Two new books on paper craft offer a wealth of inspiration for crafty thinkers. Some of these projects are suitable for older children who want to make their own gifts or lend a hand with Christmas decorating.

Paper Made! shows how to work with everything from candy wrappers to ticket stubs.

Small pieces of folded graph paper are pasted onto a round Chinese paper lantern. Light shining through this fixture makes a complex interplay of shadow and texture.

Old maps are snipped into birds with lacy wings and tails and assembled into a charming mobile. Maps also wrap the mats of framed travel photos.

What to do with a partial deck? Leftover playing cards are sewn together with zigzag stitch and attached to wire rings to create an imaginative lampshade.

Frank Gehry built iconic furniture from cardboard. Now, it’s your turn. Transform used cardboard into an end table, picture frame or curio shelf.

Book Art offers some fabulous projects which include clever Christmas decorations. The winter village scene which you see pictured on the cover has a fairytale quality when displayed with candles or cut crystal.

From an old book come curvy, sculptural ornaments. The spine of the book forms the core of the ornament with the cut pages fanning out from the central spine.

Strips of thicker paper are shaped into delicate, tasseled baubles. Circles cut from the colourful pages of a brochure create a spiky decoration. Silver leaf is rubbed onto the pages of a book from which oak leaves and acorns are formed. They can be tied with pretty ribbon to wrap a gift or dangle from a tree.

-Jane