Customer Reviews

Handmade Art Nouveau Cards (Simple and Stunning)

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This is the first book that I've purchased by this author and I liked the way she outlined her book. Also, the ideas were very pretty. Judy Balchin is from the U.K., so many of her ideas will seem "new" to those of us (Americans)that own many rubber stamping books, as I do.

Judy categorizes each chapter by different themes, for example: Grapevines, Lilies, Dragonflies, Flower Maidens, Roses, etc. The reason for this is because during the ART NOVEAU ERA, these were the most widely used "themes" in the movement.

Each chapter shows very pretty and colorful photos of the cards and step-by-step procedures. Not to mention, there are also "variations on a theme".

Then in the back, the author has included reproduceables of the main cards in each chapter. The reproduceables are in black and white, with very dark outlines. Therefore, the artist can trace the motifs, or copy them on a photocopier very easily.

Since many artists may not have rubber stamps in the ART NOVEAU style, I feel that the reproduceables in the back will come-in very handy.

This book is not very large. There are only 48 pages. However,if a card maker wants to add more ideas within their card-making repertoire, then adding ART NOVEAU style cards, may please many card makers.

As far as a difficulty rating goes, I would recommend this book to a mid-level or to an advanced card maker. The reason being is that an artist/crafter would need to know about "embossing",for example, and also about the various ink types, in order to fully reproduce & understand these cards. If a card maker has taken at least one STAMPING-101 class, then this book would please them. But if an artist/crafter knows nothing about rubber stamping procedures, then they would be advised to take at least one "101" class before attempting to make some of these more elaborate cards, or they may be a bit overwhelmed.

This book featured a few ideas, many involving metal. Some were "art nouveau," while others were just card ideas. I doubt the average card-maker would make too many of these because they each seem unduly complicated and would take so long to finish.