Exploding Card Tutorial with Tracy Evans

Hi everyone, Tracy Evans here and I am thrilled to be sharing a tutorial with you for an exploding card, inspired by our stripes challenge this week.

I wanted to try something a little different this week, a card with movement and more detail so I opted for an exploding card.  My front cover showcases the fabulous Wendy Vecchi So Serious handsome gent stamp (who has a striped hat!) set against an inky backdrop created with Distress Stains wild honey and walnut stain. The sentiment from Wendy
Vecchi's Steampunk Art was perfect for this gent along with a top hat to embellish.

I love the added detail the water splashes add to the background.

To create the exploding card cut three pieces of Kraft card 8" x 8". Take the first square, score and fold in half. You can make your card any measurement as long as you begin with a square piece of card. Then fold the same piece in the opposite direction.

Open out your card which will now have been folded to create a cross (four squares 4" x 4")

 Now fold the card on the diagonal, using a bone scorer for a good clean crisp fold.

Turn the card over and fold along the same diagonal line once again (this helps the card to fold easily into position).

Repeat this process with three 8" x 8" square pieces of card to create the fold above.

The card folds easily as shown and as you can see we have two mountain folds in the centre.

I have created three pieces for my exploding card but you could have 7 pieces or even 9.

Adhere all the panels together to create the exploding card as shown here.

As you can see the central panel faces the opposite way to the two side panels.

Now it's time to decorate. Cut 4" x 4" squares of white cardstock (twelve total). Then take six of those, and cut them along the diagonal into triangular pieces. This will give you six squares and twelve triangles total.

At this stage it is a good idea to trim each piece very slightly for a perfect fit onto the exploding card if desired. I will be distressing the edges, so I did not trim anything away. Note that I distressed the edges of these triangles and squares before coloring.

Apply Distress Stains to a non-stick craft sheet and spritz with water.

Mop up the beads of ink with each piece of cardstock that we cut previously.

Continue to mop up the ink until you are happy with the coverage, and then dry the card with a heat tool (or let air dry). If desired dab the card into the remainder of the ink to add splatters of ink and dry once again.

Apply Distress Ink in a dark color such as Walnut Stain to the edges of each piece for definition.

Spritz water into the palm of your hand and then flick the water onto the coloured card.

Dab with kitchen towel to remove the ink, leaving bleached out areas in your background.

Place striped background stamp onto a flat surface and ink the stamp with black Archival Ink. Then press the triangular pieces of cardstock onto the inked stamp and remove.
Repeat this process for all the triangular pieces.

Adhere all the decorated triangular pieces to the exploding card.

Before adhering the front and back covers add twine to the back of the squares of white (now colored) cardstock so that the exploding card can be tied shut.

 This is my front cover when fastened.

This is my back cover, which I have stamped with the Moustache Sketch stamp
and I have also added a moustache pin from my collection, which I have
rubbed over with Treasure Gold Olive Bronze wax, applied with my finger.

This is the exploding card fully opened.

To decorate the inside I've added a number of stamps, accents, words, and fun details.

I have stamped the Moustache Sketch once again to the inside of the
exploding card and added a few mini sprocket gears for added dimension
and texture.

I hope you've enjoyed my exploding card, and that you're inspired to create your own!

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Supply List:
Wendy Vecchi So Serious Stamp
Wendy Vecchi Steampunk Art Stamp Set
Wendy Vecchi Art Fit For A Queen Stamp Set 
Wendy Vecchi Embellish Your Art Top Hat
Tim Holtz Moustache Sketch Stamp
Tim Holtz Alterations - Mini Moustache and Pointed Finger Movers and Shapers Die
Tim Holtz Idea-Ology - Mini Gears Sprockets
Kraft Core Nostalgic Paper Stack
Distress Stains - Wild Honey, Walnut Stain
Distress Ink - Walnut Stain
Black Archival Ink
Paper Distresser
Non-Stick Craft Sheet
Treasure Gold Olive Bronze Gilding Wax
Prima Flowers Engraver Wood Buttons
Prima Flowers Mini Numbers Sunrise Sunset Vintage Trinkets
Twine

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Thanks to Tracy for this amazing tutorial! Now are you feeling inspired to make a book yourself, or perhaps you have another fabulous striped idea? Then join us in this week's challenge! Click here to see the rest of the design team's entries and to enter your creation. For the full rules, read the "challenge rules" posted in the side-bar here on our blog.