Final craftsmanship: cutting, folding, pop-ups and envelopes

1Care you can see

A good idea can be spoiled by a wobbly edge, a cracked fold or a thumbprint of glue. Craftsmanship is the skill and care that go into making: clean cuts, crisp folds, straight lettering and no marks. It is the difference between a card that looks carelessly home-made and one that looks beautifully hand-made.

2Materials (all low cost)

• Card: manila or Bristol board, or cereal-box card with the printed side covered.
• Scrap paper for testing, a sharp pencil, a ruler (metal if possible), a craft knife and cutting board, scissors.
• Glue: a glue stick, white glue, or cassava paste made as in the two-colour printing lesson.
• A blunt point for scoring: an empty ballpoint pen or the back of a table knife.
• Decoration: see the list below.

3Measuring and cutting

• Measure twice, cut once. Mark with a sharp pencil, not a thick line.
• Cut straight lines with a craft knife along a ruler, using several light strokes.
• Keep the ruler on the part you are keeping. If the blade slips, it runs into the waste, not into your card.

4Scoring and folding

Thick card cracks if you fold it without preparation. Lay the ruler along the fold line and press a groove with the blunt point: this is scoring. Fold along the groove, then put a scrap of paper over the fold and press it flat with the back of a spoon or the edge of a ruler, working from the middle outwards.

5Gluing

• Put scrap paper underneath. Spread a thin, even layer right to the edges, because edges lift first.
• Put glue on the smaller piece, not on the card.
• Press the work under a heavy book for an hour, and wipe your fingers before touching the card again.

6Decoration with local materials

• Stencil or potato-stamp prints, as a border or background.
• Collage with dried banana leaves: flatten them, cut shapes such as hills, cows or leaves, and glue them down.
• Offcuts of kitenge from a tailor, glued as a band across the front.
• Pressed flowers and leaves, dried flat between newspaper under heavy books for about a week.
• Imigongo-style triangles cut from black and red paper.
• Hand lettering in ink or felt-tip over pencil guidelines; rub out the pencil when the ink is dry.

7Make it: a pop-up step and an envelope

The pop-up step

1. Fold an A5 sheet of card in half to make an A6 inner card, and score the fold.
2. Keeping the card folded, draw two parallel lines 3 cm long and 4 cm apart, starting at the fold and running inwards, centred on the fold.
3. Cut along the two lines through both layers. Do not cut the line that joins their ends.
4. Fold the flap between the cuts forwards and backwards along that joining line to crease it well.
5. Open the card halfway and push the flap through to the inside. When the card stands open at a right angle, the flap forms a step 3 cm deep and 3 cm tall.
6. Glue a small picture to the front face of the step, not to the card behind it.
7. Glue the inner card into a slightly larger cover card, so the holes left by the cuts do not show. Keep glue away from the step.

The envelope

1. Measure your card and add 5 mm on every side. For an A6 card, 10.5 cm × 14.8 cm, the centre rectangle is 11.5 cm × 15.8 cm.
2. Draw that rectangle on paper. Add a side flap about 2 cm wide on each short side, a deep bottom flap, and a pointed top flap.
3. Cut out the net and score all four fold lines.
4. Fold in the side flaps. Fold up the bottom flap and glue it to the side flaps only, never to the centre, or the card will not go in.
5. Slide the card in and close the top flap with a little glue or a sticker.

Brown paper bags, old calendar pages and gift wrap make good envelopes.

8Evaluate your final card

• Does it meet the brief: purpose, audience, message, size and deadline?
• Is there one clear focal point and a readable hierarchy of words?
• Is every word spelt correctly?
• Are the edges straight, the folds crisp and the glue invisible?
• Does it fit its envelope?
• What would you change next time, and why?

Practice