Handmade: Paper Pierced Cards (Simple and Stunning)

Jan 08

To review this book it is first important to review the author. I have followed Patricia Wing's projects avidly when they have appeared in various issues of Crafts Beautiful magazine so when I was browsing for card making books I was reassured that this would be a good choice when I noticed who it was written by. Patricia Wing's background is an interesting one as she considered herself `useless' at art throughout school and only discovered her talent for watercolour painting and card making at the age of forty. I find this interesting because it just goes to prove that you can learn almost any craft and if you believe in your abilities the creative juices soon start flowing. Since reaching forty she has achieved a tremendous amount such as having many of her card designs published by leading card companies.

What I loved about this book is that it didn't just stick to paper piercing but also combined other techniques to make the paper piercing look even more fantastic. Quilling, embossing, use of transfers and pressed flowers all make an appearance throughout the book. As is usual in the Search Press craft books a comprehensive listing of all the materials you will need to get started is provided within the first few pages. The book provides five projects to get you started and then twenty-one ideas to inspire you even further.

I will now give a short rundown on the five projects:

Sweet Lavender: The lavender is composed by the technique of quilling and then leaf beads are added to give a 3D effect. Embossing is then used to lift the design slightly and then paper piercing gives the finishing touches to the design on the outer border. This is a really nice card that anyone would be happy to receive.

Fairy Princess: This is one of my favourite designs of the book. It is very unusual and has given me loads of inspiration for further cards that I will make in this style. A fairy transfer is first applied to the card and then small flowers are punched with a daisy punch out of yellow vellum, which are stuck all around her. The flowers are then layered upon the skirt of the fairy transfer to achieve a layered result, which looks astounding. I wish I could have thought of such a brilliant idea! The design is then framed by a paper-piercing pattern. Gems and beads are then added to give extra sparkle.

Rosebuds: In this card the rosebuds are punched out of the page. Lots of borders punches are used and effective paper piercing make this card really stand out.

Pressed Roses: This is a 3D card and really has a wow factor! Real pressed roses make up the centrepiece of this card and the use of paper piecing and gems give a helping hand to the successful framing of this card.

Embroidered creation: This card sums up for me how eye-catching and simply stunning the results of paper piercing can be. Gold threads and purple beads are pulled through the holes resulting from the paper piercing and the overall result can only be described as sumptuous.

Overall this book astonished me as I have been reading craft magazines for years and thought I knew pretty much everything but this book provided me with such varied designs by combining all of my favourite techniques. This is definitely a book for anyone wishing to develop any creativity within.

Sarah Cooper

April 08

You'd be surprised how impressive you can make your cards look with a spot of paper piercing! This great little book is a fab introduction to the wealth of effects available to you - all with a humble paper piercing tool! Create intricate lacy borders and combine them with embossing, beading and stitching to give your cards a luxurious edge. You'll find five main projects, plus 21 more card ideas for you to try. If you're a first time piercer, there's a useful 'basics' section, or if you want a challenge, there are more complex projects for you to have a go at too!