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Stoel's 'Got Mail' tree named festival winner

Lead Summary
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By
Mavis Fodness

More than 70 handmade cards decorated this year’s winner of the Carnegie Cultural Center Festival of Trees contest.
Winner Lorraine Stoel earned the first-place award of $50 for her tree design called “Got Mail.” Her tree displayed her handmade paper cards using iris folding, a paper folding technique.
According to information displayed with her tree, the iris folding technique originated in Holland in the 1770s and involves the folding of paper or ribbon to resemble the iris of an eye or lens of a camera. The pattern gives the illusion of a spiral although it was folded from a square piece of paper. The pattern or series of patterns are glued or taped onto cardstock frames to complete the design.
Stoel began making cards featuring the iris folding technique almost a year ago.
“I just love them all,” Stoel said. “I call them my traveling cards.”
Each card Stoel mails to friends and family members contains an extra sheet of paper and envelope. If the receiver desires to pass the card along, they simply remove Stoel’s signed sheet of paper and insert the extra sheet and sign with a new message.
“This way they can pass it on to someone else,” she said.
Her cards also feature tatting designs and other craft materials such as buttons, designs from other cards and toilet paper.
“I use scraps of all kinds of stuff,” Stoel said.
Annabell Petronek was the second-place winner of the Festival of Trees. She used dinosaurs in her tree design.
Third place went to the American Legion Auxiliary’s tree, which was decorated using a red and gold color theme.
Thirteen individuals or groups participated in this year’s tree decorating contest.
“It was very light this year,” said Linda Dummer, a board member with the Council for Arts and Humanities in Rock County.
CAHRC sponsors the yearly tree-decorating event.
“Usually we have 20 to 22 trees,” she said.
Stoel said she has participated in the contest for the past 15 years, selecting a new theme each year.

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