Origami Leaf Card

The same way grass is greener on the other side of the fence, paper shops on the opposite side of the country look extra enticing to me. Case in point, Paper Zone, a small chain of stores in Oregon and Washington. I'd love to visit in person, but meanwhile, I'm following Paper Zone's blog that features all sorts of paper crafting ideas.

In celebration of a new line of two-sided origami paper, store employee Malyse posted a tutorial for these gorgeous autumn leaf cards. More like a tri-fold letter than a card, they're honestly not difficult to make - and you can trust origami-challenged me when I say that.

I gave this cherry blossom card to my sister for her birthday and used Malyse's instructions to create a vellum enclosure. I liked the way the Asian-inspired card design was complemented by the leaf.

A little tip - make the accordion folds quite close together as Malyse did, for the prettiest result.

Studio 2 & 3

Perhaps you remember the striking quilled designs of Jitesh Patel. He and 3D designer Alex Hammond have launched Studio 2 & 3, a creative partnership in which they combine "delicate 2D illustration with the power and flexibility of digital 3D."

I love the way their modern designs are helping to firmly plant quilling as an art form of the 21st century. Some examples of their collaboration:

A pitch for a Burnett’s Vodkas & Gin campaign highlights the company's various vodka flavorings.

An Explore magazine cover Studio 2 & 3 designed for Orange (France Telecom). It debuts the first smartphone with a dedicated Facebook button.

This floral project, Daisy, was an experiment with bright colors and the combination of text and images. Although I love the colors and floral design, I have to say the flowers overpower the lettering - it's still gorgeous though.

In this piece, called Light, the blue outlined letters definitely pop from the sweeping white scrolls.

Watching Jitesh and Alex create a design would be fascinating. I'm curious as to how much of the designs are first quilled by hand, but whether done traditionally or digitally, it's a painstaking process with beautiful results.

Studio 2 & 3's new blog.

Halloween Bat Card

Is it really time to start thinking about Halloween? Eek! Not that that particular day is about anything other than edible treats - take it from Seinfeld... "It's all about the candy!" - but just in case you plan to send a card or decorate a scrapbook layout, here's a quilled bat I designed for the September issue of CardMaker Magazine. Just four coils... you could make a whole colony in no time.... shudder.

Although I can't share the pattern details (thanks for understanding), I can tell you that the spider web background paper is a free digital download from Canon Creative Park. I love that site... check out the zillions of stationery, card, and other paper ideas, all just a quick download away.

Oh, and I used Chiller font for the spooky lettering up top and Showcard Gothic for Happy Halloween. I can play around with font choices for hours - somebody stop me!

Leaf Silhouette Portrait

Not paper per se, but still I must share this novel silhouette portrait by artist Jenny Lee Fowler, who primarily does traditional paper cuttings. As transient as summer into autumn, there's no guarantee a custom leaf cutting will retain its original appearance, but then isn't that the way with all art?

Jenny says it best... "Somehow, it is easy to forget how ephemeral paper is, but a leaf renders the precious and precarious loud and clear."

Do you see the shape the veins make? I didn't notice that at first!

Newsflash - sort of - regarding Edinburgh's Mysterious Book Sculptures! It seems a retired librarian purchased an altered book for his art student son from the incognito artist before similar sculptures began appearing in bookish places around the city. He knows who the artist is, but isn't saying. By the way, if you click the link to read the newspaper article, the poll result was, "No, we don't want to know" [who the artist is], but something tells me we've definitely not heard the last of this puzzle. (update via Chrisdonia)

Have a great weekend and perhaps take a moment to enter the PhotoWeights giveaway if you haven't already - it's a good one!

Glass PhotoWeights Giveaway

***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries. Scroll down to see who won!***

I've long been an admirer of decorative glass paperweights and always wondered how on earth do such perfect swirls of color and intricate shapes wind up inside the molten orbs?! I live fairly close to Wheaton Arts in southern New Jersey, an area which has been a glassmaking hub since the late 1700s. A visit to the fascinating Museum of American Glass, glassblowing studio, and paperweight shop answered many of my questions. So sorry for the tease, but paperweight making isn't a process that can easily be described here; however, I do have a peace offering that I hope you'll like... read on!

I gave several of my relatives a PhotoWeight just like this one for Christmas a few years ago. During my counted cross stitch addiction phase, I was thrilled to discover the PhotoWeight company because their paperweight kits provided me the perfect way to combine my love of stitching and paperweights.

You see, each clear glass weight has a beveled area on the underside for displaying and preserving so many things. Photographs, mini-paintings, collections of tiny seashells, pressed flowers, origami butterflies... these are just a few ways to personalize a PhotoWeight, not to mention it's the perfect housing for quilling! Even my folded roses fit inside this domed PhotoWeight.

