ThePowerOfACard

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Flip Over Fun Fold

I love this fun fold because it's easy (only a few cuts and score lines) and it requires little fuss to make it gorgeous! I'm not sure this is the official name, but it is descriptive of how it functions, so that's what I called it. Here is the basic template for making the card base. You could change it up to make the flap smaller, or higher/lower if you needed it to be so.

I start by scoring the 4-1/4" line for folding the card in half. Then place the right edge at the 1-1/4" line on the Paper Trimmer and cut down from the top and up from the bottom 1-1/2". There are lines on the cutter and on the cutting guide to assist you. Then use the scoring tool to score in-between the cuts. Flip the card 90º and place the edge at 1-1/2" (at the end of the grid). Cut down from the top to the cut line - just go slowly and you can feel where the blade meets the previously cut line. Flip it over and repeat on the other corner. I like to use my bone folder to smooth out the cut lines, something you always get with this trimmer. Fold the card in half, then fold the flap back toward the fold - crease the folds well.

The paper I'm using in my card today is called Painted Illusions and it's the Product of the Month (POM) for February. Each month, Stampin' Up! has a new POM and it's announced on the first ordering day each month, making it a surprise for demonstrators and customers alike! In order to get one, all you have to do is spend $75 in my store (see the links below) and the POM is yours for just $5! This pack of 12" DSP has three sheets of each of four two-sided papers. It's full of swirls, watercolor washes and beautifully color blended patterns - I love it!

Gather your supplies:

Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie 8-1/2" x 5-1/2 scored and cut as described above; Painted Illusions DSP 2-3/4" x 5-1/4", 4" x 5-1/4"; Basic White (2) 2-1/4" x 3-1/2", 2-1/2" x 3-3/4"; Flirty Flamingo 2-1/2" x 3-3/4"
Stamp: Fragrant Layers
Inks: Misty Moonlight, Flirty Flamingo, Pretty Peacock, Darling Duckling
Embellishment: 2025-2027 In Color Flat Pearls
Adhesive and Tools

After cutting and scoring your card base as I show in the video and describe above, add the two pieces of DSP to the card. The smaller piece goes on the front and the large piece goes on the inside, even though we typically don't put a large patterned piece on the inside! On one of the smaller pieces of Basic White, stamp the sentiment in Misty Moonlight ink, then attach this to the piece of Flirty Flamingo.

On the larger piece of Basic White, stamp the flower outline three times with Flirty Flamingo. Fill in petals with the same color and the center with stamped off Darling Duckling. Stamp three leaf pairs with Pretty Peacock and fill in with stamped off Pretty Peacock. Fussy cut these out. (There are dies, but they do not cut the outlines of these flowers and leaves.) Attach the leaves to each flower, then add them to the panel with the sentiment with Dimensionals. Add a few Darling Duckling Pearls.

To attach this panel to the card front and flap, I find it easiest if you use a bit of low tack tape rolled up to hold the flap down first. Then add adhesive to the flap and add the decorated piece on top, centering top to bottom and left to right. Once the adhesive is set, you can remove the tape.

Decorate the remaining Basic White panel and the envelope with another flower and leaves. The easiest way to add the decorated panel to the inside of the card is to open the card, lay the panel upside down on the Flirty Flamingo rectangle, then add glue to the exposed backside of this piece and close the card. This will give you a place to write on the inside, but won't be visible when the card is closed.

My first sample could have been a Valentine's Day card, but instead, is just a lovely heart inspired card to send to someone you care about. I used the Lovely Doilies for my focal point, with a 2-3/8" circle of Basic White to give it support and help it attach to the flap. I did trim down the flap a bit by cutting off a little triangle on each side so it wouldn't show behind the doilie. The sentiment is from a new set coming out soon called Forever Florals and it has great fonts! I also used the Made with Love DSP, Two-Tone Bubblebath and the Hearts of Love embossing folder.

This next one was a card we made at my January Card Class. It features the Friendly Foilage stamp set and happy little flowers cut from the Fragrant Layers dies. I used the Love Notes DSP and some retired Brights 6" x 6" DPS to decorate the card. My sentiment is stamped on a label from the Stylish Shapes dies. The final touch are some tiny Iridescent Pearls in the flower centers.

