Petals with Purpose

It began as a small, fleeting idea—a one-time creative experiment for Valentine’s Day.

It was so successful that we “grew” them again the next year. In those early days, we painstakingly cut the paper and molded the petals into flowers by hand. Demand grew like weeds and, well, the rest is floral history!

Today, the Open Hearts Paper Flower Project is our signature product and our largest source of year-round sales. It’s no wonder – our blooms add beauty to any room and last forever. Even better, the story behind each stem is one of impact, purpose, joy, creativity, and pride. It’s beauty that gives back – no water required.

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A colorful arrangement of handmade paper flowers, including red poppies, a white and pink flower, and green leaves, wrapped in brown paper with background elements such as green honeycomb paper, a polka-dotted ribbon, and a pink decorative ball.

Blank Paper to Beautiful Blooms

The journey begins with a single sheet of paper and unfolds into something far greater — a field of blooms shaped not just by many hands, but by many hearts.

Woman wearing glasses and a striped shirt, smiling excitedly at an art project involving painted spirals and colorful splatters on paper with black rubber bands, in a classroom or art studio.

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Each sheet is hand-painted by our artists using various methods.

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A black background with a white curved arrow pointing downward to the right.

Painted sheets are cut into hundreds of petals and leaves, ready to be assembled.

Arrow pointing counterclockwise around a circle, indicating refresh or reload.

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A woman smiling and holding a colorful bouquet of paper flowers, with a blurred background of a room.

Pieces are crafted into paper blooms by our “florists” and then bundled into bouquets

When you buy our paper flowers, you power our process.

Every purchase funds supplies, tools, and our ability to pay our amazing florists!

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Interested in becoming a paper florist?

You don’t need to have any experience to make our paper flowers! You only need a love of crafting and the desire to be part of something really special. We run regular training sessions at our studio and you can choose which kinds of flowers you’d like to make.

Make beautiful things. Make a difference. Make some money. It’s win-win-win.

Yes! I'm Interested!

Meet Jenny and Nancy Horn

Thanks to your on-going support, we pay our crafty, fabulous florists, like Jenny and Nancy Horn - our mother/daughter duo!

A young girl and an older woman are standing side by side holding colorful flower arrangements in pots. The girl is wearing a white sleeveless top and white pants, and the woman is wearing a pink top and green pants. Behind them is a quilted wall hanging with various patterns. There are white buckets and a basket filled with more colorful fabric flowers on the floor.

In Jenny’s words …

“As someone with a disability and a lifelong lover of the arts, I was drawn to the Open Hearts mission and philosophy.

Like many people living with a disability, I’ve struggled my whole life to fit into spaces that weren’t made for me. Finding this job at Open Hearts reassured my confidence in myself—that I’m smart, capable, and ambitious. I just needed to find something that was the right fit for me. I’ve always said I needed a job I can do on my worst days, and time and time again I’ve been able to work through days when my disability was especially challenging. I love having the freedom to bring my work to a friend’s house or a coffee shop to create—it always sparks a fun conversation when people ask what I’m making.

This is the most empowering job I’ve ever had—it’s creative, flexible, and I can work at my own pace, which are all very important to me.

Mom thinks her daughter is like a beautiful, delicate rose — with many layers of beauty that come together to make a stunning work of art.

Jenny thinks her mom is like a water lily, peacefully floating, as she has always loved the water.”

In Nancy’s words …

I knew about Open Hearts before we moved to Asheville. After we moved to the mountains, Jenny was interested in volunteering at an organization that was near and dear to her heart — Open Hearts was just that place — and I joined in on the fun too. I will always celebrate Open Hearts as a place that provides individuals living with disabilities opportunities to express their creativity—because that is just what they have offered Jenny.

Being part of the Paper Flower Project keeps me creative and inspired. I never get tired of seeing a bucket of flowers bloom before my eyes and hearing all the stories of happiness they bring to others.

Creativity runs deep through all my children's lives. I love witnessing the creative process that swirls around in their minds. Making flowers with Jenny is no exception. Making flowers has provided Jenny a way to make money that conventional ways have not. It meets her where she is. It's a project with no deadline, no pressure, and only great results for everyone involved.

A woman standing next to a display of colorful crafted flowers in white cones, smiling and holding a flower in her hand.

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Meet Courtney

As our paper flower program continued to grow and grow, we knew we needed a dedicated leader to tend our “garden”.

Courtney joined Open Hearts Art Center in 2025 as our first-ever dedicated leader of the Paper Flower Project.

Since 2011, she has lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains, earning her BFA in Illustration from UNC Asheville in 2013, where she also met her husband, Matthew. Their fun loving home brims with creativity, cats, and a Kenyan sand boa.