The Paper Arts site talks about everything related to paper including stationery, scrapbooking, and DIY paper projects.

I’ve been eyeing this Cricut Personal Electronic Cutter from Provo Craft for awhile now ever since seeing it at Joann’s. At a price entry point of just under $200 and a fairly compact size of around 18 x 10 x 13 inches, this seems like a good way to upgrade from smaller die cutters to a more professional version without completely breaking the bank (there are plenty of cutters starting at $300 and up to nearly $1000).

Most people will be pleased with the fact that you don’t have to buy all the individual designs like you would if you wanted to get manual cutters (By Sizzix and Quickutz for example) for everything.

Continue reading “Cricut Personal Electronic Cutter” …

More groovy Iota goodness for you. These “Foldover” notecards are a bit quirky and colorful without going over the top. They are a longer size at 3 1/4 x 5 3/4 inches and each package contains 9 of them along with matching envelopes.

I actually think this comes as a 2-pack of 9 at Amazon…

I came across some cool pattern designs by Mike Lowery today. After I chose the above pattern to show (very cool because of the vintage synths), I realized that I didn’t know if it was actually printed on paper or just a pattern. Nevertheless, on his site he does sell original drawing artwork that is along the same lines of the wonderful patterns I saw. So if you like the patterns, you’ll probably enjoy his artwork too.

Visit: Mike Lowery (Argyle Academy)

Wow, in case you haven’t noticed there are a TON of design books for Scrapbook making out there. They range from everything from beginner focused books to “professional” designer guides. The Scrapbook Designers Workbook: Unlocking the Secrets to Great Page Design reference by Kari Hansen tends to fall into the latter category and that’s one reason why I’m mentioning it here.

That’s because there’s a proliferation of beginner books that don’t focus on design at all out there. So it’s nice to see something that’s meant to teach at least basic principles of design. The book goes into color theory and palette choice concepts and gives pointers on what a professionally designed scrapbook might look like.

Continue reading “Scrapbook Designers Workbook” …

I was all set to post about an interesting “Monkey Party In A Box” kit from Martha Stewart Crafts, but when I went to look at the item it turns out they’ve taken it out. But I did find this “Tiny Party In A Box Kit - For Eight” which is very similar. These are paper toys and accessories but they seem like they’d be a lot of fun for kids who like paper crafts. The kit has miniature invitations, party gift bags, favor boxes and stickers. Then it has complete 8 person “place settings” for the actual party including forks, knives, spoons, napkins, cups and party hats. It would be super fun if the kids had to come up with real miniature food as well to go with the tiny party place settings.

Tiny Party In A Box Kit - For Eight
Available at Marthastewartcrafts.com

I think by now I must have covered nearly every single gift wrap of this type they have for sale. Still, if you’re getting a gift for a friend who’s really into the Arts and Crafts design aesthetic I think they’d really be pleased to receive it wrapped in this William Morris themed gift wrap. One note about the paper - it is really intricate with floral designs, but there are only 4 sheets of 18×24″ in the pack. If you’re used to bargain bin holiday gift wrap, then you’re going to be really disappointed in how little paper you actually get. The quality and design is there, however, so plan to use it only for those extra special gifts for friends who will appreciate the paper (and not those who just rip the paper off without giving it a second glance).

Have you ever wondered how some crafters get those professional looking creases and folds in their paper cards or origami designs? The answer is that they use a folding tool - traditionally this is called a “Bone Folder” because that’s the material it was made out of. Nowadays, they’re almost always made out of plastic.

Several places have them - I spotted this melamine based bone folder over on Martha Stewart Crafts. The tool has pointed end on one side for scoring and a smoother and wider end for burnishing. It comes with storage pouch. Granted, you could just use a household plastic utensil instead, but the price is not too bad.

Craft Bone Folder
$5.99 on MarthaStewartCrafts.com

Shucks, I had plans to feature so many Etsy retailer cards before Valentine’s Day rolled around. But I got distracted, so this’ll be the last one until next year I guess. I had found these cute “Somebody Loves You” cards by Charlie Motel. Unfortunately, even if there was time to pick them up - you’ll find they’re out of stock (they seem to have run out only a few days after they were put up! I know because I had wrote down the link early in January.) However, there are still quite a few nice things over at Megan’s shop if you’d like to take a look.

Visit: Charlie Motel on Etsy

In the run-up to the big V-Day, we’re going to be featuring a number of products from Etsy, which is a great place to pick up really special gifts for that special someone. The best thing about Etsy is that you know that everything is handmade or made by a small publisher who is going to give you quality items.

We noticed these “Love Doves” cards from JengsShop on Etsy, but unfortunately didn’t realize they were sold out on Etsy until this post was written up! Well, that just goes to show you have to pounce quick sometimes. However, I believe that the cards are still available at their actual store… have a look.

Continuing with more Valentine’s day goodies - there are some really nice and simple valentine’s cards from Snow & Graham. These cards and quite a few others were found over at Luxe Paperie. They have a good assortment of different card designs, not only for Valentine’s but other holidays and other occasions as well.

Snow & Graham Valentine’s Cards
Luxe Paperie