Papercraft Play

I’ve been itching to try paper props for ages, so I finally gave it a go — and wow, it completely rocked my world. You can expect to see a lot more paper creations from me in the future! The inspiration came from a pack of Pukka Herbs tea. I love this product not just because it’s delicious, but because the packaging is beautiful — full of flowers and patterns that practically begged to be recreated in paper. I decided to start with the ‘Relax’ tea blend and set about turning its ingredients into a little magical paper garden.

Research

First step: research. I pinned chamomile flowers, daisies, and leaves on Pinterest, trying to get a sense of the shapes I’d need.

Design

Then I moved into Illustrator and sketched out templates for my flowers and a butterfly. There was plenty of trial and error — paper engineering is a learning curve — but I loved every minute of it.

Cut

Next came my new Cricut Explore Air 2. This machine cut all my templates with precision, leaving me the fun job of patiently folding, shaping, and gluing the flowers and butterfly together. Honestly, this part was incredibly relaxing — a true creative meditation.

Style

Once my paper props were ready, I decided to blend reality with my paper world. I sourced some travertine rocks and moss to add texture and depth to the scene.

Shoot

Then it was time to style and shoot. I took my time, experimenting with compositions and details, until I landed on a few images that I absolutely loved — especially the minimal paper-only shots, which felt magical in their simplicity.

Winning Shot

This project was just the beginning. I even got to pitch ideas for a client using paper props, which led to a full paper prop project for See Me Be Toys — you can check out that blog here.