Iris Folding
I've always been into crafty things, especially paper crafts. In the past few years, my hobbies have broadened from rubber stamping into deco friendship books into scrapbooking.
Recently, I saw a class offered at my local scrapbook store for a technique called "Iris Folding." I'd never heard of it before, but the samples looked amazing. As it happened, the class was that same night!
Luckily, I was free, and doubly luckily, they managed to squeeze me in.
At the class, we learned the basic technique, which is fairly simple - you cut out a shape, and then fill it in with narrow folded strips of paper in a spiral design. You follow a pattern, and just tape each strip in place.
Given the pattern, it's pretty straightforward. In that class, we made three cards - a rectangle, a circle and a Christmas tree. At the Christmas tree, my mind started whirring - I had committed to a crafts fair in mid-December,
but didn't really have much to sell yet, and these cards were beautiful. I began churning them out. The circle easily became an ornament hanging on a tree, the tree design I redid in many colors and even added garlands (like the one to the left),
and I found some other designs to try - another ornament, champagne glasses, a candle.
And then I took the plunge, and even made my own designs - so far, it's been a bird, a turtle, and a jellyfish.
Here are some iris folding links I've found to help you on your way! If you're into iris folding, please drop me a line - I'd love to hear from you!
My work - this is my gallery of my iris folded designs and cards. Coming soon
Iris Folding "Crash Course" - an online tutorial in iris folding
Hetty's Page - a personal site, with a good workshop on iris folding
Iris Folding Yahoo! Group
CD for sale with 50 original patterns and sample cards