Lacé Greetings Cards
By Melanie Hendrick 

     Any good craft shop ought to have several intriguing-looking green metal templates, sold under the name of Lacé. This is a French word, meaning something laced together, and this description gives a clue as to what happens to the paper after those lines have been cut. At this point, either you are nodding your head eagerly, or wondering what on earth I am talking about. Never fear, for this is a good introduction to any total novice as well as being useful for ideas for anybody else.

       You can learn exactly what is required to get started, along with all sorts of optional extras (some of them very optional) and some surprise items that get pressed into service, such as a sewing machine. Don’t panic if you don’t own one, as this again is non-essential. This is a craft book after all, so some expensive and unnecessary items of equipment are sure to find their way in somewhere…not many though which is in this book’s favor. The staged photographs are first-rate, as they are in all the books in this new series on making greetings cards, and they show you exactly how to cut a lacé design properly. Learn, too, how to make a card using just one piece of double-sided card (real economy here and very effective) or how to press more pricey and luxurious items into service, such as the lovely patterned vellums and go mad with lots of colored eyelets. Sew your paper together if you have a sewing machine with zigzag capability, or use colored wire, or add photos or…let your imagination really run riot.

       What I liked best though were the original ideas, the easy-to-follow instructions and the exuberance of this young Aussie crafter’s narrative. This is a fine addition to the series, and how nice to find a book on how to use such a very modern piece of papercrafting equipment.