THIS IS A GUIDE TO THE PAPER CRAFT IRIS FOLDING.  PAPER CAN DO SO MUCH MORE WITH THIS PAPER ART FROM HOLLAND.

ORIGINALLY STARTED IN HOLLAND WITH THE USE OF THE PRINTED INSIDES OF ENVELOPES.  IRIS FOLDED IS BECOMING A POPULAR CRAFT.  THIS CRAFT IS RELATIVELY IS AN INEXPENSIVE ONE WITH FEW TOOLS AND SUPPLIES AND LITTLE STORAGE SPACE REQUIRED.

TOOLS

BASIC TOOLS ARE THIN PAPER, PAPER CUTTER, SCISSORS, GLUE PEN, DOUBLE FACED TAPE AND PATTERNS.

PATTERNS

MOST PATTERNS ARE BASIC SHAPES LIKE CIRCLES, SQUARES, HEARTS, STARS AND HEXAGONS.  BUT ANY SHAPE CAN BE MADE INTO IRIS FOLDED ART.  PATTERN BOOKS SHAW PATTERNS AND YOU CAN CUT YOUR SHAPES WITH AN EXACTO KNIFE OR A CUTTING SYSTEM.  CREATIVE MEMORIES , FISKARS AND COLUZZLE ALL HAVE BASIC SHAPES THAT CAN GIVE YOU A CRISP CUT SHAPE.  SOME OF THESE SYSTEMS ARE CAPABLE OF CUTTING DIFFERENT SIZE SHAPES SO YOU CAN MATCH YP TO PATTERNS.  HOWEVER IF UNABLE TO FIND THE EXACT CUT YOU CAN EXTEND THE PATTERN TO FIT.  AFTER LEARNING THE BASIC IDEA OF IRIS FOLDING YOU CAN SEE THIS EASILY.

MOST PATTERNS HAVE FROM 2-5 AND SOMETIMES MORE DIFFERENT COLORS THAT ARE NEEDED FOR IT.  PAPER THAT CAN BE USED ARE IRIS FOLDING, ORIGAMI, WRAPPING PAPER, VELLUM, AND EVEN MAGAZINE PAGES.  LIGHT WEIGHT CARD STOCK IS ALSO USABLE.

FOR BEGINNERS I RECOMMEND MAKING A SMALL CHART TO FOLLOW SO YOU CAN KEEP TRACK OF WHAT PAPER TO USE WHEN. SIMPLY BY MAKING A SMALL PIECE OF PAER AND LABELING A B C D AND ATTACHING A SMALL PIECE OF THAT PAPER WILL KEEP THE PROCESS MOVING WHEN YOU GET CONFUSED.  YOU WORK ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE PATTERN SO YOU NEVER SEE THE FINAL EFFECT UNTIL FINISHED.

CUTTING YOUR PAPERS

AMAZINGLY ENOUGH LOOKING AT THESE FINISHED PIECES VERY LITTLE PAPER IS USED.  I USE A 12" PAPER CUTTER TO CUT MY STRIPS.  SOME PATTERNS GIVE YOU RECOMMENDED WIDTHS TO CUT.  BUT GENERALLY 3/8 TO 1/2 IS PERFECT.  ONCE YOUR STRIPS ARE CUT WORK ON A FLAT SURFACE AND FOLD YOUR STRIPS IN HALF.  I LIKE RUNNING MY BONE FOLDER DOWN THE CREASE TO GET A SHARP CRISP FOLD.

IRIS FOLDING AND ORIGAMI PAPER FOLD THE BEST.  RUNNING A BONE FOLDER IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT ON LIGHT WEIGHT CARD STOCK.  WHEN USING VELLUM I DO NOT FOLD THIS BUT MAKE SURE I HAVE A CRISP CUT AND MAKE SURE YOUR STRAIGHT CUT IS THINNER IN WIDTH.

