Creative Crafting With Recycled Greeting Cards

"Lawrence...(uses greeting cards)...as raw material for making and decorating household items of all kinds....This book is crammed with projects, several to a page, with...color illustrations....the instructions are good, and the book is full of ideas for dealing with those accumulations of cards that are just too nice to throw away."-- "LJ . ."..often creates a new niche...more than 300 adaptations for old greeting cards. Both small areas and large items, from a fridge notepad to the sweet dreams chair, are covered with this modern-day version of decoupage. Ideas tumble one after another, explained in a how-to format resembling a recipe, with ingredients listed first...color photographs of finished projects...guide readers...A cachepot of craftables for anyone."-- "Booklist . 128 pages (all in color), 7 x 10.

Chapelle seems to be the arts and crafts equivalent of a Disney, with mainly anonymous artisans turning out dozens of projects for the mass market. In fact, the studio often creates a new niche--as is the case with the more than 300 adaptations for old greeting cards. Both small areas and large items, from a fridge notepad to the sweet dreams chair, are covered with this modern-day version of decoupage. Ideas tumble one after another, explained in a how-to format resembling a recipe, with ingredients listed first, extremely brief instructions, and "in other words" (variations on the first project). The clarity of the directions is, unfortunately, obscured by a confusing and cramped layout and constant references to the up-front "general instructions." Although color photographs of finished projects do guide readers somewhat, they are less than 100 percent helpful because of poor reproduction quality. A cachepot of craftables for anyone. Barbara Jacobs

These two books cover several aspects of working with greeting cards. Sienkiewicz, author of several books on applique for quilters (Applique 12 Easy Ways!, C & T, 1991), provides instructions for handmade cards containing cloth cutouts "appliqued" to paper with fusible plastic bonding. Her projects take the form of "lessons" of increasing complexity with full-size patterns and instructions. Each lesson includes a gallery of photos of similar finished cards made by artists. The cards are in "country" style with a very professional finish, and are certain to become keepsakes. Lawrence takes a different approach to greeting cards, using them as raw material for making and decorating household items of all kinds. This book is crammed with projects, several to a page, with very small color illustrations. The quality of the material really deserves a larger format. However the instructions are good, and the book is full of ideas for dealing with those accumulations of cards that are just too nice to throw away.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.