Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Christmas Card - Iris Folding

I've finally gotten the photos for another commission but while I was waiting, I decided to try a new-to-me craft.  I haven't done much crafting in the past few years because painting has taken all of my time and energy.  But, after finishing several commissions, I was sort of burnt out on painting but wanted to do something creative.

Carole, from Art Plus, got me curious about iris folding with the beautiful work she does with it.  So, when I happened upon a pattern and some basic instructions, I decided to try it.  This little bell still isn't finished as I don't have the supplies that most paper artists use.  The paper I used for this is actually just some Christmas gift wrap that caught my eye when I got it out of storage.  The examples I've seen of various iris folded cards use 3 or more colors/patterns for the different areas of the design.  As I said, I didn't have any specialty papers on hand and it's really too far to go to get anything decent.  However, I really enjoyed doing this and will keep my eyes open for papers I can use in future projects.

Now, on to the next dog portrait!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Nice work Jan. glad you enjoyed this craft. It's nice to do something different now and again.

Teresa said...

This is beautiful, Jan! Love the paper you used. Why is it called "iris folding"?

Jan said...

Thanks, Dors, it does feel good to do something a little different every now and then.

Thanks, Teresa. The paper was just some Christmas paper left over from last year. I think it's called "iris folding" because pattern resembles a camera aperture with the "iris" in the center of it. It's very simple to do for such lovely results.