German crepe paper is one of the first crepes that I tried and fell in love with as a paper artist. It comes in a variety of weights, including the very interesting to use doublette or double-sided. There are so many ways to get creative with German crepe, and as part of my Back to Basics series for paper florists, I want to dive into everything you need to know about using and buying German crepe paper.

First off, did you know that Werola is just the distributor of German Crepe Paper? The company that makes the paper we all are familiar with is manufactured by a company called Seaman Paper in Germany. Seaman Paper has a storied history dating back to its establishment in the early 20th century. Known for its expertise in manufacturing high-quality paper products, they’ve been a trusted name in the industry, consistently delivering excellence and innovation.

If you want to learn more about the background and use of German crepe, be sure to stay tuned to Season 6 of Paper Talk...

Discover the art of paper flower making with my new blog series: Back to the Basics. Over the past eight years, I've immersed myself in the world of paper flowers, exploring various techniques and materials. From mastering the manipulation of different types of crepe papers to achieving lifelike colors through coloring mediums, I've experienced the trials and errors firsthand. In the upcoming weeks, I'll be sharing my valuable insights and knowledge to help you embark on your own paper flower journey. Join me as we delve into the enchanting world of paper flowers and unlock the secrets of this beautiful craft.

As part of my Back to the Basics focus, I’m delving into the medium that I create my paper flowers with, which is crepe paper. We’re kicking things off with one of my favorite staples: Cartotecnica Rossi Italian crepe paper. 

One of the best things about Italian crepe paper is the wide range of colors and weights that are available. The paper comes in a...

Drum roll please! I’m so excited to announce that Cartotenica Rossi in collaboration with Kate Alarcon of The Cobra Lily has released a new 90 gsm color collection entailing five new greens, two mauves, two blues, and three new pinks. 

The greens are just beautiful. Kate was so brilliant at filling in the wanted missing greens that we artists have been hoping for. They are perfect for creating those bracts, sepals, leaves, and so much more!

Here’s the new line-up of crepe paper colors:

I was fortunate enough to receive a very large box of all these new colors in the 90 gsm. In the coming months, I will share my tips and tricks plus new tutorials on how to use this new weight with you.

I’ll be doing a fun giveaway with this paper soon, but I need to know if you would rather have a large sample of the new colors or a crepe paper sample book like the one you would find at the paint chip store. Comment down below to let me know your preference, and I’ll put...

I was very fortunate to visit the largest garden rose farm in the world, Alexandra Farms, located in Bogota, Colombia. It was truly amazing to see these beautiful garden roses in person and meet florist designers around the world. 

I had two amazing days at their farm and saw so much. I saw garden roses that were smaller than a fingernail, and on the other end of the spectrum, garden roses bigger than my head! The variety was astounding. 

But one thing is that each garden rose had was a captivating scent. Each has a specific smell that is unique to each variety. From citrus to heavy floral fragrance, it ranges differently from each bloom. You can imagine the fragrant sort of heaven I was in being surrounded by these blooms!

Alexandra Farms grows and sells more than 60 varieties of garden roses on their two farms, and I got to view over 70 other varieties that they were experimenting with. I even had the chance to vote whether or not they should continue to grow these...

Once you’ve fallen in love with paper flower making, learning how to arrange flowers is a natural next step. You want to display those beautiful blooms in a way that showcases your creations and catches the attention of viewers.

Here’s a peek at what I’ve been working on lately. I’ve been taking a needed summer break and making flowers here and there to complete a large wedding order in the fall. There are some ranunculus, Italian butterfly ranunculus, anemones, garden roses, scabiosa, and seeded eucalyptus in this photo. I’m adding more varieties of blooms and need to make dozens and dozens of more flowers, including more varieties of garden roses and some fillers.

So how do you start putting all of these flowers together in a cohesive way? How do you figure out what’s missing from an arrangement, what could improve it?

My advice is to create a pocket of air around each of your blooms. Give them space to be recognized. Similarly, create smaller...

