Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is my Dad's 80th birthday.  This is his card.  I purchased the dies for making these Accordion cards some time ago (Elizabeth Crafts) but haven't done much with them yet.  I think this may be my first attempt.  They really work quite well & things go together very easily!  

Materials:

• Patterned card stock for card base (not sure where I got it!)
• Heartfelt Creations Woodsy Wonderland paper pack (for decorating)
• Brown Vine Ribbon (HOTP)
• Katie Label Accordion dies & Accordion Fancy Labels dies (Elizabeth Craft Designs)
• Woodsy Critters dies & matching stamps (Heartfelt Creations)
• Walnut Stain Distress Ink (Ranger)
• Watercolor pencils (for coloring little stamped & cut critters)
• Stickers ("80")

Method:

1. From the patterned card stock, cut SIX pages using the largest Katie Label Accordion die.
2. Use the dies to emboss the stitching lines on these six pages, then as stencils to ink them with the distress ink so they stand out.
3. Fold along the vertical fold lines - and cut off these long vertical tabs on all but two pages.  Similarly, leave the tabs on the inner label part on only those same two pages.
4. Take the two with tabs & one without (doesn't need a tab as there isn't another page to connect it to) and set aside to use to assemble your card.  For the other three, cut the center part away from the frame so they are in two pieces.  These will go on the back of your card after it's been put together to hide tabs and make for a prettier card.
5. Working with the outer frames of the 3 pages you set aside for the card base, put glue on the tabs and connect the three pages side by side so that when folded they lay on top of each other nicely (trim if needed to ensure the edge of the page isn't too far into the fold). With your three pages together, you will fold first a valley fold & then a mountain fold. to create the basic shape for your card.
6. Before continuing, decorate your card - front and back!  It will be much harder to add decorations after you connect the inner parts of the card pages!  The only pieces you don't want to glue to the card at this point are the backs for the inner pieces (you'll want to cover tabs that aren't attached yet).  Remember that you can use the dies in the Accordion set to cut needed pieces as you decorate!  Also, it often looks better if you ink the edges of the various pieces.
7. Now, put glue on the inner tabs and connect the inner pieces so they fold the opposite direction as the outer frame (if the frame is folded as a valley, fold the inner part as a mountain & vice versa).  It will basically look like the inner pieces thread through the outer frames when you're done. 
8. Add the backs for the inner pieces (make sure you've done all decorating & writing on them first as once they're attached it's hard to do much with them!). 

 When it is folded for mailing, it looks like this: