Books make great gifts, I think we can all agree. But you’ve heard the saying “teach a man to fish, you feed a village”. These books teach you how to make some extraordinary gift items from paper objects to books, to cards. Arm yourself with these and you can make stunning gifts for everyone! :
* The Practical Step-by-Step Guide to Making Pop-Ups & Novelty Cards
* 500 Handmade Books: Inspiring Interpretations of a Timeless Form
* Painted Paper: Techniques & Projects for Handmade Books & Cards
* Pop-Up: Everything You Need to Create Your Own Pop-Up Book
* Creative Cards: 40 Projects for Invitations, Cards, Gifts
* Handmade Holiday Cards from 20th-Century Artists
* Simple and Stunning : Handmade Art Nouveau Cards
* Cards that Pop Up, Flip & Slide
… and more !
Books make great gifts, I think we can all agree. But you’ve heard the saying “teach a man to fish, you feed a village”. These books teach you how to make some extraordinary gift items from paper objects to books, to cards. Arm yourself with these and you can make stunning gifts for everyone! :
* The Practical Step-by-Step Guide to Making Pop-Ups & Novelty Cards
* 500 Handmade Books: Inspiring Interpretations of a Timeless Form
* Painted Paper: Techniques & Projects for Handmade Books & Cards
* Pop-Up: Everything You Need to Create Your Own Pop-Up Book
* Creative Cards: 40 Projects for Invitations, Cards, Gifts
* Handmade Holiday Cards from 20th-Century Artists
* Simple and Stunning : Handmade Art Nouveau Cards
* Cards that Pop Up, Flip & Slide
… and more !
Handmade Holiday Cards from 20th-Century Artists
Handmade Holiday Cards shows how artists imagined the holidays through original watercolors, etchings, silk-screen prints, and drawings. Rarely seen beyond the eyes of their recipients, these cards confirm the irrepressible artistry of their senders. Handmade Holiday Cards offers personal insight into the style and sentiment of artists, including how they summed up the year’s events in their own lives and the world in which they lived.
The introduction by archives specialist Mary Savig explores the intersections between commercial holiday cards and the art world–how holiday cards were first marketed as “affordable art” and how selling their art to card companies often provided income for artists in lean times. She then opens up the more intimate dimensions of an artist’s social network, illuminating their relationships with dealers, curators, teachers, and close friends. Captions introduce each artist, compare or contrast the holiday card to his/her body of work, and discuss the relationship to the recipient when relevant. 
Full story : Smithsonian Books; Har/Crds edition (September 18, 2012)
Creative Cards: 40 Projects for Handmade Invitations, Greeting Cards, Gift Wrap and More
Creative Cards is a how-to guide to turning plain paper into personalized and unique gift cards, boxes, bags, tags, and wrapping paper. The book shows how to transform plain paper into something special, and how to wrap a gift for a beautiful presentation. The techniques section explains all the basics, such as using a bone folder, embellishing edges, choosing the right adhesive, working with 3-D decorations, stamping, gilding, die-cutting, and folding, with lots of how-to photographs. 
Projects are suited to making a single card or large quantities, and are coded to indicate how long they may take to complete. Tip boxes offer handy pointers and there are ready-to-use templates at the back of the book plus a section on choosing and laying out text on a computer. Full story : Creative Cards: Firefly Books
Painted Paper: Techniques & Projects for Handmade Books & Cards
Crafters will love creating decorated paper, as beautiful as any found in art shops, with this stunning book. It contains a treasury of ideas that includes a selection of 9 projects. These techniques will work on any paper surface, from artist books and journals to greeting cards, collages and more. Create decorated paper as beautiful as any found in an art store and with more distinctive and personal patterns, too.