Season 5 of Paper Talk is here, and it’s all about focusing on your why. 

What does that mean exactly? This is your underlying purpose, the reason you keep going. Your why will bring you balance and happiness. It will help you understand whether to say yes or no to a new project. When you focus on your why, you can destress your work and get back to the joy that you first found in paper flowers. 

Everyone’s why is different, and it takes time to really uncover what the heart of your why is. That’s why Jessie and I will be spending all of Season 5 of Paper Talk chatting with a variety of guests about it. 

You won’t want to miss out on any of our fantastic episodes. Here’s a little peek of what we discussed this past month.

Episode 116: Over Coffee with Jessie and Quynh

We kicked off the season diving into Jessie’s why. 

Jessie shared how she got back to her why this past year. You can hear the entire story in the episode, but...

Discovering a new adhesive is always super exciting to me. You need something dependable to hold all your hard work together and keep your paper flowers looking their best! 

I was super happy when Aleene’s reached out to me again to try out The Ultimate professional glue. I saw firsthand how it performed for a paper florist—though I’m sure you’ll easily find many other craft applications.

Why Use This Glue?

The Ultimate is a multi-surface adhesive that is super strong and dries clear. Not only that, it’s UV proof and waterproof! Other amazing qualities are that it’s permanent, non-foaming, and easy to use. 

As I mentioned above, you can use this glue on many different surfaces. I used it with crepe paper. It can also be used on metal, glass, plastic, wood, fabric, tile, and more. Think of all the possibilities! 

Tips for Using The Ultimate

Let’s talk about actually using this glue. To get the best use and finish from The...

_{Affiliate disclosure: As you might imagine, some of the links on this page are affiliate links. If you click them, I may make a small commission. Rest assured that I only ever recommend products that I know, love, and use personally.}

Nothing shows off a creative’s work like a photo, and that makes Instagram a great fit for artists like paper florists. But how do you master that tricky algorithm and reach the right audience? I recommend a hashtag platform, and you can compare two of the biggest ones in our last blog on IQ Hashtags vs Flick Tech. 

This time around, I want to go in depth and give some tips on how artists can best use IQ Hashtags. #letsgetlearning

• Make your own collection of hashtags

I know that this may seem like an obvious one, but personalizing your own hashtag collection can prove useful. IQ Hashtags makes it super easy for you to copy and paste your hashtags onto your caption. It can save a lot of time and trouble if you’re going to...

I’ve always loved sharing what I know and love, and that is twice as true when it comes to welcoming people into the world of paper flowers. The creation of The Posey Box online tutorials nurtured a greater love of teaching within me. Guiding others through the basics and mechanics of paper flowers has only increased my passion for education.

That’s why I’m so excited to launch a new workshop series with Jessie Chui of Crafted to Bloom. We’ve named it Awesome Blossom! because our classes are all about the joy and fun of paper flowers. 

Awesome Blossom! consists of eight online LIVE workshops. We will start with an introductory workshop to teach the basics of paper flower techniques, both for beginners and more experienced paper florists. We’ll use that strong foundation to then move on to a new flower or foliage each month: eucalyptus, jasmine vine, hybrid tea rose, Japanese anemone, bomb peony, and stock. To finish the series, Jessie and I will...

What's the difference between IQhashtags.com versus Flick.Tech?

Why do you even need it in your life, especially if you are trying to increase your SEO and when Instagram is forever changing its algorithm!

As of July 2021, Instagram is favoring saves firsts, shares second, then DMs, comments and finally likes. Yup, likes are no longer that important anymore. The biggest tip I can give you is be genuine and engage with your followers.

One thing that I like to do is track my statistics. I'm a number gal. Numbers makes me just happy.

Tracking statistics on social media can be very helpful when it comes to running your own business. You can track demographics, what gets the most interactions, and much more in order to improve your online presence. 

Why do this? What's the benefit of tracking all these numbers? Along with tracking, you have to look at the results and understand. It's worth that extra step to do this if you really want to grow your followers. By understanding all...