It’s time for another Wacky Watercooler blog hop!  This one is all about March Madness and Fancy Folds.   If you’re following the hop, you arrived here from the amazing Deborah’s blog.  Deb is one of my all-time favorite artists.  Her projects always make me say, “Wow!  I need to CASE that!” – and I usually do.

“Madness” was up to our own interpretation, and I went a little crazy on the folds.  I used a “fancy fold” on each of my projects.  To keep the verbiage at a minimum, I’m going to just give basics here.  Instructions, diagrams and other tips are on this page.

This looks like a straightforward “gate-fold” card, using the Birthday Bash specialty designer series paper and the and Balloon Bash stamp set, right?  Wrong!!  You’ve heard of a “card in a box?”  Well, this is a box in a card.  I got the idea from Valita’s Designs and Fresh Folds.  The video is linked in the instruction page.  She’s from Australia, so it’s fun to listen to!

When you open the card, there’s a little box that you can put a small gift in.  I was going for a skinny candy bar, but that got eaten before the project was photographed.  So I opted for a couple packages of Skittles instead.  (What can I say?  It’s been a busy week!)

Here’s the open card.

Of course, when I photographed it, the candy all fell to the bottom.  Scroll a bit further down, and you’ll see how deep the box is.  You can’t fill it up, or your card will gap a lot.  But you can put some tags, bookmarks, thin candy, or other flat-ish stuff in there.  By the way, I changed the measurements a bit from Valita’s so they’d work a little better for us non-metric people.

Next I have a napkin fold.  I’m not sure why it’s called that.  I’ve never – ever – folded a napkin like this.  But it’s a cute fold and an easy (like, really easy!) card to make.  I got the idea from demonstrator Deb Valder.  (The link to her video is also on the instructions page.  I also have printed dimensions if you’re like me and don’t like watching videos.)

Like the “box in a card,” this one is kept closed with a belly band.  I used one of the newer monthly Photopolymer sets, Lovely Amazing You.  I love those feathers, and, yes, you do have to “fussy cut” them.  It’s not that bad, though.  For the paper, I used the “Stacked with Love” designer series paper stack.

Here’s the open card.  I used some Snuggles and Smooches, another monthly photopolymer set, for the crazy circles.

Doesn’t it remind you of one of the “cootie catchers” we made as kids?

My final card uses a tea bag fold.

I used 1″ squares for the tea bag folds, and, let me tell you, that was tough!  They’re really tiny.  But it’s doable.  I punched 16 squares from the Birthday Bash designer series paper, then layered them to form the outside flower.  I layered three stamped, punched images from “Flower Shop” to the center with an antique brad.  This is also a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator sketch challenge.  Here’s the sketch –

It was designed by Amanda Corbet for our demonstrator forum.  I forgot to add the ribbon before I glued the layers to the card, so I just added a big floppy bow instead of tying it around the layers.

That’s it for me – and I’m the end of the train.  However – if you started with me or somewhere in the middle, you can keep hopping around the circle until you get back to where you started.  In that case, your next stop is back at the beginning with Marsha Reed.  I know she has something fabulous for you to see!

You can navigate forward or backward using the buttons, or you can click on the Home button to see the entire list of blogs and hoppers.

Birthday Bash Specialty Designer Series Paper

$12.95

Balloon Bash Photopolymer Stamp Set

$25.95

Lovely Amazing You Photopolymer Stamp Set

$14.95

Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack

$6.95

Snuggles And Smooches Photopolymer Stamp Set

$15.95

Flower Shop Clear Stamp Set

$17.95

Pansy Punch

$15.95

Antique Brads

$5.95

1″ Square Punch

$15.95

Night Of Navy 1/2″ Seam Binding Ribbon

$6.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.