Tamara's Paper Trail

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Double Z Fold Card Tutorial - MCM layout July 20, 2026

Happy Tuesday! I hope you had a chance to pop in to my Mystery Card Monday Facebook Live last night! I share how you can take card up a notch to make a real WOW! project that truly anyone can do! We made Double Z Fold Cards in mere minutes. Yes, easy enough for beginners; challenging enough for seasoned card makers! You can spend a little or a lot of time embellishing your project so you can use as few or as many layers/embellishments as you have/like! Here s what we made - everything from VERY simple (the fruit card) to more time consuming/fancy (the mushroom card).

This one uses products from the Violet Dreams Suite of products; Violet Dreams Paper and the Framed Violets Bundle. I stamped the images in Peaceful Pine and coloured them with Highland Heather light and Peaceful Pine light Blends. The sentiments is in Gorgeous Grape. The base is Highland Heather and the mats are Gorgeous Grape.

Measurements:

Highland Heather Card base - 11" x 4 1/4"

Highland Heather Card layer - 9 3/4" x 2"

DSP Pattern #1 (flowers) - 5" x 3 3/4"

(2) DSP Pattern #1 (flowers) - 2 1/4" x 3 3/4"

DSP Pattern #2 (stripes) - 3 3/4" x 1 1/2"

(2) DSP Patter #2 (stripes) - 2 1/4" x 1 1/2"

Gorgeous Grape Mats:

(1) layer - 5 1/4" x 4"

(2) layers - 2 1/2" x 4"

(1) layer - 4" x 1 3/4"

(2) layers - 2 1/2" 1 3/4"

I love this one! You KNOW how I love my die cuts! This is the most time consuming one, because of the die cutting needed. I used Pecan Pie and Crushed Curry card stock. The patterned paper is from Cute as a Bug and the dies are from Sweet Bugs. I used Basic Beige, Mossy Meadow, Cajun Craze and Old Olive for the die cuts. I thought I was very clever making the grass that is on front of the mushrooms. That die is actually meant to be a flower head. I snipped off the rounded bottom and now it looks like grass! hee hee. Oh, the sentiment is stamped in Mossy Meadow (on basic white) and fussy cut out. So fun!

Measurements:

Pecan Pie Card base - 11" x 4 1/4"

Pecan Pie Card layer - 9 3/4" x 2"

DSP Pattern #1 (mushrooms) - 5" x 3 3/4"

(2) DSP Pattern #1 (mushrooms) - 2 1/4" x 3 3/4"

DSP Pattern #2 (splotches) - 3 3/4" x 1 1/2"

DSP Patter #2 (splotches) - 2 1/4" x 1 1/2"

Crushed Curry Mats:

(1) layer - 5 1/4" x 4"

(2) layers - 2 1/2" x 4"

(1) layer - 4" x 1 3/4"

(2) layers - 2 1/2" 1 3/4"

This one actually turned out really great, considering I had 15 minutes do make it and was "winging it"! lol. I used Misty Moonlight Paper and ink, Basic White for the mats and Strawberries & Dots embellishments. I coloured the fruit with Blueberry Bushel, Granny Apple Green and Cherry Cobbler Blends. You'll notice I only used one patterned paper on the card, leaving the smaller Z Fold with just white space, allowing for more stamping and allowed the embellishments to really pop.

To create the above card:

Misty Moonlight Card base - 11" x 4 1/4" - scored at 2 3/4" and 5 1/2"

Basic White layer - 5 1/4" x 4"

(2) Basic White layers - 2 1/2" x 4"

DSP Pattern - 5" x 3 3/4"

(2) DSP Pattern - 2 1/4" x 3 3/4"

Misty Moonlight Card layer - 9 3/4" x 2" - scored at 2 3/4" and 5 1/2"

(1) Basic White layer - 4" x 1 3/4"

(2) Basic White layers - 2 1/2" 1 3/4"

This one is the same as the first one, but is the "quicker" version.

It uses products from the Violet Dreams Suite of products; Violet Dreams Paper and the Framed Violets Bundle. The embellishments are die cuts that come with the Designer Paper pack. The sentiment is in Gorgeous Grape. The base is Highland Heather.

This card is the "quick" version. It doesn't have any card stock mats surrounding the Designer Papers, making it quicker, in that it requires less prep/cutting.

Measurements:

Highland Heather Card base - 11" x 4 1/4"

Highland Heather Card layer - 9 3/4" x 2"

DSP Pattern #1 (flowers) - 5" x 3 3/4"

(2) DSP Pattern #1 (flowers) - 2 1/4" x 3 3/4"

DSP Pattern #2 (stripes) - 3 3/4" x 1 1/2"

(2) DSP Patter #2 (stripes) - 2 1/4" x 1 1/2"

Here is the Mystery Card Monday (MCM) Facebook Live replay, showing you how to cut the papers and put all the pieces together. As always, I have tips and tricks to share along the way.