The Sunflower embossing folder has been super popular and you can see why in this card! I really wanted to showcase the beauty of this embossed piece, so my focal point is much larger than my other cards. Using the debossed side (the pattern dips down instead of being raised), I colored the petals with Lemon Lolly and Darling Duckling Blends. The leaves were done in Old Olive and the flower centers in Pecan Pie and Cinnamon Cider (retired). Then I lightly swiped my Mossy Meadow ink pad over the top. This adds dark color to the flat surfaces and lines of texture on some of the flower parts, making it very striking! My sentiment on the inside (which in simply a piece of Basic White with a strip of embossed sunflowers on the bottom) is from the January POM, Fabulous Sayings.

Switching gears a bit, I decided to make my focal point with circles cut from the Stylish Shapes dies. I used Lost Lagoon and Pretty Peacock for the mat colors and the Greenery Lane Washi tape (on Basic White) for the centers. Instead of DSP for the front panel, I used the Exposed Brick embossing folder on a piece of Crumb Cake, the same as the card base. I think this subtle texture is a great backdrop for the leafy patterns. I cut out a few leaves to decorate the inside of the card and skipped adding another piece of paper.

So far, all of my samples have been been vertical cards, but this design can be flipped to be horizontal. I decorated a piece of Basic White cut with the Textured Notes Dies and the Aspen Grove stamp set. I matted this with Granny Apple Green cut from the next larger die. Instead of using DSP or and embossed panel for the part behind the flap, I stamped more trees to match those on the focal point. I love the final look of my Aspen forrest! My sentiments are from the Fabulous Sayings.

Going a bit rogue on this next sample! I use the Splash of Sparkles DSP and fussy cut one of the groupings of color blocks. The irregular edges make a very interesting focal piece! I added some texture using the Natures's Symphony dies before matting it on Gorgeous Grape and fussy cutting it again. The sentiments and large leaf are also from the Nature's Symphony Bundle. The embellishments are the Moody Palette Glossy Dots.

My last sample features the Sweet as a Bug DSP and the Everyday Arches dies. This pack of paper is great to make cards quickly because there are so many bugs that can be cut with the dies (Sweet as a Bug bundle) and lots of little scenes/backgrounds. I chose one of the scenes as the backdrop for my bugs and matted it in Cloud Cover. For the inside of the card, I die cut a few mushrooms, did a little ink blending and added another bug and some flowers - so cute!! My paper for the card front and envelope flap is Neutrals 6" x 6" DSP, which is a subtle texture that makes the other DSP shine.

That's it for this Fun Fold! Give it a try and see just how easy it is to make. Thanks for watching my video!

Karen

ThePowerOfACard@gmail.com

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Product List

Fragrant Layers Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[167150]

$24.00

Painted Illusions 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[167977]

$5.00

Misty Moonlight 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[153081]

$14.00

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[166780]

$14.00

Flirty Flamingo 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[141416]

$14.00

Misty Moonlight Classic Stampin' Pad

[153118]

$9.00

Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad

[147052]

$9.00

Pretty Peacock Classic Stampin’ Pad

[150083]

$9.00

Darling Duckling Classic Stampin' Pad

[165277]

$9.00

2025–2027 In Color™ Flat Pearls

[165192]

$8.50

Paper Trimmer

[152392]

$28.00

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

[110755]

$6.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Tuesday, February 3, 2026

6 Techniques to use with Gears & Textures

When I first saw this bundle, I thought it would be a good one to have in my collection for making masculine cards. I knew it would be great for making a steam punk styled card too and while that isn't my normal style, I thought it would be fun. Little did I realize just how much fun I would have with this bundle!!

I realized that cards made with the obvious gears and bits and pieces would be plentiful, but that the techniques I'm about to show you might not be as obvious. I categorized them into six areas and I have samples for all of them. I'm not going to make a card in the video, but I will talk about each technique and show you how to do some of them. For others, I'm hoping my samples will be all the inspiration you need to try some on your own. Note there are no sentiments in this bundle, so I used a variety of sets for my words. I've linked what I used below (with the exception of a not yet released set and the stamp set from Virtual Card Retreat), but I'm sure you have plenty to choose from in your collection.

