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

If you’re any kind of fan at all of Meomi then you absolutely have to run out now and get her new children’s book The Octonauts and The Only Lonely Monster. Immedium, the publisher of this unbearably cute sea adventure, was kind enough to send us a sample copy to preview.

Who are the Octonauts? They’re a daring undersea crew made up of various aquatic and landbased creatures including a polar bear, octopus, kitten and sea otter. Immedium notes that the book combines “the instant appeal of Hello Kitty with the intrepid spirit from Star Trek” and that pretty much describes what you get with this book.

Continue reading “Meomi - The Octonauts” …

There were a few brand new colorful prints over at Paper Mojo when I checked yesterday. I like these retro Iota Designer prints with mod patterns. They have various different styles including squares, circles, swirls, diamonds and flowers, all with a 60s feel for colors. The one pictured here is called the Bullseye Iota Designer Print, and though it’s not so cheap at $2.50 per 20″ x 29″ sheet, it sure does remind us of the “old” days. Paper just gets more and more expensive…

I also like the “Citrus” designer print that they make which features cross-sectioned slices of oranges, limes, grapefruits and other fruits. Fun and sun, rolled into one!

Iota Bullseye Designer Print - $2.50/sheet
available at Paper Mojo.com

If you’re itching for some albums for scrapbooking purposes and you like more familiar cartoons, you might want to consider these fun Disney postbound albums that feature all your favorite characters: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck and Pluto. The album itself is a foot square and has ten top-loader page protectors and inserts for 20 finished pages. The paper is the usual archival quality and acid free. This would be great for housing your scrapbook memories from those trips to Disney World or Disneyland! I actually saw this on sale at Joann, but they probably have it at other stores as well.

Disney Mickey 12′’x12′’ Embossed Postbound Album - $29.99 $20.99
Available at joann.com

It’s September again, and you’re undoubtedly casting around for something different in the way of notebooks when going back to school. I came across these interesting Moleskine Plain Notebooks on Amazon when doing just that.

Huh? What’s a Moleskine, you might ask? It apparently was a “legendary” type of notebook that was used by a wide variety of writers and artists, including Hemingway, Picasso and Van Gogh. These small pocket-sized note/sketch books have been around Europe for over two centuries! I won’t get into all of the details here, but suffice to say that they’ve got a long and storied history. Apparently, they went out of production in the 80s and have only resumed being made recently.

Continue reading “Moleskin Plain Notebooks” …

I was looking around on Paper Mojo the other day for some interesting textured paper and found this Green and Gold Bodhi Leaf Print Lotka paper just waiting for me. Handmade in Nepal, these 20 by 30 inch sheets of beautiful paper are block printed or stamped with golden Bodhi leaves.

I wasn’t familiar with “Lotka” paper, so some searching around provided the information. The art of paper making is a Nepalese tradition and the material they use is from Lotka, a long-fibered plant shrub (Daphne Papyraceae) that grows there.

Because of the handmade and porous nature of the papers, the gold leaf actually shines through the paper so that both sides can be used. I chose this bold earthy green shade to show, but they have at least 3 other different colors including blue, red and purple.

Gold Bodhi Leaf Print Lokta Paper - $4.40/sheet
available at Paper Mojo.com

Are your upcoming party or wedding shower favors looking a bit humdrum? You might be able to spice them up a bit by packaging them in these Jadeite Take-Out Boxes from Paper Source, one of my favorite online places to search for cool paper ideas.

Instead of the usual candies wrapped in plastic wrap with ribbon, you could use these printable giftboxes that resemble takeout boxes from Chinese restaurants to package up your goodies. They actually come in a ton of different flavors, er, colors - I saw over 30 when I was browsing.

Continue reading “Jadeite Take-Out Boxes” …

This stationery set definitely digs down into the jungle of childhood memories for a lot of us. It’s a whimsical writing set based on Maurice Sendak’s “Where The Wild Things Are”.

It comes with colorful paper/envelopes and postcards depicting some of Sendak’s Wild Thing characters. You get 12 writing sheets with matching envelopes in 3 colors as well as 9 postcards. This was actually published by Peaceable Kingdom Press in 2004, and not Chronicle Books who I thought handled pretty much all of these sets. The whole set also comes in a cool reusable zipper pouch.

If you end up liking this set, they also sell Notecard Portfolios and Christmas Cards featuring Where The Wild Things Are.

Where The Wild Things Are Stationery Set - $9.95
available at Amazon.com

I found these rather nice cards from Imaginary Friends the other day while browsing through the Elsewares site. I didn’t find a website for the Imaginary Friends but their page on Elsewares says that they’re a Chicago / NY based studio of friends who create fun designs.

I liked these “Rare Animals” cards which featured elegant illustrations of endangered animals that are hand printed on creme paper. The swirling lines and curlicues surrounding the animal illustrations are very nice, and the one pictured of a deer (antelope, ibex?) really reminds me of Miyazaki’s animated film Princess Mononoke.

The cards are blank and come in sets of 8 with envelopes. they measure about 4 inches by 5 1/2 which is a nice size for short notes.

Rare Animals Cardset from Imaginary Friends
$22 at Elsewares

I was over on the BellaOnline network the other day and found this interesting article on Making Beads out of Paper by Kim M. Bayne. This seems like a great way to recycle your old paper and make a fun project out of it at the same time.

The author talked about two of her relatives who demonstrated how they made beads by basically rolling up small strips of paper around toothpicks, gluing them shut, and then sealing the beads with an acrylic spray. The picture at left is one of their finished necklaces using these paper beads. The article goes through the process step by step with pictures. I have to say this is a really ingenious use of what might otherwise be paper simply thrown into the waste can… I might give this a try one day this summer!

I know that Joann always has monthly sweepstakes running, but I thought I’d just mention the one they’re holding for this July because it involves paper. Scrapbooking, to be precise. You can sign up for a chance to win a $1000 Scrapbooking Collection which is certainly nothing to sneeze about. The contest is co-sponsored by Ellison Design and Me & My Big Ideas. Visit their sweepstakes page below for more details on the contest.

$1000 Scrapbooking Collection - July 2006