I've had a lot of fun this past week making Valentine's Day cards to send to friends and family. For these cards I used a fancy fold called a side flap or latch card design. I used a mixture of old and new stamps with hearts and valentine sayings as well as embossing folders.
This is a very easy card to make and starts with a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" card base that's scored at 4 1/4". On the right hand side of the card front trim off 1" so you have a view of the interior of the card. Cut a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White or any light neutral for the mat on the inside of the card.
For my cards I used designer series papers from the Most Adored paper pack that's available for FREE during Stampin' Ups! Sale-a-bration.
For the front panel on the card cut a piece that measures 3" x 5 1/4" and for the inside edge of the card cut a coordinating piece that measures 1" x 5 1/8". TIP: if you're planning on making several of these cards at one time then cut two different pattern pieces of few pieces of DSP into 3" x 12" strips, and then cut these to 3" x 5 1/4". Cut a third strip from these strips at 5 1/4" intervals for your front panel. You're left with a 6" x 12" piece that you can cut the 1 " x 5 1/8" strips from then just mix and match patterns.
The latch mechanism is held in place by the focal point design so you need to cut your latch to fit between the dimensionals that hold the focal point in place. For my latch I chose to use the 2nd and 3rd largest dies from the Nested Essentials dies (#161597 pg 165 AC). The largest die cut is on coloured cardstock and I scored it right at the center of the die from top to bottom and then moved the cutter blade over about a 1/2 " and cut the remaining cardstock off. Burnish the fold line with your bone folder and add glue to the backside of the fold. Line up the fold along the side edge of the base and glue down. Once this is done you can add the inside mat and decorate.Supplies:
Stamp Sets: Perennial Postage (new), Artistically Inked #154542 (Retired),Punches: Large Heart (Retired)
Designer Paper: Most Adorned DSP
Cardstock: Real Red, Whisper White, Flirty Flamingo, Petal Pink
In this photo you can barely see it, but I actually embossed the white part of the flap with the Falling Hearts embossing folder (retired). The Big Hugs sentiment is from the Perennial Postage stamp set.
The Layered Florals 3D embossing folder came in handy for adding texture to these hearts. I couldn't believe what a beautiful impression this folder gives. I plan to experiment with it in the coming weeks using blends.
I hope you like my Valentine Day card sampling and it gives you some inspiration to try a different fancy fold, or make some valentine cards to share with friends and family. I'd love to hear from you.