He Bugs Me

Direct from his apartment in Maine to his Etsy shop Paper Cuts by Joe paper artist, Joe Bagley, makes original works, each cut by hand. No lasers, dies, or prints. He has many dazzling examples of the paper cutting art, but one of my favorites of his is the Big Black Beetle. He also has many charmingly romantic pieces, already framed and ready to give, that would make touching first wedding anniversary gifts. You know, because first anniversaries are traditionally symbolized with PAPER--what what!?

7 foot paper Gundam

You can make this 7 foot paper Gundam too! You just need 720 pieces of paper and a bazillion spare hours. Instructable here.

"7FT Gundam" - Ultimate Papercraft from Taras Lesko on Vimeo.

Making a Statement

Jessica Jones of How about Orange reports that Punched Out is a free font that allows you to type letters, print, cut, fold, and glue to make 3D forms. Created by Tobias Sommer, it's available for download at Fontstruct "Punched Out" link above. She gave it a try while watching TV and said it was a little tedious to do, but perhaps it will only be only FUN for the Paper Forest crew though?! The results look incredible! So many cool possibilities...

Spinning Your Wheels

Making a wall of wheels, or paper rosettes, is a great way to make a HUGE impact at a party without a lot of fuss or cost, from just a pack of paper and some doilies – that’s it! Here’s a link to Ali P's basic tutorial from her blog Sprinkles of Charm on how to make this great back drop. I think it would also work with circles/disks instead of the dollies for a modern version, especially if made with interesting color stories.

Take Your Place

Designer Heather Moore of South Africa's brand Skinny LaMinx,has put her clever pop-up lasercut Garland placeholders into her Etsy shop. These little guys are perfect for adding a little bit of sweetness to a table setting, no matter how simple. They’re sold in sets of eight. Make a purchase through her Etsy shop, and you’ll get ELEVEN percent off your purchase by inserting the coupon code 11ELEVEN11 at the Etsy checkout through November 22. And right now she's giving away three sets of eleven to randomly drawn numbers from the comments on the post about them. Try your luck! Giveaway entries close at 6pm Cape Town time on Sunday evening. Please remember to leave her your contact details with your comment.

Paper + Typograpghy = Inspiring ABC's

I saw these wonderfully detailed paper letter forms on Sabeena Karnik's (an artist and designer from Mumbai, India) Portfolio on Behance and was smitten with her beauteous way with curls. See the whole alphabet at the link.

Pacaderm Pirate Panash

Racky Road How disarmingly endearing is this Pirate Elephant from delightful mixed media artist, Kristin Batsel, from Marietta, Georgia, who loves working with "paper, doodads, and bits and bobs". Her blog, junk&stuff, Her Etsy She's on Craftsterwhich is where I first saw her work (via Pinterest) and a designer for Alpha Stamps.

If you are feeling inspired by her work, why not get a hold of a papier maché blank of whatever strikes your fancy and have a go?!

Leaves for the Table

Paper adds infinite charm to everything, even the Thanksgiving table. Such a simple shape, cut from simple plain colored paper, strewn under platters, plates, and mixed in with your centerpiece, can make a holiday table so creative, inviting, and cheerful. Get ready>>> cut! Instructions From the Martha Stewart Crafts Department: Paper-Leaf How-To Add these leaves to bowls of gourds, or lay a few along a tablecloth. We used light-green paper, but you can use any color you like. 1. Trace or print the leaf template

onto the back of a piece of decorative paper, and cut out as many leaves as you want. 2. To give the leaves more dimension, fold them outward at notches and inward along lobes. 3. Use a length of paper-covered wire for a stem, and use hot glue to affix it to the center back of the leaf. Let dry. 4. Coil the wire stem around the handle of a wooden spoon or a pencil; slip off.

Stable and Wearable Paper Jewels

Artist Lydia Hirte makes lovely miniature paper sculpture pieces that are worn as jewelry.

[photos: Jürgen Kossatz]

She writes about her techniques: forming and fixation under strong pressure
"On account of applying my different methods and techniques I am able to generate strong tension within the cardboard. These I use to create self supporting structures. The resulting objects are stable and resilient. These is the reason why I need not apply the standard paper handling techniques - gluing, folding, nesting - and why I need not use additional reinforcements such as metal, bars, other rivets or other support within the spatial structure. So my technique allows both to overcome the well known restrictions of working with paper and to make use of the advantages of this material. To my knowledge I generally extend through this technique the possibilities of working with paper in the arts. So far I came neither across works in jewellery nor in paper arts in which tension is used in such an intensive and essential way.

With my recent group “One week in May – or seven possibilities to move my hands” I have enriched my knowledge on and my possibilities to apply my hands for creating pressure and indirectly forming the material. This provides me with a wider scope for using my hands in subsequent works. Combining this with other techniques further developed enables me to use the material in a less restrictive way and to extend the spatiality in my works."