I read somewhere recently that a good way to get over the fear of blogging, or more specifically the fear of not being able to come up with quality content is to just jump in and share something. So I’m trying that. I’m crunched for time, so there is nothing witty or profound to accompany these photos, but I just wanted to share a few peeks into my trip to New York that I mentioned a few posts ago. If you are the type of person who likes looking at other people’s vacation photos, or consider yourself an expert facebook creeper, you might want to peruse my Instagram feed for more photos from my trip and life in general. You can follow me @ThePaperGnome.

1. Ceramic Hedgehog Planter from west elm

2. Gold Pig Bookends from CB2

3. Floral Portable Turntable by Crosley from Urban Outfitters

4. Beeswax Gnome Candles from Atomic Garden

]]> http://thepapergnome.com/2013/04/09/these-are-a-few-of-my-favorite-things/feed/ 0 thepapergnome http://thepapergnome.com/2013/04/08/march-in-papercraft/ http://thepapergnome.com/2013/04/08/march-in-papercraft/#comments Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:30:56 +0000 thepapergnome http://thepapergnome.com/?p=650 ]]> It’s almost sad that I feel super on top of things posting my March papercraft roundup while April is still in the single digits. What can I say? I set my bar low and March was kind of a whirlwind for me. I turned 24 on the first, then I spent the next several weeks trying to work myself to death. Two jobs, mandatory overtime, very little sleep and 12-14 hour work days everyday. It wasn’t all nose to the grindstone, though. One of my jobs sent me to New York for two weeks to work at our Manhattan office and it was my first trip to the Big Apple. I had an amazing time and was super sad to come back to South Carolina. I can’t complain too much though. The weather here is beautiful (Nice to finally see you, Spring) and the papercraft roundup for today is pretty great. Here’s some papercraft illustrations that impressed me in the Month of March.

via: Erin Maala

I just found Erin Maala’s work this month and I was blown away. That’s a partial lie, because I had seen one of her pieces, this epic Ron Swanson illustration, before on Tumblr. As is sometimes the case on Tumblr, it was uncredited and I didn’t know who had made it. So glad that I found out because I have been drooling over her portfolio and pinning practically everything she has ever done on my Pinterest papercraft board. Suffice it to say, I’m a fan.

via: Aleksandra Davydenko

I’m not sure what exactly is going on in this illustration by Aleksandra Davydenko, but I like it. Any ideas of what might be happening?

via: Alice Colombo

Alice Colombo is probably going to develop into one of my favorite papercraft artists as well. This is style is my favorite. Really clean lines, and blocked off color. It’s clean, but so whimsical and her color choice is great. Can’t wait to see more from her.

via: Thumbdemon

Thumbdemon has quite a few pieces similar to this in their portfolio. I think the shapes are really nice, the cuts are clean, and the light play is really interesting. I don’t know if they pack the same punch when they aren’t backlit, which makes the piece a little harder to show off, but I’m impressed nonetheless.

via: Matt Walford

Matt Walford has a great style. It’s super simple and clean and looks like it would be easy to do. That’s just what he wants you to think.

via: giovana medeiros

How cute are these little portraits from giovana medeiros? I love this kind of papercraft, where the patterns and paper are all made by the artist as well. It just looks good. Plus, I have a soft spot for lumberjacks. What girl doesn’t, amirite?

The talented folks over at Typedepot out of Sofia, Bulgaria have put out some of my favorite free fonts. I’m looking at you, Piron and Matilde. You can download this font and many other Typedepot fonts for free here.

