Go Make Something » Paper Folding

Fold & Cut a Perfect Star

Lisa Vollrath — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:20:09 +0000

People are always asking me how I get so much work done each week. One way is relying on shortcuts—little things I do to make a process go faster.

Here’s the quick, simple way to cut the perfect five-pointed star in any size—well, any size I need that isn’t accomodated by one of my handy paper punches:

Choose a piece of paper. Pretty much any paper, although the smaller the star, the lighter the paper weight should be, just for ease of folding. Fold the paper in half.

Fold it in half again, in the same direction.

Unfold that second fold you just made, to reveal a nice crease down the middle of your paper.

Grab a corner on the folded edge, and fold it down to the crease. This creates a little triangle to the left.

Fold that little triangle up, along the long fold line.

Fold the triangle up again, to the long edge.

Cut diagonally from edge to edge to create the points of the star. The deeper the angle of this cut, the more pointy the star will be.

Unfold.

Perfect stars, every time!

A Basic Tea Bag Folding Lesson

Lisa Vollrath — Sun, 13 Nov 2005 20:00:31 +0000

Tea bag folding is a very simple craft that produces star-shaped embellishments suitable for cards and scrapbook pages. There are an infinite number of folding patterns that produce different types of designs. Here are two examples: one that’s the simplest to learn, and one that’s a little trickier.

Terms

Each piece of paper used in a tea bag folding design is called a tile. The tiles used for these folds were 2 inches square, which is on the large side. Tiles can be cut in any size. The smaller the tile, the smaller the finished folded design.

Each folded piece used to create a finished design is called a wedge or a kite. Most folding diagrams will tell you how many kites to fold to complete the design. Be sure you fold your kites to be identical, or the result will not be a perfect pinwheel or star. (I have that problem quite a bit!)

Basic Tea Bag Folded Star

Begin by cutting out your tiles. For this design, you will need eight tiles. I used some of the printable tea bag papers available in the files section of my newsletter group. You’ll have to be a subscriber to access these tiles.

Stack your tiles so the designs on them all face the same direction. This is very important if you want to create eight identical kites. Choose two opposing corners, and mark them A and B. Since these two corners will ultimately end up underneath my finished design, I generally choose the two least interesting parts of the design. In this case, I want my lovely red poinsettia to be the largest portion of my design.

Fold corner A to corner B, and make a crease. This will be the center guideline of your kite.

Lay your tile on its back, and unfold it. Fold corner A to the center crease.

Fold corner B to the center crease. The two corners will now be against each other on the back side of your kite.

Turn your kite over. This is your first finished piece. Marvel at how lovely it’s folded.

Fold the remaining seven tiles into kites using the instructions above. Be sure you keep the same section of the design on the tile in the largest section. You can see here that I kept my poinsettia in the largest section, and all my points have holly on them. After a little practice, you’ll do this without thinking. To help me make sure that all my wedges are identical, I usually lay them out in their finished design as I fold.

Cut a piece of cardstock to back your design, and glue the kites in place, spacing them evenly. With this basic star design, all the points meet in the center, and the sides of the kites touch each other. Usually, spacing is not an issue. I glue my wedges down using a glue stick on the back side. One swipe from corner to corner is usually enough.

If desired, you can trim your cardstock to mirror your design. Simply measure 1/4 inch or so out from the edges of your finished design, and then trim. This will mirror your star design, and allow you to position your finished star as desired on a card front or page. This finished design is about 5-3/4 inches from tip to tip using 2 inch tiles, so I mounted mine on a six inch square card. Smaller tiles will result in a smaller finished design.

Corner Pocket Star

This design is slightly more difficult because the kites have to interlock before being glued. I have a hard time getting this one glued in place evenly, but it’s so pretty when it’s finished, I keep trying.

This design will take eight tiles. Begin by folding them as you did for the basic star, following all the folding steps. When you have finished folding these basic kites, you’ll add one more fold, shown here: fold the smallest point up, roughly even with the two outer corners. Be sure the point remains on the center crease.

