The best ideas are those worth keeping...
More Fantastic Folding Ideas
Over the years we've looked at many, many examples of both greetings and promotional ideas where folding the paper meant the difference between a typical mailing and a WOW mailing. This year I've pulled out some of my favorites to share with you.
From extravagant to simple, the next series of cards all share several things:
1. They're unusual and memorable
2. They "feel good" to the reader
3. They deliver a clear, singular message
4. They're unique enough to keep
Keep these aspects in mind when planning your next project...
High-Touch Commercial WOW
This card, called "Snowflake" is an adaptation from the book "The Christmas Alphabet" designed by Robert Sabuda in 1996. (See his 10th Anniversary Edition of the book!) The card was actually produced by White Heat Ltd. for Orchard, New York, NY.
The beautiful thing about this card is its pristine, white embossed cover opens to a magnificently manufactured snowflake that folds out into 3D space when open. The card is embossed into Warren Krome Kote cover stock, and printed on the inside with cool colors that reinforce the white snowflake. Nice work.
Here's an enlargement of the cover, and a blow-up of the card when opened! Beautiful! Cards like this are expensive -- expect to pay up to $2.50 U.S. each unless you've commissioned your own to be manufactured in high quantity. This one would also be virtually impossible to create by hand in any quantity at all.
Extravagant InkJet Print
This card was sent in by a reader who participated in an online article once upon a time. We were so taken with her talents that we just had to keep this card to share with you.
Here is a fairly low-budget card that has everything going for it. Yes, it is a bit time intensive with it's satin ribbon binding, and art paper interleaves.
The textured Beckett shells are available pre-embossed with an elegant deckled edge. The inkjet print is as extravagant as you wish to make it. The beauty is in the assembly. The message is printed on a separate piece of recycled art paper, and interleaved with a luxurious sheet of gossamer-thin woven paper! It feels like a million dollars in your hands. The satin ribbons top the package for a truly keepable piece. Visit your art supply store and look at their specialty papers... you're sure to find what you need. If you cannot find an open-weave paper, take a look at the selection of tissues. This card was designed and copyrighted by Ellie Negretto.
This Dove Soars
One of our all-time favorites is this Dove card sent in by Brenn Anderson. It's called the "Christmas Dove" designed by Keisuke Unosawa in 1995 and featured in the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.
The elegance of this sweet little card is in its simplicity. A single card that folds to come alive in flight. While it's carrying a tiny Christmas tree in its beak, the concept could be applied to just about any subject from new babys to money. When you fold down the wing, the message area is revealed. Nice!
We love the work of Keisuke Unosawa, and if you'd like to discover more, just visit the keisuke-unosawa.com web site. Other favorites include the: Twirling Stars card and the Spinning Snowmen cards that actually animate upon opening! These and many more can be found at: The Papery
Simple Hand Cut with Real Pizzazz
This one was sent in by Rob Christianson, New Media Designer for Highpoint Solutions as a holiday greeting for his office. This is an elegant solution -- inexpensive to mass produce because it only takes two curved die-cut rules which are easy to set up by most any printer with die-cutting capabilities. We loved the solid red opening to the message card inside.
The concept also happens to be very easy to do by hand in reasonable numbers. The curved top is hand-cut against a large round shape -- look no further than the lids to your pots and pans -- and the smaller "thumb" cut is easily managed by running an Xacto knife around a coin. Although each cut would have to be done separately, the positioning of the cuts does not have to be a precision location. So this design would be somewhat forgiving for the do-it-yourselfer. Thanks, Rob for sending this one in.
Robert Sabuda Paper Engineering Wizardry
Winter's Tale is Robert Sabuda's most spectacular original pop-up story yet. The simple, elegant text is illustrated with breathtaking artwork and extraordinary paper engineering. Stunning visual effects of foil, glitter, and a twinkling surprise further capture the magic of winter. This is a must-have for everyone's bookshelf. See pages :
sample 1, and
Sample 2.
If you enjoy paper wizardry, you may also want to check out Robert's Christmas Alphabet Cards which is a Collectible Tin Set of cards with intricate and eye-catching designs -- card in this beautiful set for every letter of the alphabet. Based on Sabuda's best-selling children's book The Christmas Alphabet, you'll find a perfect card for everyone on your holiday list.
CLick here for picture
Of course the favorite is Robert's Christmas Alphabet 10th Anniversary Edition, you can own or give for around $15. No one will be able to resist opening a door or lifting a flap just to see what's inside. A marvel of paper engineering, this paper-over-board alphabet book transcends the usual connotations of "pop-up.". (Also see it in a less expensive edition.
If you want a REAL THRILL go to Robert's own web site!
So there you have it. Another case where "Fantastic Folds" gave us a low printing budget to yield high returns in great looks and flexibility. Next time we'll look at more folds, and we'll share more of our favorite techniques. Watch the Publishers' Warehouse for downloadable cut-n-paste plans for lots of great paper folding projects!
Until next time... keep on learning
Fred Showker, Editor/Publisher
Be sure to see: Fantastic Folding Cards
Ingredients of a Successful Self-Promotion
I'd love to hear about your educational experiences, and favorite printing projects. Please drop me a line and let's share with all DT&G readers!
And don't forget, the Design Center has a whole world of cut-n-fold templates available in the Publishers' Warehouse Holidays department. If you didn't read the newsletter, and don't know how to get to the Loading Dock, just ask!
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