Two ways to greet the season - card display screen and newsletter photo collage - Brief Article

Sunset, Dec, 2000

A card display screen and a newsletter photo collage

Here's a fresh way to display holiday greetings, keeping them neatly organized and freeing up mantels, tabletops, and door frames from the annual clutter of cards. The folding screen can disappear into a closet when no longer needed or stay out for year-round decoration.

The frames for the screen are readymade canvas stretcher bars, sold at art supply stores; each is composed of top and bottom pieces 16 inches long (about $2 each) and sides 58 inches long (about $6 each). Tacked to the frame is a grid of interwoven 1/4-inch satin ribbon for the cards to hang on. Painted to match the ribbon (select ribbon and paint color to complement your decor), the three frames are joined with small brass hinges.

TIME: Two to three evenings

COST: About $50 MATERIALS

* Three pairs (each) top and side canvas stretcher bars

* White glue

* Wood filler

* Medium-grade sandpaper

* Satin-finish spray paint (to match ribbon color)

* Tape measure

* Pencil

* 1/4-inch satin ribbon (about 265 ft.)

* Hammer

* 252 decorative, antique-brass furniture tacks

* Razor blade or craft knife

* Two pairs of 1 1/2-inch brass hinges

DIRECTIONS

1. Assemble three frames, gluing corner joints of stretchers.

2. Use wood filler to mask corner joints and any cracks. Sand smooth.

3. Spray frames with several coats of paint. Let dry.

4. On the back side of each frame, 3/4 inch from the inside edge, mark points to make a 1 1/2-inch grid along the frame's top, bottom, and sides.

5. Place each frame facedown on a carpeted area or work surface protected with a blanket. Attach the ribbon across one frame's width using the hammer and furniture tacks: Leaving 1 inch of extra ribbon at one side, drive a tack into a marked point, draw ribbon flat and taut, and tack. Trim off excess ribbon. Repeat for horizontals on all three frames.

6. Make seven vertical rows out of ribbons to create the grid. Ribbons in rows 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 simply run on top of the horizontal ribbons, which allows cards folded at the top to hang from the horizontals. However, ribbons in rows 4 and 7 are woven: Working from the top to bottom, slide them under four horizontal rows, out and over a fifth row, then under the next four, and so on. Weaving this way allows vertically folded cards to hang on the screen; every fifth horizontal row becomes a stopping point that prevents the cards from sliding to the bottom. Repeat for verticals on all three frames. Check that the ribbons are taut, untwisted, and tacked firmly before trimming off the excess.

7. Stack two frames face-to-face and add a pair of brass hinges along one side, 5 inches from each end. Check that the hinges open and close easily.

8. Close the first two frames, then stack on the third--this time with back side to back side. Add the hinge to the other edge of what becomes the middle panel. Stand the screen on end--you're ready to slip the cards into place. For postcard greetings, center and tape a paper clip to the back of the card, bend the clip open slightly, and clamp it over the ribbon.

Other seasons

The screen still looks great when all of the cards are removed. However, you can turn it into a more traditional screen (shown below) by attaching panels of cloth to the back of the frames with a few thumbtacks or staples.

Dear family and friends...

Peter O. Whiteley

Since the arrival of our twin boys, everyone is always eager to see how they're growing up. For the holidays I wanted to send something a little different than the typical posed shots taken around the ol' Yule log. So I started shooting photos that incorporate big letters spelling a holiday greeting and used them to illustrate our Christmas newsletter.

The more complex the greeting, the more photographs you need. Our first year's "Merry Christmas" (14 letters) required multiple photo sessions over many weeks. And it was a challenge to fit all the pictures on a newsletter page. More recently, "Joy" took a lot less time--a good thing, too, because energetic youngsters last about two seconds in a photo sitting.

I used color photocopies for my newsletters. It's also possible to use computer scans or images from a digital camera. -- Elaine Johnson

TIME: Depends on complexity of greeting and cooperation of subjects

COST: About $145; includes double-print processing for three rolls of 24-exposure film and color photocopying 50 newsletters (8 1/2 by 14 inches) with a three-letter greeting

MATERIALS

* Pencil * Sturdy 32- by 40-inch poster board (one sheet for each letter of greeting; use a single color for the greatest impact) * Mat knife * Camera * Film * Scissors * Ruler * Glue stick

DIRECTIONS

1. With pencil, neatly draw letters of greeting on poster board. Cut out letters with mat knife.

2. Shoot pictures. Have a double set of prints made in case you need extras.

3. Take a sample of newsletter text and a set of photos and lay them out to determine final paper size (it must fit in a photocopier). If desired, crop photos with scissors.