April 24, 2014

Ylva Skarp

I must admit, I’ve developed quite the crush on the beautiful, type-driven art created by Ylva Skarp. Adorned with splotches of black ink and haphazard scrawls, these wordy pieces appear, to me, to be less about affirmation (not like your usual nature scape overlaid with a soul saving quote from Maya Angelou or J.D. Salinger) and more about clawing the words and what they symbolise back from the edge of ones own experiences. They speak to me in a way not dissimilar to the work of Colin McCahon – though they are more structured, orderly and less…manic?

Love, love, love. New favourite!

1. om och om igen.
2. for ever.
3. what.
4. let’s be nice.

April 22, 2014

Maud Vantours

I am in awe of the amazingly beautiful paper work by French artist Maud Vantours. Her work is multi-layered paper cut perfection and has been used in editorials, advertising and set design for a number of luxury brands. I really like how fluid shapes become when layers are involved. It’s interesting to note the use of different coloured card stock to provide the 3D equivalent of shading.

(Image source: Maud Vantours)

April 16, 2014

Easter cards of the printable variety

It’s only a few sleeps ’til Easter! Are you excited? I love Easter. There’s usually a change in the weather around this time. The air has a little nipping bite, the trees are losing their leaves and I start wearing my Ugg’s 18+ hours a day. Yippee!

Today’s post is for those of us who may have forgotten to get our Easter cards ready and sent (cough cough). If you’ve left your Easter card buying ’til the very last minute these printables will come in handy.

1. Nifty Printables.
2. Cloudreams.
3. Just A Bird Printables.
4. Wints Prints.
5. Print Berry.
6. The Printcess
.
7. Nomad Printables.
8. Namu Design.

April 14, 2014

Easter printables and DIY’s galore!

Do your kids need something to do over the holidays? These cute printables and DIY’s will keep them entertained for hours!

1. Magazine Mini Basket – Spoonful.
2. Easter decorations – The Frugal Female.
3. Easter party printables – Everyday Cheer.
4. Easter Bunny Garland – Happy Thought.
5. Paper Doll template – Popsicle.
6. Easter Banners – Tatertots and Jello.
7. Origami Easter Bunny Baskets – Studio DIY.
8. Egg candy cup – Design Eat Repeat.
9. Easter Printable Tag – I Heart Naptime.
10. Bunny tails – Create.Craft.Love..
11. Hippity, Hoppity, Happy Easter Day – Five Heart Home.
12. Origami bunny – Eat, Drink, Chic.
13. Easter Stickers – Mer Mag.
14. Paper Strip Easter Egg Art – Julep.
15. Woodland Easter Printables – Tiny Me.

April 9, 2014

Moody hues

Do you ever have an overwhelming desire to totally switch out all the art that is hanging in your home? It must be a seasonal thing. As we down here tiptoe through autumn and onto the winter months I’m feeling less flowery and more moody seascape.

Do you get the moody winter blues or do you embrace single digit ℃’s with open (but cold) arms ?

1. Black and white abstract – Paul Maguire Art.
2. Mockingbird Mud Art – Stacey A Fleming.
3. Darkness – Margaret Lillian.
4. Rainy window – Dull Blue Light.

April 8, 2014

ligature magazine

Have you missed me paper nerds? I’ve missed you. I’ve been working on a super special secret site but I’m back now with a backlog of lovely paper stuff to show you.

As you’re probably aware, I am a magazine fiend. The more obscure a magazine the better. I have a favourite newsagent (Garden City News represent) and I’m always finding little paper nuggets of wonder. This week I’m introducing you to ligature magazine.

New (to me) titles are a rare treat for me. I have my firm favourites (V Magazine, Phoenix, Elle, Vogue etc) and then there are the arty new finds like ligature. ligature is minimalist. It has no handwritten elements that are the design element du jour of the moment. It has no geometric or fluro/neon distractions. It is a peaceful read. Zen-like. There is a lot of room for white space which I love.

As I’ve said before minimalist design is so very hard to pull off. Some people believe that minimalism equates with ho hum boring or that it lacks the ability to hold a readers attention without a constant call to action (QR codes, apps to unlock behind the scenes footage, buy this, buy that). I disagree. Minimalism requires purity of the image. It gives readers the space to digest information, make of it what they will and move on. ligature does this very well.

As a magazine ligature is a slash – i.e. art slash design slash fashion. It straddles all of these labels well. I enjoyed the matte finish too. It was a change from the glossy glossies.

Loved ligature. I hope to see the next issue on the newsstands.

March 28, 2014

Twenty Fingers

These beautiful notebooks are made by Yuriy and Katerina (a.k.a. Twenty Fingers) from Siberia which is awesome in itself really. They get inspiration from their small town that is surrounded by forests. How delightful!

Unfortunately (for me) they ship all over the world, except Australia, which is a little sad but understandable. So for the rest of you buy some of these gorgeous notebooks and let me know how great they are!

(btw isn’t the product styling awesome?! Love it.)

1. Maple. // 2. Leaf. // 3. Paw. // 4. Ursa Major. // 5. Garden. // 6. Spruce.

March 27, 2014

Cristina Re

One of my all time favourite stationery designers is Cristina Re. Every time I go to Officeworks I drool over her DIY range which consists of beautiful paper, ready made invitations, punches and embellishments, tools and accessories.

Cristina Re has been a leader in the stationery industry for the past 20 years and it’s not hard to see why.

1. Hydrangea Rose A4 .
2. Hydrangea Rose A4 .
3. Belladonna Bouquet A4.
4. Flourish Hearts Silver.
5. Deco A4 .
6. Hand Punch – Flower

Image credit: Cristina Re

March 26, 2014

Sweet wedding invitations

I haven’t done a wedding invitation post for ages so I thought I’d indulge and share some of my favourites from Aussie designers. I’ve also started a new page (in the menu bar <-- ) with links to some of the best designers/studios for wedding goodies down under. Whether you're planning a wedding or just browsing like me, I'm sure you will find something you like.

1. Bouquet Wedding Invitations – Lovestruck Invitations.
2. Golden Gatsby – Type Styled.
3. Spring Wedding Template – 3 Eggs Design.
4. Custom Invitation – Kampai Designs.
5. Erica and Marc – Citron Presse.
6. Kraft & Floral – Little Peach Co.
7. Esmeralda – Paper Elephant.
8. Gum leaf wedding invitation – ‘I do’ it yourself.
9. Rachael and Matthew – Papyrus Design.
10. Jason and Yvette The Hungry Workshop.
11. Rachael and Matthew – Papyrus Design.

March 25, 2014

Spread the word!

We’re talking business cards today. I love looking through corporate identity kits and seeing the cool things designers are creating (check out the glow-in-the-dark example below). I am still a big fan of the stamp your own cards thing though and will probably head down that route soon. It feels more personal. Have you got any business card faves? Let me know in the comments.

1. Custom Letterpress Business Card – Print and Grain.
2. Hello – Swell and Grand.
3. Your Silhouette – Lion Tail Press.
4. Floral calling cards – Pikake Press.
5. Glow in the dark – The Distillery.
6. Laurel Business Card stamp – Stationery Boutique.