Christmas Infinity Flip Base - StencilGirl Talk Companion Post
12/21/2017
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Everybody!
I love this time of year. The energy in the air, both real and virtual is infectious as my family, friends, and communities prepare their holiday celebrations. It is a season for the senses: The weather turns brisk and cold, Starbuck drinkers switch to Peppermint Mochas and Eggnog Chai Tea Lattes, Salvation Army volunteers chime their bells over big red kettles outside of bustling department stores, swags of luscious smelling pinecones entwined with greenery are hung over doorways, and flames burn bright in Hanukkah menorahs, Kwanzaa kinaras, and Christmas candles. Even the music changes on the radio and the hum of Christmas carols are everywhere. It's no wonder that I can't seem to get the Twelve Days of Christmas out of my head. I thought it might be fun to play with the french translation of the carol to make a holiday Infinity Flip. (This is a translation that I found on the web by Gruff Davies.)
Le quatrième jour de Noel, mon amour m’a donnè
quatres merles,
trois faverolles,
deux tourterelles,
et une perdrix dans une poirier.
I’m excited to be a guest designer today on StencilGirl Talk where today I’m sharing my process for decorating this Christmas Infinity Flip. I thought that it would also be a good opportunity to write a companion post to demonstrate how to make the card base.
For those of you who are not familiar with what an Infinity Flip is, let me share. An Infinity Flip is what I call a little-artsy flexagon comprised of four interactive mixed media panels linked together so that when you flip through the series, you magically end up back at the first scene.
The design to construct the base for this flexagon, (aka a “Never-Ending” or “Infinity” card), is nothing new. Card makers have been making them for years. I just borrowed the techniques to use in our mixed media world.
How to Create Your Own Infinity Flip Base
These instructions are for a 5”, square Infinity Card Base. But the pattern can easily be adapted to any size: just place the scoring lines at the 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 marks.
Materials and Supplies
- Card stock or other heavy weight paper appropriate for wet mediums, (I used 140# mixed media paper) enough for two (2), 5” squares,
- Paper Cutter or scissors,
- Gesso and paint brush or other applicator of your choice,
- Ruler and scissors,
- Scoring Board with a bone folder,
- Strong double-sided tape, and
- Small pieces of Washi Tape (2)
I gessoed both sides of my paper, letting them dry in between. Then cut two 5” squares and scored them both at the 1 1/4”, the 2 1/2 “, and the 3 1/4” marks in both the horizontal and the vertical directions. Once I finished the scoring, each square had 16 - 1/1/4” smaller squares in it. I used a bone folder to reinforce all of the creases on both squares.
I painted the front of the top square. (You can read all about that in my post on today's StencilGirl Talk Blog.)
Once the painted square was dry, I cut it in half vertically on my paper cutter to make two - 2 1/2 X 5” rectangles. This scene is the top of the base front card.
Then I cut the second square in half, placing a small piece of wash tape over the cut to temporarily secure the cut edges back in their original position. (The side with the Washi tape is the back of the bottom square.) Then I applied double-sided adhesive tape to the front of the bottom square in each of the four corners as depicted in the next pic. (The double sided tape is adhered in the boxes marked with an X.) I placed the bottom square on the table, double adhesive tape side up, with the center cut running horizontally.
To attach the two squares, I held the left side panel of the decorated square vertically and aligned it over the bottom square, making sure that the cut lines on the two squares were not running in the same direction. Then I pressed the two corners into place.
Next I aligned and secured the right hand panel of the painted square the same way. I reinforced all of the four corners by rubbing them with a bone folder to make sure that there was good adhesion. Then I carefully remove the low tack tape from both square.
To make the Folds:
I started by holding the base between my thumb and forefinger with the top of the painted square facing me. Then I slid my right thumb to the outer edge of the base and used it to push the right panel out and to the back. I folded the left panel the same way. I reinforced both creases with a bone folder.
To get to the next panel, I folded the top up and to the back and then the bottom down and to the back reinforcing both of the creases with a bone folder.
I finished the flip by folding the panels of the third scene left and right and then to the back, reinforcing the creases with a bone folder.
That's it! All the folding is done. The next Flip will take you back to the first panel.
I made a dry run of the flips checking to see that all of the flips transitioned smoothly. I trimmed the center seams of any that didn't with sharp scissors. And then finally, I painted the remaining three scenes and my flip was done!
I hope that you’ve enjoyed this little distraction from all of the holiday hustle and bustle. If you would like to learn more about the techniques that I used to decorate this Flip, head on over to the StencilGirl Talk Blog to see that post. I listed all of the stencils that I used for this project below.
Thanks for stopping by. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Hugs, Jill
StencilGirl Stencils used in this project
Quatres Merles
- L580 Christmas #1, June Pfaff Daley
- S110 Tall Birds, Terri Stegmiller
- L125 6 Point Starry Night Stencil, Jessica Sporn
Trois Faveroles
- L424On The Farm, Jessica Sporn
- L502 Art Deco Borders, Gwen Lafleur
- L548 Flamingo, June Pfaff Daley
- Damask StencilGut (Available from time to time)
Deux Tarterelles
- L580 Christmas #1, June Pfaff Daley
- StencilClub April 2015 4X4 Feeling Groovy, Jessica Sporn
- L579 ATC Mixup #2, Mary Beth Shaw
- L502 Art Deco Borders, Gwen Lafleur
Une Perdrix Dans un Poirier
- StencilClub January 2014 6X6 Peacock, Jessica Sporn
- L357 Windswept Tree, Cathy Taylor
- StencilClub December 2013 6X6 Winter Solstice, Mary Beth Shaw
- S278 Starlight 6X6, Lesley Riley
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