We’re so excited to welcome Mike Benson as a guest contributor to The Posey Box blog! He is the founder of Carte Fini, my absolute favorite place to buy Italian crepe paper. Without further ado, Mike Benson: 

“So what do you do?".... if you’re like me, and you live in America (fun fact; citizens of other countries seem confounded by this obligatory party-query. LOL), the people we meet for the first time invariably ask you this question. For me, I answer with a certain pride while I steady myself for their all-too common “huh?”...“I import crepe paper from Italy and sell through my online store, Carte Fini” ... “ohh-kayyy???”

And so it goes, but I understand. For the uninitiated, the term “crepe paper” is not in their vernacular. My explanation for them begins with attempting to describe the basic product as they may have encountered it as a child in school. “That stretchy paper used for crafts”, I...

Crepe is the base of our craft. You can’t make paper flowers without the paper! Now, you’re clicking around this blog, so you probably already know that crepe comes in a wide array of weights, ranging from extremely delicate to fairly sturdy. But whether you’re a beginner, intermediate, or expert paper florist, understanding the differences in paper helps you know which paper to use for which project. So today, we’re diving into Italian 180 gsm crepe paper.

Italian crepe comes in different weights, and 180 gsm is referred to as “heavy weight” for a reason. As the thickest crepe, it’s sturdy and will hold its final shape very well. Just try to tear it. You’ll have to use some muscle! It can be stretched much farther than more delicate crepes, meaning you can deeply cup petals—an important trait to achieving a realistic look for certain kinds of flowers. 

That durability does come with some drawbacks, of course. You...

I have a confession to make: I had actually never created a large flower wall-piece before I developed this month’s Itoh peony tutorial. Kind of embarrassing for someone who has been making paper flowers for over ten years. So I was a little bit unsure when I began designing my version, luckily with some helpful tips from Quynh, The Posey Box founder and CEO. 

Since Quynh was offering her spectacular heavy crepe peony, I decided to use doublette for mine to add variety to our projects. By itself, the doublette can be a little floppy and delicate when the petals need to be very large, so I laminated it, which made the flower much more sturdy.  

As I started to assemble my mock-up, I noticed that the layers had a subtle watercolor paper quality that I loved against the dramatic center. So I added a wash of color to the petal edges, and it pulled the whole project together. 

I’m proud of my colorful peony, but Quynh’s spectacular cloud of petals...

July is here, and we couldn’t be more excited! We’ve got gorgeous peonies, birthday surprises, and an incredible deal from Carte Fini that you won’t want to miss. Let’s dive into the fun! 

First off, our tutorials for the month are some of the biggest and most ambitious we’ve ever attempted. Plan on a week to finish the giant peony (those 1200 petals won’t glue and ruffle themselves), or opt for the smaller version of Kate’s gorgeous Itoh peony. Or make them all! We love seeing your creations, so be sure to share with us on Instagram or Facebook.  

To make those beautiful peonies, grab our amazing deal from Carte Fini, an exclusive offer for our Posey Box Members. Log in to the portal and grab the code while you can because it will expire after this month is over!

Don’t forget to check out our Pinterest page where you can get more inspired by more beautiful peonies! 

We can't wait to see our members start making...

Last month I delved into scissors, what to look for, and what I use. Beside my Kai Scissors, I LOVE Aleene’s Tacky Glue, and that’s what we’re exploring today. 

I love that Aleene’s Tacky Glue comes in so many amazing sizes and forms. You have the amazing glue pen, the very manageably sized 2 oz for better control, 3 oz, 5 oz, and even bigger amounts up from there, which are useful when you are doing large projects. I like using the glue pen to get really fine lines when I need to be precise. If I happen to be glueing lots of pieces at a time, I like to pour some of the bigger bottles into a small bowl and use a stick or a thick wire to dab a bit at a time on the ends of petals. Using this method, it makes the glue even more tacky and the drying time is shortened quite a bit so that you can work faster.

Here are some tips for when you are using Aleene’s Tacky Glue in your paper flower projects.

