i am a big fan of lara scarr. i've written about her here, here and also here. in her latest stroke of creative genius, she has designed a beautiful magazine as part of a graphic design school project. i'm incredibly disappointed that this beautiful little book is not a real product - it looks amazing! an issue dedicated to to handiwork and crafts, kraftwork is highly designed with an intense

i recently saw these pieces by leah giberson on lisa congdon's blog and immediately thought of illustrations by aimee van drimmelen. aimee's simple watercolour renditions of lawn chairs remind me of summer parties. the chairs laid out, waiting for sitters, and then later half-heartedly packed up. the colours look tasty too - the yellow bleeding through orange into red makes me salivate for an

in the past few weeks i've received some really lovely washi tape mail! the first is from riley, my australian pen pal in the states. i love this "bright idea" text she found. at least i think she found it...if she drew it than my mine is officially blown! lol. the second piece is from my good friend kristy, who incidentally is in town. which is perfect because although her letter was full of

two years ago i began creating the mail art challenge. i compiled all of the bits and pieces that i had collected and couldn't bear to throw away. people seemed to love it! they created some beautiful pieces and sent me their photos with pride! but now the mail art stationery set is all grown up. i've curated the pieces a little more closely and this is the result: shop stationery sets

so here's the thing...after nine months of working at the papery, i've become a bit of a stationery snob. i like to see things that are unique and creative! it's hard to see the same things in every store when i know how many talented handmade artists are out there. but sometimes things become popular because they are so unique and creative that everyone loves it! rifle paper co. is a huge

i am 100% in love with this artwork by andrea burgay. i've always been attracted to pieces that contain the infamous "mixed media" moniker. in fact, when i think about it...i don't think i own any art that is composed of only paint! andrea burgay's collages are highly organic and full of surprises. pay close attention to the last image which shows the way the shapes come alive and seem to

last week i completed my first day at a new gallery. and today is my last day at the papery. starting and finishing have never been something i enjoyed - maybe that's why i have a never ending to do list! i hate starting new jobs. of course there is the excitement and the honour of being chosen. but for about three weeks I feel totally helpless. you can't answer questions, or find products. you

i've sent out a lot of great mail recently (and received some too but i'll save that for next week!) a crafty postcard for a friend - i bought this card at the beautiful museum of contemporary craft in portland. a long overdue letter for a friend in calgary who just came back from an adventure with a broken pelvis! an awesome cd from our roadtrip which i sent to a

my best friend anne-marie is getting married in august. and i'm planning her bridal shower so obviously i wanted to do something special with the invitations. i racked my brain trying to think of ideas because i wanted to send something that could act as a little piece of art. the type of thing that people might hesitate to throw out. i've been pretty obsessed with looking at papercuts lately -

...uh...sorry for dropping the ball this week!

i thought i'd put together a little collection of the camera pieces in my shop!

i think i've always been into unique presentations of artwork. i see so much artwork that when i find a painting on something other than canvas i am tickled pink. i love it when meghann rader painted landscapes on wood here, and i also love these little trunk paintings by jenn smith from upper tiny on etsy. i love jenn's use of shape, line and of course the colour pink. according to jenn "if

this is a post that is going to be chock full of dale chihuly artworks.  so, my husband and i pulled into seattle in mid afternoon on a sunday. i spent a few minutes in the hotel  researching the local public galleries. and guess what? they were all closed during our visit! (whatever happened to sunday being the day where everything was closed? but that's a post for another day) and why are

this is a post about hotels - specifically hotels with a lack of personality. and let me tell you - there are sooo many. my husband likes to stay in hotels that he's heard of. i call them "cookie cutters," he calls them "holiday inn," "marriot" and "best western." their names don't matter much to me because they all look the same. they are boring, beige and inevitably have an ice machine in the

as i was writing the title, it occured to me that "haul videos" are a thing now aren't they? i never really got the point of them (as an adult that is, as a teen i would have done them allll the time i bet!) but now i think it could be kind of fun with all of the goodies i bought! but since i'm in a miniature hotel room with my husband right now, i'll maybe do a video when i get home if you are

sometimes, you just need to look at your shop and say "what's not working here." you have to be very honest! i looked at my envelope seals and thought..."these are definitely not working!" i mean, they were, they are really pretty and they totally stick to stuff. but the presentation and packaging was dull and sloppy. plus, the small sets only had four, and what can you do with four? so i'm

i'm incredibly embarrassed to admit that i have known about mr yen for a while but never really delved into his site or social media feeds. in the past we have both been strongly supported by the wonderful donaville at discover paper. i only wish i'd checked out his work sooner! as a lover of paper and silhouettes, i was really in for a treat. mr yen (not his real name :) creates the most

you may have seen will cotton's work already. it's widely circulated for his luscious paintings of katy perry surrounded by fancy cakes and cotton candy. this is a common theme in his work and i've included some of my favourites below. i love the first image because of the sheer abundance of goodies! i don't know whether i like it because it's a commentary on the ubiquity of baked goods and

so this week i'm away on vacation. it seems strange to refer to it as a vacation (in my mind vacation is a word for time off in the summer, or visiting mexico in the winter). but we've booked the time off and technically we are traveling somewhere warmer! we've left moody victoria and are traveling down the west coast of the united states. we're taking the coast on the way down, and then once we

so basically, i saw this macaron wrapping paper and immediately thought of my friend magdalyn...who loves paris. the gift i sent her was actually super tiny, but i really wanted to use this wrapping paper! poor mags is going to open this gift to find something the size of her thumb. but it's pretty right?? i've also sent out: one | an "i miss your face card" to an old friend two | some

i thought it might be interesting today to share my isavirtue photo journey. the surface | when i first started crafting i think i had "wide black surface" syndrome. i always felt this urge to photograph my products on dark surfaces - the coffee table, the couch, my bed - anything would suffice! maybe i thought it would contrast nicely, or maybe i like the colour black just a little too much. i

this weekend, my friend samantha came to stay. samantha and i have been friends since junior kindergarden. in canada that means since we were about four years old, though she moved away to a different province in grade three. luckily her dad traveled a lot and had air miles, and my pops worked for the airline. so we saw each other fairly often! this weekend sam told me she'd never really been

i'm almost certain i've written a post before with the exact same title. i won't link to it because i think i was having a bit of a hissy fit when i wrote it (though i do recall not posting it for almost a month to ensure i really meant it...turns out i did!). i'm totally zen today (leaving on vacation in six days - who wouldn't be!?), but i found this artist interview to be incredibly

i must admit i'm quite a fan of this charming little piece of mail. i typed it up at the regional assembly of text. instead of using actual paper i used a little glassine bag that was printed to look like lined hilroy school paper! i then filled the bag with some fun little paper goodies for my pen pal (tags, mini glassine bag, paper for collages etc). then, for the final touch, i popped it

can i just say...some art forms are a total mystery to me. painting...i get it. installation art...surprisingly i get it! sculpture....well i couldn't do it but i've studied the various types of it and i get it. and when i say "get it" what i mean is that i understand how the works are created. how they come together into something beautiful. but collage? i don't get it! how can someone take