TEA BAG FOLDING by Tiny Van Der Plas & Janet Wilson

TEA BAG FOLDING by Tiny Van Der Plas & Janet Wilson
Search Press - June 2001
ISBN 0855329696 - Large Format Paperback
How-To Books/Papercrafts

Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde, MyShelf.com
Buy a UK Copy

At first glance this might appear to be a guide to making soggy used teabags into some unguessable recycled form but a quick look at the most attractive photographs that this book has in profusion will show otherwise. The invention of Dutch crafter Tiny Van Der Plas when faced with some pretty teabag paper envelopes and the need for a greetings card teabag folding has amassed quite a substantial international following among papercrafters in the few years since its invention. In the UK the leading designer in this field is Janet Wilson and using her range of papers (sold flat in A4 sheets) the two teabag gurus have cooked up this tasty offering.

Teabag folding has the alternative name of kaleidoscope origami and by folding the squares in a number of ways and gluing them together these beautiful medallions are ideal for card decoration. The diagrams are clear and relatively easy to follow (by which I mean a doddle for anybody who has done origami and not too hard for anybody else who is prepared to sit at it and have a go) and the lovely cards in the pictures most inspirational. One bonus about Search Press books is that you can write them for a list of stock lists (although these are all in the UK) and they are inexpensively priced to make great presents. I did find overall though that this books would have the most appeal to somebody who was not a papercraft novice and many of the folds (although not all of them) are harder than the simpler shapes in Tiny's earlier books (which are all in Dutch but have lots of diagrams) and reflect the way in which this formerly simple craft has taken off and evolved. I would have liked to see more diagrams of how the cards were made - a few are described but like many modern craft books a lot of the photos were there as an inspirational gallery. This appeals to more advanced crafters but a total beginner would prefer some staged diagrams on how to make several simple cards.

This gripe aside this is a beautiful book that would make an ideal gift for the crafter in your life and shows how this craft has become established as a wonderfully unusual (and fairly inexpensive) way of making handmade cards.