Versatile beads made from a wide variety of papers - glossy magazine pages, Japanese washi paper, wallpaper, gift wrap, and even newsprint or brown craft paper - are really popular right now. The sky's the limit on what handmade beads can look like and how they can be used - in bracelets, earrings, and necklaces for sure, but how about biggg projects like many long strings of funky beads used as a door curtain or perhaps metallic bead garlands to decorate a mantel or Christmas tree? If you've been thinking of giving paper bead making a try, a new tool developed by Jenn of Just Jenn Designz looks like a surefire way to make a large batch without stressing your fingers in the process. A narrow slot grips the wide end of a tapered paper strip; just roll the handle and the result is a smoothly wrapped bead with a 1/8 inch diameter center hole. It's pretty, isn't it?! No boring, plain handle for this inventor. Jenn, a jewelry maker and digital paper collage sheet cr...

Maeve Clancy is a talented Irish animator, illustrator, and production designer for television and film series. F latmates is the name of her weekly webcomic that's well worth a look - it's quirky and funny. Here's something else Maeve has done that I know all you paper enthusiasts will appreciate - just look at how beautifully her paper cutting illustrates the music video for indie singer/songwriter Lisa Hannigan's song, I Don't Know . Maeve kindly sent me pictures that were taken during set construction. Behind the scenes shots are great... I love seeing how everything on a big project like this one comes together. Maeve, along with Jamie Hannigan, Lisa's brother, also made the wonderful pop-up books that are featured in the video for Lisa's song, Lille. Lisa's CD Sea Sew was released in the U.S. in February. It's no wonder she wanted her music videos to have a hand-crafted look, as Lisa stitched all of the song lyrics on a piec...

People often ask where to get ideas for paper filigree designs. I find inspiration in so many places... nature, fabrics, wrought iron scrollwork, wallpaper patterns, and embroidery designs. Another great place to look if you have a certain object in mind, but need ideas on how to do the layout, try Google Images - type clip art and the name of what it is you plan to quill in the search box. Sometimes I find inspiration from rubber stamp designs. A wonderful site, both for ordering the very latest in cardmaking supplies and for seeking ideas for greeting card designs, is Impress Rubber Stamps . I love to page through the fresh and stylish Impressive Ideas section of their website. Remember though, it's unethical to use someone else's design for your own gain unless you have permission. There's always a way to significantly alter elements to make a design your own - have confidence in your ability to do just that. The Impress company has three store locations in the ...

I've long been entranced by handmade cards and like to think of them as small works of art. That's not to say I don't appreciate a good Hallmark moment, but there's something so very special about sending or receiving a card that's made with just one person in mind. Tracy Chong makes imaginative hand-cut pop-up cards for nearly every occasion. I recently featured a page of her designs that's in the new 1000 Handmade Greetings - Creative Cards and Clever Correspondence book , and today I'd like to show you some of her appealing cards up close. Introduced to Masahiro Chatani's origamic architecture at an early age, Tracy was fascinated by how a single piece of paper could be transformed into a beautiful three-dimensional object by simple cuts and folds. Hundreds of cards later, she says she's still excited by seeing a design spring to life from a blank sheet of card. I love how Tracy presents each card in her Etsy shop with a little vignette abo...

Not only does graphic designer Patricia Zapata have one of the most musical and memorable names I've ever run across - it must be all those a's! - she is a wonderful paper artist. I love the fresh, uncluttered look of her designs and have had a link to her stylish blog on my sidebar since day one. Perhaps you've already checked it out, but if not, there's no better day than today. As a celebration of Earth Day and in honor of this astonishing, but ailing planet we call home, Patricia has posted an ingeniously simple recycling project that looks quite elegant. It requires just a short list of supplies you might have on hand. And be sure to check out this link [edit: no longer available] to see a tutorial on crafting chic wall decor from those nuisance junk mail circulars that arrive in our mailboxes like clockwork. Patricia has written a book I'm really looking forward to checking out, called home, paper, scissors - Decorative Paper Accessories for the Hom...

Those of us who do paper filigree know that spell check isn't happy with the word quilling. Whether we type it or quiller in an email or Word doc, the words are flamed with bright yellow causing us to see red. Thanks for the suggestions dear computer, but we are neither quilters nor killers. Since paper quilling has been around for hundreds of years, it's high time it's defined in the dictionary and is accepted as a word in its own right. Pat Caputo of Whimsiquills [the online shop is no longer in business] recently wrote to Merriam-Webster to present the idea of adding the definition of quilling as we know it - the art of rolling narrow strips of paper to make an intricate design - to the dictionary. While Pat works on that aspect, there's something that each one of us who quills can do to help in the meantime. The next time you type quilling or quiller in an email or Word doc and it shows up as a misspelling, just click the word, and then click Add to Dicti...

While paging through the New York Times one day last week, a photo of pale peach paper flowers and green leaves cascading across a staircase wall caught my eye. The beautiful mural in the Kips Bay Decorator Show House in Manhattan was created with Maya Romanoff wallpaper by paper artist Jo Lynn Alcorn. Of course me being me... always excited about paper flowers, I immediately googled Ms. Alcorn's website , and asked permission to share her art with you. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Jo Lynn originally worked as a magazine art director and art buyer, but turned to dimensional illustration to satisfy her love of collage and paper. Not surprisingly, there's much interest in her work in China and Japan where paper creations are revered. Jo Lynn begins by working from a sketch she has drawn in pencil and marker. She chooses a palette of papers that she customizes with paint and pattern, cuts out all the elements, and then constructs the piece in layers, using fo...