This truly is easier than you think! Several viewers last night made one (or more) and they all confirmed it IS easy. Try it!

That's it for this week. If you would like to join me LIVE for my MCM (Mystery Card Monday) sessions, you can catch me on my FaceBook Page here at 7:00 pm Mountain Time every Monday ... or on my YouTube Channel here at the same time (I stream live to both). Like and Follow my FB Page and/or Subscribe to my YouTube Channel. I'd love to have you - the live community is AMAZING and so much fun!

If you live in Canada and would like to purchase any of the items I used for my cards, just click any of the pictures below and you will be taken to my Stampin' Up! online store. (I apologize that not all products are shown! When I do a blog post before the product is available for sale I can't add it to the list shown below.) Thank you! I appreciate your support!

Stay amazing!

Tamara

Product List

Filled With Sweetness Bundle (English)

[167475]

$78.25

Framed Violets Bundle (English)

[168194]

$67.50

Sweet Bugs Bundle (English)

[167002]

$64.75

Homemade Sweetness 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[167467]

$17.00

Violet Dreams 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper

[168186]

$24.00

Cute As A Bug 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper

[166994]

$17.00

Misty Moonlight 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[153081]

$20.00

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[166780]

$20.00

Highland Heather 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146986]

$20.00

Gorgeous Grape 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[146987]

$20.00

Pecan Pie 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[161717]

$20.00

Crushed Curry 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[131199]

$20.00

Mossy Meadow 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[133676]

$20.00

Cajun Craze 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[119684]

$20.00

Basic Beige 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[164511]

$20.00

Misty Moonlight Classic Stampin' Pad

[153118]

$15.00

Gorgeous Grape Classic Stampin' Pad

[147099]

$12.25

Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad

[147111]

$12.25

Blueberry Bushel Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack

[161679]

$16.50

Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154880]

$16.50

Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154885]

$16.50

Highland Heather Stampin' Blends Combo Pack

[154887]

$16.50

Peaceful Pine Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack

[167668]

$16.50

Strawberries & Dots

[167479]

$12.25

Baker's Twine Essentials Pack

[155475]

$15.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$6.00

Stampin' Seal

[152813]

$12.25

Bone Folder

[102300]

$11.00

Take Your Pick

[144107]

$16.50

Paper Trimmer

[152392]

$39.00

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine

[149653]

$191.00

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

One Piece of Pretty Paper, Two Cuts DONE! - MCM Layout July 13, 2026

Happy Tuesday! Another beautiful summer day here in Edmonton .. so naturally I'm about to hit the basement and make Christmas cards lol ... but not before I finish my Blog post for the card we made last night during my MCM Facebook Live!

I was pressed for time and when that happens, my creative juices completely shut down. No problem! When that happens I remember I don't have to reinvent the wheel. I have LOTS of great layouts from the last 6 years of my lives. Time to revisit one that I love. Here it is ..

A layout that I come back to time and time again! For these cards I used the gorgeous Beautiful Gallery Designer Paper. For these cards I maintained the pattern by starting with a 4" x 3" piece and cutting it at 2", then at 1", leaving another 1". You then just arrange the pieces on a mat, adhere to another mat and BOOM! Done! I used the "Thinking of You" from the Friendly Foliage set and the Natural Matte Dots and Baker's Twine. I used Secret Sea card stock and ink. I wanted to who you how you can make 3 cards from just the (1) piece of 6" x 6" paper. I love no waste! If you like the flip side to your pretty paper you can, of course, flip any of the pieces for a totally different look.

For the next two I used two different papers, both from the Splash of Sparkles Paper. I just made two cards with it but if you cut two 6" x 6" pieces you could make 6 card quickly and easily. I didn't care for the flip side of either sheet I used here and just went with (2) cards for the sake of time on my live.

The die cut for the sentiment was made with the Filled with Sweetness dies. The stamp set and adorable die cuts are from the Splash & Relax bundle. I ADORE that bundle!! I used Pumpkin Pie card stock and ink, and embellishments are Pearlized Faceted Circles, Shimmering Dots and, as always, Baker's Twine. Papers for the dies cuts are Granny Apple Green/Lemon Lime Twist, Daffodil Delight/Lemon Lolly, Strawberry Slush/Flirty Flamingo and Calypso Coral/Early Espresso.

This really is a GREAT go-to layout for a pretty card. Keep it simple or step it up. In fact, if the paper is REALLY pretty you don't even need a sentiment. Keep them plain and you can use it for ANY occasion, as/when you need it.

If you'd like to make one yourself, here is the "recipe" of the pieces you need to prep. I hope you try it!