This is a technique I use to make cards. I love it because it is relatively simple to do, and it is incredibly cheap because you are using old magazines and free online patterns. Here is what you will need:
-scissors
-tape
-paper cutter
-exacto knife
-glass cutting board
I use this as a hard surface for cutting with the exacto knife.
-glue sticks
Do not use liquid glue, it will warp your cards!
-Card stock I like using these 4 ½” X 6 ½” stacks that you can find at craft stores.
-Old magazines
I recommend National Geographic, Country, or any other magazine that has lots of pictures that are not covered up with words.
-Iris folding templates
1. Cut up pictures from old magazines into 1” strips that look like this. Then fold them in half so that they are ½” wide strips.
2. Pick out the pattern you want to use from the above sites. I am using this pattern at the bottom of the page. These are the three shades of blue I am using for my bird, but you will want a wide variety of colors for all your different patterns. I store mine in plastic sleeves in a thee-ring binder, but this has a big flaw because there is a hole at the top of each sleeve and if you turn the binder the wrong way, all of the pieces of paper fall out! I haven’t yet figured out a good solution to this…My sister Laura uses zip lock bags, but then you have to fold them and I don’t like that either. Anyway, you can store a lot of these strips in a small area, I sort them by color.
3. Once you pick your pattern, you can copy it into Word and make it the size you want it to be in order to fit onto your 4 ¼” X 5 ½” card. Print two copies of this pattern. Cut out one to use as a stencil and trace it onto a piece of card stock cut to the above dimensions. You will be laying the card stock over the pattern, so you want the bird (or shape) to be traced in the same position as the pattern page (in other words, do not mirror image the pattern when tracing it). The card stock I used had a decorative floral design on one side of it that I didn’t want to accidentally cut into, so I held it up to the light and traced where it was on the back. Once you have traced your pattern, cut out the pattern using an exacto knife. 
4. In addition to the three shades of blue, I have a small orange piece for the beak, and a brown piece for the branch. Tape those on now, making sure that they do not overlap onto the bird section, and that the pattern you want showing on the other side of the card is facing down. After this is done, tape the card stock onto the pattern paper, but only on one side so that you can life the paper and look at your bird. 
5. Cut a piece of your first shade of blue big enough to cover the "1a" section on your bird. Position it over this section and tape down. Continue in this fashion, following the numbers and changing colors when beginning a new spiral section. Always position the pieces so that they are laying over the previous pieces, never tuck the piece under the one before it. 
When you are finished, the back will look like this, and the front will look like this!
Glue the cardstock down onto the front of a blank card, and press it in a book as it dries if necessary.
This may seem overwhelming at first, but trust me, it is super simple, and fun. Plus, the end result is so impressive! I have had several weddings this summer that I have used a set of varied iris folded cards as gifts, and they are always oohed and awed over. Some of the brides have even come back saying that they couldn't use them as cards and instead framed them and used them as art! With all the different patterns available, it never gets old. Good luck!
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