PAPYRUS

As the week went by I thought to myself what in the world will I blog about next, but after spending a good while browsing around the bookstore it came to me…PAPYRUS greeting cards. When picking out the perfect card, I am one of those who use to spend hours doing so and rarely would I leave the store feeling completely satisfied with my purchase. After all the whole concept of buying a card is for someone close to your heart or someone who has touched your life in some way so of course you want it to be special. For some a card is simply a card, but for me it’s more than that.

Luckily I discovered Papyrus when I came to TCU. I don’t know what it is about Amarillo and small towns, but for some reason I never came across this brand until I landed in Fort Worth. PAPYRUS was founded in the family kitchen of Marcel and Margrit Schurman in 1950 and the word comes from the earliest form of paper crafter from the papyrus plant. The company believes in embracing all that life has to offer.  By that they “elevate everyday living and moments in that journey to become joyful events, visual statements and objects of beauty that convey a sense of self and punctuate the way we experience life.”

After 61 years and over 450 stores, PAPYRUS has come a long way. A company that offers an array of products including custom printed announcements, entertainment products, gift bags/wrapping, greeting cards, stationery, journals, note cards and other little goodies. They are now united behind the Schurman Retail group banner and operate multiple retail brands such as Carlton Cards Retail, American Greetings retail and Paper Thread (another one of my favorites). In providing the finest of the finest products, PAPYRUS continuing mission is to “establish itself as the undisputed destination and brand of choice for social expression products and services of exceptional quality, diversity and taste.”

Clearly by the sound of things, you can see that these greeting cards along with the other products are of the highest quality and it really does feel as if the customers are in mind when designing. They are cards filled with a great deal of consideration and creativity. I have found immense customer satisfaction and now I find myself spending hours deciding between cards instead of trying to find that perfect one. If you ask me, everything PAPYRUS is perfect. Regardless the occasion, they’ve got it all and boy do I love their stores.

Needless to say PAPYRUS is yet another that gives me endless inspiration. I’ve now started buying their cards for future art projects and ideas. See so for yourself  by visiting their website below. 

http://www.papyrusonline.com/ 

Collection :: Birds

I am not much of a collector, but one thing I find myself buying over and over are birds. Yes birds, not real ones of course. Call me crazy, but I am head over heels in love with them. I’ve always been an animal lover and by that I mean there has rarely been a stage in my life where I have been without some sort of animal around. Growing up our family has always been huge dog lovers, golden Labradors especially. They are nothing but all around great dogs… smart, energetic, house friendly, perfect for hunting. You name it. 

Other than such wonderful dogs, I always found myself bringing home a random animal for periods at a time that I could personally call my own. Gosh I’ve had everything from rabbits to itty-bitty shrimp, but the one animal that stuck with me, were birds. I can remember being a freshman in high school, coming home one late summer afternoon with a baby, baby bird. Some friends and I had been down at the lake when one of the dogs had pulled out a nest from inside the reeds. After retrieving it, I had found that two out of the three birds hadn’t made it. I was devastated and immediately took action to save the third considering the mother wouldn’t be back after being removed from its location. Of course I was frustrated with the dog for sticking its nose where it didn’t belong, but dogs will be dogs. 

So me being me, I put the little one in a shoe box, lined it with paper towels and punched holes in the top before heading home where my mom and I pulled out bird book after bird book as well as searched the web on how to save the little bird with no mother. My mom being practical and all told me our chances of saving the newborn were slim to none, but she helped me anyways knowing that I wasn’t one to give up without putting up a fight. I went as far as feeding it blended up worms and soil that I had dug up from the garden. When I wasn’t feeding it, I was hoping and praying the poor guy would pull through. The important thing was to keep it warm and handle as little as possible. I did so by setting it up next to my bed with a light bulb overhead. 

As you can imagine it made all sorts of noises, but that didn’t stop me from being by it at all times. I was attached. Unfortunately the little guy only made it a few nights and boy was I crushed! Long story short, I’ve been inspired by birds ever since. Inspired to the point of collecting them in all shapes and sizes, photographing them when given the chance and frequently drawing them as my main subject. I’m surrounded with bird décor, including the birdcage I turned into a lamp and filled with birds. Sometimes I wonder if it’s a little too much, but then again birds are the one thing that can make me smile on any given day so why not. If it weren’t for that baby bird, I might of never appreciated the qualities of birds that I do now.

bōk-ō

A book is a set or collection of written, printed, or blank pages fastened along one side and encased between protective covers; a long written or printed literary work; a major division of a treatise or literary work; a libretto. Books are made up of skin, paper, tablets or wood or ivory, parchment, or other various materials and within a book are single sheets known as leafs. Each side of a leaf is called a page. 

Written, printed, or blank, books have always been an inspiration of mine. In their simplest form, books are books, whether opened or closed. When opened they deliver insight, meaning, and purpose. They tell us stories, full of mystery, laughter, and thought. When closed they are just. They can be used as props or even creatively showcased on a-shelf. 

Books come in all shapes and sizes. Most are full of color, while others are black and white. Some may include text only. Some may include pictures only. Books can be boring, but they can also be full of life. Books are both big and small.

I don’t necessarily love reading, but more so the way a book is presented. By presentation, I mean the way one can use a book other than to read. For instance, in photography you can stack books this way and that way to make an amazing photograph. You can also fold the pages to create interesting designs, such as flowers and what not. It’s all about the layout. 

The pages within books are just as fun to work with. I am always cutting up pages to turn something old into something new. Cover a wall full of pages, whether text or pictures. Create different shapes out of the pages to hang from the walls. Or simply create an interesting object that can be useful in some way. 

Like I said, books are books and I love any and all things that have to do with books.