Hi everyone! Today I’m sharing with you a tutorial for double z-fold cards, and a bunch of examples. Z-fold cards are quite easy to make, and the result is very pretty, so I hope you’ll give it a try! I also share some useful tips and tricks for making such cards.

I have made nine cards, in two very different styles:

For those of you who are not familiar with this fold, it is called “double z-fold card” because from above it looks like two Z shaped layers:

and the card opens up like this:

Double z-fold card tutorial

To make a double z-fold card, you will need:

• 1 piece of basic heavyweight cardstock, of size 4 1/4 ” x 11″
• 1 piece of basic heavyweight cardstock, of size 3″ x 9 3/4 “
• 1 piece of DSP, of size 4″ x 10 1/4 “, cut to three pieces – two pieces of size 4” x 2 1/2 “, and one piece of size 4” x 5 1/4 “
• 3 pieces of white cardstock – two pieces of size 2 3/4 ” x 2 1/2 “, and one piece of size 2 3/4 ” x 4″

Score the 11″ piece along the long edge at 2 3/4 ” and at 5 1/2 “:

Fold the card over the 5 1/2 ” score line, then fold “backwards” over the 2 3/4 ” score line. Enforce the score lines with bone folder:

Adhere the DSP pieces to the paper:

Now, we move on to the second layer of the card. Take the 9 3/4 ” piece and score it at 2 3/4 ” and at 5 1/2 “. Note that these are the same positions that were scored on the previous layer – that is okay 🙂

Fold the paper the same way as we did the previous layer, and adhere the white paper to it:

Now, it is time to combine the two layers into one card. In order to make sure the top layer is perfectly positioned, here is a tip I learned from the talented Jennifer Mcguire. First, fold the top layer to a rectangle, put some adhesive on it and then center it on the bottom layer:

Next, “open” the first fold of the top layer, so the back is showing. Put some adhesive on the outer edge. “Close” the bottom layer and hold it in place: (I know it sounds complicated, but I promise you it’s easy – just take a look at the photo)

Fold back the top layer and adhere it to the bottom layer:

We now have our card base!

Finally, embellish the card and add sentiments if you want, and that’s it! Our card is ready 🙂

Examples

Here are the different card that I made. Here are some photos of one style:

and here are some close-up photos of the other one:

Useful tips

1. When embellishing the middle panel, I recommend to use only flat embellishments, and make sure they are not seen when the card is closed.
2. Having said that, I do recommend placing the embellishments on the outer panels in a way that “breaks” the borders of the layers. This gives more interest to the cards.
3. If you want to do some stamping, make sure the stamps match the pattern of the DSP you use for the bottom layer. I think it’s even more important than using the perfect ink color, because it creates a flow along the whole card.
4. Try to use bold stamps on the front panel. It really makes a huge difference, as can be seen in this photo – the second card looks much better than the first one:
   

Card challenges

As usual, I’m submitting some of these cards to:

• Simonsaysstamp Wednesday Challenge – “Spring Mood Board”. Join the challenge here.
• Dragonfly Dreams Challenges – “Include an Animal”. Join the challenge here.

That’s all for now! Thanks for stopping by, I hope this double z-fold card tutorial was helpful 🙂 I’d love to read your comments!

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