Sept 13
This is the follow up to The Crafter's Guide to Papercutting (also reviewed on this site) that came out last year. In my review I raved about the book in general, but wished that there were more occasion-specific project in it. Now my wish has been granted! The first thing I noticed about the book is how attractive it is. Pages have papercutting patterns along the tops, and captions are shown as if cut from black paper, a lovely touch. There are projects in here for all occasions and of varying sizes and types. These range from giant paper pompoms and window decorations to tiny place cards and everything in between. Make pretty party invitations, lovely Christmas tree cards, indicate what filling is in your sandwiches and hang up large paper rosettes. Themes range from a teddy bears picnic invitation to a floral cake frill, Christmas tree table decorations to Halloween lanterns. At the beginning is a section on the basics of papercutting (slightly shorter than in the earlier book) and discussion about themes for seasons and color schemes to get you thinking. If you are not adept with scissors or knife already then this might not be a good place to start, most of the projects being at least for improvers and many are truly intricate. However, good drawing skills are not necessary nor is a copier or printer as the back part of the book consists, as did the earlier one, of sheets of cards printed with many of the projects. All have attractive back patterns and can be easily cut out and made up into whatever you wish, a lovely and unusual touch. The projects themselves have staged photographs showing what you do, and helpful pictures showing where the hardest areas to cut lurk. This book would make a fine present, if you can bear to part with it!
* Myshelf.com *
Issue 50
Paper decorations are a wonderful, low-cost way of decorating your wedding venue and offer a marvellous opportunity to get your friends and family together for some craft sessions before the big day. With instructions for making cake top decorations, favour bags and place cards as well as pages of templates to ensure your designs come out perfectly every time, the projects are accessible and easily achievable for the beginner and the experienced papercrafter alike.
* Wedding Cakes *