I love the way each paperweight comes packaged as a complete do-it-yourself kit that includes a pre-cut, self-adhesive mounting board, velvet bottom pad, and easy-to-follow instructions. There are so many nice shapes and sizes to choose from too - oval, rectangle, round, domed round, scalloped, heart, and octagonal. And since glass is quite heavy, one will truly hold down a stack of papers should a gust of wind blow across your desk.

For some reason I gave this little hummingbird a strange beak - pleading artistic license.

Susan Eastin, who founded PhotoWeights in 2001, has generously offered to send a PhotoWeight kit of choice to three commenters worldwide. Be sure to include your email address within your comment if you don't have a blog or website where your address is readily available. You may earn one extra entry by liking All Things Paper on Facebook. Tell me if you've done this within your comment or as a separate one.

Giveaway will close at the end of Tuesday, September 27th. The three winners will be announced on this post and on the All Things Paper Facebook page the next day. Good luck!

Please note: I have not received compensation in any form from PhotoWeights in exchange for doing this giveaway.

Congratulations to Traci, Suganthi, and Esther, whose numbers were selected by Random.org! Each winner will receive a PhotoWeights kit of her choice. Many thanks for all of the gracious comments, everyone. I've enjoyed keeping a running list, adding in the Facebook mentions as they rolled in. Even if you didn't win this time, take heart - there will be another giveaway coming up in the near future.

TP Tube Wall Art

If you filed away the idea of making cardboard wall decor after seeing Suzy Myers' surprising faux iron scrollwork, now is probably the time to be saving up a supply of toilet paper tubes. I noticed a commercial for the Scott's Naturals tube-free variety a few nights ago, and realized cardboard rolls may soon be a thing of the past. The ad is a wonder of tp roll skyscrapers and such... wish I could share it with you here, but alas, no one has posted it on YouTube yet. (But it seems even tp rolls can stir up controversy, as you'll see in this video!)

Leaving that behind, I didn't have to look far to find lots of inspiring cardboard tube decorating ideas.

Here's a terrific family tree idea and tutorial by a young mom who blogs from Alaska at No Dime Design. Inspired by an image in a Bed Bath and Beyond circular, she used paper towel/tp rolls to shape branches and leaves.

This pretty wreath tutorial is from Creative Jewish Mom, Sara Rivka.

From The How-To Gal, turquoise wall art that she rightly calls trash to treasure.

Jamie from See You There designed this classy wreath that's dressed for the holidays with waxed paper flowers, gold balls, and grosgrain ribbon.

The full tutorial (including how to make the flowers) is on her blog along with this clever idea for a rustic package adornment.

I wish this picture was clearer, but am sure you can still make out the gorgeous medallion. Created by Karen at Tibble Fork, it's a gigantic pièce de résistance!

Next post will be a giveaway that has me very excited. I have a feeling it will get your holiday gift-making wheels turning... :)

Elly MacKay - Theater Clouds

Canadian paper artist, Elly MacKay creates and photographs imaginative little worlds that capture the essence of childhood dreams.

Somewhere Between

She cuts and inks tiny objects from YUPO and Mylar (okay, neither is true paper, but close enough). Elly then layers a parchment background inside a miniature theater constructed by her cabinetmaker husband, and wires the colored bits in place. Lights and filters shape an ethereal sense of wonderment.

Follow along with Elly on her blog and see her fascinating process.

Gift Wrapping with Quilling Paper

I've always loved to wrap gifts, even when the item doesn't really require packaging. Case in point... a store or restaurant gift card. I'd be very surprised if I'm the first person to think of this idea, but dressing up a little plastic rectangle makes it a lot more festive and present-like... not to mention less likely to be overlooked in a stack of presents at a wild and crazy party... because what's a party without wild craziness? I kid.

Quick and easy... score and fold cardstock around the gift card (and menu, in this case), close it with a sticker (kindly provided by the restaurant, yay), tape a few strips of color-coordinated quilling paper all around, and finish it off with a bow.

Another idea... this loopy fringed flower reminds me of a gerbera daisy and takes the place of a bow. I used a sheet of handpainted TerraSkin to make it, but any medium weight paper or light cardstock also works well. Staying in all-paper mode, I taped a few strips of quilling paper on the diagonal instead of ribbon.

The complete how-to is on Craftzine.

Edinburgh's Mysterious Book Sculptures

Ohhh, who would have guessed there's an intriguing mystery taking place in the world of paper art?!

