Artist and author Rothamel’s offering is appealing. It is a one-stop annotated and illustrated dictionary of greeting card information, whether the subject is mechanics (accordion fold, wrinkling); how-to’s (past paper, thermal embossing); arcane bytes (deltiology is the art of collecting postcards); or relevant tips (the use and safety of craft knives). Although the book is comprehensive in scope, no one entry is featured in complete detail; a good addition would have been bibliographic citations (for more information). Still, the author provides a good overview of the craft along with profiles of 14 practitioners, a historical time line, and advice for the wannabe professional (such as card submission and composition guidelines). --Barbara Jacobs
Review
“The mother of all paper arts books...It really is a bible for those of us who just love the paper arts. The techniques are vast, yet well explained and illustrated...This book is concise, easy to follow, and well thought out.” —FaveCrafts.com
"The Encyclopedia of Greeting Card Tools & Techniques is set up alphabetically with every term connected with card making explained. I really enjoyed the frequent artist profiles that are associated with a specific term that the artist specializes in. They tell a little about their expertise with that particular medium and show several examples of their work. These interesting spotlights also gave the encyclopedia a more personal feel. Beautiful, vivid photos of cards fill every page, where they are used as examples of different card making methods. Die cutting, gilding, embossing and embellishing are just a few of the many, many effects demonstrated...The book also includes some helpful extras, like a list of holidays around the world, quotes to add to your cards and places to purchase supplies. The Encyclopedia of Greeting Card Tools & Techniques offers both the beginner and the more experienced card maker an opportunity to learn about all the possible greeting card techniques from the basic to the more intricate." —Cute Everything
