By Sarah Hamilton
Pavilion Books 2017
Hardcover £14.99
ISBN 9781-1-919904-57-2
Star rating: ****
This just in and I
couldn’t wait to share – House of Cards
– great title, great book. This is a compendium of step-by-step card designs
from talented expert contributors. Very
nice, you say – been there, done that? No.
This book has a super angle. Its aim is to provide nitty gritty info so that you can become a successful commercial
cardmaker – if you want to that is. If your goal is a personal creative
outlet, you will find quality projects in a variety of craft techniques
(silkscreen printing, decoupage, papercutting, linocut printing, collage,
handstitched paper, digital illustration, textile foiling, and letterpress
printing). A tempting mix, yes?
The author of the book, Sarah Hamilton, founded the Just a Card Campaign in 2014, with the goal of helping to support indy artists and
retailers, who find it so very difficult to stay afloat financially. Sarah
Hamilton is an artist and designer with impressive credentials, having designed
for Paperchase, The Conran Shop, and Habitat. Sarah has written a section on Finding
Inspiration for the book, pro tips shared.
The upfront section of the book is invaluable – and a
delight. Here you will find a capsule
history of the greeting card, tips on selling cards (including the “To Bag or
Not to Bag” dilemma faced by all greeting card crafters), licensing designs,
and a section on charity cards. Plenty of fascinating info to keep you informed and
entertained.
Each project welcomes you into the designer’s studio – you learn
what makes them tick. The project is then provided with photographic
step-by-steps.
Not all of the projects are papercrafted – designer Kirsty
Elson creates cards from found objects. This involves toolshop lite skills.
Lucy Featherstone does handstitched card on paper – string art (as popular in
the ‘70s), with a contemporary spin. Jessica Hogarth’s project is an intro to
digital illustration – transforming your sketch into vector artwork (suitable
for colouring). Papercutter Sarah Morpeth’s contribution is lovely woodland
scene in “beak book” format – this is a dimensional card.
House of Cards is extremely giftable. Perhaps you know a
crafter who is thinking of taking the leap into selling. Or perhaps you yourself deserve a treat...
Note: I was provided with a review copy of this title.
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