While perusing the blog Blue Velvet Chair, I noticed a comment about an artist who has been surreptitiously depositing intricate book sculptures in literary locations around the capital city of Scotland since March.

The Scottish Poetry Library was the first recipient - a thoughtfully constructed paper tree was left on a table, addressed to the library's Twitter name. Alongside the tree were two golden egg halves, covered and filled with phrases from the poem "A Trace of Wings" by Edwin Morgan, along with a neatly written tag:

"It started with your name @byleaveswelive and became a tree.… ... We know that a library is so much more than a building full of books… a book is so much more than pages full of words.… This is for you in support of libraries, books, words, ideas….. a gesture (poetic maybe?)"

The elusive creator remained anonymous despite a good bit of news coverage.

Several months later, another discovery... this time The National Library of Scotland received a gramophone and coffin sculpture constructed from the book Exit Music by Ian Rankin, UK's bestselling crime author. Again, a Twitter address on a handwritten tag that read, "For @natlibscot - A gift in support of libraries, books, words, ideas... (& against their exit)"

In June a sculpture was left at Filmhouse, an indie film cinema. It's a theater scene with the audience seated on a stack of books, viewing men on horses emerging from the movie screen. This tag message supports libraries and all things *magic*. I might mention that one of the audience members is wearing a tiny photo of Ian Rankin's face.

In early July, the staff at The Scottish Storytelling Centre came upon a dragon nesting in a window, carved from an Ian Rankin novel. A message was attached:

For @scotstorycenter - A gift in support of libraries, books, works, ideas..... Once upon a time there was a book and in the book was a nest and in the nest was an egg and in the egg was a dragon and in the dragon was a story.....

Show of hands... anyone else getting chills from all of this amazing creativity?

In August, two more sculptures appeared on the very same day at the bustling Edinburgh International Book Festival, one at the Bookshop and another at UNESCO Edinburgh City of Literature. Once again the mystifying artist managed to slip in and out unnoticed.

The most recent discovery on August 30 at the Central Lending Library on George IV Bridge is a paper magnifying glass balanced on a book. The tag references poet Edwin Morgan as did the first sculpture, and the message is a play on the high cost of precious literature.

I'll be keeping an eye on this fascinating puzzle via photographer Chris Scott's blog, and wonder if we'll ever know the identity of the elusive artist. Meanwhile, plans are being made in Edinburgh to bring all seven sculptures together... that's one exhibit I would love to see!

Enjoy this STV News segment.
All images by photographer Chrisdonia (@chrisdonia on Twitter)

Update - September 23, 2011:
Newsflash - sort of - It seems a retired librarian purchased an altered book for his art student son from the incognito artist before similar sculptures began appearing in bookish places around the city. He knows who the artist is, but isn't saying. By the way, if you click the link to read the newspaper article, the poll result was, "No, we don't want to know" [who the artist is], but something tells me we've definitely not heard the last of this puzzle. (via Chrisdonia)

Mr Yen - Paper Cutting

Jonathan Chapman, aka Mr Yen, is a young graphic designer in England who found himself so drawn to the art of paper cutting that he taught himself and has spent years passionately honing his skill.

Falling Feathers

Last weekend I enjoyed paging through his stylish, new catalogue. The carefully curated collection - personalized wedding designs, silhouettes, wall decor, and stationery items - are so beautifully photographed. I hope you'll have time for a browse.

Jonathan and I are comrades on Twitter where I'm constantly impressed by the kind spirited nature of his tweets. I asked him where the name Mr Yen originated... "I've been heavily influenced and inspired by Japanese style, culture and design - which is where the "Yen" bit comes from and the "Mr" was added as I thought it sounded nice, friendly and approachable."

So there you have it - proof of what I was saying about his kind nature.... you really can get a good sense of a person just by following their 140 character tweets!

Mr Yen is also on Etsy.

Quilled Butterfly PDF Giveaway

***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries. Scroll down to see who won!***

First off, I want to thank the participants in the discussion that's taking place in the comments section of Monday's digital quilling post. I had a feeling there would be lots of interesting ways of looking at the topic... well worth a read if you have a moment.

Today we'll talk quilling again - this time it's traditional style, but with a twist!

Cecelia Louie of Crafting Creatures is the designer of this pretty monarch. You might remember Cecelia from a previous post in which I featured her unique "less is more" style of quilling.

There's such an attractive spaciousness in Cecelia's work. It's very easy to wind up with a cluttered look due to randomly adding quilled coils here and there, but her designs never seem to cross the line.

