Done!

I've finished the prototypes of my designs for the Heifer birthday card. Yea! They look simpler in real life than they did in my head, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I came up with a plan to combine digital work, textiles, stitching, and stamping in ways that will make production faster and easier, so I'm pleased about that.

The first card is a bit hard to show because it's transparent. I always have problems photographing these kinds of cards effectively. The card base is acetate, so the card itself is completely transparent. The paper blocks are layered in such a way that they disguise the adhesive and mask one another. This card goes through the mail in a transparent envelope, so each person along its path can see the back and front of the card, but the message remains private. I fused cottons to paper, punched out circles, adhered them back to back on either side of the card front (more masking), and then stitched through them. The sentiment is added as an extra interior layer, which will make it possible to add it at the last minute if the composition and approval process carry on for a while. (The quotation and sentiment I used are just for placement--the customer will provide her own text.)


The second card is based on one of Anne's design suggestions. Through a hole punched in the card front, you can see stitched strips of fabric inside the card. As with the first card, the sentiment is added as a separate layer, as is the signature block.


The last card is another of Annie's great ideas. The card front is cut short so a layer of stitched strips of fabrics is visible at the lower edge. The sentiment is a separate layer, and the bottom part of the card is perforated--it tears off to become a bookmark.


I'm happy with how they turned out. I hope the Heifer folks like one of them. Cross your fingers for me.