Waterfall Card tutorial -from a single A 4

Waterfall Card

Waterfall cards are super fun interactive cards and recently I made quite a few with matching post it note holders.The photos show the flipping panels of our waterfall card.

Waterfall Card

 I had fun using butterfly stickers on the 2 inch square flipping panels of this waterfall card.

Waterfall Card

The photo shows the matching 3 x 3 inch  pen with post it note holder.

Post it note holder

Waterfall card tutorial

Though I love making all kinds of interactive cards ,waterfall cards seemed complicated.I couldnt quite understand  the tutorials on the net and I  couldn't even fathom the name waterfall as the panels actually flip up on pulling the tab [how crazy it would be if a waterfall defied gravity like that!].Also the tutorials on the net seemed to require a lot of card stock!
As paper-crafters we all love to "save" our precious card stock don't we? So the fun "paper saving" aspect about this tutorial is you can make a waterfall card using just a single sheet of A 4 card-stock and once you get the hang of it ,it saves time too!

What is a waterfall card?

For my crafting friends who are not familiar with a waterfall card its a beautiful interactive card which looks way more complicated than it is!!

The waterfall mechanism needs 4 paper parts

1.Base card

2.Interactive strip

3.Flipping Card Panels

4.Restraining Belt strip
Stick card panels on to a folded card strip and your waterfall strip is ready. Use a belt type card strip to anchor it to a card base and your waterfall is ready to flip!
To cut these waterfall card parts from an A 4 card

1. Cut off 2 inches from one end of an A 4 strip-gives the panel strip
2. Cut off 1.75 inches of the remaining piece as shown- gives the interactive strip
3. Cut off 8.5 inches of the last piece- gives the base card and the belt

Waterfall card Tutorial

For those who love measurements [Base card: 8.5 x 6.5 which when folded is 4.25 x 6.5 ; Interactive strip:1.75 x approx 9.5;Panel strip:8.25 x 2 which when cut gives 3 panels of 2 x 2 inch and one panel 2.25 x 2 inch;Belt strip 6.5 x 1 and 1/8th which should be trimmed to 4.25 length]

Waterfall card Tutorial

Score and fold the interactive strip .Cut the panel strip into 4 panels at approx 2 inch intervals[the Panel strip is 8.25 x 2 which when cut gives 3 panels of 2 x 2 inch and one last panel 2.25 x 2 inch..if you want you can shorten this odd one to 2 x 2 or leave it as such ].By this method you utilize just one A 4 card to make the waterfall and only waste a small strip of card marked "cut off" from the belt strip.

Waterfall card Tutorial

Take the interactive strip [9.5 x 1.75 inches] and score at 2 inches,2.75,3.5 and 4.25 [ie 0.75 inches gap]. Fold both ways at the creases to loosen the score lines. Fold over the strip as shown[ at the last score line towards the center of the strip].

Waterfall card Tutorial

Apply glue on the 2 inch wide area of the interactive strip as shown.Glue one card panel [I choose my odd size one which is longer than the rest] on it aligning the top of the panel to the score line.

Waterfall card Tutorial

Apply glue to the area before the next score line and glue on the next panel again aligning the top of the panel with the scoreline.Similarly glue on the other 2 panels of the waterfall card.

Waterfall card Tutorial

Now you have your folded waterfall mechanism with the overlapping panels stuck on, the folded base card and the belt strip which you have cut short to a length of 4.25[ the width of your folded base card]

Waterfall card Tutorial

Attach the belt strip to the lower part of your base card using strong white glue at the edges[ around 0.5 inches area] or brads or eyelets.The belt attachment needs to be sturdy yet loose to allow easy flipping of your waterfall  card.

Waterfall card Tutorial

Slip in the folded waterfall strip under the belt keeping the part with the panels above the belt. Apply glue on the central part of the strip which will be covered by the panels.Stick on the panel which overlaps the belt aligning the lower border of the panel to the lower border of the belt.Allow it to dry well and pull the interactive strip to see your flipping waterfall card.

Waterfall Card

Well for those of you who have never made a  water falI card it may sound complicated..but do give it a shot and I bet you will be hooked ! And I  do hope this crazy tutorial is of help..to my fellow crafters in some way.

Here are some more waterfall cards