Deco Diamond Fancy Fold Card

Hello, Everybody!

Yesterday I posted a Roaring Twenties Collection Art Deco style card in the Fans of Crafter's Companion on HSN group.

I created an original Fancy Fold for it, and a lot of y'all requested that I do a tutorial showing how I'd made the base. As promised, here it is! I hope that you find it useful/helpful! 💜

To download a printable Word version of this tutorial, click here! 

Deco Diamond Fancy Fold Card Base Tutorial
By Leslie King – Crafter’s Companion Design Team Member

For this project you will need:

1 Piece of cardstock for card base cut at 12 inches wide by 6 inches high
3 Pieces of coordinating cardstock for layering cut at 3 ¾ inches wide by 5 ¾ inches high (Note: one of these rectangles will be your inside center layer, so if you wish to feature an image, be aware of where you cut and check your image placement.)
Embellishments, die cuts, etc.

(Optional: 1 Piece of 3 ¾ inches wide by 5 ¾ inches high solid color cardstock for back panel to be used for sentiment, etc.)

Right, then – here we go!

*Before officially getting started, be aware that ALL of the score lines you make will be used for VALLEY folds. I always valley fold *into* my score lines, rather than away from them; therefore, I’ve created this pictorial with distinct front and back sides.*   

Using your Crafter’s Companion Scoremaster, Big Score, or similar scoring board, score your base cardstock piece from top to bottom at 4 inches and 8 inches on the wide (12 inch) side. Next, measure and mark your cardstock at 1 ¾ inches and 10 ¼ inches along the TOP of the wide (12 inch) side. Shift your cardstock to line up the 1 ¾ inch mark with the left bottom corner of your card base (the 0 inch by 6 inch point,) and score diagonally. Mirror the diagonal score from the 10 ¼ inch mark to the right bottom corner of your card base (the 12 inch by 6 inch point.) This should give you a piece of cardstock which looks roughly like this:

Next, flip your card base over and score diagonally from the top 4 inch mark to the left bottom corner of your card base (the 0 inch by 6 inch point.) Mirror the diagonal score from the 8 inch mark to the right bottom corner of your card base (the 12 inch by 6 inch point.) The back of your card should now look like this:

That’s it! All of the scoring on your card base is now completed and you only need to fold your score lines to finish up! Remember: all valley folds – the side you scored on is what determines your valleys and mountains.

If you find it helpful, I folded my card in the following order:

1) On the card front (inside) fold the 4 inch score and the 8 inch score each inward toward the middle, making sure to get everything squared up.

2) Flip the card over to the back (outside) and fold down your diagonal scores.

3) Turn the card over to the front again (inside) and finish out your last diagonal flap folds. Be careful on these. You want the outer edges of your card to line up exactly with the diagonal fold you scored on the back – no overlap or underlap.

Now – on to the layers! This is where things can get a little tricky, so I’ve tried to include plenty of pictures. As mentioned previously, you should have three rectangles measuring 3 ¾ inches wide by 5 ¾ high. One of these is your inside middle layer, so you can set it aside for now. The remaining two layers have several point cuts, so I would suggest using a Crafter’s Companion Guillotine, (or similar style cutter) rather than a blade-style paper trimmer.

Your first cut is the easy one. On rectangle number one, make a diagonal cut from the top right corner to the bottom left corner. Mirror the cut on rectangle number two: cut diagonally from the left top corner to the bottom right corner. At this stage, your three rectangles should look like this:

Now, set aside each of the bottom section cuts, so that you are left with only the two top cut sections. Measure and mark each of these sections – on the top – at the midway point: 1 7/8 inches.

Next, you’ll need to cut on the diagonal from the 1 7/8 inch mark to the very bottom point. (Note: your goal here is to bisect the point, so you may want to cut these pieces upside down to help avoid any paper shifting and achieve a more perfect cut.)

That completes all of your layer cuts and you should now be left with a pile of pieces shaped like these!

Finally, it’s just a matter of piecing together your puzzle! The front (inside) of your card will use these pieces:

And the back (outside) of your card will use these:

*Be aware: The outermost flap layers are the tricky ones. Depending upon the thickness of your base cardstock, the width of your score lines, and the accuracy of your folds, you *may* need to trim an additional 1/8 inch or so off the long sides of these layers in order to get a more perfectly spaced fit. Just remember: you can always cut more off, but you can’t put it back on, so trim in teensy increments.

And we’re done! Your completed card should look like a *much* prettier version of this:

(My apologies for the kooky color scheme – I grabbed the most color contrasting large pieces available in my scrap bin to make the cuts and folds easier to discern.)

I really hope that you have found this guide helpful! I tried to make it as simple and clear as possible so that card makers of all levels would have an easy time of it! Never hesitate to ask if you have any questions, and Happy Crafting!!!

Leslie King
Crafter’s Companion Design Team Member 💜