How to Make an Accordion Tunnel Card

I've been calling these zig zag 3D cards but I've recently seen them on the internet called 'accordion tunnel cards'. You can look them up online by that name and pull up some more examples of these type of cards and how to make them. I've run across several sources as far back as six years ago. Every time I see a new card type introduced, I go do some research and see what I can find online because honestly, it's probably been done before with a previous generation of crafters. So this is my take on this technique.

I was recently asked for a tutorial on how to make one of these so I will attempt to make it simple. I don't have the setup for videos or a good speaking voice and my hands look like I scrub pots for a living. I do know how to take pictures and type. So here goes. 

First you will need two cards printed in any pattern you want and you want them a good weight, not flimsy. And you will need a 5" x 7" card back or you can just cut another card in half and use that as a backing. I used an Anna Griffin kirigami card from a pack I had and two leftover cards from an album kit. I'm really trying hard to use up all my leftover cards and pieces on making new stuff.

You want to put together 5 panels but first you need to cut out the centers of both folded cards in any shape with an X-Acto knife with a sharp blade. Using a pencil and a ruler on the back of the cards, mark and cut out a 3-1/2" X 5-1/2" rectangle in the centers of the cards. So that leaves you 3/4" frame all around each card. 

Make the corners any way you want. I just rounded these. Cut out the first one and just use it as a template for the rest.

Put the  card together with 1/2" x 5" strips of plain paper folded in half. Glue them to the front of the panel, and the fronts of the cards. They will be hidden when the card is folded together. It should look like this all put together with all the front sides showing. Make sure your card fronts are upright and that the pattern is going in the right direction so that nothing is upside down.

And you want to mark the center of the tops and bottoms of each card. After you cut the centers out of each panel, you will need to cut up to the middle of each top and bottom frame so the cards will overlap and interlock for your zig zag. I marked and cut them on the backs just like this.

Cut the lines as shown only half way through the frames. I'm using a pen so you can see where they are here but if you use a pencil, your lines won't show on the card. (I'm going to paint over mine on my finished card).

Turn your card to the front. Since we have marked and cut the slits a certain way, we will need to curve and put the two right side cutout panels into and through the left cutout closest to the back panel first as shown. You will have to bend your card a little, but that's O.K. Keep going until the cut marks line up for the two panels closest to the back. Slide the cut marks together and fold it down.

Of the two panels that you want to match up, just remember that the panel with the outer cuts has to go into the panel with the inner cuts to match up right. It should now look like this:

Now you will bend the panel on the right side and push it through the left cutout once more. Outer cuts go into inner cuts. Match up the slits and fit them together. 

Now you have a card that you can see the layers through, and it will fold flat. So just decorate it! You can put a writing card panel on the back if you want space to write a greeting. It's just that easy.

Now I will just add some flowers etc. and finish my card. This is not so mysterious now. You could make up a bunch of them pretty easy and use any decorative punches for the corners that you want.

Enjoy your card making. Zig Zag cards are nothing new, they've been around for years in various forms and various names. To learn more about zig zag cards just search YouTube or Pinterest for them. There are all different kinds of zig zag / tunnel cards. ENJOY!