PaperLove bloghop

My love for paper runs deep! My heart beats a little faster, my mind starts racing and I get a little giddy. All the colour, texture, pattern and weight is enough to make me a little speechless.

The opportunities with paper are endless. It is for this reason alone that I have become a bit of a paper hoarder. I have stacks upon stacks of different types of paper in my studio ~ old envelopes, cardboard, kraft paper, handmade paper,wallpaper, old magazines,tissue paper,  stationery, maps, and even some good old scrap- booking paper. It has been bought from far away places and travelled the world and it has also been found dumpster diving in my very own community. Interesting paper is everywhere!

floral papercuts for handmade business cards

Paper can be stamped, glued, painted, sprayed, crumpled,cut and of course, written one. Oddly enough, I often forget about the good old traditional method of writing on paper. I am usually to busy ripping it up and gluing it down.

I love to be inspired by my paper collection. I can admit to you, because I know you will understand,  I often sit surrounded by my papers. I put them into pretty piles playing with colour and texture. I imagine them in my art journal or all collaged up onto wall art. I imagine all the different textures that can be made in my paintings with them or how they will look with a transparent dab of paint – a glimpse of their original state peeking through. It makes me want to pull out all my papers right now and get working!

More mood boards focused around scraps of paper. I love the natural feel of paper~ it can be mixed with so many other types of medium such as wood, bamboo,birchbark, and even material, yet still keep its natural feel.

papertags,birchbark,cardboard,old packaging, paint chips, wallpaper,rice paper

Below is one of my “collage everyday” pieces. I hope to continue on with this project again one day. I had fun creating daily collages based around the woodland theme. It’s a great way to put all your paper scraps to good use.

wallpaper,handmade paper,tissue paper,ink and thread

And, of course, we can’t forget the lovely feel of a good, old fashioned dip pen and ink on paper. It almost inspires me to sit down and write a letter , unfortunately, I have a feeling I   would make more of a mess than anything else.,

Guess who else loves paper around our household? Yup~ Cariboo. He wanted to be part of our paper love bloghop today so here he is. Any paper that hits the ground is fair game in his eyes.

The PaperLove Blog Hop is a celebration of all things paper! Follow the links to discover more bloggers who love paper and use it to inspire and delight. And if you want to explore a whole world of paper, and stretch your paper passion further with a host of creative projects, why not join the innovative new online course PaperLove (starts March 31). Led by book artist Rachel Hazell, PaperLove is a five week creative adventure for paper lovers. Find out more here.

Come visit the other paper lovers in our bloghop today. I am sure you will find loads of inspiration!

Participant list

Majo Bautista / Tona Bell / Louise Best / Cathy Bluteau / Jennifer Bomgardner / Giova Brusa / Lindsay Buck / Beka Buckley / Joanna Caskie / Jonathan Chapman (Mr Yen) / Halle Cisco / Sarah Clare / Cathryn Clarge / Dawn Clarkson / Rhiannon Connelly / Jenny D’Fuego / Molly Dhiman / Ian Dudley / Ayisatu Emore / Akmal Farid / Monika Forsberg / Claire Fritz-Domeney / Louise Gale / Chrissy Gaskell / Julie Hamilton / Emma Hawman / Rachel Hazell / Holly Helgeson / Claudine Hellmuth / Kim Henkel / Sarah Hoffman / Joanne Hus / Paula Joerling / Beth Kempton / Julie Kirk / Eos Koch / Katie LaClair / Kristy Lankford / Michelle Manolov / Doreen Marts / Rosie Martinez-Dekker / Tori Mears / Maria Mederios / Lise Meijer / Debbie Miller / MaryJane Mitchell / Suzy Naidoo / Grace Noel / Hannah Nunn / Camilla Olsson / Jo Packham / Rachelle Panagarry / Monette Pangan / Melanie Paul / Nicole Piar / Jen Pitta / Liz Plummer / Julie Reed / Michelle Reynolds / Lisa Rivas / Angee Robertson / Natalie Ryan / Aisling Ryan / Elisabet Sapena / Kyrrha Sevco / Jamie Sprague / Elizabeth Steele / Terri Stephens / Juniper Stokes / Mary Tanana / Maike Thoma / Linda Tieu / Gabrielle Treanor / Tammy Tutterow / Deborah Velasquez / Jordan Vinograd Kim / Cat Whipple / Brooke Witt / Katie Wood / Amelia Woodbridge

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Inspired by Papercut Art

I am happy to announce that my large-scale papercut art is almost done! 19″ by 25″.

I am really happy with it. I can see myself using alot of the shapes and patterns in my surface patterns.That’s next weeks post:)

I am still undecided on my finishing touches. There is quite a bit of detailed cutting I can do.I am debating whether to leave the birds as white space or more detailed. I am also considering leaving more white space around the edges.I think I will for now until I decide how to frame this. I quite like the white space leading into the intricate cuts.

