May 2022 Technique Squad Blog Hop – Exploding Card 

Welcome to the May 2022 Technique Squad Blog Hop! I’m excited to be a part of this fun collaboration with fellow Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators. This month’s theme is Exploding Cards. Keep reading to see my project below, then make sure to hop over to the other blogs to check out more great projects featuring the Exploding Card technique.

Exploding Card Technique

Exploding Cards are a type of fun fold card where a folded piece of cardstock inside the card “explodes” out when opened.  There are different ways to achieve this “explosion” effect, and I followed the directions in this video by Creating with Kristina.

Instructions

To make the base for this card, I started with an 8-1/2″ x 11″ sheet of Cajun Craze cardstock. I cut it in half to get two 8-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ pieces.  On one piece I scored at 4-1/4″ on the long side for the card base.  For the other, I cut it to a 5-1/2″ square, and scored it in half (at 2-3/4″) in both directions and diagonally in one direction.

To decorate the front of the card, I added a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of the He’s the Man Specialty Designer Series Paper (the Cajun Craze stripe pattern).  Using the All That Dies, I die cut the scalloped circle from Crushed Curry cardstock and the two argyle pieces from Basic Black cardstock (with an adhesive sheet added to the back before cutting).  

I cut the circle in half and glued it to the back of the “You’re Flippin’ Awesome” piece from the specialty sheet in the DSP pack so that more of the yellow would show.  Before adhering this layered piece to the card, I laid it down to help determine the placement for the two argyle pieces.  Once the argyle pieces were attached to the card front, then I added the layered piece over top with Dimensionals.

I also added some Rustic Metallic Adhesive-Backed Dots to the card front.  

For the “exploding” part, I folded the 5-1/2″ square in half along each of the score lines.  Then I folded it so that the areas with the diagonal fold go to the inside when folded close.  When opened, there will be two plain squares (at the top and bottom) and two squares with a diagonal fold going through them (at the left and right).

To decorate this piece, I cut four 2-1/2″ squares, two from White cardstock and two from the DSP (same pattern as used on the front). On one of the White squares, I stamped the sentiment from the He’s All That stamp set and Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  On the other White square, I glued on the grill piece from the specialty sheet in the DSP pack.

For the DSP squares, I cut them in half diagonally.  You will want to pay attention to the direction of how you want to cut these squares…I cut one of mine the wrong way but made it work on my card.

Then, I adhere these pieces to the inside areas of the folded “exploding” piece.

Once the “exploding” piece was decorated, it was time to finish the inside of the card.  I cut two 4″ x 5-1/4″ pieces of DSP (the black grilling pattern) and adhered one to the top section and one to the bottom.  Then I closed the “exploding” piece and put glue along the back of the bottom square section.  This piece is glued down to the bottom section of the card so that the top point (where the folds are) is close to the fold line of the card base.

Next, I added glue to the top square section and closed the card over it.  I held it closed for a little bit to allow the glue to dry.  Finally, I opened and closed the card a few times to make sure the “exploding” part functioned correctly.

Fun fold cards are always a fun technique to try!  And this Exploding Card technique is a fun way to surprise the person you are giving the card to!

Color Inspiration

Thank you for hopping to my site and checking out my project! If you saw something you love, please contact your demonstrator to place an order. If you don’t have a demonstrator, I would love to help you!

Click the NEXT button below to head over to the next blog to see their awesome project.

Here’s a list of all the other demos participating in this hop. Check out all of their posts for more great project ideas.

May 2022 Technique Squad Blog Hop Roll Call

• JoAnn Pollock
• Mackenzie Grimme (currently here)
• Carole Garrison
• Vy Tran

Happy making!

Mackenzie