I love paper!

December 11, 2006December 15, 2006

okay, I found this, too!

Now I’m done for. The same fabulous site has an old maps section. (Sheeeeeeeila!)

Here’s one I’m loony about — not surprisingly — The Strait of Magellan:

I’m gonna get lost over there. Someone come get me. I’ll leave bread crumbs.

November 30, 2006November 30, 2006

I don’t know if it’s just my mood or if this means I’m at risk of succumbing to the boozy canine charms of the whole “Dogs Playing Poker” genre, but, well, I like this Christmas paper, from Kate’s Paperie, a place I absolutely MUST go to when I visit NYC. Someday.

Anyway, I like this. S’fun. S’silly. (I’m partial to the wolfhoundy looking dog running away with the garland. I am not drunk. I swear.)

It’s weird. This next wrapping paper seems soft and mod to me at the same time. Cool. It’s 3.75 for a 19 x 28″sheet and there’s a 3-sheet minimum order, but still, you’ll only be spending, oh, 11.25 (plus shipping) to buy this for me.

Seriously, peeps. This is some nice stuff. NOT to be used to wrap schlocky presents for musty ol’ Aunt Duddy.

November 13, 2006November 23, 2006

I love (other people’s) paper!

Someone left this shopping list on a table at The Beanhouse.

Uhm, don’t you mean organic flax cereal, Garden Burger?

November 6, 2006November 23, 2006

Ooh, I like this site. You can go to that page and dress ’em up. Favorite literary characters. Hollywood icons. Famous ballet dancers. I just find it soothing from time to time, clicking on the different outfits. Plus, I think the artwork on the dolls is just plain ol’ fun. (You can also order the paper dolls, if you like.)

Becky Sharp, Vanity Fair

Emma Woodhouse, Emma

Random Hollywood Glamour Girl

Rita Hayworth

And since I don’t want any of the fellers feeling left out …. here’s, well, Nijinsky for you …before he went insane (or maybe not). Hahahaha!

September 6, 2006November 23, 2006

I love paper

Oh, dear peeps — look at these! Just LOOK at them! For a very long time! Because you have fallen in love with them! And the artist!

So magical. So whimsical.

I love everything about these. Everything. From Ann Wood.

May 17, 2006November 23, 2006

I love paper

It’s true. I do. I’m a bit obsessed with it. Decorative papers, wrapping papers, handpainted papers. I love how paper feels, how you can shape it to your vision, even if your vision is just a random doodle, a scribble of words. I love the endless possibilities of something so utterly simple. And I love LOVE it when I find people doing beautiful things with paper, like Rouge de Garance, a company whose stated mission is to create loveliness in the form of “a new French paper brand.”

Here are some samples of their 30″ x 30″ sheets. I just want to swim in these. Wrap ALL presents for the rest of my days in these. Paper my rooms with these. Told you I was obsessed. I love how the first two are so cool and retro and how the last two look like old hotel wallpaper and how the middle one is rather a combination of both:

May 12, 2006November 23, 2006

artist trading cards 4

Haven’t posted these in a while! I love the fourth one.

April 19, 2006November 23, 2006

the doll

All right. So a while back I got this ….. idea.

A friend who lives on the East coast was sick. I was praying for her, but wanted a way to express solidarity with her, so to speak, a tangible way to be with her even if I couldn’t be WITH her, something other than flowers or a card. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

So …. I came up with this Prayer Doll below.

First, I found myself a paper doll template that I liked. This one is chubby and goofy and wonky; it just appealed to me, somehow. Then, I found an old photo of me (it’s actually my very first school picture, kindergarten), photocopied it in black and white, hand-colored it, and then – oh, THEN — I made her THIS ridiculous get-up. It was last Christmas and my friend is Irish, hence, the red-and-green-plaid theme.

Oh, I spent countless hours putting this together! I can’t even remember how many times I got to cut off my own photocopied head and redo it! It was like a mad frenzy of creative self-loathing! Strangely thrilling!! I would sit there, picture of me in hand, muttering to myself in my mania, Oh, yeah, yeah? Well, you’re …. and …. and ….! So there! Take that! And then, SNNIPPP! It sounds bizarre, I suppose, but it was rather cathartic, as I was unemployed and had pneumonia and drowning in the self-pitying melancholy of it all. I’m still melancholy, but now glamorously underemployed. And also, clearly over the whole self-pitying thing.

Anyway, my “top” is made of painted, embossed paper. My “skirt” is made from petals pulled from some velvety, artificial flowers that I use on presents for that extra touch of priss. There’s also some wired plaid ribbon, some raffia, and tiny green and gold seed beads on my “belt.”

Hahaha! I’m completely INSANE!!

Finally, though, on the back of the doll, I printed a prayer for my friend, something that I wanted her to know I was praying for her.

Anyway, for those of you curious what I look like — here I am — 5 years old!! Sadly, grown-up, flesh-and-blood Tracey doesn’t have ANY clothes made of petals. I’ll have to get me some. And my feet are rather dainty, not stumps. And my hands are rather delicate, not stubs.

(But that IS my white, white hand holding little paper Tracey’s white white hand. And that’s our brand new sofa. And these shots are cropped verry tight so that you can’t see all the paint color test patches on our wall! And the face … well, that’s how it copied. Fuzzy-ish. I liked it. It’s avant garde, people!)

I had so much fun making this for my friend that I made a PIPER paper doll for my niece, complete with about 5 utterly unreasonable, princessy outfits. I’ll have to post those soon!

Check out the stumpy feet I tried to outfit with petite toe shoes!