Your finished kites will have a little slit in the center front, creating a pocket. Slide each kite into the pocket of the previous one, pushing it all the way in. Work your way around the design, sliding the eighth kite into the pocket in the seventh one. The first kite will then slide into the pocket of the eighth one to create a complete circle. Glue carefully, spacing your kites evenly.

Iris Folding Project #3 – Oval

Lisa Vollrath — Fri, 02 Jan 2004 23:03:56 +0000

Here’s what you’ll need to make the example above:

Patterned paper – 1 sheet each of 3 different prints
Vintage photo to fill iris
Paper trimmer – I use the Fiskars 12″ personal trimmer
Pattern – print the pattern shown below
Transparent tape
Cardstock – 1 sheet for aperture
Scissors

How to make it:

Using paper trimmer, cut patterned paper into 1-1/2″ strips.
Fold strips in half lengthwise, creating 3/4″ strips with one folded edge. Assemble strips into bundles of A, B and C papers, one bundle for each design. Set strips aside for the moment.
Print pattern below. The easiest way to do this is to save it to your local drive, and then print it from any graphics software. The pattern is for a roughly 5 x 4 inch oval, but you can resize it to any measurement you wish.
Cut pattern out around outer edge. Position pattern where desired on cardstock and trace around outer edge. Create an opening in the cardstock by cutting away traced shape. This will be your aperture.
Turn cardstock over. You will be working on the wrong side of the cardstock to create your design. Position pattern in aperture, and lightly tape both pattern and cardstock to work table.
Lay out your folded papers in piles of A, B and C. It’s very important that you keep your letters straight!
Start working your pattern with section 1A. Place the folded edge of the paper A against the 1A line closest to the center of the aperture, covering section 1A completely. Tape in in place, and trim excess length away. Do the same thing with section 2A, 3A and 4A. Now pick up paper B, and tape pieces over 5B, 6B, and so on. Keep following the pattern, working your way around the oval, one paper at a time.
When all sections have been covered with papers, your design is almost complete. Gently remove your cardstock from the work table and turn it over to reveal your iris, with a rectangular opening in the center. This will act as a frame for your photo. Slide the photo into position behind the iris and tape in place.
Tips:
- Lightweight papers such as origami paper give the most satisfying results in iris folding. Try to avoid heavier scrapbooking papers or cardstock for your folds.
- I generally cut my cardstock piece a little large, work my design, and then trim it down to size.
- Iris folds make great card fronts. Fold a piece of cardstock in half and mount the finished iris design on the card to create a finished back for your design.

Iris Folding Project #2 – Circle

Lisa Vollrath — Fri, 02 Jan 2004 23:02:20 +0000

Here’s what you’ll need to make the example at right:

Patterned paper – 1 sheet each of 5 different prints
Solid paper – a small piece for the iris
Face stamp & ink pad – for iris
Paper trimmer – I use the Fiskars 12″ personal trimmer
Pattern – print the pattern shown below
Transparent tape
Cardstock – 1 sheet for aperture
Scissors

How to make it:

Using paper trimmer, cut patterned paper into 1-1/2″ strips.
Fold strips in half lengthwise, creating 3/4″ strips with one folded edge. Assemble strips into bundles of A, B, C, D and E papers, one bundle for each design. Set strips aside for the moment.
Print pattern above. The easiest way to do this is to save it to your local drive, and then print it from any graphics software. The pattern is for a roughly 4-3/4″ circle, which is about the size of a CD, but you can resize it to any measurement you wish.
Cut pattern out around outer edge. Position pattern where desired on cardstock and trace around outer edge. Create an opening in the cardstock by cutting away traced shape. This will be your aperture.
Turn cardstock over. You will be working on the wrong side of the cardstock to create your design. Position pattern in aperture, and lightly tape both pattern and cardstock to work table.
Lay out your folded papers in piles of A, B, C, D and E. It’s very important that you keep your letters straight!
Start working your pattern with section 1A. Place the folded edge of the paper A against the 1A line closest to the center of the aperture, covering section 1A completely. Tape in in place, and trim excess length away. Do the same thing with section 2B, using paper B. Continue around the circle, alternating the five papers, taping each one in place.
When all sections have been covered with papers, your design is almost complete. Stamp your design on the paper reserved for the iris, and let dry. Cover the last open section in the center of your design with the stamped image, taping in place. Make sure all your pieces are taped in place firmly.
Gently remove the card stock from the work table and turn it over to reveal your finished iris.

