Article: Applique is a method of design where one pattern is sewn top of another. You can buy applique templates from a craft store if you don't want to design your own. You can also find patterns in quilting books. If you use a quilt pattern, make sure you resize it when copying so that it fits your greeting card. To make a paper applique card, you will need the following: One 4.25 by 5.5 inches (10.8cm 14.0cm) card blank Colored cardstock Decorative paper A fine-tip black marker Glue Scissors A ruler A pencil and eraser What kind of card are you making? If you're making a birthday card, you might consider making a card with a cake, or party hats. Try to customize the card to reflect the interests of who you are giving it to. Make a space scene with astronauts and planets, or make a card with cars and a racetrack. Make a card with snowmen for Christmas, turkeys for Thanksgiving, or clovers for St. Patrick's Day. Your only limit is your imagination. Pick three different patterns for your card. You'll need a pattern for the applique pieces, a pattern for the background, and a pattern for the card mat. Select a variety of solid colors and patterns. Depending on the complexity of your design, you may want to choose more than three types of decorative paper. Whatever you decide to go with, make sure all the colors and patterns match. For example, if you're making an underwater scene, pick a variety of blues for your solid colors. Choose patterns that mimic waves or fish scales. If you're following a template, trace the shapes on the back of the your decorative paper. If you're drawing your own shapes, draw them lightly in pencil on the back of the decorative paper. Once you're happy with the designs, cut out the shapes. Since you're working with paper, you won't actually be sewing anything. To give it an authentic applique look, take your fine-tip marker and add stitch marks around the border of the shapes. Choose a solid color for your card mat and cut it a little smaller than your card blank. It should almost cover the entire front of the card, but you should still see a little white border. To make the background, take a patterned piece of decorative paper and cut it to about 5 by 3.75 inches (12.7cm 9.5cm). Using your fine-tip marker, add stitch marks to the background pattern. Glue the mat to the card. Remember to leave a small border of white from the card blank. Then, glue the background to the card mat. Once the card mat and the background are glued to the card blank, start arranging your shapes to build a scene. Take some time to make sure you have everything arranged where you want it. If you find that you need to add more shapes to flesh out your scene, grab more decorative paper and start cutting. Don't forget to add the stitch marks! Once everything is to your liking, glue your shapes down.

What is a summary?
Gather your supplies. Think of a design for your card. Choose your patterns. Cut out your shapes. Add the stitch marks. Make the card mat and the background. Arrange your scene.