Just when you think you've seen it all.........

:

See the samples of handmade paper in the photo above?  I received them along with a nice note from a friend, Nicole,who lives in Ethiopia.  

Nicole recently visited Chiang Mai, Thailand and found this unique paper there.   As a fellow papercrafter, she knew that I would be thrilled with this gift.  The handmade paper???  It's made from elephant poo ;o) - seems Chiang Mai is the location of an elephant sanctuary.   Did I mention that Nicole has an unusual sense of humor??  That's one reason why she's my friend.

Oh, the postage stamp carries on with the elephant theme......

I must admit that this isn't the first time I've received recycled poo as a gift.  A year or two ago a friend visited the Virgin Islands and brought me a souvenir......a bookmark made from recycled donkey poo.  Just in case you would like more information on recycled poo products, take a look here.

What about you????  Did you get something interesting in the mail today?

Paper and........

For those of you fortunate enough to live near Hobby Lobby (the closest one to me is 30 minutes away), you probably already know that they have *ALL* scrapbook paper 50% off this week - woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since I don't have enough paper (that would be sarcasm with a capital "S"), I stopped by the Lobby yesterday to see what I could find. Since this blog is about paper, I thought you might like to see what I got. I tore a couple of sheets out of each bundle so you could see how *CUTE* they are:



This one is "Lost & Found - Union Square" by My Mind's Eye. It is a 6 x 6 inch designer paper pad with 24 sheets of *double-sided* cardstock paper! The sheet on the right is a piece of music and the one on the left reminds me of a vintage wallpaper pattern. The pad has 2 pieces of 12 different designs.





The paper pad shown below has 8 pieces of 6 different designs = 48 sheets!!!! AND.....the sheets are double-sided. The paper size is 6"x6". It is the Conservatory pack by 7gypies. I really go for the vintage look and these papers do not disappoint. The 2 shown below look like pages from old textbooks showing different species of birds and butterflies. I can't wait to use these!

The following 2 pictures show 8 x 8 inch paper pads from October Afternoon. These are not double-sided but they are so cute.....who cares if they are double-sided or not! Both pads contain 34 cardstock papers (17 different designs). The first picture below is "5 & Dime". The paper on the right has the cutest design on it (kinda hard to see in the pic.....take my word for it- it is really cute). The paper on the left has 5 & Dime prices printed on it.



The other pack of October Afternoon paper that I bought was Modern Homemaker. The paper on the right is a red/cream plaid that kinda reminds me of the old oilcloth table covers. The picture on the left is a page from an old magazine with vintage advertising and 3 "prize-winning recipes". The pack also has paper that has vintage kitchen appliances/utensils printed on it.

I hope to make some cards soon using these new papers.....I will post pics. You may want to visit the websites (and then link to their blogs) for the companies listed above. Their websites and blogs have lots of great ideas along with other product lines. Happy crafting!!!!