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Cloisonné Cards
Cloisonné (French for “partitions”) is an enameling technique that uses bronze or copper wire strips to enclose different colored glass paste to create designs. These enclosures are then glued or soldered onto a metal surface and fired in an oven. Allowed to cool, the pieces are then ground smooth and polished.
Whether celebrated at the beginning of a religious feast, hidden for children to find and put in their Easter baskets, or rolling down the White House lawn, the egg endures as a favorite Easter tradition.
Featured here is a stunning trio of Easter egg cards, designed by Deborah March, that uses pre-sectioned egg stickers, colored glitter, and markers to successfully imitate the beauty of cloisonné and gold filigree work. |
Easter Cross
This elegantly designed card is the perfect example of the old adage “less is more.” An embellished flourish and sentiment beautifully balance the embossed and embellished cross. Scalloped edges trimmed in gold add understated refinement to this special holiday greeting. |
Chocolate Bunny
A chocolate rabbit is the most popular inhabitant of many a child's Easter basket. Life expectancy is short for basket bunnies, however, and their fate is well-known…the ears are the first to go. Poor Peter…he never heard it coming! |
Jeepers Peepers!
Sweet in its appeal, a tiny chick peeps Easter greetings from a garden of tulips. A nice finishing touch is the mini flower eyelets and companion envelope. |
A Tisket…A Tasket
A tisket, a tasket…an egg-filled basket. This adorable stamped image smartly plays off a perfectly matched patterned paper. The colored eyelet embellishments and sheer ribbon are small details, but well worth considering as they tie this “quick as a bunny” Easter card together with festive flair. |
Vintage Greetings
Designer Lisa Pace shows how easy it is to upscale vintage-style cards simply by adding silver sequins, clear crystals, and glittery greetings. Her secret is simple…use glitzy embellishments sparingly. |
Birds of a Feather
Birds of a feather flock together…These delightful cards chirp sweet sentiments that are sure to cheer up, warm up, and keep up anyone’s spirits. Watercolor paints were used to color the stamped images featured here, but colored pencils, chalks, or inks are equally suitable. |
Mosaic Trio
A form of decorative art, mosaics are small tiles or fragments of pottery used to create a picture or design. Originally used in ancient times for interior floor decoration, it was not until around AD 350 when mosaics appeared on walls and ceilings.
When mosaics are first observed up close, the tiny shards of disconnecting color bear little resemblance to the grandeur that is seen from afar where the full beauty and scope of the overall design is spectacularly revealed.
The cards featured here employ bright, cheerful colors, and two-toned checked patterned paper that mimic the playful side of this popular art form.
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Glitter Gift Cards
One card…two gifts! This sugar-coated trio serves up more than just cheery sentiments. The cards are actually pocket folders and provide the perfect place for tucking in a celebratory gift card or other small token.
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Paper Quilt Cards
Quilt patterns range in the thousands and the names given to them are as varied as the quilting patterns themselves. Many share a variety of names according to the part of the country in which they are made. In New York, the design known as “Duck's Foot in the Mud” can be called “Hand of Friendship” in Pennsylvania, and “Bear's Paw” in Ohio. Regardless of what the designs are called, they all share one thing in common…the passion of the women who made and passed them down.
You don't have to be an expert with a needle or have made a quilt from fabric to appreciate and enjoy these wonderful paper quilt cards. As in quilting, precision in cutting and arranging the paper pieces is required. Selecting papers for your chosen design is also of importance and affords the perfect opportunity for uniting new papers with favorite leftover scraps.
If you are interested in creating more paper quilt cards, please turn to our book review section “Pages” on page 89 to read our review of “Paper Quilts” by Sandra Lounsbury Foose. Sandra shows how to transform over 50 traditional quilting patterns into stunning contemporary cards and other paper projects.
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Welcome Baby Cards
Whether delivered by stork from heaven, sprouted from a watermelon seed, or found in the cabbage patch, a baby's arrival is a joyful event. The sweet collection of cards featured here showcases an array of cute-as-a-button baby designs using simple stamping, embossing, and stitching techniques.
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Fancy Faux-Stitching
There’s something about the hand-stitched effect that seems so sweetly old fashioned. Stitching also adds instant depth and dimension to paper. Not a seamstress? Don’t worry! We’ve got a fantastic shortcut for getting the same old-fashioned look of sewing on paper. It’s called “faux-stitching,” which gives the look of stitching without the needle and thread. One of the easiest methods for this is using clear acrylic stamps. The clear stamp and clear block allow you to see exactly where you’re stamping so you can perfectly position your faux-stitched design just about anywhere, from borders to brads. Take a look!
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In and Out of the Garden
ou don't have to be a gardener to enjoy creating these whimsical critter cards. Each one is more than just a card; it's part gift as well, and would be the perfect choice to send to your favorite gardener this spring. Handmade paper is first imbued with flower or vegetable seeds, then cut into circles and adhered to the card front. The recipient plants the circle and then watches it grow into whatever plant you have chosen. A gift card that truly keeps giving!
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Garden Whimsies
Tweet Treats
Designer Di Hickman found this small birdhouse on sale for a dollar. It was so cute she just had to have it. As fate would have it, that same day she received various papers from “one heart…one mind.” As Di likes to alter things with different papers, she grabbed her supplies and began to create. The result is this beautifully coordinated trio, making a great display for any room in your home.
In the Garden Cards
The collection of floral cards featured here shows four delightful and winning combinations for creating simple yet elegant greetings.
Butterfly Happy Birthday
When you’re short on time but still want to send the best, this card is a winner. Super quick and easy, two coordinated papers, a cardstock tag, and a word rub-on do all the work. Fold, tear, and glue…all that’s left is to pop it in the mail…it’s really that easy!
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Big Tag Gift Set
Bright, bouncy, and big, these oversized beauties are the perfect tags to accompany a gift regardless of size!
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A Little Dab Will Do Ya!
Creating original painted backgrounds for cards and other projects just got easier. Designer Patti Behan shows how to create splat, dot, plaid, swirl, and other fun designs that are sure to yield big results with a few dabs of paint.
Friends Accordion Pocket Album
Transform a plain accordion album into a colorful and exciting photo diary by adding brightly painted and decorated canvas covers. The album unfolds to reveal photo tags that are tucked between the pages. Gitter-edged flowers punched from coordinating cardstock, neon-colored brads, and funky ribbon and rickrack trim team up to spell F-U-N! |
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From the Editor
The Marketplace
The Paper Trail — Advertiser’s Index
Select Stores Guide
Pages — Review Column
Manufacturer’s Index |
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Spring 2008 Issue
Cloisonné Card
Birds of a Feather
Mosaic Trio
Paper Quilt Cards
Welcome Baby Cards
Big Tag Gift Set
Friends Accordion Pocket Album
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