“Paper to Petal” by Rebecca Thuss & Patrick Ferrell

When I opened Castle in the Air twelve years ago, one of the first product lines I started carrying was our selection of crepe paper. This was mainly to keep my flower-crafting friends Anandamayi Arnold and Aimée Baldwin in paper for their many projects. At the time, crepe paper sculpture was a time-honored but relatively obscure pastime.

Not so today, I’m reminded as I see more and more people take up the art of paper-flower making. Thankfully a large network of resources has grown with the demand, both online and in print. Of this year’s crop of instructional books for flower-makers, one that really stands out is Paper to Petal: 75 Whimsical Paper Flowers to Craft by Hand, by Rebecca Thuss and Patrick Ferrell.

The book is as gorgeous as it is informative. Following a foreword by none other than Martha Stewart, Thuss and Ferrell present a 100-page gallery of eye-popping flowers, both solo and in arrangements including bouquets, wreaths, and mobiles. Once the pictures have you fired up, the rest of the book explains materials and skills, then gives you 75 recipes for the flowers and 264 templates for cutting petals, leaves, and other parts.

Paper to Petal is a satisfyingly solid hardcover book, and will be remembered as one of the high marks in the paper-flower revival. Castle in the Air’s crepe paper and other supplies were used throughout its pages, and I couldn’t be more proud to be part of this book.