I recently received a review copy of Winter Wonderland: Charming Winter Paper Sculptures for Parties, Holidays, and Home Decor by illustrator and paper engineer, Mary Beth Cryan, and I knew that it was going to be a fun book as soon as I spotted the little paper squirrel peeking out at me from the box.

Winter Wonderland isn’t just a book, it’s also a paper craft kit that includes pre-punched project sheets for creating the 12 fun paper sculptures that you can find in the book. These pre-punched sheets make the sculptures easy to assemble, and detailed instructions (visual diagram style) can be found for each.

The kit also includes ribbon by which you can hang any of the projects … on your Christmas tree, or as a garland that you can used to deck the walls. And if one pair of paper ice skates or one cute paper birdhouse isn’t enough, then you can find templates for all of the projects in the back of the book. Photocopy the templates onto cardstock, and you can make the paper sculptures as many times as you’d like.

While many of the sculptures are a little advanced for very young children to create by themselves, they can easily be made with a little help from an adult. I also like that the book is spiral bound, so you won’t have to hold the book open while you’re trying to put together the sculptures. This really is a fun little book for both kids and adults, and I think it would make a great holiday gift for paper crafters, too.

Winter Wonderland is available at Barnes & Noble, and Mary Beth Cryan will be promoting the book in B&N stores throughout November, so she may be coming to a store near you!

Here’s a peek at some of the projects that you’ll find in Winter Wonderland:

photos by Kristen Magee