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

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 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 have been a fan of the handcrafted items at the Blissen site for awhile. Jill Bliss brings together the work of a collective of artists and crafters which include cool limited edition artwork and paper goods, jewelry, wallets and other accessories. The emphasis is often …

When looking for that special, unique stationery to use to write to your special pals, a good place to look are the smaller independent paper companies online. But all too often, I see the same tired designs that look like they were cribbed out of a clip art book being sold at inflated prices.

Not so with Paper Petals, a small paper design company located in Missouri who make some beautiful and vibrant stationery and gift related accessories. Designer Nancy Gronemyer heads up Paper Petals and her patterns often revolve around abstract florals with strong lines and bold colors. The company makes standard flat cards, embellished notecards and mini note cards.

Here’s an example of one of their correspondence cards, called Bells of the Forest. The card is 5 1/2 inches with a fold at top and has an included envelope. What I like about their style is that the cards are unique enough (at least from what’s frequently offered at chain stores) but aren’t so DIY looking that you can only use them for casual applications. These cards are $3.00 each.