New Look for papernstitch Blog

If you have taken a peak at the blog today, you may have noticed that it appears that nothing has changed. “But I thought you said you were doing a re-design,” you might be thinking. We did. What I have been waiting to tell everyone is that in addition to the re-design, the papernstitch blog now has a new url:

www.papernstitchblog.com

This is my last post at the wordpress url- ALL FUTURE POSTS WILL BE ON THE NEW PAPERNSTITCH BLOG.

**If you would be so kind to change your links to the papernstitch blog to the new blog url, I would greatly appreciate it.

***If you are already a subscriber, you shouldn’t have to change anything. However if for some reason, you are not receiving your updates (I have 4 scheduled for today- so those posts should be in your reader by the end of the day), then you will want to re-subscribe here.

There were plenty of reasons for the re-design and url change. And I am so excited about the future of this blog. Read what I have to say about it right here. Hope you will continue to keep up with it and help me in spreading the word.

Friday

Right to left. Top. Chocolate Bird Stitched Gocco from Lovely MPLS and Pale Ocean with Sun from GretchinMist Bottom. 724 from Chensio and Garden Bird No. 2 from Sooooound

Its Friday, and I feel like its been forever since my last flickr Friday post. And the papernstitch flickr group has some great artwork right now. So, I selected a couple of recent pieces from the group that my heart is currently skipping a beat for. Feel free to add your own work (art or craft) to the papernstitch group too. Maybe I’ll feature it on the blog.

Right to left. When You’re Done Here, You Get to go Home by Paper Whistle and Magentas! from Kaitlyn Sullivan

That’s it for me for today. I cannot wait to show off the re-design on Monday. So, make sure you check back for that. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Coveting

Charlotte Pin from Paper Flower Girl and Simple Tote- Branch Olive from Jaturon

I am slightly obsessed with both of these items right now. I love the combination of boyish charm in the compass mixed with the girliness of the bow in that charlotte pin. And the green simplistic print on the Jaturon tote is perfect for a simple girl like me.

Hello!

I am definitely not the only one with a re-design under wraps. Have you seen Hello! Lucky’s new website. It is seriously incredible. If you are looking to purchase some custom cards, stationery, or invitations, click here to visit the new Hello! Lucky site.

(found via Making it Lovely)

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The Super Ampersand from Lorem and Ipsum

A couple of days ago, Jeff introduced me to this site, House Industries, and he showed me this tote bag. I was so excited and thought I should put together an ampersand round-up. I found some awesome stuff and even came across a great blog called The Ampersand in my search. 

If you know of any other ampersand items that I missed, make sure to leave the link in the comments section. I would love to check it out.

1. Cast Iron Ampersand from House Industries 2. Ampersand Necklace in Black from Snakes and Suits 3. And Then I Woke Up Tee from Ugmonk 4. Ampersand Hook Pillow by Peking Handicraft 5. Large Ampersand Tote from House Industries

Portraits Au Natural- Jenny Lee Fowler

Custom Birch Bark Silhouette Portrait

Yesterday, Jenny Fowler did a guest post tutorial for papernstitch and today, I wanted to write about Jenny’s silhouettes that are available in her shop. And mention that I was especially drawn to the silhouettes that used natural materials for their unique charm. 

In the tradition of many early American silhouette artists, Jenny’s silhouettes are freehand cut while observing a subject– no shadows, no tracing, no Photoshop. These would make a super thoughtful Valentines Day or wedding gift. And Jenny even has gift certificates available if you know someone who may enjoy one of these lovely silhouettes.

Custom Leaf Silhouette Portrait and Custom Silhouette Portrait

Make sure to check out Jenny’s thank you card tutorial from yesterday right here. And of course, please stop by her shop and blog to see all the other impressive works that Jenny creates.

Happy New Year

I cannot believe it is already 2009! It was certainly a busy year and I wanted to take a moment to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has supported me and what I do- all the comments, emails, and general love has meant so much to me. I am REALLY looking forward to what this new year will bring. And would like to say thanks for coming along for the ride.

Also, the new design for the blog is almost done and will be up this Monday- it is looking so good- I can’t wait to show it off.

