Paper Arts & Crafts

I really love making things, particularly with paper. Actually, if I try my hand at crafts with any kind of thread or yarn, it's hopeless. The wonderful talents my grandmother, mom, and aunt have with sewing, knitting, quilting, and so forth seemed to have skipped me and gone directly to ElvenTiger. I think it might be because I'm part feline - I just get tangled up trying to play with the nifty strings! But that's okay. I've found my niche.

Each year I make collage cards for close family members. Here's a post I wrote last year about how I do it (with pictures). I've also begun to dabble in the more traditional type of collage-making. I've been making holiday cards with Mom this season, stamping and embossing and gluing. And although I haven't done much scrapbooking yet, every time I find myself in a craft store, I'm drawn to that section like a magnet. I love to cut paper snowflakes. Another type of paper craft I'd like to explore is origami; ElvenTiger has a kit that a friend gave her, and we're going to sit down and check it out some snowy evening.

I think one of my goals for the coming year will be about paper arts & crafts. I enjoy sharing my art, yet scrapbooking is rather personal, with pictures of one's own kids and pets and vacations. So I had a thought about making more elaborate collage pieces, sort of in a scrapbook style, but intended for display. And of course, making scrapbooks as gifts for family members. That might just be next year's holiday project...