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Whether you're signing a greeting card, jotting a note, doodling in a sketchbook or writing a note to the teacher, a good pen is part of a great stationery experience.
Those Pilot pens in the top photo are my current favorites. I bought them at Staples.ca but I can't seem to find them anymore.
What are your favorite pens and markers? Do you love scented Mr. Sketch? Or all those amazing colors of Sharpies? Maybe you swear by Staedtler or a plain ol' Bic. Please share!
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So I'm inspired by my last post Paper craft book review: Painted Pages and getting excited about doing more collage and mixed media work. Plus, I'm getting ready to do an online workshop and thought I'd better go through my stash of handmade papers. When I say stash, I really mean rolls and stacks and boxes of handmade paper, stashed in nooks and crannies in my office, in my basement and in various parts of the Botanical PaperWorks facility.
When I started my paper company 15 years ago (get the story here), I started collecting handmade papers. Some of the paper sheets in my collection were handmade by me, others were collected during my travels or given to me as gifts.
I've written a lot about papermaking with different fibres in our three books, and some of my favorites are shown below:
Flax makes a strong, beautiful sheet.
Kozo can be well-beaten to produce a hard, crunchy sheet. The paper above was painted with colored pulp while the sheet was still immersed in the vat.
This sheet is so thin, the light shines through.
And this amate paper from Mexico is full of holes!
And then there's paper made with vegetable fibers...
Yes, it's made with cooked rhubarb!
And paper can be made from materials found in nature such as:
While looking through my paper collection, I was thrilled to find these marbled paper sheets:
and this red one:
There's a lot more to go through, but I think I'll get started with this. You can't clean out a decade and a half in just one session.
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The book "Painted Pages" came across my desk a while back, a gift from a friend who knows how much I love sketching and mixed media. The book is written by Sarah Ahearn Bellemare, a mixed-media artist and workshop instructor from New England.
I dove into the book and ate up every page. Sarah's colorful illustrations and imaginative use of text captured my imagination and started me on my own doodle journal journey. Then I shared the book with my Mom and she also started a visual journal. So the book is inspiring to those who read it.
The book starts with the basics, like this review of the color wheel, then goes into suggestions for tools, art supplies and materials to collect. The fun of mixed media is in the combining and layering and Sarah suggests everything from paints to stencils to security envelopes (check out the DIY project that I did with security envelopes).
Sarah's perspective on collage and mixed media makes the look at common stuff around the house through different eyes. Suddenly the old bits of paper, yellowed dictionaries with missing pages and scraps of ribbon have a use. It's not the polished, expensive scrapbooking supplies that make an interesting piece, it's the scrap papers, the left-over bits, combined into an amazing whole.
Many pictures are from the artist's studio showing her at work. The step-by-steps explain how to start and execute a painting, plus other techniques like image transfer which are fun to try.
Chapter Three's Write It Out theme takes the reader through the creative process of selecting text for a mixed media piece. The author writes "I originally began painting as a way to illustrate poems, but when I began reading the works of Walt Whitman, e.e. cummings, and Pablo Neruda, I became inspired to use some of their writings in my paintings as well". Cool.
The final chapter, Gallery, shows four original paintings by the author. The book reproduces them in splendid color and they are a joy to study with so many interesting details.
Sarah's blog is rich with images and ideas too, so check it out for regular inspiration. And while you're there, check out the online workshop called Pages & Paint in July. It looks like a lot of fun and it's Sarah's first ever online workshop.
Thank you Sarah for letting me talk about your book. And thank you for writing such an inspirational work.
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If you enjoyed the free printable planner that I featured a few weeks back, you'll love these fun and colorful little cards. From Miss Tiina come these free printable Live Free Love Life Journal Cards.
The cards are small and perfect for writing little notes and tucking them into lunchboxes or coat pockets.
The journal cards also fit the pockets of the Project Life scrapbooking project from Becky Higgins. If you'd like some inspiration on using Project Life, check out Ali Edwards' blog.
So many fun patterns, and all are free for personal use!
The chevron design is one of my favorites, and my kids love the hearts.
And here's a classic:
I've also used these little notes as thank yous and as mini wall decor on my bulletin board. Miss Tiina has other free downloads too, just follow this link. Enjoy!
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