Lu Lu Licious

Modern Shapes Letterpress Print and Modern Stones Letterpress Print

While searching on Etsy the other night, I found this letterpress print shop, Luludee. Its one of those shops that I feel like I visited before or posted about before, so I searched the site but it turns out I haven’t, so I thought now would be a good time… 

Modern Vases Letterpress Print and Modern Apple Letterpress Print

Laura Bachman Carignan is the woman behind Luludee. She is a graphic designer by trade, but over the last year has been honing her letterpress skills. And I for one am loving Laura’s letterpress prints (my eyes are fixed on the top two- perfect color combos)! The modern vibe is right up my alley. These would look so great all framed up on a long wall and any print would also make for a sweet and affordable house warming present for a young couple.

For more from Luludee, click here to visit Laura’s shop.

Aqua Velvet Discount Ends Today

Retro Gooseneck Lamp from Aqua Velvet

Today is the last day to use your papernstitch discount code to save money at Aqua Velvet. Just enter the code paper-n-stitch at check out to receive 10% off of your order! These are a couple of my favorites from the Aqua Velvet shop right now: great vintage pieces. Visit the Aqua Velvet shop right here.

Vintage Tray from Aqua Velvet

High Five Thank You Notes Tutorial

I am official back from vacation and am so excited to be back. I had a wonderful time and it was nice to unplug for a while, but I am ready to get back in the swing of things. And I wanted to kick things off today with a bang. So I have an awesome guest post from Jenny Fowler, who makes gorgeous silhouettes for her shop JennyLeeFowler (which I will be posting about tomorrow).

When Jenny contacted me, I was thrilled and so excited to see what she would come up with for a tutorial. And this thank you note is just perfect for sending out to all the wonderful people who may have sent you a present over the holidays this year. 

I will let Jenny take it away, but before I do, please make sure you check out Jenny’s seriously incredible shop right here and her blog as well. And check back tomorrow for my post about her silhouettes.

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Here’s a print that will last long after holiday fingerprints have been wiped from Grandma’s picture windows. I love sending handmade cards, but since my littles were born I’ve often simplified a bit with editions. This card can be scanned, formatted, and copied to create multiples, but don’t skip on the “hand-signing”—even if it’s just a scribble! 

 

Trace the outline of your little’s hand with a pencil on a piece of scrap paper. Gently hold the fingers down as you make your way around. Smooth out any extra wrigglesome lines.  

Cut carefully around the inside of the outline to make a template. 

Select two contrasting papers for your card. In my sample, I’ve used origami papers from a local Asian Grocer, but this can also be a nice opportunity to recycle some of your favorite holiday cards or wrappings. These will be mounted on a side-fold card so make sure that they fit the dimensions you want for your finished card and envelope sizes. I’ve used 4.25”x 5.5” or quarter letter size and equivalent envelopes for my two-year-old. 

Place your hand template with pencil side down on the reverse side of the paper you want to use for the hand. Trace and cut along the inside of your line. 

Cut background to size. For the size shown here, I cut 4”x 5.25” to create a fine white border. Position finished hand cutting on background and glue in place, then glue background to card. Use a bone folder to create your own cards or purchase card blanks from a craft supply shop. I use Studio-Tac archival dry adhesive for super-quick and relatively mess-free sticking. Once glue is dry, you can scan the image to make as many cards as you need. Be sure to keep hand size and proportions. Or if you’re really snowed in, you can use your template to hand-cut some more! 

–Jenny Lee Fowler 

Away from Home Post

Daisy Janie 2009 Wall Calendar

Well, I am still on vacation but I wanted to put up a very special post to start off Monday. I will be back to regular posting in the middle of this week and will have the re-design of the blog up soon after. But until then- enjoy some awesomeness from Daisy Jane…

Some of you may know that I guest post on Scoutie Girl every week. It has been such an honor to post on SG and one of the best things about it thus far has been the relationship I have formed with Jan, owner of Scoutie Girl and Daisy Janie. She is super sweet and so creative! And Jan has put together a 2009 black and white calendar than showcases some of her patterns and illustrations that I just had to share.

Daisy Janie 2009 Wall Calendar

Jan took 12 of her sketches and created 12 patterned backgrounds to use for each monthly page and had a good friend do the hand-lettering. Everything was left in black & white so the style is clean and simple. Any compulsive colorers out there (like me) will love this! 

