Magenta Style Paper Magic
by Nathalie Metivier and Leslie Conron Carola

Whether you are a novice or advanced stamper, Magenta Style Paper Magic is a wonderful book which walks you through many beautiful projects from cards to home décor. The only drawback to the book is that is calls for a large number of specialty products that may not be readily available to you in your area. I have had no luck finding the Peel Off stickers or the Style Stones they call for in many projects. However, with a small amount of ingenuity you can still make most of the projects in the book using products you may already have on hand.

From the first section, “Folding, Tearing, and Cutting Paper”, you enter a wonderful world of beauty and imagination. Even with their simplest projects there is much delicacy in their work. The instructions are clear and most have step by step photographs to accompany the instructions. As you move further through the book you will find the projects increase somewhat in difficulty but not to the point they are hard to complete.

Covering everything from cards to home decor and everything in between in their unique style you will soon be coming up with your own projects. You can make beautiful girt cards with matching boxes, or a set of ornaments for your tree or tabletop.

I find it hard to pick out a favorite project in this book, although the Christmas Panel Card is among my favorites, and I will be using this look for quite a few cards in the future. I have used acetate in my projects before, but the way they have put it together with the Peel Off stickers for the stained glass effect is stunning. I also love the Tabletop Ensemble. I can see it adding a touch of class to any dinner party, no matter how large or small.

Some substitutions you can use are:
Instead of the glaze pens you can use a small inexpensive paintbrush and stained glass paints which can be purchased at any craft store, or even in the Wal-Mart craft department by the kids’ crafts in a set of small paint pots for less than $5.00 a set.
Instead of the Peel Off stickers simply use metallic embossing powders and either an embossing pen for freehand or stamps and an embossing pad to make your own designs and cut them out with an X-acto knife.
When they call for the Style Stones you can simply make your own out of a bit of Polymer clay and your own stamps.
Overall this is a book I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to expand their Rubber Stamping library with a beautifully imaginative technique book, keeping in mind that some of the materials are not readily available in all areas. But it is a wonderfully well written book and well worth having as a reference.