Fun Folds!

I love getting cards in the mail, especially when they are unexpected and for no other reason than to say hello. I received one of these cards the other day from a fellow Close To My Heart Consultant, Judee Ramsey. Not only was the card unexpected, but so was the design! It had a very unique fold that I would love to show you how to do. Start with a piece of cardstock 12" x 5.5". I have written on the diagram pictured below where to score and where to cut:

Once you have scored and cut, you are going to make the folds. From left to right, and NOT including the middle piece created by the cuts, alternate mountain fold, valley fold, mountain fold, valley fold. For the two score lines through the center piece, the one on the left is a mountain fold, and the one on the right is a valley fold (see below):

Once you have all of that, you can start embellishing your card with fun patterned papers! I used the "Happy Times" paper packet that I got FREE with my $60 order. There are SO MANY fun patterns to work with in this set - 14 to be exact. If you would like your own, you'd better ACT FAST!!! It's only available through MAY! Here is how I decorated mine:

So fun, right?! Oh, but the fun didn't stop there. I also just got myself a set of one of CTMH's newest products, "Thin Cuts". I bought the "A Bunch of Love" Thin Cuts and the coordinating "A Bunch of Love" stamp set. I love this set not only because I don't have to hand-cut the stamped image, and the images are just gorgeous, but I also get to color them any color I want to match my project. Let me show you how easy it is! First, stamp your image on a piece of cardstock:

Next, put your stamped image on the bottom piece of your die-cutter's "sandwich" and position the coordinating Thin Cuts die directly on top of your image (red arrow indicates the Thin Cuts die):

Carefully place the top piece of the "sandwich" on top of the die and roll through your die-cutter:

Carefully remove the cut piece from the die:

Now you can color! I have used CTMH's ShinHan™ markers in colors to match my papers:

OK, that was fun - and easy! When I was done, I had used both of the floral bunches and the "The Best Thing..." sentiment from the "A Bunch of Love" stamp set, and a frame from the Cricut "Artistry" Collection stamp sets. Here is the front of my card when it is folded - folded size is 4.25" x 5.5" (Note: I embossed my images with black embossing powder before coloring, hence the shininess.):

And here it is open:

Gorgeous! I might embellish a little more with some bling, but I am pretty happy with the result as it stands.

I hope you have as much fun with this design as I did. And who knows....maybe YOU will be the next person to receive one in the mail!

Happy Memorial Day weekend!