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

This is some of the coolest type of paper arts I’ve found yet. Over at Cera Cera, they sell downloadable paper model kits for automata. What are Automata? Well, I’m not 100% sure but I believe that these are related to automatons which are supposed to be robotic type creations that move and talk without the influence of human beings. I’m actually thinking of so-called “steampunk” technology (a la Gibson and Sterling’s “The Difference Engine” and the movie Wild Wild West).

However, the key difference here is that these are made out of PAPER. Now, before you think you’re going to make some sort of robotic creation out of paper, I have to tell you that the majority of these are actually hand-crank type models. But still, it’s fascinating that they actually move!

The company basically sells downloadable digital files (in Acrobat format) that you print out on artpaper and then cut out and construct them. They have a number of brilliantly colored person and animal kits for sale. The cool thing is that you don’t really need any special tools to create these paper automata other than materials you probably have, such as an Xacto knife, cutting mat, ruler, glue, pens, scissors, and a simple thin wooden stick or dowel for getting into those hard to reach places. According to the site, they say each model can take about 2 to 3 hours to make depending on your experience with paper construction.

Here’s an example of one of their models. This is supposed to be a “paratrooper” who’s jumping out of a plane. They have an animated gif on the site that shows how it works… basically when you turn the crank he moves up and down in the air so it looks like he’s falling out of the sky. Did I mention this is constructed ONLY out of paper? Very neat. The dimensions on this particular model are 9cm x 12cm x 16cm.

Note the really detailed directions in the cutout documents that you download. It’s nice that they provide excellent instructions along with the cutouts so you know exactly what to do.

I was looking on Amazon the other day at some unrelated non-paper things having to do with Tim Burton and came across this unusual set of note cards and envelopes. Burton is best known for his semi-creepy but cutely animated horror cartoons such as “The Nightmare …

I saw these wonderful stencil-dyed sheets of paper featured over at the Paper Mojo site today. They are based on techniques developed in Japan and are called “Katazome-Shi” paper. What exactly is Katazome-Shi?

I looked up several definitions of it online. Basically, it is a technique of stenciling paper that involves the application of some kind of paste (usually rice flour based) through a prepared stencil. The stencil is usually made out of a particular paper called Kozo which is a fiber that comes from mulberry trees and is very popular in papermaking in Japan.

This paper is first treated with persimmon tannin, and then a stencil of the overall design is cut into the paper. Then, I believe they use the paste in order to block out the sections of the stencil that they don’t want color transfered onto. They do each color one at a time. This seems similar to silkscreening, and I have also read that it is similar to how kimonos were made traditionally.

I came across some really nice organizers and blank journals over at If’n Books + Marks the other day. Located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island the company is made up of 3 individuals (Alec, Jen and Deb) who use their illustration, screen-printing, and book-binding talents to produce a ton of beautiful books, albums, and stationery.

A little blurb of company info from the If’n website:

The If’n Books + Marks studio is located in a century-old mill building complete with high ceilings, a fabulous corner view and a super-stripey wall. We make each book by hand using vintage and contemporary equipment that is beautiful unto itself.

Their designs seem really unique and the illustrations have a really clean look to them. One of the works that I took a shine to were these Corace Organizers (named after the abovementioned Jen Corace who’s the illustrator). This one is an address book called “Hello Goodbye” and features fun pictures of kids talking into that old-fashioned tin can phone. It is screen-printed by hand on these cool boards and contains a hefty 144 pages inside along with an inside pocket to hold other things. Measurements are 5 by 6 1/2 inches.

For those looking for an alternative to boring standard wedding invitations but who don’t have the time or inclination to try and make them by hand, Renaissance Writings may be just the ticket needed.

This North Carolina company has been making handmade wedding invitations since 1994, though I only found out about them last week. They make uses of handmade paper that often has dried flowers and other plants embedded in the sheets to produce unique invitations that are often “enveloped” with an outside custom paper pocket. Their designs range from classy and traditional to a more bold, modern or whimsical feel.

Pictured at right is just one of the many different design invitations that they specialize in. This beautiful invite makes use of a chamois colored pocket fold and handmade papers featuring embedded Orange Petals. It says that the outer envelope is 7 inches square and the invite also includes a RSVP card and envelope.

What is even cooler is the possibility of creating your own invitations by mixing and matching a huge variety of envelopments, pocket folds, portable pockets and folded cards in different shapes and colors. I believe that they have variable pricing for these custom orders, so you should check the site if you’re interested in them.

It’s early January, the start of the new year. A time when all thoughts turn to… organizing??

Sure! Make this new year’s resolution to get your paper and paper supplies organized come true. I’ve been doing a bit of re-organizing myself, and recently saw this …

For those of you who do a lot of paper cutting, a good paper trimmer can be a lifesaver. While some may remember paper cutters from elementary school as being these immense, antiquated “blade handles” stuck to a heavy block of metal (I believe these are called “guillotine” paper cutters), most know that the craft paper trimmers today are much lighter and easier to use.

The Fiskars 12 Inch Rotary Paper Trimmer is a pretty handy device to have around when you need to make those straight line cuts for normal paper. I don’t have the exact same model, but one that’s very similar. You pivot the guide rail arm and insert paper. The blade in the arm is actually a “rotary” blade (like the blade on a manual can opener) that is attached to a spring so that it only comes down when it is pressed down. That’s a nice touch… safety first and all!

I forgot how I found her site, but here’s some very cool artwork by Catia Chien. She does some very beautiful and slightly whimsical paintings of cool subject matter. There’s a foggy and ethereal quality to the artwork and some of my favorites are the ones that include animals. The painting here is from the cover of one of her cool mini books called Goodbye Gus, about a cat named Tuxedo that keeps growing and an owl called Gus.

Besides selling commissioned paintings and prints of her work in her online store, she also offers foldout books featuring her art, magnets (some of which are under the name “Read Red“) and postcards. There is some really nice stuff here.

I must admit when I first saw this packet of Twirled Paper I was a bit confused. I mean they look exactly like multi-colored shoelaces or something! How could you make anything useful out of this paper?

Well, it turns out there are some pretty cool things you can make with these curls of paper, least of not are the twirled paper animals featured in the book. The book is written by Jacqueline Lee and published by Klutz, who make a ton of these interesting paper project packs for kids and adults alike.

One thing I didn’t know is that the art of using these small curled strips of paper to make decorations and other things is not really new or anything. According to the book, it was first done by the French hundreds of years ago and they called it paper filigree. In more recent times, it’s been called quilling because they wrapped the strips around quills to get them to spiral. And in this book it’s called “Twirling“. (I have no idea if this is the official way that people call it nowadays.)

I know it seems like they have these joann.com sales every single week, but I still try to keep an eye out for the ones that are specific to cardmaking and …