Illustrated Paper Goods by Esther Aarts

June 15, 2015 // kristen // 0 replies

I’ve admired Esther Aarts’ wonderful work since I first spotted it several years ago over at Hello! Lucky, and I was totally jazzed to discover that Esther also has her own shop, which is filled with awesome illustrated paper goodies.

Esther’s current offerings include many guy-friendly art prints and cards, which are perfect for this, the most dad-centric time of the year. Below are a few of my favorites, and please head on over to the Esther Aarts shop to see all of her wonderful illustrated goods.

images from Esther Aarts

The Beauty of Letterpress, 11th Edition

May 19, 2015 // kristen // 0 replies

As a longtime fan of Von Glitschka’s work, I’m excited to see that he, along with Denver-based letterpress printer Genghis Kern, has collaborated with Neenah Paper for Edition 11 of The Beauty of Letterpress series. His print, “Old School Meets New School”, brings together two contrasting creative methods to complement each other. “Old School” represents letterpress, while “New School” refers to working with digital methods.

As Glitschka says, “This creative yin-yang balances the old and new methods — digital allows us to create things with greater ease, while analog printing like letterpress allows us to reproduce it with the aesthetic that only antiquated methods can produce.”

This fun and funky letterpress print is available for just $5, and all proceeds from the purchase price help support The Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum, the only museum dedicated to the preservation, study, production, and printing of wood type.

Here are some photos of the creative process behind this very cool project:

images from Neenah Paper / Von Glitschka

Drawing in the Rain, a Letterpress Print by Suzy Ultman

April 06, 2015 // kristen // 0 replies

Suzy Ultman’s latest piece, Drawing in the Rain, is all about springtime, and I welcome any and all paper lovelies that welcome a season of warmer weather and blooming flowers after what has been a very long and cold winter!

Inspired by Gene Kelly, one of her childhood heroes, and his iconic Singin’ in the Rain dance routine, the whimsical composition is filled with Suzy’s wonderful illustrations, as well as beautiful, watercolor-y textures and a pink and gray color palette that reminds me of the illustrations from one of my favorite children’s stories, The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown.

This special piece was printed by Igloo Letterpress and is a part of their Move Our Igloo Kickstarter campaign, which will help the Igloo move to a bigger space and to add dedicated space for local community classes and public projects. The campaign is in its last week, and they’re over halfway to their goal, so head on over and check it out.

Igloo Letterpress will also be selling Suzy’s Drawing in the Rain as a card (shown below), and I can’t wait for that!

images from Suzy Ultman

Belinda Rodriguez Paper Sculpture

March 16, 2015 // kristen // 0 replies

Los Angeles-based designer, illustrator, and paper artist, Belinda Rodriguez, is a freelance motion designer by day, doing branding and commercial work. After hours, she creates personal illustration, design, and paper craft projects that include amazing paper sculptures like these from her recent “Inked” and “Split Personality” series.

Art has been a big part of Belinda’s life from a very young age, and her passion is obvious in her incredible work. One of her trademarks is the incorporation of illustration in her paper sculptures, which results in incredible art pieces that are a unique blend of fantastic dimension and beautiful, illustrated details.

Have a look at some of Belinda’s amazing paper sculptures below, and be sure to head over to her site to see more of her work. P.S. After I wrote this post, I discovered that Ann from All Things Paper also recently featured Belinda’s work and asked her a few things about her process and future creative plans, so you’ll want to check that out, too!