Each month also includes a big section at the top for note-jotting, things to remember, schedule or call. It’s offset printed in an eco-friendly manner, with “FSC & Ecologo Certified, 100% post-consumer, processed chlorine free recycled paper (manufactured using biogas energy) and using non-toxic soy toners.” For more from the Daisy Janie shop, click here. And make sure you check out the Scoutie Girl blog right here.

Gift Guide for Designers

Images provided by Emprnt

This is the last gift guide for the year and it comes from a brand  new site, Emprnt. I’ll be talking more about this wonderful design resource in 2009, but for now, I just wanted to mention that Jeff (the other half of papernstitch) is one of the two designers who created Emprnt. And its awesome! 

Alright, so back to the gift guide… Emprnt put together a great gift guide that is specifically for designers. There is a little bit of everything (tees to books to coffee mugs) and you can check it out right here.

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Side Note: This is my last post for a bit. I am taking a blogging vacation. I will be back the middle of next week and I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. Also, I haven’t really mentioned it up to now, but I have been working on a little re-design for the blog and it should be up and running the first part of January. I am excited and I hope you will be too.

Unique Packaging

Image c/o Wild Olive

This is such a cool idea for packaging up little items. I found it on the Wild Olive blog and they seem super easy to make. Check it out right here.

Eames

This video is so interesting. It shows the making of an Eames fiberglass chair circa 1970. I love the background music too.

Birds of a Feather

I have a little post up on the Scoutie Girl blog with a feathers round-up. You check it out right here to see the makers of these fab feather finds.

Charley Harper Notepad Tutorial

Last week, while reading this post from Creature Comforts I discovered that Old Navy (of all places) was carrying a line of Charley Harper products! I was so thrilled, that I dashed out the very next day to pick up my own set of memory game cards to make these gift tags. When I got back home I realized that there wasn’t really any way that I would be able to make the gift tags the same way because I don’t have a drill to make the hole (in my excitement to purchase the set I completely forgot this detail). So, I stared at the colorful box of cardboard tiles for a good fifteen minutes trying to figure out how I was going to use them, which eventually gave me the idea for this tutorial: a colorful notepad using recycled papers.

I am really pleased with how the project turned out and figured I just had to share this before Christmas because it will make the PERFECT last minute gift for anyone that you know. It will take less than 10 minutes once you have the materials rounded up, and it cost less than $1 per notepad to make! Here’s the tutorial:

Materials:

1. Charley Harper Memory Card Set (can be found at Old Navy for $14.99 for the boxed set of over 75 cards)

2. Scissors

3. Krazy Glue (or something similar that is quick drying)

4. A Stapler

5. Embroidery Floss (optional) Yarn or twine would work too

6. Old catalog (I used an old Anthropologie catalog because the pages have a matte finish, which is ideal for this project – glossy pages are not as easy to write on)

7. Found various pieces of paper (from an old notebook, old mail envelopes, old holiday cards, etc)

How To:

1. Choose the card you would like to use for the top portion of your notebook.

2. Place card down a piece of paper and use it to create a template with the proper dimensions. You do not want to simple trace around the card because you need to allow for room for actually notes. So, use the card as a guide for the width of your template and then choose desired length (I cut my paper about 6 inches long).

3. Cut out created template.

4. This is the foundation for the rest of the notebook. Use your newly cut template to trace that same size rectangle onto the pages from an old catalog.

5. Now, cut your magazine rectangles to size, ensuring that they are all the same dimensions. 

6. I also cut graph pages from an old journal and some ruled paper to mix and match. You will want to have anywhere from 20 to 50 rectangles in total cut to size for your notepad.

7. Once that is complete, organize your pieces of paper. I chose to randomly rotate in catalog pieces, graph pieces, and ruled paper pieces. Then staple all the paper together towards the very top.

8. Next you will want to grab your Charley Harper memory game card. You are almost done!

9. Next, flip you card over and apply  a generous amount of glue to the entire card, making sure you get the corners and edges fully covered.

10. Flip your card back over and immediately apply to the top of your newly formed notepad (on top of the staples). Push down for about 20-40 seconds.

11. After that, flip your notebook over to the “backside” and press down on the staples with something hard. The goal here is to flatten the area out as much as possible so that you have a flat surface. You will now repeat steps 9 and 10 for the back, so that the notepad is double-sided when finished. Make sure to line up the cards as much as possible so they are even with one another.

