Put to a Good Use

Remember the book Janice gave me called The Paper Architect?

I've been using it to make cards. It fun, provided you have the time to do it (dammit).

Here are the steps:

First, lay out the equipment. I bought some cardstock, some plain and some with patterns and colors on both sides. For Janiece's and Jen A's I used white cardstock for the building and then colored for the cover. Michelle's I did the opposite, patterned for the building, and black for the cover. (I'll be showing all three in these pictures.) Tape a photocopy of the design to the back of the cardstock.


Next, use a fine blade (often called an Exacto knife) to cut out the holes in the design. This part was relatively easy, since I have done it lots of times to make models in school. Jen A's was especially challenging - it's shown in the folding picture.


After the holes, I cut a few lines, where the card needs to open up. I also "score" (just cut one side of the card, leaving the other side intact) the folds.


After all the cutting is done, the score lines are carefully folded in the proper direction.


When it's properly folded, it will completely collapse when the two sides are pressed together (as in a card). As it says in the book, "each design is actually a complicated accordion fold."


Now that the building is done (I'll show you the final results in a moment), I put the design into a cover. It provides a backdrop against which to see the intricacies of the design. I had good luck finding some cheap and beautiful cardstock. (It was a book of cardstock missing its cover and an unknown number of sheets that I got for a buck!)


That cover sometimes needs a little additional love - somewhere to write stuff...


Here's the final product:

For Jen A, the London Eye


For Michelle, the Parthenon


For Janiece, the Colosseum