Tips:

Lightweight papers such as origami paper give the most satisfying results in iris folding. Try to avoid heavier scrapbooking papers or cardstock for your folds.
I generally cut my cardstock piece a little large, work my design, and then trim it down to size.
Iris folds make great card fronts. Fold a piece of cardstock in half and mount the finished iris design on the card to create a finished back for your design.

Iris Folding Project #1 – Square

Lisa Vollrath — Fri, 02 Jan 2004 23:00:29 +0000

Here’s what you’ll need to make the example at left:

Origami paper – 1 sheet each of 4 different prints
Brown craft paper – a small piece for the iris
Paper trimmer – I use the Fiskars 12″ personal trimmer
Pattern – print the pattern shown below
Transparent tape
Cardstock – 1 sheet for aperture
Scissors

How to make it:

Using paper trimmer, cut origami paper into 1-1/2″ strips.
Fold strips in half lengthwise, creating 3/4″ strips with one folded edge. Assemble strips into bundles of A, B, C and D papers, one bundle for each design. Set strips aside for the moment.
Print pattern above. The easiest way to do this is to save it to your local drive, and then print it from any graphics software. The pattern is for a roughly 3-1/2″ square, but you can resize it to any measurement you wish.
Cut pattern out around outer edge. Position pattern where desired on cardstock and trace around outer edge. Create an opening in the cardstock by cutting away traced shape. This will be your aperture.
Turn cardstock over. You will be working on the wrong side of the cardstock to create your design. Position pattern in aperture, and lightly tape both pattern and cardstock to work table.
Lay out your folded papers in piles of A, B, C and D. It’s very important that you keep your letters straight!
Start working your pattern with section 1A. Place the folded edge of the paper A against the 1A line closest to the center of the aperture, covering section 1A completely. Tape in in place, and trim excess length away. Do the same thing with section 2B, using paper B. Continue around the circle, alternating the four papers, taping each one in place.
When all sections have been covered with papers, your design is almost complete. Cover the last open section in the center with the small piece of craft paper reserved for the iris. Make sure all your pieces are taped in place firmly.
Gently remove the card stock from the work table and turn it over to reveal your finished iris.

Tips:

Lightweight papers such as origami paper give the most satisfying results in iris folding. Try to avoid heavier scrapbooking papers or cardstock for your folds.
I generally cut my cardstock piece a little large, work my design, and then trim it down to size.
Iris folds make great card fronts. Fold a piece of cardstock in half and mount the finished iris design on the card to create a finished back for your design.

What Is Iris Folding?

Lisa Vollrath — Thu, 01 Jan 2004 22:58:58 +0000

Iris folding is a technique that originated in Holland. Color coordinated strips of folded paper are taped into place over a pattern, creating a spiralling design that resembles the iris of an eye or camera. Originally, Dutch crafters would cut their strips from envelopes with patterned interiors, but now it is common to use lightweight papers including those used for origami to create iris folded designs.

The basic supplies you need to get started are minimal, and mostly made up of items paper crafters have in their stash: cardstock, lightweight papers, a paper trimmer or ruler, scissors, tape, and a pattern.

Want to give iris folding a try? Click here for the pattern and instructions for the simple design shown on this page.