Beaded Greetings Cards

Oct 05

...Her new book features ideas on incorporating beads, gems and lace into card designs.

Jan 06

In the latest edition in the popular handmade Greetings Card Series, beads get an airing away from their usual jewelry use. Using a selection of pricking and embossing templates, beads, lace, glass gems and thread, you can make an assortment of beautiful, Victorian-influenced cards.

Build up a collection of the materials and you will have enough to make everything in the book, or something like it. With the exception of one pricking pattern, everything else is made using the Dutch metal stencils, which certainly shows what can be done with them apart from the obvious, but does involve some initial outlay. The cards are fairly simple and enjoyable to make, and very much the style of the author. If pretty floral cards in soft colors aren't your (or rather your recipients') taste then this book might not appeal.

You can search in vain for men's or children's cards, but instead you can discover how to stick beads and jewels together to make flowers, how effective a plastic cameo can look and how to use parts rather then the whole of those metal stencils.

There is room in this series for another book on using beads, but perhaps that goes for every technique, as styles are as varied as practitioners. You can certainly learn a lot, quickly, from this user-friendly book and maybe if you want a different look then all you really need to do is buy some different materials.

Iss 39, Jan 06

Patricia Wing shows you how to create exquisite cards using beads, threads, gems and lace along with embossing and pricking techniques. Step-by-step photographs and instructions guide you through the techniques, making this the ideal book for beginners.