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Greeting Card Mini-Books

Green Art: An Easy Altered Project Involving Recycling

Apr 28, 2008 Jenn Greenleaf

Are you a "green" artist? With all the talk of earth day and conservation, it is no wonder mixed-media artists have always seemed to reuse, reduce, and recycle.

Green mixed-media art is a unusual term and tends to be connotative with images of green paint, green collage materials, green paper, and so on. However, that is not the actual meaning here. In this case, it is meant as the term “green living.”

Mixed media artists have always seemed to carry this title without intending to do so. Finding, reusing, re-purposing, and altering are trademark techniques of both novice and seasoned mixed media artists. Rarely does the word recycling come up when these artists are mixing their media. Why? It really is a question worth asking.

We are going to talk about creating a piece of art (or a usable item) from old greeting cards. To complete this mixed media art project, you will need the following materials:

Old greeting cards
Straight edge ruler
Scissors
Pencil
Recycled paper, four or five pieces
Thread
Needle
Collage materials
Heavy-duty glue stick

Follow these simple instructions to complete this mixed-media art project:

If you are working with a large greeting card, consider cutting it in half in order to create two greeting cards. Otherwise, leave it alone.
Using the straightedge ruler, measure down from the top and up from the bottom one and a half inches and mark it with the pencil.
Create a small snip where each pencil mark is.
Take out the recycled paper and fold it in half. Measure it against the greeting card. If there is access paper going beyond the edge of the card, trim it off.
Remove the paper from the inside of the card and create the same measurements and scissor snips as on the greeting card.
Stitch the paper inside the card using the thread and needle. Be sure to tie the knot tightly on the inside.
Alter the card using collage materials on the outside and inside covers. Use any theme (or no theme) depending on what you would like to use this mini book for.

That is all there is to creating this mixed media art project. If you have a small hole punch or very sharp scissors, the option to alter the card prior to assembling it into a mini book can be taken into consideration. However, it is easier to get through the material if you alter the card after the book has been assembled. The choice is yours, so feel free to experiment with what works best for you.

This is a great project to work on with children to introduce them to mixed media techniques. It’s also an interesting twist to sending letters, keeping a mini-art journal, and making a unique assignment book for students!

The copyright of the article Greeting Card Mini-Books in Mixed Media Arts is owned by Jenn Greenleaf. Permission to republish Greeting Card Mini-Books in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.