Accordion Photo Card

We saw this neat photo project on The Carol Duvall Show and thought it was a great idea for a greeting card! While Carol showed the photos being framed to hang on a wall, we put them on a card! Flip the card from side to side to see two different photos! Our example shows a Father's Day card - one photo with Dad and his daughter as a baby and a more recent shot changed to greyscale so the two photos match. Not a hard project to do, just a lot of measuring and cutting - but well worth the effort!

MATERIALS

Two pieces of card stock 8 1/2" X 11" (one for the outside of the card and one for the pieces inside that will hold the message. They can be any color you can print on.)

Glossy flyer/brochure paper (or plain paper)

Two digitized photos (both must be the same orientation)

50 lb (or as close as you can get) stock for making accordion

Ruler

Bone folder, stylus or ball point pen for scoring

Craft knife

Cutting mat

Glue

Double stick tape

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Open a blank half fold greeting card in your graphics program. The orientation will depend on the photos you are using. We chose landscape since our photos were in the same orientation.

2) Place a rectangle that measures 3.5” X 5” with a border and no fill in the center of the card front. You will cut this rectangle out in order to insert the accordion.

3) Place whatever text you wish in the areas around the rectangle.

4) Print a sample on plain paper to check layout. Once you are satisfied, print on the cardstock for the outside of the card and cut out the rectangle using your craft knife.

5) On the inside of the card file place two rectangles – no fill – that measure 4.5” X 7.5” and place whatever text you wish inside the rectangles. Print only the inside of the card on the second piece of card stock – the color you chose for the inside of the card. Put aside until later.

6) Draw a rectangle, by hand or on your computer, that measures 3.5” high by 10” wide on the 50 lb. piece of paper that will become the accordion to hold the photos. Cut this rectangle out.

7) Using your ruler (a clear ruler makes easy work of this step) divide this paper into 3/8” sections and score on all lines.

8) Fold the paper back and forth on the score lines accordion style until all the lines are folded. Don’t worry if you have a tiny piece left at the end. You can cut this off later.

9) Open a blank page in your graphics program and import the two photos. Resize each picture so that it measures 3.5” X 5”. Print on the glossy flyer paper or plain paper. Photo paper does not work well for this project since it is a bit too thick.

10) Cut the photos out and turn them face down on your cutting mat. Again measure every 3/8” and mark the cutting lines. BEFORE you cut the strips make certain to number each section. This will make it much easier to put the photos back together in the correct order once you have cut them out!

11) Using a very sharp craft knife, cut each of the photos into the 3/8” strips.

12) Your accordion piece should have two flat ends that will be attached to the underside of the card front. Starting at one end, pick up the first strip of one of the cut photos and place it in the first V-shaped space on the accordion folded strip. Continue down the strip with the rest of the photo pieces. Then begin at the other end and place the pieces of the second photo.

13) If any of the pieces do not fit perfectly, don’t worry. If a piece is too wide simply trim a tiny strip off one side. If a piece is too narrow and some of the white paper on the accordion piece shows along the top edge just make sure you glue it in place along the top edge. Any extra white space will now be at the bottom of the V and you won’t notice it.

14) Once all your pieces are fitted correctly begin to glue them in place. A glue stick is best for this since it will give you time to move the strips around a bit if you need to realign them. You may wind up with a strip left over from the end of each photo. This doesn’t matter.

15) Once the entire accordion photo is completed open the greeting card and place the accordion so that the end tabs (the pieces that have no photo strips attached) line up inside the rectangle you cut out of the front of the card. Once you check alignment you can glue the two end tabs to the inside of the card cover.

16) Cut out the rectangles you printed for the inside of the card and glue them in place. One will go on the inside of the card front, covering the accordion photo piece.

17) On the front of the card, carefully lift the top edge of the accordion piece up and place a piece of double stick tape beneath it. Press the accordion down onto this tape. Do the same for the bottom edge. This will keep the accordion piece in place.

That’s it! You can fit this card into a half fold envelope, but if you plan on mailing it, a box would be a better idea.

Accordion Photo Card Instructions

For a print friendly version, click on this link.