Day 8: Our Favorite Things-Art Supplies Series: Paper!

Welcome to Day 8 of
"Our  Favorite Things - Art Supplies!" Series.  

In no particular order; Jodi, Penny, and Jean will take turns sharing a few of
their creative must-haves.

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Greetings, gentle readers!  Pardon our fumble, yesterday -- we are back in the groove, and in keeping with the wisdom that "good things come to those who wait," we will carry on with our countdown and if you have been waiting to to weigh in with your own favorite things, now you will have an extra day!  We can hardly wait to hear about the things you love to work with! 

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Hello, gang -- Penny here, again.  At the risk of appearing a "one note wonder" my final installment in our countdown once again features PAPER.  Don't get me wrong, I love paints, markers, inks, brushes, canvases, and all manner of artful goodness!  However, the starting point for virtually any project is usually the same for me:  what paper best serves to tell the story I wish to relay.

Vintage dictionaries (loaded with woodcut illustrations), atlases (colorful representations of faraway lands),
ledgers and stock certificates (with their patinas of handling and age related wear), and onion skin paper.
...these are a few of my favorite things!

Today, I have turned my camera on some of the treasures in my collection -- okay, fair is fair -- VAST collection of vintage papers to share with you the utter joy I find in working from this point of origin.  Having previously discussed my appreciation of quality Art Papers, and utter amazement at the sheer volume of Handmade Papers, I am now focusing on the heart of my horde -- vintage papers.

The vivid colors and fine details of lithographed cigar bands.

The muted colors and sequential numbers of British bus tickets.

The beautiful engravings and foreign mystique of Chinese commodity coupons.

Labels and tickets and coupons, OH MY!  I am not really sure how it started...  I remember playing Post Office with my cousin as a young girl -- using the "lick and stick" magazine stamps from Publishers Clearing House as our postage stamps.  The simple pleasure found in folding on the perforations, the satisfying whisper as the coupon was cleanly separated from rest of the sheet...  For as long as I can recall, I have been enamored with all things paper!

Old calendars yield beautiful illustrations (and all those NUMBERS!?).  Unusual bits and pieces can add an exotic flair or surprising 'pop' to virtually any creative undertaking.  Is it any wonder I can't seem to get enough of these treasures?

Birds from two old calendars find new life amid dictionary pages
in this mixed media triptych.

Altered tickets burst from a tiny blizzard book constructed from an index page of a vintage atlas.

 

An embossed cigar box label becomes a shadow box, framing the island of Sicily.
A tiny bird from a tea card peeks in.

So...  How about you? 
Do you have a favorite "oh, you can't throw THAT away"
ephemeral notion? 
Is there a 'certain thing' that you always have your eyes peeled for
during an outing to thrift stores and/or yard sales?

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