Welcome back to the craft room and today’s How to Make a Front Flip Fun Fold Card post. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned card maker, I have a really cool fold to share with you today: the Front Flip Fun Fold card. What I love about it is that only part of the card front flips open to reveal the greeting hidden underneath. It’s a simple design, but it creates such a fun surprise for the recipient.
One of my favorite things about this fold is how versatile it is. You can use one large image across the front or use up some of your favorite patterned paper scraps.
Stick around and I’ll show you exactly how to make it step-by-step. It’s easier than it looks and comes together beautifully.
Creating the Front Flip Card Base
Cutting the Card Base Panels and Front Flap
To create today’s cards, I am using only two pieces of 110lb Recollections black cardstock. Because we aren’t making a full-size open-book style card, you can get four card bases from one sheet of cardstock.
The first piece will be cut into panels that measure 4¼” x 5½”.
To create the flap, cut the second piece of cardstock into three strips measuring 3″ x 8½”. Next, score each strip in half at 4¼”.
Attaching the Flap
To glue the flap onto the card base, I decided to use the tools I have available to help keep everything centered. I brought out my Mini MISTI stamping tool, placed the panel inside, and held it in place with a magnet.
After applying both ¼” Scor-Tape and Bearly Art Precision Glue, I centered the flap 1¼” from the edge. Once it was in place, I burnished it well with my Teflon bone folder.
Thinking of You Card
Choosing the Patterned Paper
For our first card, I am using some beautiful scraps from the Violet Leaf Paper Stack by Die Cuts with a View. These papers go so well together.
Starting with the leafy pattern for the center flap, I cut it down to 2¾” x 4″. I know I typically mat all of my patterned paper, but this design works so perfectly with the black cardstock that I decided to skip it.
For the side panels, you’ll need two pieces measuring 4″ tall by 1″ wide.
Adhering the Patterned Paper
To adhere the patterned paper, I once again reached for my Bearly Art Precision Glue.
Because we’re placing a little bit of patterned paper onto a whole lot of black cardstock, it helps to place a scrap piece of white paper underneath the flap while positioning everything. In the following photos, you can see how much easier it is to line things up when you can clearly see the cardstock edges.
Once the center panel is in place, adhere the side panels to finish the card front.
Adding the Inside Panel
If you’re using a black or very dark card base like I am, you’ll need to add a lighter piece of cardstock to the inside for writing.
For this example, I used a scrap piece of 110lb white Recollections cardstock cut to 2¾” x 4″.
Creating the Sentiment
The sentiment for this card comes from the Hampton Art Layered Flower stamp set. After trimming another scrap of white cardstock, I stamped the “Thinking of You” sentiment with Gina K Designs Amalgam Ink.
Because you can never have too much gold on a card, I also cut the large branch from the Paper Rose Leafy Branch die set. I used Recollections Gold Foil Cardstock so it would coordinate with the gold accents in the patterned paper.
Now that the gold branch was on the card front, I needed to raise the sentiment slightly so it wouldn’t bend around the stem. I still haven’t purchased more Thin 3D Foam Squares, so a little improvising was in order.
To create some height, I cut my white cardstock into strips about ¼” wide and less than 1″ tall. After gluing two pieces together, I attached them to the back edge of the sentiment strip before adhering it to the card front.
And just like that, we have our first finished Front Flip Fun Fold card.
Father’s Day Patterned Paper Card
Preserving a Full Image
For our second card, I wanted to show you how easy it is to use a full image across the card front.
I started with a scrap of patterned paper from the Habitat Paper Pad by Recollections. It was almost the perfect size already, but I did cut it down to the perfect measurement of 4¾” x 4″.
The most important thing to remember when preserving a continuous image is to cut from left to right or right to left.
For this card, I cut a 1″ strip from the left side first. The center panel was then cut to 2¾”. That should leave another 1″ strip for the opposite side, but it never hurts to double-check. In my case, I was glad I did.
Adding the Sentiment
The sentiment comes from a much older Gina K Designs set called By the Sea. It was illustrated by Theresa Momber and has a copyright date of 2011.
Because there was so much open space in the design, I decided to stamp the “Happy Father’s Day” greeting directly onto the patterned paper. Since this is a red rubber stamp, I first removed the foam insert from my Mini MISTI before stamping with Amalgam Ink.
After adhering the patterned paper to the card base, I added a piece of ivory cardstock from the Coffee and Cream paper pack to the inside.
That was the perfect finishing touch for a card any dad will love.
Embossed Metallic Card Design
An Unexpected Third Card
When I first started planning this post, my intention was to make two cards and then show you a few additional examples. However, that changed when I came across this beautifully embossed piece of Recollections Rose Gold Foil Cardstock.
It had been embossed with the Pretty Florals 3D Embossing Folder from Crafter’s Companion. The moment I found it, I knew it had to be incorporated into today’s project.
Building the Card Front
I cut another piece of the rose gold foil and embossed it using a different section of the folder. This gave me two beautiful strips measuring 1″ x 4⅛”. For the center panel, I started with a rose gold foil mat cut to 2⅞” x 4⅛”. The patterned paper comes from the Sage Park Recollections paper pad and was left over from my Stack Cut and Shuffle Cards Made Easy project.
The patterned paper panel measures 2¾” x 4″.
Finishing the Design
The sentiment for this card comes from another older stamp set, Hampton Art Layered Butterfly. Once again, I stamped the “Hello Beautiful” sentiment directly onto the patterned paper.
At some point I performed a little stamp surgery on this sentiment, so it took some extra time to line everything up before stamping with Amalgam Ink.
Because I was using a mat, the borders were very narrow. It took a little extra patience to get everything lined up correctly, and as always, a piece of scrap paper under the flap was a huge help.
That patience was well rewarded when I saw the finished card. I absolutely love the shine from the rose gold foil cardstock.
More Front Flip Card Ideas
I have a couple more Front Flip Fun Fold cards to share with you today, starting with another Father’s Day design.
The card base is made from 110lb Recollections Kraft cardstock. For this version, I matted the patterned paper with green Canson Papercraft Cardstock. I added a large mat to the card base before attaching the front flap and then created a second green mat for the flap itself.
The patterned paper came from a sample pad included in a Simon Says Stamp card kit a few years ago.
I also cut another leafy branch from the Paper Rose die set using the same green cardstock. The sentiment was printed on my computer.
To add a little extra detail around the sentiment and inside panel, I created faux stitching with my Tombow Fudenosuke Hard Tip Brush Pen.
The final card I want to share is the first continuous-image version I created. The patterned paper comes from the Recollections Steampunk Botanica Signature Special Paper Pad.
I haven’t decided on a sentiment for this card yet, so it may end up in my card sample folder.
Final Thoughts on the Front Flip Fun Fold Card
I had so much fun putting these Front Flip Fun Fold cards together. This design is a great way to use up patterned paper scraps, but it also works beautifully when you have a larger image you want to preserve while still adding a little extra interest to the card.
Out of the three cards I made today, my favorite has to be the embossed metallic version. I just love the shine and texture the rose gold foil adds to the design.
I also challenged myself to dig through my sentiment stash and use greetings that I don’t normally reach for. It was a nice change from my usual favorites.
If you’re looking for even more card-folding inspiration, be sure to check out my Fun Fold Inspiration collection for additional projects and ideas.
Now I’d love to hear from you. Have you ever made a Front Flip Fun Fold card before? Which of today’s cards was your favorite?
Let me know in the comments below. Until then, I hope you have an amazing week ahead, and I’ll see you back in the craft room again soon.
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