12. Wait a minute or two for the glue to dry and then grab your embroidery floss. I like to use a contrasting color to make it look extra fun and funky. Tightly wrap the embroidery floss around the top of your notepad 7-10 times and then double or triple knot the two end pieces on the side of the notepad.

That’s it! You are all done. These are so fun to make and easy too- I made 3 in less than 20 minutes! 

Last Minute Gift Idea

Sitting Pretty Calendar from Blue Tricycle

With Christmas being just a couple days away, the time crunch is REALLY upon everyone picking up last minute gifts. And who wants to go out in the frantic hustle and bustle of the malls at this time of year? Not me- and I don’t have to because there is a fantastic shop called Blue Bicycle that sells downloadable calendars, notecards, gift tags, and more. I love love love the idea for this shop. When you purchase an item from Blue Bicycle, Heather sends you the PDF to download and print your own. So, no waiting by the door for your package to arrive- you receive it through email in hours not days! 

Fawn Giftables Gift Tag Set from Blue Tricycle

Everything in the Blue Bicycle shop is SUPER affordable, with prices starting as low as $2.50! Buy it once and print it out as many times as you want and give it to as many people as you want. I have purchased from the shop before and have been using some of the gift tags for Christmas presents, and they look great. I think I am going to have to snag that modern chair calendar too. I have a soft spot for all things modern- who doesn’t really?

Botanical Abstract Giftables Stationery Set from Blue Tricycle

You still have time, believe it or not, to order your favorites before Christmas and print them up for friends and family. But you better hurry because December 23rd is the cut off date for orders to receive before Christmas. Run, don’t walk to the Blue Bicycle shop now and pick something up right here.

Made of Paper

Images c/o Yulia Brodskaya

This artist/ designer, Yulia Brodskaya, has been making the blog rounds recently. I just couldn’t resist re-posting this after seeing Yulia’s work on the Swiss Miss blog. I am speechless- all these images are made from paper! For more from Yulia Brodskaya, click here.

Images c/o Yulia Brodskaya

Blog of the Week…Las Coleccionistas

Image c/o Las Coleccionistas

Happy Monday! The blog of the week is Las Coleccionistas. I am blown away by the breathtaking photography I have found on this blog. And although the text is in Spanish (and I cannot read spanish) I find myself visiting this blog over and over and over again. The above image is one my favorites from a recent post on the LC blog.

Las Coleccionistas is a photography studio based in Barcelona formed by three girl photographers. Their main commitment is to tell stories through their images, to achieve a natural, creative and spontaneous style that confers attitude, character and philosophy to our photos. That’s why their projects are the result of a collective and interdisciplinary work, always with the aim to obtain widest and richest contents and perspective.

The girls of Las Coleccionistas are about to open a physical studio in the heart of Barcelona as well!  Make sure you check out their incredible blog here.

And the Winners are….

Thanks so much to everyone who entered the latest papernstitch giveaway. And congratulations to the following winners (we were able to have 3 main winners and 2 bonus winners for this giveaway). All winners were chosen randomly from Random.org.

Main winners will receive a large variety pack of goodies from the latest giveaway (each package has a retail value of around $120). The main winners are:

1. Comment #7:  Jennifer Ladd who said “I love the camper napkins from LeanneGraeff – so cute!”

2. Comment #107: Ricki who said “I love the Sexy Librians pattern from Sublime Stitching.”

3. Comment #166: Danielle XO who said “And snoozerloser’s snooze dust gift certificates are pretty ingenious! We carry their work at my gallery and they are just delightful! Check out this little number.”

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And speaking of Snoozer Loser,big thanks to Sonia of SL, who made it possible to have 2 bonus winners for this giveaway by donating a total of 5 SL Gift Certificates (one for each of the main winners and two extras)! Each bonus winner will receive a $10 gift certificate from Snoozer Loser. And the bonus winners are:

1. Comment #213: Julia Carter who said “Simple Vintage’s ceramic gray flower teapot is lovely. I have a soft spot for teacups, saucers, and of course, teapots. This one is beautiful and is definately going on my list for Santa, a.k.a. my dear hubby!!!!”

2. Comment #142: Dianosaurous who said “Happy Owl Glasswork is just amazing! I’d love the chartreuse robin pendant .”