Tutorial - Multi-Panel Accordion Cards

I have an awesome card fold to share with you today - not too difficult, and it looks spectacular when standing up on display. Although it does take a lot of card stock, it would be fantastic for a special occasion or for an event where lots of people wish to sign their name. 

TEMPLATES

1. Start by trimming your card stock to size. You'll need a 12" x 51/2" piece for the card base plus an extra 41/2" x 51/2" piece to extend the base. You'll also need an 81/2" x 31/4" piece and a 9" x 31/4" piece for the insert.

2. Time to score everything. Place the 12" x 51/2" piece horizontally on your score board and score at 4" and 8". Fold along the score lines starting with a valley fold then a mountain fold.

3. Place the 41/2" x 51/2" piece of card stock vertically on your score board and score at 4". This will leave you with a 1/2" tab on one side.

4. Place the 81/2" x 31/4" piece of card stock horizontally on the score board and score at 23/4" and 51/2".

5. Place the 9" x 31/4" piece of card stock horizontally on the score board and score at 23/4", 51/2" and 81/2". Fold along all the score lines.

6. Apply glue or double sided tape to the 1/2" tab on the 41/2" x 51/2" piece of card stock. Secure it to the right-hand side of the 12" x 51/2" piece, keeping the tab to the back of the card. Your card base should resemble the letter "M" when viewed from above. Set aside to dry.

7. Apply glue or double sided tape to the 1/2" tab on the 9" x 31/4" piece of card stock and secure it to the right hand side of the 81/2" x 31/4" piece of card stock.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The 81/2" x 31/4" piece of card stock has been divided into three panels by the score lines you added earlier. The panels measure 23/4", 23/4" and 3" in width from left to right. Make sure you are joining the tab to the 3" section. When you fold the insert along the score lines, you should notice that middle section is 1/4" longer than the other two sections. See the photos below.

8. Your card stock should now look like the photo below. The taller piece is the card base and the narrower piece is the insert.

9. Choose a set of rectangular nesting dies to cut the windows from the card base. The dies need to be tall enough for the insert to fit comfortably inside (see photo below). They should be wide enough to leave a minimum of 1/2" on either side of the panel.

If you don't have dies, it's perfectly okay to use a trimmer or craft knife to cut windows in the base, keeping all four cuts at least 1/2" from the sides of the panel.

10. Your insert should fit through both windows with plenty of room to spare.

11. Time to decorate! For the insert, you'll need four pieces of patterned paper measuring 21/2" x 3" and two pieces measuring 23/4" x 3". For the card base, you'll need five pieces of patterned paper measuring 33/4" x 51/4", which includes one piece for the card front.

12. Cut a window in two of the 33/4" x 51/4" pieces of card stock to form frames for the card base. This is where the nesting dies really come in handy as you can use the next size up from the one you used on the card base.

13. Use glue or double sided tape to secure all the patterned paper to the card base and the insert. You may prefer to leave one of the panels on the insert blank for a message or stamped sentiment.

14. Add your embellishments and sentiments, keeping everything relatively flat so it doesn't add too much bulk to the finished project.

15. Once your insert is decorated, thread it through the two windows as shown in the photos below.

16. Apply adhesive to the back of the first panel of your insert and secure it to the card base, about 1/2" from the outside edge. Repeat for the last panel of the insert.

17. Since the card is very bulky, it will not stay closed without a little help. I found the simplest solution was to create a belly band from a 11/2" wide strip of card stock and some embellishments.

18. Wrap the card stock around the centre of the card, leaving a small overlap. Secure into a loop with glue or double sided tape. Decorate with a strip of patterned paper, images, stamps and sentiments.

NOTE: I adapted these instructions to remove the ribbon closure that was included in all the other examples I could find of this card, and replaced it with a simple belly band. If you'd prefer the ribbon closure, just do a google search for "multi-panel accordion cards" and you'll find lots of great tutorials.

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