- Natural-colored cardstock (like Whisper White, Very Vanilla)
- Colored cardstock
- Matching ink
- Your favorite stamp set (I used Party Hearty)
- Small piece of ribbon
- Adhesive
- Paper Snips
- Tiny scrap of the colored cardstock
- Brads or eyelets
Cut 1 piece of the neutral cardstock 5 1/4 x 4, and 4 pieces 1 7/8 x 1 7/8. Cut 4 pieces of the colored cardstock 2 x 2, 1 as 5 1/2 x 4 1/4, 1 as 9 x 2, and 1 as 3/4 x 4.
Stamp your desired background image on the 5 1/4 x 4-inch neutral cardstock. Use the brads or eyelets of your choice (I used Vintage Brads), and attach the 3/4 x 4-inch colored cardstock to the stamped image. The brads will go on either side of the colored cardstock, so that it is NOT glued in any way to the neutral cardstock. Make sure you attach the strip a couple of inches up the neutral cardstock. Next, you can adhere the background image to the card base.
Stamp the 1 7/8-square inch pieces of neutral cardstock, and adhere them to the slightly larger, colored cardstock.
Score the 9 x 2-inch piece of colored cardstock at the following inch marks - 2, 2 3/4, 3 1/2, and 4 1/4 from one end. Pre-bend at the scored lines. Slide the long end of the strip under the horizontal strip with the brads at either end. Place a small amount of adhesive at the other end of the strip (on the back), and stick it to the bottom of the strip with the brads. This is the only point you'll adhere the long strip so that it can move.
Next, adhere the small, stamped image you want to appear at the bottom of the long strip. You'll adhere this all around to the bottom square of the long strip. For the remaining 3 small images, place adhesive on only the top, and adhere at the next scored line up from the bottom image.
Finally, punch a small hole in the bottom of the long strip (centered). Cut a very small piece of your colored cardstock - maybe 3/4-inch by 1/8-inch. Thread a small piece of ribbon (about 3 inches) through the hole, folded in half, so that the loop is on the back. Place the tiny piece of cardstock through the loop, pull tight, and your ribbon is in place - without adhesive!
Now, when you pull by the ribbon, the long strip will slide down, and as it does, each stamped image will slide with it. It really does look like a waterfall or paddle wheel!
This card sounded complicated the first time I read the directions, but after making one, it's really easy! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!