Cecelia has written a PDF butterfly tutorial, available in her Etsy shop, that features step-by-step instructions. A professional graphic designer, she's drawn diagrams showing exactly where to glue strips of specific lengths and in what order... I can't imagine a better way to gain quilling confidence.

What could make this information even better? Receiving a free copy of Cecelia's tutorial directly in your inbox, of course!

Three lucky commenters from anywhere in the universe will be selected by Random.org. Be sure to include your email address within your comment if you don't have a blog or website where your address is readily available.

Giveaway will close at the end of Monday, September 12th and the winners will be announced on this post and the All Things Paper Facebook page the next day.

Please note: I have not received compensation from Cecelia in exchange for doing this feature post. I simply admire her work and am always happy to promote learning to quill.

Congratulations to #7 Kelly, #21 Mariel Sarah, and #63 Matxalen, whose numbers were selected by Random.org! Each winner will receive the butterfly tutorial via email from Cecelia who wants all of you to know how much she enjoyed your comments. More and more people are discovering quilling every day and it's wonderful to see the enthusiasm. If you weren't a winner, but are interested in improving your skills, perhaps take a moment to visit Cecelia's Etsy shop where she sells this PDF file and a couple of others.

Welcome New Advertisers

Allow me to slip an extra post into this week's schedule to welcome All Things Paper's newest sponsors. They're such a talented group of paper artists and I'm delighted to have each one on board.

Sarah Shultz of The Sweet Unfolding creates stylish personalized note cards, art prints, banners, and party invitations. Her poppies, stripes, and polka dots spoke to me the moment I visited her bright and cheerful shop. Check out Sarah's ad for a special offer that's just for All Things Paper readers.

You might remember the clever shop, Colorstory Designs, from a feature post last spring. Amy Gibson and Andrea Read have come up with a wonderful collection of trendy home decor items, all made with magazine pages. A frame like this one would be the perfect present for someone who shares Amy and Andrea's sensibility of thoughtful recycling.

Cheryl Scanks of cards by cheryl is an unstoppable force when it comes to designing quilled cards that are apropos for so many occasions. Then there's her popular quilled nativity. She makes perfect little sheep, camels, donkeys from rolled paper, and of course all the rest of the nativity participants too.

Elod Beregszaszi's POPUPology is another site I enjoyed featuring recently. Elod skillfully creates incredible hand cut pop-up cards, bookmarks, and origamic architecture works that would be ideal gifts for any paper connoisseur.

Last but not least is Sena Spearman's shop, Paper Me Jewels. In addition to her eye-catching jewelry, (I'm crazy about this Oriental Bloom necklace) Sena recently launched a brand new line of holiday ornaments... each beautiful orb is shaped from layers and layers of paper she paints by hand.

Digital Quilling

Well, well, well... I'd been wondering if it's possible to quill digitally. A friend recently sent me a link that proves indeed it is provided you possess the same mad skillz as the talented team at The Observatory, Creative Communications. An interactive agency in the Channel Islands, it handles marketing, design, and technical aspects of business growth for clients.

The Observatory designers originally intended artwork created for the Artists Directory of the Jersey Arts Trust to be true paper quilling, but a speedier approach had to be put into play to meet a deadline.

To best describe their impressive process, I'll loosely borrow The Observatory's technical lingo: The visuals were drawn up as a series of bezier curves which were then stylized into the typography. Once the Illustrator files were complete, 3D magic was worked in Cinema 4d.

Honestly, as an avid paper quiller I don't have a problem with a computer-generated method. There's plenty of room for both types in this world. We're seeing quilled designs quite regularly in magazines, ads, and even as artwork on gift cards. (Target stores, I'm thinking of you.)

Don't get me wrong... most of the professionally published quilled designs to date have been photographs of actual rolled paper, but some are suspect. That's right... it can be difficult to tell the difference. Either way, I think it's a huge plus that more and more people are being exposed to quilling, and in turn are questioning, "Hey, what is that?!"

How do you feel about digital quilling - are you cool with the idea or aghast?

Altered Book Sculptures - Kenjio

Just when I think I've seen everything imaginable in the realm of altered books...

Thinker under Tree

Daniel Lai is a Chinese artist who grew up in Malaysia and now resides in Tennessee. He creates his intriguing art pieces during study breaks... Daniel is currently working toward a Ph.D. in Criminology, and has degrees in Linguistics and Art Studies/Art History as well.

A veritable army of cleverly positioned clay Thinkers can be seen in Daniel's Etsy shop, Kenjio. He describes the sculptures as a "reflection of the contemplation of new knowledge." Something tells me Daniel is speaking from personal experience considering his degree interests!

If you have a moment, I think you'll enjoy this short video in which he explains his process and demonstrates altering a book.