Book Nook: Creative Origami and Beyond and The Art of Paper Flowers

Paper makes great crafts. When done carefully, the crafts turn out beautifully, and it's easy to recycle when it's time for a fresh update. I recently had the chance to try review two different books with a wide variety of crafts in them.

Creative Origami & Beyond takes traditional origami up a notch, with tips, techniques, exercises, and step-by-step projects. It includes several sheets of beautiful origami paper. The techniques are explained well, and my nine-year-old daughter was able to do some of the projects well. Some of them were quite a bit beyond her (and some where a stretch for me), so there are projects in this book for any level.

The Art of Paper Flowers teaches crafters how to make thirty-five realistic-looking flowers out of paper. Step-by-step instructions and photos for reference are included. The steps are easily explained, and the end result, while it doesn't look exactly like a real flower, does make a beautiful decoration for a centerpiece or on top of a gift.

I had a lot of fun reviewing both books. The quality of demonstration and photos is great - it really makes it easy to see the steps. The explanations are understandable, and the types of projects are different than I've seen in other books, so it's not just more of the same thing.