Resources for School & College

Is it worthwhile pursuing a career in greeting cards? How do you get involved in the greeting card industry? What are the options? The UK greeting card industry is a world leader, a home-grown fashion industry. New publishers start up all the time and existing publishers are always looking for new designs. It is a…

Use this unbranded lesson plan to teach a year 4 class about the importance of letter writing.

These projects are designed for all ages and can be used as one off craft activities or as part of a sequence on card making. Curriculum Links to Art and Design Technology Friendly Owl Make this friendly wise old owl with paper, fabrics and goggle eyes. Suitable for ages 5 – 11 Fuzzy Octopus Valentine…

Design Objectives The card when opened should be self supporting, presentable and appealing, when on display in the shops and when it is received. It will have to fold flat into a pack or envelope for posting and open out, preferably automatically, without any persuasion. The assembly of the card must be simple to understand…

A Fold With most papers (170 gsm and under) you can fold by hand, easier with the grain than against it. To be precise with a fold, a mark can be made with a blunt instrument, i.e. a non inking biro or rounded metal pointer, as long as the fibres are not disturbed. On heavier…

The final working drawings are handed over to the printer who will pass the graphics to the colour plate maker to separate and reproduce in readiness for printing. The drawings of the cut out shapes (Cutter Guides) will go to the Die Maker who will make the cutting Die Forme (a series of rules, sharp…

Creative Inspiration There are many ways to inspire creativity. The most innovative usually come from taking your starting point from outside your immediate circle of thought. For example: Natures own structures: flowers, plants, scenery etc. Amazing shapes and structural forms can be simulated. Sculptures – what they would look like made from paper. Architectural forms…

There are literally thousands of different types of papers and boards available. Some have restricted availability because of their type of manufacture, country of origin, cost size, quantity required etc. But there are ways and means around these restrictions. There are many paper merchants that handle a variety of ‘stock’ (the trade term for paper…

Before paper was invented, civilisations across the world developed many different solutions to the problem of communicating knowledge over distance and time. 3000 BC Sumerians invented writing on clay tablets 2000-2500 BC Egyptians invented hieroglyphics and papyrus. Strips of reed were overlaid and dried to form sheets on which the hieroglyphs were painted. 2000 BC Minoans wrote on…