Swing Frame Card

Do you like to learn a new card style once in a while? I do and I’m especially a fan of 3D style fancy card folds. I’m always scouring Pinterest and Facebook for great ideas.

I’m sharing one with you today I think is a lot of fun. It’s part swing, part frame and it doesn’t open like a normal card. Instead, it gives a lovely 3D view of a frame and a peek at something hanging inside.

The card base is made using Basis Natural Card stock available at CutCardStock’s store.

To start, I made an A2 sized card base using the Basis card stock. This folds at the top instead of the side. The bottom will be connected later. I used a stitched rectangle die to cut out the hole for the frame on the front flap.

To get the die in the center, I used a ruler with a centering measurement and drew a vertical and horizontal line on the flap with a pencil. I did the same thing with the die so I could put pencil marks showing the vertical and horizontal center.

Then I could match up the lines, secure with Washi tape and run it through my die cutting machine. This assures the frame opening is exactly in the center!

To create the designer paper mat for the frame, I did a similar thing with a larger die so that when it was cut, the stitching around the inner frame on the card base was still visible. The paper and stamps that you’ll see later are from the current Simon Says Stamp Card Kit.

Next, I made an accordion-folded piece measuring 4 1/2″ x 2″ and folded it accordion style every 1/2″. This will connect to the bottom of the card. It allows it to stand nicely when displayed but will collapse so that the card is flat for the envelope.

I also cut the “swing” part of the card out of Basis Card Stock. It’s 3 1/4″ x 5 1/2″. I scored the top at 1/2″ and folded it. This will adhere to the top interior fold of the card base creating a swing for the sentiment.

Once made, I could put my sentiment on the swing. I again used a cut-out from the papers included the Simon kit. I used a scallop die for it but that didn’t show in the finished card so it’s really not necessary to do that.

I was able to eyeball the placement of the cut-out so that it would show nicely through the frame. Once that was ready, I could glue the 1/2″ flap in the swing to the top of the base card and that completed the swing.

The next step is to connect the accordion folded piece to the bottom of the A2 card so that it can be displayed well but still lay flat when in an envelope. All pieces were again made of Basis Natural Cardstock. I stamped two of the butterflies and a sentiment. I colored the butterflies with Copic markers using Y21, Y32, and YR14.

I decorated the frame with the butterflies, sentiment, die-cut leaves, bling, and a cream paper rose. To help everything match, I tinted the edges of the rose with a Copic Marker, YR000.

The end result is an elegant and pretty card with a swing feature that has a lot of dimension. It displays really well on a shelf or desk for an extra special keepsake.

I hope you might give this one a try. Today is the last day of the Basis Cardstock sale over at CutCardStock so hurry on over and choose from the many different colors and weights available!