Alisa Golden’s methods of applying inks and paints to paper can dramatically alter the appearance of finished works. From artist books and journals to greeting cards, collages and more, these techniques work on any paper surface and give numerous new skills to the crafter. Create dramatic effects using gesso, acrylic inks, watercolour paints, stamps, stencils and more. From basic patterning to paste paper frottage, plus a selection of nine projects, this book is a treasury of ideas. Full story : Painted Paper: Techniques & Projects for Handmade Books & Cards by Alisa J. Golden — Lark Books
500 Handmade Books: Inspiring Interpretations of a Timeless Form
Interest in bookbinding and the related arts has exploded in the past decade, inspiring artists to explore the unlimited possibilities of the form — and delighting collectors, crafters, and gallery owners. Lark’s Cover to Cover has been a bestseller for more than ten years, and this new and provocative on-the-page gallery, richly illustrated with hundreds of breathtaking photographs, will appeal to that same large and discerning audience. They’ll appreciate the artistry of a finely tooled leather cover, embellished with traditional gold-leaf lettering; the intricacy of an exotic Ethiopian binding with a show-stopping open spine; and others that resemble mysterious puzzle boxes, or that curl, hang, and swirl.
The sublimely talented contributors all put their finest work on display: Jeanne Germani’s Cloudspeak showcases her own handmade papers, made from such varied materials as recycled denim, thistle, and other plant matter. Chris Bivin’s codex-style volume features curious, tiny, found objects. One of Laura Wait’s untitled pieces utilizes a handsome raised-cord binding to connect a pair of stained-cedar covers with abstract aluminum letterforms attached. Full story : 500 Handmade Books: juried by the esteemed Steve Miller.
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Pop-Up: Everything You Need to Create Your Own Pop-Up Book
Elegant and accessible, this interactive handbook teaches crafters of all ages how to create kinetic paper art. The projects are complete with examples, formulas, and the essential instruction that allows them to be constructed directly from the book with simple materials on hand: paper, scissors, and glue. Pop-ups are grouped by type — ‘box or triangle — ‘and as the chapters progress, the techniques are combined and layered for more dramatic effects. With its thorough explanations and inspiring ideas, this book will bring color and motion to crafters’ cards, scrapbooks, and invitations. One of our favorite examples Full story : Pop-Up: Everything You Need by Carol Barton
Simple and Stunning : Handmade Art Nouveau Cards
Organic and ornamental shapes — ‘typical of the Art Nouveau movement — ‘are used with the help of this craft book to create nifty greeting cards that look both historical and contemporary. All the required special papers and other materials are included, and the craft techniques — ‘stenciling, metal embossing, glass painting, and the creation of three-dimensional effects — ‘are shown using clear, step-by-step photographs. Finished cards feature such elements as lilies, dragonflies, a rosebud arch, grape vines, or a flower maiden.
Judy Balchin is a lettering artist who designs titles for book jackets and television shows. She also designs craft kits and conducts workshops on silk painting, glass painting, and painting on porcelain. Full story : Handmade Art Nouveau Cards – Judy Balchin
Cards that Pop Up, Flip & Slide
Dazzle your friends and loved ones with the one-of-a-kind projects in Cards that Pop Up, Flip & Slide. A few simple cuts and folds are all it takes to create over twenty cards and envelopes with moveable parts. From pop-up trees to flipping leaves and sliding message panels, the mechanism that make these cards spectacular are easy to re-create or adapt to whatever suits your fancy!
Everything you need to get started is inside, including clear instruction, easy-to-follow patterns and introductory information on tools, materials and techniques. And every card featured is designed to fit inside a standard A-2 or #10 envelope, so mailing is as easy as sealing, stamping and addressing. Tips, tricks and ideas for personalization help you create unique cards that their recipients will remember for a long time to come. Full story : Cards that Pop Up, Flip & Slide by Michael Jacobs
The Practical Step-by-Step Guide to Making Pop-Ups & Novelty Cards: A how-to guide to the art of paper engineering, featuring over 100 techniques and … 1000 fantastic photographs and illustrations
Learn the mechanics of pop-ups and be inspired to create your own individual cards, gifts and books.
Trish Phillips is an author, illustrator and paper engineer. She studied Graphic Design at Camberwell College of Art in London, where her interest in paper engineering was inspired by tutor Paul Jackson, a well-known paper sculptor. She is the author and illustrator of many pop-up books published by Little Tiger Press. Ann Montanaro is the founder of The Movable Book Society, a world-wide organization with nearly 400 members that has been promoting pop-up books since 1993. Her two volumes of Pop-Up and Movable Books: A Bibliography document the history and publication of English language mechanical books. Click to see a typical spread : Techniques & Troubleshooting Finishing a project… an example of a typical spread
Full story : The Practical Step-by-Step Guide to Making Pop-Ups & Novelty Cards
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