DIY BOOKCASE!

I have been just awful on the blog front this year! But I have been busy busy busy making lots of different things : here is one of them :)

I found something on pinterest that I kept on looking at over and over again, thinking about how much I loved it and if I would be able to make one myself. It was a coffee table/bookcase-shelf type thing made from an old electrical cable spool.

After searching and searching for a cable spool that was free (I didn't want to buy one from an electrical company) after about 2 weeks I came across one next to a skip outside the Artrageous Scapstore in St Werburghs. Hurray! :)

It was covered in a lot of dirt so I spent a couple of hours making it sparkly clean and sanding it down...

What it looked like : when i got it home // after it had been sanded // after parts of the wood were treated

And then this is what it looked like when everything was finished. I ran out of dowel so the back of it is missing two little bits until I can get to the hardware shop. I think if I made another one, i would use thicker pieces of dowel for the sections,but this will do and I like it! And Samson seems to like his new chair :)

xo

SALE!

Hello all!

The Winter months have been amazing for The Paper Garden so I thought I would celebrate with an end of year sale! 

 Everything in my Etsy shop is 25% off! 

All you have to do to receive the discount is enter the coupon code 'NEWYEAR30' on check out!

Sale ends on 7th January!

www.thepapergardenuk.etsy.com 

xo

 

New in my shop today!

Morning!

A cup of coffee at 8am means I get into photographer mode and start listing things in my Etsy shop early! Royally preparing for the (fingers crossed) Christmas rush! I'm going to make sure I list at least 2 new things in my shop every day. These are some new things from today:

'The Avengers' envelope&notecard set:

'The Hulk' envelope&notecard set.

Vintage maps paper chain/garland.

xo

 

Recycled wedding

Hello!

Well I have been going through all my scraps and all my old books that I have rescued from various places over the past couple of days. I started making paper garlands from these books and thought that they are the perfect decoration for a handmade or vintage themed wedding. I am hoping that for my wedding next year we are going for that vintage feel so that I can use a lot of the things that I have been making recently. 

I have just listed these in my shop - you can have a look at them here: Paper Garland

I have had a busy busy couple of weeks. Lots of planning for my wedding next September, working with Marc Bingham on our artist collaboration, planning for my Christmas line of books and stationery and recording a new EP with Heg Doughty and The Wolf Chorus.

About a week ago I came across a picture which I fell in love with. So much, that it pushed me to start using my Pinterest account which is something I used once and never went back to. I found it on a book arts blog whilst googling away for some inspiration for some new books to make.

 

I would love to be able to make something like this but I do not have the skills at the moment to produce something so detailed. But I am working on it :)

These two are what I have made...

 The book in the background in the first picture is far from perfect but not bad for my first try as it was quite a difficult pattern and you would be surprised how much maths is involved in folded book art! The second book that is a half moon folded vintage novel (used and damaged - it now has a new lease of life) is my favourite as there is just so much I want to use them for. These books are a standard novel size (5.5" in width and 8" in length). I am now working on a larger book which I will be listing in my Etsy Shop when finished, along with a packet of mini cards of different colours, shapes and sizes to be used as an alternative guest book. Each guest can write their message on the cards and slot them into the book. The book can then be mounted to a wall or displayed anywhere in your home for people to admire!
I will be adding it to my normal Etsy shop and then again to my Etsy Wedding shop when that is up and running. Without even realising it, nearly all of my wedding range is derived from a vintage source of some kind so I will working with that theme to create unique, vintage and vintage inspired wedding stationery, favours and decorations. :)
Now I have the recording out of the way I can focus on this a bit more which is very exciting.

Anywho - I am about to start learning to drive and have my very first lesson in an hour so off I pop!

Me and Samson wish you a happy crafty Wednesday! xo

  

Collaborations!

I've been planning to collaborate with other artists for a while now. Over the next few months I will be working with two North West based artists taking their artwork and creating notebooks, sketchbooks and albums from them. We will be selecting a number of prints to use and I will encorporate them into the front covers of my handmade books.

----

Marc Bingham - Creator of 'Twisted Pixels Illustration.' He is an illustrator and graphic designer. He is interested in sci-fi ideologies and incoporates this into his artwork and currently sells prints and clothing online. He will be creating some bespoke work for this project which is very exciting!
You can check him out in these hiding spots:

Blog

Website

Etsy Shop 

Stuart Taylor - Stuart is a 3d charactor animator who has recently graduated from Stoke University. One of his latest projects was designing a music video for musician Heg Doughty
for her song 'Red' ; a song based on the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Stuart has designed a set of prints taken from the animation of this song which we will be using to create the sketchbooks.
You can check him out in these hiding spots:
Blog
Vimeo
 

I'm very excited about working with these two amazing artists. The work that will be created will be very different from the things that I make at the moment, which I believe to be a great thing. It's always a good idea to try new things, experiment and expand work creatively.

Over and out x

 

15% OFF SALE!

Hello you lovelies!

I am having a sale in my Etsy shop! All you have to do is enter the coupon 'PAPER15' on checkout to receive your 15% discount on your purchase! 

Offer ends on Sunday :)

www.thepapergardenuk.etsy.com