A colorful Etsy shop called Paper Displays of Affection [edit: no longer open] caught my eye recently. It's owned by Suanne, a real estate consultant for a busy accounting firm in New York City by day, but evenings and weekends she satisfies her creative side by making origami objects, something she's enjoyed doing since childhood. I can just picture a Christmas tree with shining ornaments like this one hanging from the branches. Here's a wordy variation that makes lovely use of the pages of an old book - recycling at it finest. A money rose takes the guess work out of selecting the perfect graduation gift. Suanne offers these tips for taking eye-catching photos - something that's especially important for internet sales: You can't beat natural light. Try taking photos near a window, making use of the indirect light - this works well to not bleach out your shots. Use a tripod for the clearest result and also a solid, uninterrupted background - somethin...

Truth be told, I love glass art as much as paper art. When having dinner recently at the wonderful Lily Bistro [edit: now closed]  in Rockland, Maine, I couldn't keep my eyes off this chandelier. So unique! Later during the same trip, I was excited to visit the Harvard Museum of Natural History because I'd read about the incredible glass flower exhibit . Here are two examples of Mountain Laurel - I can't get over the fine detail, and in person it's even more spectacular. It's hard to believe the models on display aren't real plants. The collection contains 847 species and more than 3000 models created by German glass artisans Leopold Blaschka and his son, Rudolph, over a span of five decades beginning in 1886. They were commissioned by a professor who wanted life-like representations of plants for the purpose of teaching botany. The life-size models are remarkably accurate and replaced the crude paper mache and wax models that were available up until that ...

With wedding season around the corner, here's a paper filigree card design I created. The required paper supplies are pretty basic - you'll need brown and white cardstock, light blue pearlized paper, light blue vellum, and 1/8 inch white quilling paper; also silver organza ribbon and a rubber stamp sentiment - the one I used is by Stampin'Up! (now retired, but you can still find it on Etsy ).   You can find complete instructions in the May 2009 issue of CardMaker Magazine . There's also a pretty filigree Mother's Day card by Quilled Creation's Alli Bartkowski in the same issue.  

Last week I had the pleasure of exploring Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont. The weather cooperated beautifully; in fact, the only snow in evidence was melting piles that had been mounded high in parking lots. One of the many things I like about New England is that there's a definite appreciation of the term 'hand-crafted' that isn't often seen in other parts of the country. Just as one example, the welcome centers of each state feature artisan displays - I found myself jotting down names and websites. In Burlington, Vermont it was warm enough to have lunch at an outdoor cafe - just wonderful considering it was very early April. Not only did I meet up with the talented Tracy Belair Ga ito while in town, but also checked out Combat Paper , an art exhibit at the Firehouse Gallery. It features the work of Iraq war veterans who have transformed the space into a paper making studio. These interventionist artists recruit returning soldiers who cut, beat, and cook their...

Recently I came across this beautiful handmade paper pendant and knew immediately that I wanted to feature its designer, artist Jessica Beels of Washington, D.C.   Jessica uses overbeaten flax and mulberry fiber to make the paper for her jewelry and sculpture pieces. She often prints the wet paper with paints and inks; it acquires a unique shape as it dries and shrinks over a reed or wire form. This is one of her newest pieces - Blossom Flower Necklace. The interesting color gradation is achieved by using an ungalvanized steel form over which the paper dries, creating rust. The piece is then sealed with wax which enhances its translucence. In addition to paper, Jessica makes innovative sculptural beadwork jewelry and also works with felt, epoxy, and precious metal clay. You can see many more examples of her designs at her website , and also a show schedule . Jessica will be featuring her handmade paper sculpture and jewelry at the Smithsonian Craft Show in Washington, D.C., ...

A recent book in the world of paper is 1000 Handmade Greetings - Creative Cards and Clever Correspondence , compiled by graphic designer Laura McFadden. It contains lots - hold on a sec, that's an understatement... 1000!... contemporary card ideas. Be forewarned, this is not a technique book and there are no instructions; simply put, it's a gallery of inspiration that includes examples of paper cutting, stenciling, stamping, punching, photography, stitching, screenprinting, etc., etc. Here's a sample page to give you an idea of the layout. These are some of my favorites - pop up cards by Tracy Chong . Several of my quilled designs are included along with quite a few by paper filigree expert and author, Claire Choi. This window card, which features a gold-gilded ring coil flower, mulberry paper, and stamped metallic leaves, is one I created for the book. It would be suitable for so many occasions... birthday, wedding, get well, or even as a sympathy card.

Here's a very nifty site, Canon Creative Park if you think you might enjoy printing out colorful stationery with matching envelopes, pop up cards, boxes, photo holders.... and that's just the card and gift section. There are also printable calendars, frames, scrapbook kits, models, 3D decoupage sheets - and the list goes on... I love the elegant and soft look of this cherry blossom stationery with matching envelope that I just printed out. I plan to use it to write an Easter note to my parents who live too far away to visit often. They'll be pleased as they much prefer a handwritten letter to a phone call or email. This is the pink version - it's also available in light blue and lavender, plus there are many other designs for each season of the year. Choices, choices!

As I've received several questions about the water lily that's pictured as my page header, I thought you might enjoy hearing the story of how it came to be. Early in 2007, members of a group of Delaware artisans to which I belong were invited to attend an exhibit titled Made By Delaware Hands. It showcased 120 Delaware-made objects from the 18th to 20th centuries. We were asked to choose a piece in the show and seek inspiration from it, creating something in the medium of our choice. Our contemporary work would bridge the past and be displayed alongside the original objects in an exhibit that was to be held later in the year. I really enjoy the challenge of making something that otherwise I might not have considered, so... game on! The piece that caught my eye was a rather astonishing, tall, and intricately detailed floral seashell arrangement. I wish I had a picture of it to show you. At the top was a realistic water lily with petals composed of mussel shells. The arrange...