I saw this incredible print by Tugboat Press on Design Sponge and I had to share it. It’s one of those pieces that sparks awe and wonder. The detail looks unbelieveable. Jawdropping. Seriously. I’m having trouble forming full sentences after seeing it.
Head over to Tugboat’s website to read how they created this amazing work of art.
It’s my Nanna’s 83rd birthday today so this post is in her honour. She used to love to do paper crafts and I remember she was the one who introduced me to the intricate art of quilling. The pain from osteoarthritis has pretty much stopped her from being able to use her hands but I know she’d like each and every one of these pretty quilled cards.
Happy Birthday Nanna.
1. Paper Daisy Card Design.
2. Joscinta.
3. Quilling Wonderland.
4. Quills and Twills.
5. Joscinta.
I am obsessed with ampersands, I think I’ve mentioned that before. So when I came across some paper loveliness on Pinterest from Ampersand Design Studio I was all *gasssssp*. Loving the ampersand print (of course) but there are plenty of other pretty things to see in their store.
1. Be Brave Art Print.
2. Ampersand Screen Print – Metallic Gold on Turquoise Paper.
3. Be Present Print.
4. Le Coeur A Ses Raisons (The Heart has It’s Reasons).
I love the National Stationery Show from afar. It’s one of my favourite times of the year because I find new (to me) stationers to follow. This year I discovered 9th Letter Press Design & Illustration. And, wow, I their stuff rocks – especially the correspondence stickers. Too cool!
1. Check Box Recipe Cards.
2. Ahoy Mate card.
3. Correspondence Stickers.
Coming to us all the way from the Netherlands is Constarlation. I love it when simple is done right, don’t you? I want that ampersand tattooed somewhere on my person – I love it!
1. Red Ampersand Notebook.
2. Rise and Shine Notebook.
3. Paris Notebook/Travel Journal.
Have you seen the beautiful Giclee prints on offer from Bella Blackbird? Christine (the woman behind BB) is a painter and illustrator from the beautiful Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. She creates the sweetest images of birds – I especially love her owls!
1. It’s cold tonight.
2. Cockatoos in love.
3. Two fairy wrens.
I get emails and letters from people all the time about featuring their products on Pretty Paper Things. I’m really particular about the products that I choose to blog about and I certainly don’t put everything I’m sent on the blog. I need to really like what you’re selling. I need to be able to connect with you and your designs on a personal level.
So how do you get your work featured on blogs like Pretty Paper Things? Here are a few tips that will help your product get noticed.
Nothing will sell your product like great pictures. I can’t stress how important it is for your products to be clear and in focus. There have been so many times I’ve wanted to feature a product but couldn’t because the photos provided were unusable. Have a read of this post on Decor8 for some great links and tips for taking better product shots.
This deserves it’s own point. I understand the reason for watermarks but a giant honking logo in the middle of a product shot doesn’t work for bloggers. Include a watermark at the bottom of the image if you must – something that identifies the image as yours but isn’t too intrusive.
I like knowing what paper you use or the story behind a design. I love background information (your buyers probably do too). The more detailed the product description the easier it is for bloggers like me to write about you and your products.
If you’re going to email me about a product make sure you include everything I’m going to need to write about it. I’m time poor (and a little lazy) so if I have to hunt around for information I’m going to be less inclined to feature your product. I got a wonderful email from Alicia at Akimbo the other day about her new Clever Hello Club. She had all the links I needed, as well as press ready photos in a Dropbox folder. It took me less than 5 minutes to write up a post. Be organised. Include everything.
I need to know your Twitter/Facebook/Pinterest/Instagram/Blog and website details pronto so be sure to include them when you get in touch.
I love getting mail and I love getting physical products that I can touch, feel and style myself for a blog post. Don’t be put off sending out some physical samples. My address is in the top right hand corner of the site.
I think this is the most important point. I’m constantly looking at product shots for stationery and paper related goodies and I’m seeing lots of the same stuff (wood panel backgrounds, chalkboard backgrounds). Be different. Be unique. Show me you.
Do you have anything to add? Head over to Facebook to share your thoughts.
I really love the work of Toronto-based artist Afsaneh Tajvidi (check out some of her sketches too – amazing). Her art is incredibly beautiful – it manages to perfectly capture softness and detail which I find is something that a lot of artists shoot for but few actually manage to pull off.
Her work would fit right in to a nursery or kid’s room don’t you think?
1. Watercolour Bird.
2. Dream Big.
3. Love.
My favourite is this one though. So lovely.
I’ve said this many times on the blog but occasionally I come across works of art that make me stop and stare in wonder.
I came across Abigail Penn’s Esther (Part 1 and 2) the other day after another piece of hers (Orange Cats in Love) was featured on the front page of Etsy. Esther, as a whole, is comprised of two silhouettes that are formed by (I believe) text from the Book of Esther, which is the story of a young Jewish woman who foiled the attempted genocide of her people and became Queen of Persia.
Abigail hand wrote all the text which is beautiful, amazing and time consuming. I can’t imagine how long it took to do – just amazing stuff.
Hello! Happy Monday! I’m pretty excited because this week the Weather Department is saying there will be rain and storms and you all know how much I LOVE rain and storms. Western Australia is a pretty big place (you could fit Texas, California, Montana, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada inside the state) so sometimes my little corner doesn’t get all the weather that is promised but I’m crossing my fingers, toes, arms and legs that we’ll get something.
O.K. enough about the weather. Today I wanted to share the work of This Paper Ship. They are a husband and wife team based in North Carolina. I fell in love with their poster You Make Me Happy a little while ago and I just love their mix of cute illustrations with typography. Their art just works and I think you’ll agree it’s pretty cute.
1. You Make Me Happy.
2. Keep Looking for the Wind.
3. Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Classiness.
4. Under the Apple Tree.
Have a great week!