STARTING YOUR PATTERN

NOW TO START YOUR PIECE WORK ON A FLAT SURFACE.  I ALWAYS WORK ON A CLEAN PIECE OF COPY PAPER.  WHEN FINDING A PATTERN BOOK MAKE COPIES OF THE PATTERNS.  YOU WORK WITH YOUR COPIES AND THIS SAVES YOUR BOOK.  WITH THE CLEAN SHEET OF PAPER ON THE BOTTOM,USE DOUBLE FACES TAPE TO SECURE YOUR PATTERN ON THE CLEAN SHEET. NOW DETERMINE WHICH SIDE OF YOU CARDSTOCK WITH YOUR PATTERN IS GOING TO BE YOUR GOOD SIDE.  SOME PAPERS ARE SLIGHTLY TEXTURED AND YOU MAY WANT THIS AS YOUR GOOD SIDE. AGAIN YOU WORK UP SIDE DOWN SO PLACE YOUR GOOD SIDE DOWN AND USE DOUBLE FACE TAPE TO SECURE LIGHTLY ON THE PATTERN.  THIS KEEPS THE PATTERN FROM SLIPPING AS YOU WORK.  I LIKE USING WACKY TACKY BECAUSE IT HOLDS AND IS EASY TO REMOVE.

START WITH A SIMPLE PATTERN THAT IS NUMBERED AND COLOR CHARTED.  REFERRING TO 1 A FIGURE THE LENGTH NEEDED BY LAYING ALONE THE LINE. CUT AND LAY A THIN LINE OF GLUE FROM GLUE PEN. LEAVE NO GAPS ON THE SIDE AND WORK IT THE FOLD BEING N THE INSIDE OF YOUR PATTERN.  I LIKE USING A CHISEL POINT GLUE PEN.  APPLY GLUE ALONG THE FOLDED EDGES OF THE PAPERS DOWN ON THE PATTERN ONE AT A TIME.  REMEMBER NOT TO GLUE ON THE PATTERN PIECE..JUST THE FOLDEED PAPERS.

SOME PATTERNS HAVE A LARGE IRIS THAT CAN BE FILLED WITH A SMALL PHOTOGRAPH.  THE SMALLER ONES USEA FLAT UNFOLDED PIECE OF THE LAST COLOR USED TO COVER THE IRIS COMPLETELY.

NOW YOU ARE READY TO LIFE YOUR WORK AND SEE IT FOR THE FIRST TIME.  DEPENDING ON THE USE OF YOUR IRIS FOLDING CUT THE AREA AROUND YOUR PATTERN TO FIT YOUR AREA OF A CARD OR SCRAPBOOK PAGE.  A LAYER OF THE SAME COLOR CARDSTOCK CUT A LITTLE SMALLER CAB BE USED TO COVER YOUR WORK NEATLY.  REMIND PEOPLE THAT IT CAN BE TAKEN OFF A CARD ETC TO BE FRAMED, BOOK MARK OR IN A SCRAP PAGE.

HINTS FOR A STRIKING LOOKING IRIS

CHOOSE PAPERS THAT THE COLORS BLEND WELL.  DON'T BE AFRAID TO USE A WHITE PRINT WITH DARK COLORS,  PICK ONE THAT HAS THE SAME COLORS AS IN ONE OF THE DARK PRINTS.

ON THIS SAME IDEA MIX PRINTS UP.  ADD A STRIPE TO FLOWERS AND SOLIDS.

PEARLIZED PAPERS MAKE BEAUTIFUL APPEARANCE.

THE DIFFERENCE IN PAPER TONES GLOSSY NEXT TO A SWIRLED PAPER ALSO ADDS INTEREST.  SOMETIMES THE PAPERS YOU NEVER THOUGHT WOULD MATCH GIVE THE MOST INTERESTING IRIS FOLD.

SO NOW YOU ARE READY TO START COLLECTING PAPERS WITH IRIS FOLDING IN MIND.  THIS IS A HOBBY THAT CAN BE STORED EASILY IN A WICKER BASKET AND TAKEN ANYWHERE.  PACK YOUR PAPERS AND PATTERNS EVEN IN A ZIP LOCK BAG AND TAKE IT TO WORK TO DO ON YOUR LUNCH BREAK.

IF YOU ARE ADDICTED TO PAPER WHETHER IT IS BOOKS, SCRAPBOOKING, CARDS OR STATIONERY THIS IS THE NEW CRAFT FOR YOU.