WHAT A TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT!!! - Rated 
I just cannot believe how boring and unhelpful, for anything more than the absolute basics of cardmaking, this book is. I was looking for sophisticated inspiration whereas I have received a "Janet and John" basics book, no inspiration whatsoever. I did note the publication date of 2002 - cardmaking has progressed enormously over the past few years, assisted by technology. I had been persuaded to buy the book by reviews of other purchasers. I can only advise people who are considering this book not to waste their money. It is always difficult when purchasing a book when there has not been an opportunity to browse it, that is why readers' views are so valuable. If you are looking for inspiration, guidance in developing your talents, it is more useful to go on the gallery sections of products [...] and simply print off anything that takes your fancy. Hopefully Amazon might begin to stock some of the fabulous products on the market for crafters at all levels of expertise.
Fabulous - Rated 
Amazing cards, and I found them relatively easy to make,even as a complete beginner. By far the most sophisticated cards I've seen in any book.
However if you want a bigger book, with more cards, buy 'The Art of Card Making' by Claire Sun-ok Choi, Lisa Kerr and Susan Jaworski-Stranc. Pretty much all of Claire's cards in this book (Designing Handcrafted Cards) also appear in The Art of Card Making, along with lots of others by the two other authors.
Excellent Book - Rated
I bought this book because of what the first reviewer said. She is spot on, the cards are elegant and simple which was just what I was looking for. The ideas are good and can easily be adapted into hundreds of different designs.
Designing Handcrafted Cards: Step-by-Step Techniques for Cra - Rated
This is a beautiful book. The cards are inspirational, simple but all very sophisticated. Yet the techniques are all fairly simple to achieve. I'm positive if you are a card maker/papercrafter you would be thrilled to bits with this book. Unless of course you only like cheesy, cutsy style... then there are other ones better for you out there.
An excellent, inspirational book - Rated
It is maybe not the best book for an absolute beginner, as the instructions are not very detailed and there aren't lots of step-by-step pictures - you need to know the basics of how to use a craft knife and other techniques for cutting, folding, gluing, etc - but for anyone else, buy it! The designs are simple, stylish and effective - there isn't a card in the book that I wouldn't be delighted to receive and I'm looking forward to making them. They are all "grown-up" cards, not the rather amateurish, childish looking ones that so often appear in card books. Very few of them use embellishments other than ones made from paper, and you won't need a lot of tools either, just a few basic punches in many cases. I had never thought of cutting my own embossing stencils before, but I will certainly try after seeing the results in the book. I am even motivated to try quilling, the designs look so pretty and fresh. The author has a real eye for colour, and many of the cards are in pale, off-white shades that look incredibly sophisticated. Unlike many US books, there aren't lots of cards for festivals such as Hallowe'en and Passover, but there are a few Christmas cards as well as ones for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and plenty that are suitable for more general use. Flowers and butterflies are a recurrent theme, but you will find some cards that are less "female".
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