Maps Part II

Oh the love affair with maps continues! We made some fun map poppies. Visualize a room filled with map bouquets for the the couple who loves to travel!

 We used the flower pop up design for these poppies (posted in an earlier blog post)

 Then we lined envelopes with maps which were were gaga over! We letterpressed a vintage ornament on sumptuous lettra paper and used hemisphere maps to line moss and gavel envelopes.

 For a more colorful pop, we took vintage map pages and line a variety of colored envelopes. We all would be delighted to get mail that looks like this!

To make these handmade journals, we used the Americas, Globes and Hemispheres maps. At 3.25 x 5.5 inches, they are perfect for taking on a trip to record your journey.

While we didn't make these soft sided mini notebooks, we are crazy about them and the set of 3 for 10 bucks is a great deal!

Spinning Paper!

My pal Lisa is so creative! She's be itching to try her hand at spinning paper into yarn.

 She got some of our lokta wax batik paper and gave it a whirl! She first cut the paper into strips and said it spun pretty easily. Look how wonderful it turned out!

She says it remained pliable and flexible when it dried. So now she can knit a paper garment or hat! Lisa is a fabulous artist and fiber spinner. You can see more at her site: http://www.lisatakata.etsy.com/

New Italian Collage Papers - Gorgeous!

I love to make my own collages but I also enjoy papers that are already collaged! These new papers from Italy are just fabulous. The first one is musical and this paper just sings!

I love how they combine vintage images and calligraphy. Think of the delightful recital invites this paper would make!

Of course we are nuts about letters, lettering and anything with typography! How cool would a handmade journal look with this paper? Awesome!

I love fashion and the use of gold on this paper is really super. Where is Project Runway?? Think of the fun cards this paper would make.

This travel paper is exotic and dreamy! Great paper for wrapping travel gifts! Our next trip is to....Idaho...not exactly exotic but a gal can dream!

Best of the Valley 2010 - Best Paper Store!

We were thrilled to find out that Phoenix Magazine named The Paper Studio as best Paper Store 2010! Yippee!! Here's part of the write up:

Scrapbookers and stationery junkies what's your paper pleasure? Swirling batik? Intricate Japanese? Unique handmade? No matter the choice, The Paper Studio surely will have it. This online paper shop calls Tempe home...

To celebrate, we are having a sale! SAVE 15% off your order of $35. At checkout in the shopping cart, use coupon code: best2010  (then remember to hit recalculate)

Good through Labor Day. In-stock items only. Does not apply to prior orders or gift certificates.

Time for Holiday Cards!

Tis the season for holiday cards! I did two segments for the local NBC television station on holiday cards--at 5:40 am and 6:40 am. I had to get up at 4:00 o'clock in the morning! I NEVER get up that early unless I have to catch a plane. Bleary eyed and all, Gary and I trotted over to Phoenix. The positive thing was--there was no traffic! Gotta admire the news anchor Tram Mai from channel 12--she is so delightful and nice even that early in the morning.

I love handmade holiday cards. I love to get them in the mail. It's the first thing I open and always the ones I keep. When I was a kid in our local 4-H group, we made piles of them every year for the local nursing homes. I have really fond memories of drawing, gluing glittering & creating the cards and distributing them to the residents. Creating cards is a fun activity to do with your family or friends.

However, some folks get all stressed out about cardmaking. Here are some suggestions to keep in mind to reduce your stress:

1. The cards do not have to be perfect (you'll make yourself crazy). It's great to see the artist's hand in the finished work.

2. You don't have to give everyone on your list a handmade card. Give them to the people who will appreciate them!

3. You don't have to do all unique cards. Create something that resonates with you and make several of the same style.

4. You don't have to create cards from scratch. You could use a kit as a starting point. The cards on the left are from a Basic Grey Cardmaking Class Kit. The fun thing about a kit is that you get loads of materials to work with and instructions. I think of instructions more as guidelines since I always seem to veer off the path of doing it by the book. You can make the cards according to your own style. Plus, you have lots of left over materials to make more stuff!

5. Use fun materials in making holiday cards. Wrapping paper is a great element. There are so many styles and colors and it is readily available. These cards use wrapping paper and ribbon as a decorative element on pocket cards. Cards don't have to be just the traditional folded card so think outside the box!

You can also use the leftover paper to create your own gift tags! I prefer handmade gift tags over the mass-produced tags any day!

6. You could take a class and get all your cards done at once! Our holiday letterpress card class is one of our most popular classes. At The Paper Studio, we forage through our array of vintage images (called cuts) and set them up in our presses so participants can make 20 cards with 4 different motifs. Here's a sample of the cards the class made last year. We have different images selected for this year!

The class includes everything you need to leave with 4 sets of letterpress cards. This year we'll also be inking up some wood type so folks can bring a tee-shirt to print. Think of a word that describes your favorite person, print the shirt and give them the shirt as a present.

Happy Creating!

Star De Luna Paper Artist

I just loaded our fall classes online. Yippee! Take a peek!

We are excited that Star DeLuna will be teaching pendant and cardmaking classes with us this fall. Star has been creating art locally for many years. She dabbles in many different art mediums from photography to handmade paper art. Star hand makes delicate and ornate paper art pendants that are absolutely amazing!! She creates highly detailed miniature scenes with owls, flowers and cupcakes, among other whimsical designs. Making greeting cards for all occasions is also one of her passions. Each creation has hand drawn and cut designs. An array of different textured papers and punches are used.

You can find her original HoshiPaperArt pendants for purchase at Conspire and at hoshipaperart.etsy.com.

Fran Rees in Nov/Dec Somerset Studios Magazine

The Paper Studio congratulates Fran Rees for publication of her artwork and article in the current copy of Somerset Studio Magazine! Bravo!! Not only is Fran an extremely talented artist, she is a terrific person as well. It is wonderful to her work in print.
We were lucky and got to see the original work--the colors are sumptuous!

Wonderful images to inspire your holiday creativity!

Odd Journaling Class with Teesha & Tracy

Teesha and Tracy Moore were recently at The Paper Studio teaching their Odd Journaler's Class. We had people everywhere--from the classroom to the papermaking studio to the gallery and letterpress! Teesha and Tracy are such talented artists and so generous with their knowledge and materials. Folks were delirious with creative delight.
So many techniques, so little time!

So much fun, like being a kid in the candy store!
Airbrushing rocks!
Work in progress!
Everyone had a super time and we can't wait to see Teesha and Tracy again soon!
Learn more about Teesha and Tracy and their other fun going-ons at http://www.teeshamoore.com/