I'm thrilled to host this paper jewelry gift card giveaway [ended - scroll down to see who won] for Dittany Rose of Cambridge, England as I'm such a fan of her glossy paper earrings, necklaces, brooches, and cuff links.... it makes me happy to see the vivid colors and modern styles. She creates eye-catching pieces that bring a moment of joy to all who notice them... and notice them, they will!

 Anemone Drop Earrings
Dittany is one busy jewelry artisan with a beautiful website where you can shop her newest designs, plus she stocks a dozen craft galleries in the UK, sells in person at craft fairs (watch for updates on Instagram, @dittanyrose), and manages an Etsy shop. Oh, and she writes such interesting blog posts too! Recent topics include the backstory of paper and is the paper she uses eco-friendly?

Soma Pendants are Dittany's newest design -  your choice of shiny or oxidized sterling silver
Dittany, tell us about your jewelry and how you got started making it.

I began m…

Attention all petrolheads or paper crafters who know one! Florian Weber of Paperlegend is a real-life car designer who has combined two passions - cars and creativity - via enticing paper crafting kits for those who love iconic automobiles.


His Paperlegend Kickstarter project, Build Your Dream Car, features pre-cut, pre-creased, ready-to-assemble legendary cars in a range of rich metallic colors.


If you love to give handmade gifts and have a car enthusiast in your life, here's a chance to build a paper car for him or her that will be ready to display in their home or garage.


Of course, if you're a car buff yourself, order a kit now to have on hand for crafting sessions during quiet winter evenings.


Model choices include this legendary Whale Tail, inspired by the Porsche 935 Mobydick, as well as a Wild Horse, Rally Legend, Formula Legend, and Gelandewagen Verteidiger.


Florian has beautifully captured the details of each model and transferred them to paper, ready for you to …

It was great to catch up with paper artist Ioana Stoian recently and to hear about her latest project, an adorable board book with a thoughtful message for both children and adults, Always Be You. This sturdy book with captivating images cut from Ioana's own handmade paper by illustrator Dawn Cardona contains a rhyming message that expresses acceptance of each and every child.


Ioana was previously featured here during the launch of her first book, Origami for All. Since that time, she became fascinated with handmade paper and began making it to use in all of her work. She also married Eric Gjerde, a familiar name in the paper world, as he is an origami artist and author too. They now have a two year old son.

Ioana, tell us about the origins of this book.

One evening I sat down to write a letter to my son... I wrote it as a poem and the next day decided to turn it into a book for young children. Creating the book has very much been the same as I create artwork - listen to my …

I was reminded of the clever recycled paper art Amy Gibson of Colorstory Designs in Tulsa, Oklahoma creates when I came across her vivid feed on Instagram. I first featured her Etsy shop in 2011 and all these years later, Amy continues to think up fresh and appealing ideas for upcycling glossy magazine pages.


Back then she collaborated with her best friend... they had met in 2007 while working for a Seattle architecture firm and soon launched their green business as a way of being creative and having fun together. A few years later the friend moved away to pursue a different job, but their friendship continues.


Amy has an eye for design, often selecting the most colorful pages and using them in a multitude of ways to decorate picture frames and mirrors, and make scenic wall art. Despite a wide range of styles, the heart of each piece is true to the shop's original mission... the reuse of simple paper as modern home decor.



While scrolling through the Colorstory Designs shop whe…

As one who truly enjoys wrapping presents, I'm already looking forward to the holidays because I'll be dressing the gifts I give in papers from Tuttle Publishing. Who knew that in addition to publishing a range of how-to art and craft books, Tuttle curates themed wrapping paper collections!

It's not quite the stretch it seems because Tuttle also sells high quality origami paper to go along with their many origami books. And then there's the fun fact that each gift wrap collection is actually packaged to look very much like a book.


The sheets are bound into a sturdy cover with perforations along the interior edge so they can be kept in pristine condition, yet they easily detach one by one when ready to use. I recommend taking your time to avoid tears (as in rips, hopefully not the crying kind, ha), but it is indeed doable.


The papers in the two collections I was sent, Red and Gold and Rainbow Watercolors, are an ideal weight for wrapping... not so heavy that it'…