Crafting with paper

For those of you who like to craft with paper, we have two new books you might like.

Papier-Mâché Treasures: creating your own vintage-style collectibles is by Teena Flanner. She gives you some very nice hints on how to work with papier-mâché compound and how to use different types of molds and glitter. If you have an antique mold (for making cakes, soap, butter pats or chocolate) you can make some truly beautiful little figurines. She also instructs the reader on how to create their own molds - gel or silicone - from existing figurines. Once these things have been painted and glittered, they really do look as if they had been made a century ago.

Big Book of Papercrafts: 40 stunning projects, by Vivienne Bolton, uses paper in a number of different ways: stamping, folding, embossing, weaving, quilling and lace cutting. If you want a good idea of the variety of looks and techniques in this book, check out pages 26-27 where she shows 26 different flowers, each done using a different technique and each one looking entirely unique. She has motifs for different seasons and celebrations, gift projects, scrapbooking ideas and cards & tags. The projects are all relatively detailed, so this is not a book for keeping your 8-year-old busy, but the finished products are so beautiful they scream 'keepsake'.