Iris Folding Tutorial

Iris folding is my favorite cardmaking technique - I love the aticipation of working blind then turning the card over to view my finished creation. The technique is great because you can use precut papers , wrapping paper, the inside of envelopes and even satin ribbon to create dramatic results.

1. choose your design, plus paper strips approx 2cm wide, sticky tape and peels offs and gems to finish off

2. slide your choosen pattern guide into a plastic sleeve and tape to your work surface / table

3. tape you card face down over your pattern using low tack tape ,
quick tip -  if its normal sticky tape - stick it to your trouser leg a few times to remove most of its stickiness- this should stop it damaging the card as its removed ( thats why mine looks blue in pics )

4. choose the required colours of paper strips for your design
working from the middle fold over approx one third - do this on several of each colour

5. Heres where the fun starts. its like painting by numbers but with paper
( for this design I had to fold then end of a strip to start with)
Look for number 1 on your chart / pattern
place your choosen colour strip over that number and tear off a piece big enough to cover number & overlap onto edge of appeture .

6. With folded edge along line of chart no1 section , tape strip on face down .
For this design I had to use the same colour up until number11 before I changed )
quick tip - in this case tear required number of pieces before taping town its quicker !

7. For this design I have choosen 2 main colours but you can have up to 4 per design
Now working with alternate colours , again with folded edge against the line , continue taping paper strips around the iris
quick tip -   write out your numbers first just in case you get lost along the way
11 - pink , 13 purple ,
12 pink ,  14 purple  and so on ( all numbers are colour coded on our charts any way )
once you reach the centre - use an unfolded strip across the cente - tapoe in place

8. Put strips of tape all over the paper strips to hold everything securely in place

9. Find your piece of backing card and put double sided tape on the back of it
( usually in our kits they are smoother on the back )
Then remove sticky cover tape and stick card over the working of your design to make it all look neat .

10. Finally and carefully remove the holding tape and turn your card over to reveal yor finished design !
You can now embellish with peel offs , gems or other stickers to make your card truely unique !

Time to rethink my Business , my life , my world

I'd like to tell you about my dreams please- for as long as I can remember Ive been creative . About 7 years ago I started an online craft business www.craftyhobbies.com , this quickly lead to me opening a small high street shop . I always dreamt that it would steadily grow and become like the other biggest craft shop in England selling a huge array of crafting products. At the same time I was doing a couple of online courses http://www.becomeamumpreneur.com/, they suggested that I read "Authentic " by neil crofts.


Then recently, due to unforseen circumstances I had to shut up shop and move everything back home and start again promoting and building the online side of the business .

Suddenly I have the world and my future at my feet and all the things I had read about in "Authentic" I now have chance to put into action.

My dreams have now changed quite dramatically - I no longer think that a lot of what I use or stock fits into my ethical beliefs and am now researching into uk produced products , that are eco friendly . I have always been a recycler & reusers for many years although now its termed as " upcycling " . so I am looking at ways in which I can produce art ect using either reclaimed items and eco friendly products - eg recyled papers and card , enviromentally friendly glues ect . I also have a large garden thats mainly a wildlife garden at the moment ( over grown!! lol ) so I'm cosidering making a green house from used plastic drinks bottles so that I can produce home grown plants and veg to sell locally . maybe even rescue a few battery chickens ! ... I love to share my talents to so maybe start workshop and kids clubs using old household items - this list is literally endless of what I can do .

My biggest challenge is time management . most days I can get up with all good intentions then something else comes along and I often dont get round to doing what i had planed, or I have a mad idea about something else and off I go on a tangent . Then there is the innner voice always telling me I'm not good enough , or what if i make all these things and nobody likes them or wants to buy them , so then I fear failing so often wont even start a project that ive dreamt about for ages.
But I'm glad to say with help and support from family and friends, and my own self determination - things are starting to change !

Taking Time to Reflect

The last couple of weeks have been so hectic, but finally the stock is almost all organised.
Just trying to arrange insurance now that will cover everything I need !
The trouble is, now I have time to reflect on my position, its throwing up all sorts of un expected questions.

Firstly -  I now have the time to spend with the children that I was missing while I was at the shop - but can I afford to be a stay at home mum at this moment in time ?

2 - How will I ensure my customers from the shop find me and visit me at home ?

3 - My garden isnt the best kept in the street, so how will customers react to that if they visit me at home ?

4 - I have so many ideas for my Craftyhobbies business, with lots of potential -  but where do I start ?

5 - I can see what items I sell most of online - But can I be brave & sacrafice some categories so I can target those areas when I havent fully established my webites online presence yet ?

6 - I want to get back to being creative again for my self and am hoping to join the volunteers at the next Royal Opera project - I also know that I could use this in many ways to boost my business - but where will I find the time to work on both ?

 7-  Do I want to continue with my craftyhobbies website at all -  I know it will be a long and up hill battle, with little or no gains to begin with ?

8. What are your thought or suggestions please ?

Now I'm getting organised in the annex - It won't be long before I can start listing stock on the website again

All of my ribbon and lace are now nicely dispalyed and my wool and knitting needles are all organised.
The knitting and crochet patterns are all boxed up still and will take the longest time to re arrange.

Ribbon and Lace display

Wool and Knitting Needles