Don’t mind me, I’m just drooling over this gorgeous font by Molly Jacques in connection with Great Lakes Lettering. Unfortunately, it’s not available as a free font, but $30 bucks isn’t too much when you think of all the mileage you could get out of a lovely script like this. If it’s your cup of tea, buy it here. And if you’d like to see more of her gorgeous letter, you can visit Molly’s site or follow her blog here.

via: Louise Jenkins

How cool are the colors in this piece by Louise Jenkins? This is one of those cut paper projects that I have to look at several times to determine that it is, in fact made with paper. This one almost feels like a watercolor to me.

via: Florence Weiser

Florence Weiser has several pieces if you click on the photograph, which all feature some nice experimentation with type as well as fun graphic illustrations and patterned (!) paper. I don’t think we see enough patterned paper in papercraft these days.

via: Eiko Ojala

So, I’m kind of obsessed with this series of cut paper illustrations by Eiko Ojala that was done for a Estonian Weekly newspaper called Eesti Ekspress. The article was on eating habits and was called “Hunger for Love.” If you’ve ever asked yourself what a grown man would look like spooning a croissant, check out the rest of the series by clicking on the image. They are fabulous.

via: Louise Heng

I may be mistaken, but I think this series of Moroccan playing cards by Louise Heng is a student project. In my mind, that makes it all the more impressive. She’s done the Jack, Queen and King in the set, but I need more, Louise. Full deck, stat.

via: Daydreams and Nightschemes

I featured some cut paper type experimentation by Daydreams and Nightschemes in the January papercraft roundup, and they did not disappoint in February when they came back with this series of pieces about Deception. When the works are shown over a white field, all that is visible are the quotation marks. It’s only when light shines through them that the text appears. Pretty cool.

via: Alisa Brainard

I couldn’t not post this awesome piece by Alisa Brainard. I actually first saw it when I was doing the roundup for January (since I’m routinely  posting these almost a month late) and I was so bummed I had to wait an entire month to share it. I think she did a superb job. This piece has great texture and depth, and the layering is amazing. I hope to see more work from her in the future for sure.

via: Jared Andrew Schorr

One of my favorite pieces, from one of my favorite artists. I’m all about some all gold everything lately and Jared is tapping into that with these golden trees and adorable bears. Jared Andrew Schorr, you never let me down.

via: Kevin Stanton

Last but not least, this is an older piece by Kevin Stanton, and I’ve featured it before but I’m bringing it back because Kevin recently started selling prints of his work, which you can find by clicking the link to his store. I plan on purchasing a print of this beauty, asap. How about you?

via: Nicholas Lim

via: Natalia Mon

via: Daydreams and Nightschemes

via: Mick Theisen

via: Cezar de Costa

via: Emma Jackson

via: Carina

Life has been hectic in general. Working 12-14 hour workdays 5 to 6 days a week has been taking a toll on me. I’m exhausted but I know that this is going to push me forward to where I need to go. I will update ThePaperGnome as frequently as possible, but I can’t make any promises as to a timeline. Here are all of the lovely pieces that I found from January, my favorite being the last image by Carina, part of series on consumerism that I think is just brilliant. What a fun style of illustration. Be sure to check out the rest of her work!

Via: Jennifer Ho

Via: Manuel Melo

Via: Jeanie Chong

Via: Alexis Gallo

Via: Kim Phillips

This last one feels like cheating since its not actually paper. It is, however, inspired by Chinese paper cutting and it is so beautiful I had to share it.

Via: Julia Perry

I’m a pretty  big fan of my gift wrapping this year. The bows are handmade and based off of this tutorial from the Silhouette blog. The tutorial is actually on how to make a cute Christmas card using their machine and cutouts, but I just thought the bow design was precious, so I sketched out the design on some post-it notes at work and taught myself how to make it and when I was successful at that I just knew I was going to use it on my wrapping this year. What do you guys think? What’s your approach to wrapping gifts?

via Jared Andrew Schorr

This is a post, and by post, I mean post-it note. Those are post-it notes, people! Jared Andrew Schorr, one of my favorite favorite paper artists (mentioned on ThePaperGnome here, here, here and here) is back with some adorable papercrafted cameras, all made out of layered post-it notes. They are going to be part of Giant Robot’s 8th Post-it Show, and if you’re in the Los Angeles area, you can check it out December 8-16. More info on that here.

via Jared Andrew Schorr