Playing With Paper.....

I have been up to my ears in paper art in all my spare time lately. I have been making baby shower invitations, decorations, and gifts, making a wedding gift, and making a scrapbook as a thank you gift. I am enjoying my stint of being enmeshed in paper.Truth be told, I have a passion for paper whether it be writing, wrapping, tissue or crepe, or art paper of any kind. I have a special fondness for handmade papers. Recently on a trip to Florida, I stopped in a favorite scrapbook store where everything is always half price and bought a stack of hand made paper in all thicknesses and textures. My husband thought I was nuts buying so much. I explained to him that I can't get these specific types of paper where we live or in the nearby city. The one store that did carry them is out of business. We only travel to the area of this particular store about every other year so I NEEDED a two year supply! He just shook his head and said he was going to the smoothie shop next door to wait. I let him as I reveled in paper heaven!

Below is a little sampling of what I got. This first one I was particularly excited about, this Mulberry paper is the perfect shade of blue and the materials in the paper reminded me of the pale blue specked eggs that are so popular in crafting these days, perfect for using for egg art!I love these thick heavy sheets of recycled Mixed Organics. These handmade papers have a natural creamy shading which varies from a bleached out white to cream to tan and are embedded with natural inclusions like coconut fibers, water hyacinth, banana leaf, mango fibers and mulberry fibers, and more. This heavier paper is great for card making. These papers are usually about $3.00 per 12" x 12" sheet. A lot of these papers are made in Italy and Thailand.Ah, and these Mulberry papers are so filmy with an interesting fibrous texture and come is such vivid colors! They are versatile, they have the distinctive feature of easily feathering edges when the paper is wet and torn. I use an artist brush dipped in water to create my tear line and then gently pull apart. These papers come in a huge variety of colors, can be hand painted Batiks, marbles, smooth, textured, tissue, recycled, and mulberry florals. These papers can run from as little as 50 cents for an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet up to $5.00 per sheet for a 12" x 12" sheet. Nepal and Thailand are large producers of these papers.These are also Mulberry papers,even though they are thicker than a traditional Mulberry paper, they are embedded with botanicals. The thickness is due to the layering of paper pulp, fibers and botanicals, then another thin layer of pulp to seal in the botanicals.I also purchased some Indian Cotton Papers in these deep hued colors. The Jungle Green and Red are favorites to use at Christmas time for card making. These papers are produced in India and are usually around $2.50 to $3.00 per sheet.I even got a few Fabric Paper Sheets. This fabric paper is stiff and can be torn, sewn, die-cut , or frayed which lends to a wide variety of uses. This will be my first experience in playing with these.I also picked up a few rubber stamps and a couple of large punches. Purchases made, I headed out for a much needed smoothie with my sweetie.

Here is a sampling of what I have been up to. The beginning pages of a thank you gift book for special friends who have a new blended family. I thought a family album for creating and storing new memories would be a good gift. I am trying to do two pages per day until it is finished. I've had to put it aside this week and will focus on it next week. You can click on photos to enlarge for better viewing. Please excuse the photo below! I realized after I had loaded it onto my page that I had left the plastic cover one the album and the templates for corner spacing in two of the frames! I thought about retaking the photo but decided you would get the gist even if it is not picture perfect!
Handmade invitations for one of my best friends daughters baby shower,with a sweet little picture of the guest of honor included! I just have to write the shower details in and pop them in the envelopes!I hope you feel inspired to make some paper creations of your own!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy