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Sitting outside in the mellow September sunshine surrounded by
multitudes of 3D Christmas cards is my idea of a distinctive day! It
sounds rather quirky and whimsical, but it is actually a very busy time
of year for card orders and I'd rather be working outside in the fresh
air than indoors.
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Birds sing among the trees - an appropriate background as I pack my
Wildlife range of squirrels, swans, stags and foxes - though it is more
rare to see penguins and polar bears here in our North East UK
landscape!
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We do have plenty of garden sheds though - both in gardens and allotments ...
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Personally I prefer to leave thinking about Christmas until around mid
December - but retailers displays begin very soon, and for those in
search of the ideal Christmas card for a loved one, I guess one cannot
start too soon. Three-dimensional cards are often marketed as luxury
Christmas cards, the kind of 'bring-out-every-year' collectible cards
that become Xmas decorations.
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There is a lot of work involved in creating 3D cards. Each card is a
highly intricate piece of paper engineering. From the original theme,
for instance, a Victorian market encircled by a Christmas wreath, I have
to design not just the visual look of the card, but also ensure the
components fit together for it to look good flat in the package as well
as fully popped open. The cards are fitted together using tab and slots,
interlocking to make a fully three dimensional Christmas card. A
fraction of a millimetre out, and it won't stand up!
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Once the paper engineering has been worked out, I work on detailed
paintings in water colour - usually 4 or 5 separate paintings for each
card, which all have to be scanned and printed, then die cut. And then
assembled ...
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The cards featuring Christmas wreaths such as the Whimsical Woodland
range or the Traditional vintage style range are the most complicated.
The Fairy Christmas Tree was also quite a creative challenge as it has a
squarish structure that can be seen from lots of angles, so there has
to be a point of interest from each view and lots of little scenes built
into one..
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I love to sit surrounded by all the cards. It's like being in a winter
wonderland - yet basking in the golden autumn sunshine. I hope it is as
warm in December!
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You can view all the 3D Christmas cards by visiting my Greeting Cards site.
***** Durham artists North East UK Ingrid Sylvestre Art
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