Last weekend, my writers’ group was fortunate to be able to use the studio of a local non-profit so we could all get together. There was a pot-luck of over 50 of us – it was a great day! So I brought a big card for everyone to sign to thank them for allowing us to use their space, and I’m going to show you how to make one, too.
More likely, you’ll use this as more like an album, or use smaller sheets of paper. You could include a few photos and some embellishments. I mean, it’s not often that 50 people need to write in a card (though if you have a big group, like a class – this is perfect!) Whatever you decide to use it for, this card is simple and fun and full of potential.
What you’ll need:
- 3 square sheets of cardstock – whatever size you choose. I used 12″x12″. They can all be the same, or different colors.
- Adhesive – I like the tape runner kind but I was barely even started when I ran out. So I used regular glue instead.
- Ribbon – I used a 36″ length for my 12″ papers.
- Embellishments of your choice – I just cut the words “thank you” and a few simple shapes with my Silhouette machine. But here’s where you make it your own – stamp, stick, glue or print anything you like!
This is going to look like a lot of steps, because when it comes to folding paper, it can look confusing at first. But it’s really simple and these make up fast – 5 minutes for the card itself – tops, plus whatever time you take embellishing it. I made two… we have two groups we would like to thank this month for lending us space. So don’t mind me when you see the two color schemes, I used whichever color card had better photos for some steps below. :)
First, fold your paper. You will first fold it into quarters (square) and open it up, and then in half (diagonally), and then open it back up again. Your paper should be creased like this:
Now, take the points from the diagonal crease and bring them together, folding them inside your square quarters. (Which sounds impossible to explain, so take a look.)
Do that with all three papers.
Now add some glue/adhesive to one of the square sides. Center your ribbon, and stick it on, too. It doesn’t matter which direction the ribbon goes, whether horizontally or vertically, because you can decorate it based on the ribbon position.
Now, take a second folded paper to glue on, with the ribbon in-between. You will want the folded-in points pointing in opposite directions. Like so. Line up the square sides as evenly as possible.
This is what it should look like opened up – you can glue it on this way if this way makes more sense to you. One of the square quarters will be securely glued to a quarter on the other paper. The diagonal folds should fold in opposite directions, one inward and one outward.
Decide which is your center piece of paper (irrelevant if you use all the same color) and glue a quarter of that to the remaining quarter of your center piece of paper. The diagonal fold should be going the same direction as the other outer paper… these will be the front and back of your card. Take a look at what I mean.
The gray papers are the outsides of the card. The diagonal folds both fold the same direction. The yellow paper inside folds the opposite way. If you find that you’ve goofed this up, don’t worry because it’s just a fold! Creasing it in the opposite direction will fix it!
Now here, I fold it up, and squish it very, very flat. Then, I added a few embellishments. A simple set of circles on the backside, and my “thank you” on the front. (If you’re a fot junkie, the one I used is called “Japan”.) There really is no front or back, until you make it! Just note which way the ribbon goes, because it will tie around your card.
Take a moment to fold it up, to orient yourself with the two outer panels so you can decorate them accordingly. Then you can unfold it and embellish to your heart’s content. In our case, that was just signatures.
When you’re ready to tie it shut, wrap both ribbons around the back of the folded card –
And then tie it in the front in a bow!
If you’re using 12″ papers like me, this will fold up into a nice 6″ square card. Smaller sizes of paper will work fine too, and will fold up even smaller.
It was a big hit at the non-profit, and because I kept the embellishments simple to leave room for people to write notes, I had both cards done in about 20 minutes. I love quick projects like this!
Julia says
Hi Adrianne, What a cute project! I love it so much that I decided to feature it in our roundup of thank you crafts! Check it out at FaveCraftsBlog (dot) come. Thanks!
Jess from Cox's Corner says
Featuring YOU today at Artsy Corner!
Lindsay says
SO cool! You are amazeballs. Just sayin.
Kaelie Nielsen says
That is so awesome! Very smart.
~k
Terry says
This is such a unique fabulous idea. I love, love, love it.