Technique 1: Texturizing Designer Series Paper (DSP)

When I participated in Stampin' Up!'s Virtual Card Making Retreat last month, we stamped on DSP for several of the cards. It is a subtle change to the paper, but can be the extra touch that gives a card the WOW factor! I recommend you use a color from the paper and keep your stamping light, by either stamping off first, or just by choosing a light color. I have to admit that the first card I show in the video is a surprise favorite! As you can see, I used the line and speckles (both are larger images, which makes covering the DSP easier). With the lines, I did all one direction, then rotated it 90º to make it look like cross hatching.

Technique 2: Kissing

This is another thing we did at the Virtual Retreat, although I've done it many times in my stamping past and it wasn't new to me. There are two ways to kiss a stamp. For my hearts, I inked the stamp with the lines, then carefully placed my heart on top to lift off the ink before stamping it on my circle. It is very slippery when you set the heart on the stripes, so just be careful to avoid sliding. Be sure to ink up the stripes again and clean your heart before stamping a second one.

The second way is to ink your stamp (for me, it was a small flower), then press the stamp on top of the speckles to remove some ink before stamping on your label. Again, it's easy to slide so try to just press straight down and lift straight up. You will need to clean (and dry) both stamps before doing another kiss. The result is subtle, but really cool. You do need to have a solid stamp combined with a textured stamp for the kissing to work.

Technique 3: Adding Interest to Botanicals and Animals

This is a really fun and easy way to add "fur" or texture to stamped or die cut pieces. For my leaves, I stamped with the stripes, but you could have also stamped with the small cross hatch stamp since the leaves are pretty small. And just as a side note, I also stamped on the DSP label and kissed the flowers so there are three techniques in this card! For my sheep, I stamped with the speckles (either stamped off Gray Granite or Smoky Slate). Once you start looking at your stamps for texture, you just might be surprised at what you can use to make the images more life-like.

Technique 4: Collage

This is the technique that I gravitated to when I first started playing with my stamps. I picked a color scheme that was analogous (colors next to each other on the color wheel) so they would look good if I had overlapping images. I started by stamping on white paper and just kept adding stamped images - some full strength, some stamped off without giving too much thought about where they landed. I would recommend doing this on a piece larger than what you need so you'll have extra to cut off and use inside or on the envelope. If you don't want to make such a large piece, start off small by stamping on a label. I chose colors that complemented my DSP in the background.

Then I was inspired by a very talented demonstrator from Australia named Laura Beacham. The next two cards are a direct result of seeing one of her gorgeous samples. For these two, I used blending brushes to add my colors onto a white panel (again, I chose three colors that blended well). Then I stamped in the same colors, mostly matching the color below the stamp to fill up the paper. What I particularly loved about Laura's card was the pairing of the collage piece with an embossed panel (I used the Stone & Vine 3D embossing folder) in white to give a stark contrast. Adding die cut pieces that were also cut from white and ink blended, along with a label really makes these two cards extra gorgeous. And the thing I especially love is that these are not just for guys! My girlfriends at work adored them too!

Technique 5: Graphic Elements

Many of the stamps or dies in this bundle are perfect to use on their own to make some great graphic cards. When I saw the swirls, it reminded me of paint rings, so I made a background of rings and used a paintbrush to accent my label - easy, right? For the next one, I made a herringbone design on a strip of paper, then trimmed it down to add to the right side of the card. The circles were one of the dies and I thought they made perfect frames for my botanicals. I stamped the long metal images onto scraps of white, cut them in the middle so they could stretch across the card, and made a fun backdrop for my St. Patrick's Day card. Lastly, I used the chevrons to make graphic birthday card. It wasn't hard at all to stamp the chevron multiple times to get a longer line of them.

Technique 5: Jazz up Labels

Sometime I use ribbon or strips of paper behind labels to jazz them up. Why not use some of the dies or stamps from this set to do the same? I love how the ink blended look of the Happy Birthday looks, so I did the same on the mesh die cut piece by using sponge daubers. The color combo looks so stunning on the black card base! For my little bug card, I stamped the little three stripe stamp on a strip of white, using the edge to help me keep it lined up. Then I trimmed it at an angle and added it behind the label - so cute!

I know I have lots of cards for you today, but honestly, it was so much fun to make the samples to teach you these techniques! Please share my video with your stamping friends so our card making community can really fall in love with this bundle as much as I have!

Karen

ThePowerOfACard@gmail.com

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https://ThePowerOfACard.blogspot.com

Images Copyright Stampin’ Up!®

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Product List