Nowadays it is very popular to make various items with your own hands for interior decoration, decoration or everyday use. Find yourself a new interesting hobby. Master the manufacture of folders at home and you can make any option from simple office to address with sophisticated gift decoration and content.
Ways to create
Folders can be made in several ways:
- Based on purchased stock.
- Completely from scratch.
In the first case, part of the task has already been completed for you. Work with the product is only in its design, but here you are limited by the parameters of the workpiece that you can buy.
In the second method, it is easy to choose any size, format, thickness and design, however, its creation will require additional time and labor.
As for the design options, there are a lot of them. You can decorate a folder in one of the following ways:
- In the technique of scrapbooking, decoupage.
- In the form of a collage made on a computer and printed on an appropriate basis.
- Using fabric and elements made from it.
As you can see, there are several options. Choose the one that suits you best.
Materials and Tools
Making folders does not require large expenses, however, in order to effectively design a product, you will need a lot of decor and accessories for its processing and fastening.
For the most beautiful and completely self-made folder, you need the following:
- Base or cardboard for its manufacture.
- Fabric for decorating the workpiece.
- Paper (design, for scrapbooking, for printing on a printer, including photo paper).
- Lettering, poems, congratulations, wishes.
- Curly hole punch.
- Glue or thermal gun.
- Templates with finished images.
- Stencils.
- Additional decor (satin ribbons, lace, braid, scotch with a pattern, stickers, beads, beads, sequins, sparkles).
To create a unique gift product, you will need a lot of things. The list is large, but this does not mean that you need to use all in one souvenir in equal quantities. It is necessary to limit oneself to the prevailing details, for example, to make most of the elements from beautiful textured sheets of paper and decorative cardboard and to decorate the main parts with lace. The applied decor and design style as a whole depend on the recipient of your folder: it is one thing if the gift is made for the bride or groom or a small child, and quite another for the chef. In the latter case, you should adhere to the official business design.
Organization Style Elements
Continuing the last thought of the previous section, it is worth mentioning what is the manufacture of company folders. Any self-respecting organization has developed a special system for processing letterheads, papers, business cards, folders, and other advertising and image products. Usually design is developed by professionals.
Use the ready-made idea for decorating a gift folder to your boss or just a colleague. Take existing trademarks, fonts and other characteristic details, make them from decorative cardboard or even fabric. Use the capabilities of image editors on your computer.
Folders for graduation photographs
The creation of this memorable gift, as well as the manufacture of company folders, usually occurs in streaming mode on a computer. The specialist inserts different photos into an existing template. The blanks, of course, differ for schoolchildren, kindergarten graduates, etc., but the principle of work is the same. Some create their own blanks, but most use templates from the Internet. So the exclusive is not always obtained. This work is simple. If you want, you can fully master it yourself. Folders (crusts), as a rule, are bought in office stores or ordered at printing houses with the corresponding inscriptions, for example, “Graduate” (standard text) or “Graduate of kindergarten”, indicating a specific number and city (on order).
Clamshell folder
An original congratulatory idea can be the production of a folding bed with wishes or envelopes in which a certain amount of money has been invested. In this case, each page is dedicated to a specific goal and desire, such as a trip, a car, a house, etc.
The design of such a folder is assembled from several identical sheets fastened together, for example, with adhesive tape on the principle of accordion. Decorated on both sides of each sheet. This product can both lie and be in an upright position. To do this, it is worth using cardboard more tightly as a basis. So you will create not just a souvenir, but also an interior decoration.
Birth certificate folder
As a gift to young parents, you can present the option of a folder for storing the baby's first documents. You can choose to make a folding bed or book. In the first case, on separate pages, provide places for a birth certificate, a policy, and a certificate of place of residence. In the second option, you can confine yourself to a birth certificate. Usually it is required most often.
As an option, we can offer the manufacture of folders with a ring mechanism. In this case, holes are made in two decorated covers, into which the grommets are inserted. Connecting rings are threaded through them. Your gift will be very functional, as it will help parents to carry documents with care and will certainly become a memorable souvenir. You need to issue it accordingly.
Marriage certificate folder
As well as for a birth certificate, a folder for easy storage can be made for the first important document in the life of a married couple. This will be an interesting addition to the wedding present. In the design in this case, it is better to use a romantic style, white or pink color scheme. Lace, hearts, doves, flowers from paper and fabric, beads and other cute decor are appropriate.
Making greeting folders
There are many holidays, and you always want to give something unusual. In the folder with a congratulation, you can combine not only beautiful wishes, but also provide a pocket for a monetary gift.
If you want to make an exclusive design for each holiday and you do not fit the purchased basics, work as follows:
- Cut two identical sheets of cardboard, a pair of the same parts from synthetic winterizer, a strip of thick paper about 2 cm wide and a height equal to the height of the folder, and two blanks from the fabric, taking into account the allowances for bending. You can use a single flap of material. By the way, there is another way - from one part, only you have to do two folds in the middle to get a neat end on the product.
- When all the elements are prepared, you need to glue the blanks in series: on cardboard - synthetic winterizer, then - fabric. The material allowances are folded inward and covered with a sheet of decorative paper.
- Decorate the front side with any decor (bows, lace, applique, beads).
Folders are made in this order. There are a lot of congratulatory verses and wishes on the Internet. It is enough to download, print and put it inside the finished product. And even better to beautifully design the liner itself. This can be done on a computer in any graphics editor or manually as a collage.
Making Address Folders
The easiest way to make this gift is based on a purchased blank. Usually, items with embossed or foil text are sold, for example, "Happy Anniversary", "Happy 50th Anniversary", etc. The main thing here is to beautifully arrange the insert with congratulations. It is better to use a large format folded in half than two separate sheets. The first option looks more solemn and accurate. Design can be developed independently, contact the company or search for blanks on the Internet.
As you can see, making folders is not such a big deal. Choose your favorite option and design method. Create spectacular products with your own hands.