Book Review + Giveaway: Paper Flowers

“Easy! No gluing or cutting required” says the cover of the book Make Your Own Paper Flowers. So I decided to make my flowers in a place where craft supplies are sparse: an airplane. Before my trip, I stashed the Klutz Chicken Socks book in my purse. Without any scissors in my bag, I cleared security in a breeze! After takeoff, I folded down the tray on the seat back in front of me, and set to work.

As I put together the project, a million childhood memories came rushing back to me. I vividly remember so many fun Klutz books. I had the juggling one, the dollar bill origami one, the magic one with the special coin, and my personal favorite, the friendship bracelet one. And seeing Klutz triggered memories in more that just me. All the stewardesses paused as they walked by to check on my progress and talk about the best Klutz books which, after much debate, it was decided was the braid one!

Upon opening Paper Flowers, I immediately noticed that even though the Chicken Socks brand is geared towards the younger set, it still has the same quality materials and instructions of the Klutz brand. Inside were masses of paper petals, 72 to be exact, pipe cleaner stems, leaves, fun punch-outs, and adorable stickers.

I spread out all the petals, and realized that the book just makes perfect sense. Little kids love textures, shapes, prints, patterns, and colors. I had a blast choosing coordinating materials, and I’m not even 3 years old! I could have sorted through the petals for hours.

Once I had my piles, I twisted the pipe cleaners into stems. Give them a good tight twist, so the petals glide right on. Thread layers and layers, starting with the smallest shapes and working up to the largest ones.

Add the collar last to hold it all in place. To finish, fan out all the petals, and then scrunch and crunch them up. The more wrinkly and crinkly, the more full the flower becomes.

The Klutz team came up with tons of fun and clever uses for the flowers, but seeing as I was heading off on a tropical vacation, I decided to stick my flower behind my ear. And that was it! There were no bits of paper scraps to clean up, no scissors or glue to put away. And I was able to store all the remaining supplies back in the plastic blister packaging! That was really useful, because the materials will be right with the instructions and inspiration next time. It’s all these reasons and more that Klutz is the crafter’s beloved go-to for creative kits.
Book Giveaway Time!
Three lucky CRAFT readers will each receive a copy of Make Your Own Paper Flowers! Please make sure you include your email address in the comment form field (won’t be published). All comments will be closed by noon PST on Friday, November 6th. The lucky winners will be announced later on the site. Good luck!
Also this month, as a special to CRAFT readers, get 25% off all Klutz titles by entering in promo code CRAFT at checkout!