Customer Reviews

3D Pop Up Greeting Cards

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Keiko Nakazawa definitely knows her craft. The book is fully informative from the tools needed to traceable templates that you can use on specific projects. Not a book for beginners since the projects are fairly complicated, they can still be done with a little patience and determination. This was the second book i've purchased on the subject and i highly recommend it.

This book is very nice. It starts with good pictures from the cards so you get a good impression from the card you will make. The instructions are clear and from all cards there are good templates. A good start for a original card.

I purchased this book for my sister. She loves to make her own cards and used one of the patterns to make some breath taking Christmas cards this year. We sent them to people we love that live a great distance from us and we do not regularly stay in touch with. The love that went into making the cards was evident and we received calls from all of the recipients. I have never made any cards and the ones my sister made were so beautiful I decided to try. I made the pop up bird, and it is exquisite. This book is a wonderful tool to make beautiful gifts that will last in the memories of loved ones forever.

Again, I purchased this from Amazon. I've done a couple of the cards. However if you don't have patience forget it. This book requires a steady hand and patience. Takes time to work through all the different types of pop-ups. Some I'm still trying to figure out. However her designs are beautiful and I would say go for it. It definitely makes cardmaking fun.

Each year, I take a look at some of the most valuable resources for creative artists, graphic designers, crafts people and anyone who enjoys participating in the visual arts. And, each year I stress that it doesn't have to be expensive.

For twelve bucks, this book is a killer for concepts that the business person can leverage into a self-promotion that moves YOUR resume or pitch sheet to the TOP of the stack!

These creative books make the most beneficial gifts because not only are they fun to look at, the projects offer a rich learning experience that entertains and develops skills that overflow into all kinds of activities.

In this year's column, "Creative books to give... and get!" I review this book along with many others that offer exceptional opportunities in low-priced packages. They're all excellent, and represent probably the biggest bang for your book or gift buck!

3D Pop Up Greeting Cards is particularly good at this time of year -- nothing sends a more sincere or flattering message than a hand-made card. And these are really cool -- guaranteed to get a call-back or thank-you note! For the business person, sending your own creations like these to your clients will lock in your esteem in their eyes!

Pop-Up Cards: And Other Greetings that Slide, Dangle & Move is not only freshly written and illustrated, for all ages it's and easy way to really appreciate the craft of paper engineering. As a gift book, it offers another very important benefit :: you learn how to easily and inexpensively make MORE GIFTS to give away.

The Pop-Up Book: Step-by-Step Instructions for Creating Over 100 Original Paper Projects is the mother of them all. While the exercises can at times be complicated and frustrating -- the outcome can be uniquely spectacular. After you've accomplished the exercises, you move on to your own creations. There's nothing more fulfilling than completing some of these projects. And once you do, they get easier and easier.

Be careful though! Once you circulate some of these creations, you'll be swamped with people's requests ... "Can you create one of these for me?" (Of course, there's nothing wrong with being a successful paper engineer or greeting card designer!)

I'll share more [...], but you can count on these three to bring hours and hours of enjoyment to yourself -- or those lucky recipients on your gift list!

Thanks for reading,

Fred Showker: Editor/Publisher
DTG Magazine
The Design Bookshelf

I have a decent- sized library of papercraft books, but this outshines then all. It has the required beautiful pictures, but the beautiful pictures are of beautiful items, and the instructions are easy to follow. I am racommending this book, at with the highest praise, for all my papercrafting friends!

I bought this book because I was looking for a hobby, and this looked interesting. I am not very artsy, but I thought I handle this. I was right! This book has a lot of very interesting card patterns and is not very difficult. If you have trouble finding some of the supplies it suggests, try a local college bookstore. I have been looking for a stylus and a good ruler for awhile, and found both at a university bookstore today.

Firstly, let me get into my reasons for buying this book. I want to do card-making, as a hobby yes, but also to make some money for myself while going to college. That being said I didn't buy the book to "browse" it, or to "keep myself occupied". I was looking for a book with lovely *unusual* 3D/pop up cards (not something you would find in any and every card-store), clear instructions on how to make them, and also- and this was major- a book with good templates so that I could learn from them and branch off into making my own designs and sell them where I live to make some extra money.

I looked at several other books before choosing this one. I finally bought this book after reading several reviews on Amazon. Well I must say I'm satisfied and happy (and trust, the two don't always go hand in hand with me) and can't wait to get started. Every single card shown is easily applicable to everyday card-giving, unlike in another book I bought (which has utterly beautiful designs, but I can't see myself giving some of them to anyone as anything other than a decoration or novelty, because some of the cards are so abstract that I have no idea what to give them for, or what words to put with them).

For me (personally) the instructions on how to make each card are easy to read and understand. The TEMPLATES however, are not as simple to understand, because some of the images overlap, so I'm confused just looking at them. I have the time and the patience, however, to work it out, and I'm sure that I only have to successfully make one in order to understand the rest.

Anyway, as I said, I love every single design in this book. The cards are unusual (to me at least) and so different from your everyday "pop-up" that I want one just to have one and can't see myself throwing it away ever- which. should be your goal as a card-maker, to make memorable cards that people want to buy and find them hard to dispose of. They are not, however, so far-fetched that you find yourself wondering "hmmm, what am I really saying with this one?" Or "Who can I possibly give this one to? And what POSSIBLY do I give this for???" The book provides loads of inspiration and the templates are clear enough that I think I can branch off into designing and making my own cards, which was what I hoped for when buying the book in the first place. I'll have to let you know though
I would 100% recommend this book to anyone seriously interested in card-making.

One note: Notice I said SERIOUSLY interested. If this is a passing interest, or you're a beginner looking for something super fast and easy just to pass your time, don't buy this book. There are other, simpler card-making books on Amazon that will suit your needs just fine and give you beautiful cards (trust me, I've browsed many). I haven't even done any of the projects as yet, and I can already tell that they're time consuming, and some of the projects, despite being easy to understand, are quite complex to CREATE. This book is for people who have enough time and SKILL (triple underlined and in bold!!!) to make the cards properly. If you have neither, or just one, and are not willing to put in the effort to improve, DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. You will be disappointed, I am telling you. You will find the projects too complex and/or time consuming and probably give up altogether.

If you think you're up to it, however, or are a novice or advanced card-maker looking for some awesome designs and ways to advance your craft, then BUY THE BOOK, you won't regret it- I haven't- yet :-D

I have been making greeting cards to sell and thought this book would help me advance my skills in making 3D greeting cards, but the instructions say Kent paper (stiff paper with a smooth surface) and Washi paper (Japanese paper with long interwoven fibers). I have not been able to do any of the cards yet because of the search for the right kind of paper. The instructions seem to be easy to follow and the book gives you great ideas, but unless the author includes where to buy the paper, or a description of the type of paper to use, it book will not do you any good.

Interesting to look at, but not the least do able for moderately talented card makers. This is for the gifted pop up artist.