Close It Up

When not in use, keep your glue tip...

Lots is happening this month, and we want you to know all about it! 

We’re celebrating June by building a beautiful, climbing rose vine. The Posey Box will show you how to create the various stages of a rose blooming on a vine: buds, just about to open, full bloom, plus an old bloom whose petals look like they’re about to fall off. This month’s focus is on the foliage. We have an updated mitered leaf technique that we can’t wait to share, as well as a new way to use crepe paper to wrap your stem. It’s going to make your life so much easier! I personally walked away learning three new techniques that I never used before, and I can’t wait to implement them in my flower orders this summer!

I hope you will join Kate and myself for our Posey Box Workshop where we walk you step by step through the process of making the roses, buds, and leaves. We are dedicating three hours to this workshop because there’s so many components to learn in this...

When crafting paper flowers, you want to create the best bloom possible. That’s hard to do if your scissors won’t make the kind of cuts you need. That turns calm, creative paper florists into big balls of frustrated stress faster than anything! Especially when your scissors are dull and you make that cut and the scissors do not cut all the way through the paper but stretch it out! For those that understand this frustration - you know know what I am talking about! If your scissors aren’t cutting it (ha!), then you’re in luck. Here’s everything you need to know about buying the right scissors for your paper flowers.

These are Pink and Posey's go to scissors:

The Workhorse: 8" Kai 5210

My everyday, go-to scissor is the 8” Kai 5210. These cut beautifully through 180g Italian crepe paper, and even German doublette. They tick off all of the boxes for me: made of stainless steel, a perfect length for general cutting, and a soft handle. 

The Fringe...

Last month, our blog detailed all of the reasons why The Posey Box is such an amazing buy. Besides our top-notch tutorials, you gain access to a wide array of resources to help you create the best paper flowers possible. You may still have questions, though, and we want to answer them! If you haven’t clicked that purchase button yet, here are some of our customers’ most asked questions:

1) Does the $20/month subscription include the live workshop and materials kit? I see that the June Rose Workshop is $125, and I’m not clear how the pieces fit together.  

The $20 subscription is only to get digital access to the monthly tutorial. The $125 workshop is usually an in-person workshop in the Seattle area, but because of Covid-19, we have turned the June workshop into a virtual one. The $125 includes a personal walkthrough of the tutorial from Kate and Quynh. You’ll see the whole process and can stop us at any time to ask questions or ask us to repeat the...

^{Post and photos by Kate Alarcon of The Cobra Lily.}

Last year, paper flower makers from almost fifty countries came together to celebrate our art form and our community. We shared our work, our experiences of love, and support from other paper artists. People called out artists who had influenced and inspired them. It was a day to lift up other flower makers and celebrate our passion for transforming paper into plant life. 

As I’ve been mulling over ideas for this year, I noticed that the neat thing about last year’s event was that it was so open. But Covid has changed every element of our lives. I’ve been thinking about all the flower makers locked away in our own spaces, making beauty flourish within those walls.

So here’s the theme I came up with: Secret Gardens. What are we making in captivity? What does flower-making mean for us when we can barely go out into nature? Does it help us hold onto our connection to growing things? Are there some kinds of...

Daisies are a well-loved and popular flower—and for good reason! Nothing brings a smile to my face quite like a daisy. It’s just so cheerful! Unsurprisingly, daisies have long represented youthfulness and innocence. You could spend hours reading the many folktales, myths, and stories that feature daisies with that kind of symbolism.

Because they are so easy to grow—and so gosh darn cute—daisies have spread all over the world. They do much of that spreading all on their own: daisies are notorious for taking over as much of your garden bed as possible if left unchecked. This makes them a great plant to share, though, since one of the easiest ways to grow them is by propagation. You can divide a clump of overgrown daisies and plant the removed parts somewhere else with ease. Maybe you’ve grown some in your flower beds! If so, you know just how easy it is. 

You may not know that a daisy opens at dawn. That’s where the name comes from:...