One of the great things about iris folding for your card making ideas is that you can use any sort of paper which means you can use up all your scraps, or even find a use for old wrapping paper that you may have thought to throw away.

Because iris folding gives your handmade cards such an intricate and tactile feel, it may seem at first glance to be a really difficult skill to master.

The reality is that iris folding techniques are, in fact, really easy and a bit like painting by numbers.

Using iris folding to frame a photo on a scrapbook page or for a card making idea will give it a unique depth and a texture and look amazing.

Iris Folding

You can download a wide range of free iris folding patterns and templates or buy them from craft suppliers.

Once you have your template you can then you can simply cut your paper into strips folding them lengthways and stick them onto the card following the template you have chosen to use.

You place your iris folding template onto your piece of card and draw the initial shape and cut it out. Then choose the papers you want to use and cut them about 1 x 3 inches long.

Iris Folding Tips!

Fold your strips of paper in half and place the template underneath the original piece of card with the hole cut out so you can see the design.

Iris Folding Designs

Continue to follow the template pattern until you are left with a small hole in the centre. This is known as the iris.

Turn the card over and place one last piece of paper or card to cover the hole, I find holographic paper works really well.

Once you have finished you will notice that the back of the card will look rather messy so simply cover this with a piece of cardstock.

Before you know it you will have created a wonderful looking iris card with very little effort.

Once you start iris folding you will be hooked!