Things made of Paper

I love paper!! I am a paperophile!!! Even in this age of technology with my trusty Macbook at my side I will turn to paper and pen to write down my ideas and thoughts or when I need to plan or program something.  I need the physical tactile paper and pen process to help it flow.   This paper dependency is part of the motivation (read most) behind the creation of my journals from recycled vintage books.

As part of my exploration of the crafting world I am going to do a series of Things made of.....  It begs the question how many different things can 'things' be made from?

 Tiny Stars by Rach of Missisaau. I think they would look great
scattered amongst candles as a table decoration

 Dress made from a phone book. Check out the rest of these on Flickr jolispaons

 These lights are fantastic! I want one or two by tesselight

I recently had the pleasure of winning this gorgeous
print by Narelle of ruby victoria.  So here I am  boasting :)

The detail in this paper sculpture by Allen and Petty Eckman
is breathtaking.
They have a whole series  of  Native American pieces.

I'm thinking of these for my daughters 21st...
 they are so beautiful - by prosttothehost

I found this company for Paper Party goods that are also eco friendly.
How yummy are these cupcake wrappers by green party goods

The possibilities with paper are endless.  It's one of the most versatile mediums around and I would have a reeeeeaaallly long blog post if I tried to do it justice.  I did really control myself and not just include lots and lots of stationery to which I am addicted and there are obviously lots of talented and creative people who produce amazing stationery.

Here are a few of my faves:  Ruby Victoria Letterpress, Red Letter Studio, Mulberry Muse

What should I investigate next time??? 

The wonderful world of shrink plastic.

I recently rediscovered something that I couldn't resist playing with again - shrink plastic!  Remember Shrinky Dinks???  Or for those who couldn't afford Shrinky Dinks the 'old chip packet in the oven' then made into earrings phase.

Whilst browsing around blog land I discovered this cute tutorial by Cathe Holden over at Just something I made on how to make a customised shrink plastic ring..  Instantly, my brain was filled with shrink plastic possibilities.  Thanks to the www and online shopping I soon had my own pack of inkjet printable shrink plastic which I immediately had to play with. (patience is not a virtue)

3 easy steps. Print, Cut and Bake.

Here are my 1st attempts with shrink plastic.  I printed out some pretty lace doilies to make buttons with.  A Mr Phrenology Head for a ring and necklace.  And the VW Bugs because I am opening a new shop 'red punch buggy' and I thought I could make badges or magnets as thank you gifts.

The 1st batch are ok I was fairly pleased with the outcome but I need to play with the cooking time to eliminate the slight buckle in the pieces. It says they are maleable for a little while when they come out of the oven but you have to move quick (and I'm not quick enough juggling hot things).  I  gave them a quick sand and then used a paint on acrylic gloss to seal them which made the ink bleed a little so the next batch will get a spray on coat instead.   I don't know if this batch will become what they were intended for as I'm a bit of a perfectionist and these are practice pieces but I have a few ideas that I cant wait to try out next.  

If all goes to plan I will have a shrink plastic range of goodies in my new store.  If is doesn't work out then at least I've had fun reliving past fun times.  

Go grab a cuppa and let's catch up....

So much has happened over the last month, I though I would take a couple of moments to catch up.

Firstly, congrats to Verity of Joie de Tea for winning my giveaway.  Her vintage book choice was The Philosophers Notebook and here is how it looks as a journal.

I think it turned out great and Verity was very happy too!!  I must say thank you to everyone who entered and especially those who now follow, like and twitter re:deem.

There was a mutual admiration week with Blog features, mine being on the lovely Samara from Maddabling you can read about her here.  And she in turn did a feature on me!!!  What an honour to be considered and as always Samara is very generous and kind.   You can find it here why not give Samara a little blog love while you're there.

re:deem has now expanded into a new line since I got my act together and put the discarded pages from my vintage books into use.  Even though most of my books have been rescued from becoming landfill or  from their 'sick book' status, I still could not bring myself to throw out the pages once they had been converted into journals.    There are so many lovely pieces that I have put together vintage ephemera packs and with the text and music started making layered paper posies.  There is nothing quite like the look and texture of vintage paper. I'm secretly obsessed with the posies they are going everywhere cards, parcels. Verity confided to me that she copied the one I gave her and used them as table decorations for her 'Christmas in July' party....wonderful!

I'm also investigating opening a new store....what????  The ethic behind re:deem is to use recycled, upcycled, and vintage elements. However, there are so any other things I want to explore that don't quite fit with this ethos. So, filled with enthusiasim and the confidence and knowledge I've picked up in my year on Etsy I've begun dreaming of a new store...somebody slap me....please. :)

On a personal note, I've completed and sent off all my documentation to apply for R.P.L. (recognised prior learning) on my course, fingers crossed it knocks off a big chunk.  Knuckling down to study this month has been hard I really did need to take a break between finishing work and starting study.

Our youngest turned 16...yikes.  I guess that makes me positively middle aged now that I have 3 adult children and only 1 child.  He only wanted XBox related gear but I did some window shopping on Etsy ...as you do, looking for what they have to offer a teenage boy.  Here's a few items I found....in case you have a teenage male that isn't XBox obsessed to buy for.

Need  I say more??? from queensspoof

And this tshirt for my mexican food loving son (It was his birthday meal request)

From the TheShirtDudes

And since he spends most of his time killing zombies i though he might need one of these.

from CraftieRobot

Virtual shopping is so much fun!!.  

Well enough chatting about me, what's going on in your world???