Alright, I've had it. I've searched all over the internet for weeks and spent some time searching and re-searching this forum, but couldn't find my answer. So I shall ask  

I need to know how the other talented artisans get their paper!

Do you buy it on rolls? And where from?

I'm talking about the smooth finish, writing paper for a typical journal - no crazy art journals or anything.

I've found a website with pre-sewn text blocks, but prefer to sew them myself.

So what's the easiest, most economical way to get a whole bunch of paper?

(Up until this point, I've pretty much been using high-quality copy paper. Southworth resume paper and the like, 8 1/2 by 11.)

Or maybe I'm just being crazy, and there is no secret way to get paper? Maybe everyone uses those stacks of 500-sheet resume paper in ivory?

Please help!

Yup, that's what I'm calling it, a polydiary    I have always loved making journals and binding blank books but I also recently fell in love with polymer clay. The result? Hand-stitched journals with artsy clay covers! I love 'em. I was inspired by all of the tree of life stuff on the jewelry board to come up with this particular creation, and thought I'd share.    (You may have seen some of my earlier clay journals in earlier posts...I think I've improved since then.) I'm calling this one Antigone, after the Greek tragic heroine of that name.







Comments/critique would be much appreciated

Now that I have to give Christmas gifts to both my family and my long-time boyfriend's family, buying them is way too expensive. Solution? Knitting! I decided to start with something small for my sister, and a hat was just the thing. I wanted to use specialty yarn to give it a little extra flare, but living in a small town makes it difficult to find anything worthwhile in the yarn department. Solution? Etsy! After browsing for a couple of days and deciding which type of fiber I wanted, I stumbled upon http://www.angoraonline.com/, a lovely little shop with 100% angora yarn, and inexpensive enough for making gifts. I bought a 50 yard skein, assuming I would have enough to make a hat, but had a hard time finding a pattern that specified exactly how much yarn I would need. So I decided to create my own! I received the yarn today and it was so yummy that in my excitement it only took me a few hours from start to finish. This pattern uses almost exactly 50 yards of 100% angora yarn, with just enough left for seaming it up. The slight variation in the width of the handspun yarn and the large stitches make the seam completely invisible.



**A note about my use of two needles: I have never used DPN's before, and was planning to try them out on this project, when I discovered that no shop within 90 miles of my desolate town carries any of them! Since I don't have a car and didn't want to ask a friend to drive me 90 miles just for $2.50 DPN's, I improvised. I hope that as a side effect this makes the pattern more accessible to everyone.**

You can find the free pattern at:
http://brittnikayne.blogspot.com/2009/03/kirstins-hat-my-first-free-online.html

Happy Knitting!

I'm rather proud of these little beauties i cooked up over the last weekend before I return to college...I had to craft my ass off before school drains all of my time away!

First clay cover blank book, and first attempt at TLS. I got a bottle for christmas and i adore the stuff! (There's a see-through TLS window in the front).


A delicate pink rose...


Yes, I'm a coffee-lover...


This one was inspired by Lolth, the Spider Queen (I've been reading lots of Drizzt), and subsequent dreams in which I was chased around by black widows


And the last, inspired by this tutorial: http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_MayFlowersMask.htm.


Thanks for looking!

I was inspired by kabidesigns to create some polymer clay pendants...i love astrological-type stuff, so I started there...

Solis


Luna


oopsies...there's some mod podge there by the star that's not quite dry yet

I hand-sculpted both of these without molds, let me know what you think

So awhile back I was using those little flat glass marble thingys, the ones for vases or fish bowls or whatever, to make magnets out of, and I didn't much like the results and I had a whole bunch left that I never found a use for. Well, lately I've been making polymer clay jewelry and I finally discovered a clever way to incorporate these things into my projects! They may not be precious jewels, but they're round and shiny and have a sort of futuristic-feel to them. C&C welcome 

I just created a new account because my old one was ridiculously old, with a username I was no longer a fan of...so i'm a newbie who's not really new! Unfortunately that means that I can't post pics yet...

I started making polymer clay jewelry, but then my sister gave me a bunch of faux pearls. I have been wanting to make something Marie Antoinette-ish ever since seeing the movie with Kirsten Dunst, and this is what I was inspired to come up with:

Flower was handmade by me out of various fabrics; the pearls are strung on four strands of wire.


On my willing model (teehee):


Thanks for looking!

I just created a new account because my old one was ridiculously old, with a username I was no longer a fan of...so i'm a newbie who's not really new! Unfortunately that means that I can't post pics yet...

I've been wanting to make some things in polymer clay for awhile but never got up the courage to purchase all the materials until a couple of weeks ago. Here are some of my favorite results of taking the plunge:

Green bracelet that reminds me of Ireland. My first attempt at moibus beads (I think I failed, but I like how they turned out!)


A violet set with a bracelet and earrings. I got these really cool metal things to put on the sides of the beads before poking the holes in them (don't remember what they're called). I used them with the purple beads on the earrings.

Dragonflies and flowers! This was my first attempt at using Mod Podge as sculpey glaze (it works wonderfully!). I was inspired by the 96-cent metal charms at Walmart haha.

Thanks for looking!