I have found this great new paper by  Canson Studio called Mi- Tientes Touch. It’s beautifully textured pastel paper and comes in a great palette of colors, perfect for placing behind  papercut art.

My next step is to find a unique way to frame or display this. I am going to have to protect the paper so thinking a plexiglass type box. However, I would also like it to be very organic, so thinking wood and airplane wire. Hmmm…a visit to Pinterest may be in order. I know I will find some inspiration there. Any suggestions?

Thank you for all your kind words and encouragement on Facebook when I posted this on my page. I always appreciate the support and encouragement I find there.
March break begins today.Yay! We woke up to 30 com of snow yesterday! Just when you think it’s the beginning of the end, it all starts again.Whistler is hopping!

Enjoy your weekend!

Inspired by creative scissorhands

Life continues to be very happy here in sunny, Whistler, B.C. Canada. We dream of snow,but instead have been given many beautiful sunny days for this time of the year.No complaints, the skiing is still good, but  do I dare think that winter is almost over?
I continue to juggle an endless stream of fun loving guests,work on “my brand” and website and my goal to create a pattern a day.I am very happy to say that I am (almost) accomplishing it all! Big pat on the back.

I am also managing to find time a bit of time to papercut.

I have been meaning to post about my new found love for papercutting for some time now. The honeymoon period has worn off and I am now fully committed to it. I find it the perfect escape from the computer. I also love that I can sit,chat and have a glass of wine all while papercutting. No injuries yet.

I have not ventured into the very small and intricate form of papercutting yet. A trip to the city and definitely a smaller blade may help me on my way.

I have done a bit of research on the web and have found some beautiful  work that I would like to share with you.

I absolutely love this piece by Peter Callesen. He has transformed a flat piece of paper into a dimensional piece of work with the actual papercut expanding into the outlying space. I am very intrigued by this.I love the fragility of it.

Jeannette Kuvin Oren is extremely talented and,if I might say, a bit artistically afflicted.Her work ranges from mosaics and stained glass to wall hangings  and graphic design. Oh, and she likes to cut paper too!

I feel like I should do a separate blog post on the next artist Elsa Mora.She has created  a wonderful website, art is a way~about imagination and creativity in the spirit of personal growth and collective wellness.

It is full of all sorts of wonderful.A visual treat. Have a look~ Art is a way

Elsa will be in Portland this summer teaching a three day workshop with ACE camps. I have my eye on it.

Elsa, Portland, Ace camps and papercutting ~ it all sounds pretty spectacular.

I would love to discover some more artists working with this medium so if you know of any, please share!

Have a sweet, artfully inspired, week.

Inspired by~the fine art of procrastination {papercutting}

Would someone please come over and do all of my christmas baking? I dont know what has prompted me to start a new project in the final days before christmas. I swear I had very good intentions christmas shopping the other day, but then I came across this.

Still trying to figure out how I ended up in the craft section – no cranberries there!

Well, what was I suppose to do ~ with my new found love for papercutting, I had to throw it in the cart.I justified it by deciding I would make some pretty, homemade card sets to give out for Christmas. It’s December 20th.

“Tis the season to procrastinate! Would love to hear how you procrastinate during this busy, holiday season?

Enjoy your holidays!

Inspired by ~ an attempt at papercutting

I am not sure where the urge to try this new craft came from. I have a feeling it was probably inspired by one of my favorite paper magazines  Paper Runway from Issuu.
Intrigued, I thought how hard can it possibly be?

Some questions are better left unanswered.

With a pencil, some sturdy cardstock and my trusty, very sharp, cutterbee I went to it.

Some thoughts as I sat there, knife in hand…

One wrong move and its time to start again

I should have stuck with straight lines for my first attempt

This has the potential to be quite dangerous ~ do I even have any band aids in the house?

Why am I holding my breath?

Ok, I have to admit, many thoughts of being a surgeon went through my head. And of course with those thoughts came many more questioning the importance of my life endeavour as I sat cutting out pretty flowers.( This is where you come in and leave me a comment telling me how inspired you are by my creative offerings….)

Lessons learned:

The heavier the cardstock, the better. Flimsy paper just doesn’t work here.

Cutting board should be on a slippery surface so rather than moving your hand around object, you move the entire board. This goes without saying  – straight lines are easier than curved.

I know there must be proper paper cutting tools out there, but I am scared to look. I have enough crafts on the go.

Well you have probably guessed where this is going. That’s right~ onto my next efuto!  I just might  be sending it your way.

These envelopes have become my new journal pages. A place to try new techniques, play with color and experiment ~ small scale.The beauty of these is that I get to share them with others.  I am enjoying the enthusiastic response from the recipients.

Last weeks efutos were sent out to Emily Cline, Debbie Smith and Dawn Clarkson

Thanks to everyone who left a comment! Feel free to leave another because you just never know when an efuto may be coming your way!

Enjoy the holidays!