Spice up your Cards

Creativity can begin in the most ordinary places, and your own kitchen is an excellent example. Everyday spices like star anise, cinnamon and cloves have the power to transform a humble dish into a fragrant culinary experience, and with a little imagination, you can also use them on cards to produce something equally appealing.

Make cards with your kitchen spice stash.

Handmade Spice Cards

Long before spices were purchased in boxes and jars at the supermarket, they travelled slowly across the world by camel and caravan, through ancient trade routes, arid deserts and bustling Persian bazaars. The Spice Traders' sacks were heavy with cinnamon bark and saffron threads - their fragrant cargo redolent of far-away lands.

The rich, earthy colours and interesting shapes of spices are part of their visual aesthetic; cinnamon curls into warm, russet-brown quills, woody and fibrous, while star anise forms perfect little constellations in deep espresso tones. Cloves are like tiny buds, dark and sculptural, while the papery sage cardamom cocoons a cluster of inky seeds. It's no surprise that natural spices look beautiful on cards, especially when using handmade paper. You can create a little card in minutes simply by gently teasing a piece of tissue and affixing a spice on top. Sprinkled, placed, ground, or rubbed, spices bring a stylish, organic feel to your card-making, perfect for any occasion, from a housewarming to a Bon Voyage.

Use everyday items in imaginative ways in your cooking as well as your cards. Get a Masala Dabba from Dolly Mumma online, or pop out to Papatoetoe, Auckland to experience the heady aromas first hand.

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Culinary Crafting

Creativity begins wherever you are, and the gentle ritual of working with aromatic, culinary ingredients awakens our senses. For me, herbs and spices are just a little bit magical, offering endless possibilities to create something beautiful. See how other people have transformed simple kitchen ingredients on Pinterest.

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Card Couture eBook