling tool.  Before I got it I used to roll flowers using a knitting needle which did not roll nearly as smoothly.

If I had been making a flower using a dark color and wanted to edge the petals in another color I could have sanded the petals to expose the white core and colored the edge with ink like I did  here:

After stamping the sentiment I used a border punch from ek success to punch one scallop's worth of the pattern on each end and then added narrow strips of the metallic paper along the edge and tan bitty opaques in the center of each flourish.  I attached a bow, sparkle flourish (because y'all know I love sparkles), and more tan opaques in the center of each flower and was almost finished.  The completed iris folding on this card was bulkier than on the first card, so the layer would not lie flat. To solve that problem I used lots of foam tape to attach it to the card.  The layout is based on this Atlantic Hearts Sketch:

I had a lot of fun with iris folding which means you will be seeing more of it from me in the future.  In the mean time, thank you for stopping by!  Now how about visiting Heart to Heart, Atlantic Hearts and Try Stamping on Tuesday for some more inspiration?  Maybe you could even enter one or more of the challenges yourself.  I would love to see your work!  Until next time, Hansi