Anyone who knows me, knows I just LOVE paper – patterned, plain, handmade, printed – even wallpaper and brown paper. I own tons of it too – so much so that there’s a standing joke, if there was ever a fire in our house, it would light up like a christmas tree and burn quicker than a firework!
As I was going through my handmade papers today searching for an appropriate paper for a client’s bespoke scrapbook album, I got to thinking about why it appeals to me so much.
I came across these beauties …
Ultra thick handmade Indian cotton papers saturated with water based dyes to achieve super vivid colours, all embellished with gold, silver and glitter. Totally scrummy.
Then there were these …
More thick handmade Indian papers with rough edges, heavily ridged vintage travel papers, delicate chinese handmade papers and beautiful Orla Kiely printed papers.
And these …
romantic, textured and oh so pretty
vintage, textured and printed
textured, printed Tour de Paris
textured and printed vintage US and British postcards and stamps
and beautiful painted butterflies.
Then I realised - I just love working with it.
I love the texture, the colour in blanket or patterned form, the grain, the sheen and light that bounces off it, the textures that are created by adding ripples, ridges and embossed patterns, the overlaid glitter and gold and the subtle effects created with pattern and paint, and the stories it portrays in its imagery – I love it all.
It was then I decided – when I die, sod the red velvet fabric lining my coffin – line it with jewelled coloured decorative handmade paper … and I will rest a happy bunny.
Hi and welcome to The Scrapbooker - my name is Andrea. I get to spend my days (and sometimes my nights) crafting works of art that make people smile - I mean, how cool is that!
