Paper Flower Note Cards

March 1, 2020
Since scissors and occasional folds constitute the making of these Japanese-created paper flower note cards, crafters could consider them one step removed from origami. Yamamoto, president of the Paper Decoration Association in Japan, here showcases finished projects first, following them with the instructional patterns themselves, which include step-by-step color photographs captioned in one or two sentences. (A few pages of tools needed, paper knowledge, and techniques like transferring patterns and applying glue precede the instructions.) Rounding out the manual are 30 pages of detailed, full-size templates. That sequence makes for much page-flipping as crafters have a go at individual designs. Despite this inefficiency, patterns are elegant, simple, and, in the case of the 3D designs, fairly close to the bloom of inspiration, such as rose, water lily, carnation, and gerbera. Resources for paper sourcing would be helpful.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)