Shutter Fun Fold Card

This is a really cool way to do the inside of a Gate Card. There’s lots of pictures, making it look like it’s hard. But it’s not. It’s hard to show you how to do it without lots of pictures! Or a video. Not quite there, yet. Maybe someday! Here we go.

First off – this is what we’re aiming for:

The center opens like a camera shutter (hence the name) when you open the Gate Card.

Cut a 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ piece of card stock for your card base. Score and fold at 2 1/8″ and 6 3/8″ along the long side.
Cut 2 pieces of the same card stock as your card base. These will be 3 1/2″ x 4″ each. Score at 1/2″ on the 4″ side. These will become your shutters.
Lay each of your two shutter pieces on your grid paper (or find another easy way to determine where two lines intersect!). The next photo shows a pencil dot at the intersection a line at 1 3/4″ up on the 3 1/2″ side and 2″ over on the 4″ side.
Use your straight-edge to draw a pencil line from two corners to the pencil dot.
Cut on the lines – be sure to cut the lines off, or they might show on your finished project!
Then snip a little bit – like 1/2″ – off each pointy tip.
Fold up on the score line on each shutter and set it aside!
Next, we’re going to make the inside panel. Cut a piece of card stock at 3″ x 5 3/8″. This can be the same color as your card base – but I like to make it the same color as the mats I’m using on the front of the card. For this example, I’ve used Melon Mambo. To that, SNAIL a 2 7/8″ x 5 1/4″ piece of Designer Paper that matches the front of your card. When you apply your SNAIL, put it all around the outside edges as usual, and then also run a piece down the center. You’re going to cut a hole in it and you want all the parts well and truly stuck together!
Using a Circle Framelit die, cut a 2 3/8″ hole in the piece you just created. You do not want the die centered top to bottom, not too close to the top. You want it Juuuuussst Right……
Cut the hole and save the resulting circle! Place Stampin’ Dimensionals across the top and the bottom of this panel.
Adhere this into the inside center of your card base – centering it in the large middle panel.
Remember those shutters from step 7? Turn them over now, so the score line is a mountain (it was a valley in step 7), and slide one in from each side, into the “pocket” you made when you put your center panel on with the Stampin’ Dimensionals. Push them together (one will slide over the top of the other) beneath the hole in your center panel. Each outside edge should be about 1/8″ from the score lines that created your Gate card.
Using Fast Fuse (or another really strong adhesive – I don’t recommend SNAIL here), run s strip down that outer edge of each shutter. The picture above shows you where the adhesive is. Then, carefully close that side of the card front – this will automatically stick the shutter to the card front (hint – that’s what makes it move!).
Repeat with the other side. At this point, your shutters should open and close (like a camera shutter) when you open and close the card. If there’s any stickiness, check out the points of your shutters – you might need to snip off a bit more! 🙂
Now, let’s make the inner sentiment. Cut a 1 7/8″ circle from card stock and stamp it with your sentiment. Decorate it however you like! Mat it on a 2″ circle of card stock (I like to use the same color that I’ve been using all along on my card!).
Now, put some Multi-Purpose Liquid Glue on the back of your sentiment circle. Then, you’re going to open the card all the way up (which also opens the shutter!) and carefully slide your glued-up circle into the space made by the open shutter. Trust me – it works. 😉 Once it’s inside, quickly wiggle it around as needed to be sure it’s straight in the circle.
At this point, the shutter is complete! Now you can decorate as you want to on the inside. Like any other Gate card, you only need to be sure that whatever embellishments you might add don’t interfere with the opening and closing of the card.
The front of the card, takes two panels. Each one is a 1 7/8″ x 5 1/4″ piece of Designer Paper, matted on a 2″ x 5 3/8″ piece of card stock. Use SNAIL to adhere the panels to each side of the card front.
This card works well with a belly-band to hold it closed. Cut a piece of card stock 1″ x 11″. Close the card, and then lightly wrap the strip around the closed card. Don’t wrap it too tightly – or it will be too hard to get the band on and off the card. Lightly crease the band where it wraps around the card.
Use some Glue Dots or Liquid Glue to stick the ends of the strip together.
The belly band can be decorated however you like! You can even use the circle that you cut out way back in step 10. Get it decorated and pretty, and then adhere it over the top of the seam in the belly band.