This multilayered card gets its good looks from a clever combination of transparent acetate and tempera paint.

Materials

• Photographs
• Tempera paint
• Brush
• Scissors

• Card stock
• Glue
• Strip adhesive

Instructions

1. Choose a color or black-and-white photo with a lot of contrast and a light background (a dark one will print as black on the clear plastic acetate). Grab some tempera paint (we chose red) and a brush and head to your local copy shop. (Alternatively, you can make your master copy as described in step 2 using your home computer, then apply the paint to your black-and-white copy before going to the copy shop.)

2. Make the master from which you'll create your cards (2 per sheet, as shown): ask the copy shop to use a black-and-white laser printer to print 2 copies of the photo, aligning the pictures one above the other on the right side of a sheet of white 8 1/2- by 11-inch paper. The left edge of the photos should be flush against the center line.

3. While still at the copy shop, use the tempera paint to add a small detail, such as a bow or a scarf, to both photos on the master. Allow the paint to dry (5 to 10 minutes).

4. Now have the copy shop color-copy the painted master on sheets of 8 1/2- by 11-inch acetate (they should have it in stock), trim off the borders and cut the sheets in two, and fold the cards for you. Finally, ask them to cut, trim, and fold an equal number of pieces of card stock to fit inside the acetate cards.

5. At home, glue together the 2 parts of each card with a piece of strip adhesive (available in the scrapbooking section of craft stores) placed along the fold on the back of one of the cards. The finished greetings will fit into standard 5- by 6 1/2-inch envelopes.
   
   Cost per 100 cards: about $130

Tips:

To cut the cost of these cards almost in half, skip step 3 and have the copy shop print the unpainted master on acetate in black and white. Then you can paint the cards individually at home (apply the paint to the back of the acetate), or simply send out the all-black-and-white version.

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• November 2005