Hi crafty friends! I am back & today I am excited to share how to make a z-fold card. This is something that may seem intimidating at first, but I promise once you follow along with me - you'll be whipping these cards out in no time! Below I have a full process video sharing how I made this lovely card & all the techniques I used. Keep scrolling to get step-by-step photos & instructions on how to make a z-fold card! I wanted to try to keep it as easy as possible for you.
First, the easiest way to do this (in my opinion) is to start with a piece of 8.5 x 11 paper. In this blog post, I'll be showing you how to create a horizontal Z-fold card, but I do go through in the beginning of my video how to make both vertical & horizontal, so be sure to check that out if you want to see both!
For reference, I use Dress My Craft 12x12 score board for this card (& all my card makes that require a lot of folding!)
Next, trim your paper (on the 8.5 end) at 4.25. This will give you 2 vertical A2 sized cards. This ends up being our card base!
Now, simply fold your card base in half.
This then ends up being an A2 vertical sized card (like I stated above) at 4.25 x 5.5 in size.
From there, take the "front" of the card, and fold that back in half on itself. This will give you the "z" shape!
Now you will use the other half of your cardstock. Keeping the length the same at 11 inches, pick a width that works for you! I like 2 inches, plus this allows me some room for decorating with our NEW Christmas Sweater Layered Stencil!
To be honest, with some z fold card styles, you don't even need a strip, it's just a fun part that allows for even more dimensional fun & visual appeal. Now that you have your strip, you will do the same fold technique as you did with your card base.
First, fold it in half, then fold the "top half" back on itself to create that "z" shape. This will give you the same shape as the card, but the longer half goes on the "front" side of the card.
Friendly reminder to decorate your strip & your first panel however you like before adhering on. OR, if you wanted the front part of the strip covered, just remember that before adhering onto your card base! 
Now, in order to adhere your strip onto your card, there's a simple trick you can use. Just fold the strip down completely on itself, and put tape on the BACK side of the strip, this will be TWO separate parts when looking from the back. The front will just look like one piece.
From there, lay your card base flat as well, and just stick your strip down onto your card base, making sure it's lined up on the edges perfectly.
This will now create your actual z-fold card! Now you can see the dimension & the little box it makes once it's all adhered together.
Wasn't that simpler than you thought? I was intimidated for a while to do this card because I felt it was hard, but now understanding it's basically just an A2 sized card folded down, it makes it less complicated!
For this card, I decided to do a Christmas theme. I couldn't resist using our NEW Christmas Layered Sweater Stencil, I felt that was the perfect decorative strip for the front of this card.
I even have a little hidden pocket in the back of my card! I also used our Christmas Sweater Stencil on this Gift Card Holder, look how awesome that turned out!
The best part about this card is that it ends up folding down to be an A2 sized card, so you can put it in an A2 sized envelope! How much fun is that?
We also now have the Catherine Pooler Inks in stock as well as Simon Hurley's Gold Lunar Paste I used on this card today!! Be sure to check it all out on the shop! Will you attempt to create a card like this?? Let me know in the comments!
With lots of heart,
Emily
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