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Japanese paper crafts

Japanese paper crafts blog posts (featuring origami for beginners comic)

Am I the world's biggest dork for finding humor in this Origami for Beginners comic?


Introduction

I fell head over heels in love with Japanese paper in 2009 when planning for my then upcoming wedding.

It all started with me searching on Google for a Toronto stationery store (I was exploring ways to custom design/create our wedding invitations from scratch). That led me to discovering The Paper Place, a stationery store located at the heart of Toronto’s famous Queen St. West, right across the street from the Trinity Bellwoods park.

Now, this isn’t just any plain ol’ stationery store. Ranking up there with Romni Wools, The Paper Place has now become one of my favorite “crafty” indie stores in Toronto. They have an amazing stock of mostly Japanese papers… one of the most extensive collection in all of North America, in fact! Especially since they have an online store that delivers to practically everywhere in the world.

My favorite type of Japanese paper would have to be hand-silkscreened, delicately patterned Chiyogami paper. If you’re familiar with Japanese paper, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. You’re also likely aware that no other type of Japanese paper can compare against the gorgeousness of Chiyogami.

Anyway, I’ve actually accumulated quite the collection… made possible thanks to The Paper Place’s regular “Make Your Own Scrapbag” sale. Check out my Chiyogami, Katazome and Lacquered Yuzen Japanese paper stash from when I last attended the sale below…

The Paper Place - Chiyogami and Katazome Japanese paper scrapbag dissection

Dissecting my personal scrapbag of Chiyogami and Katazome Japanese papers from The Paper Place

The Paper Place - corresponding legend to my Chiyogami and Katazome Japanese paper scrapbag dissection

Corresponding legend to my Chiyogami and Katazome Japanese paper scrapbag dissection

Image source: Comic used in Japanese paper crafts intro image courtesy of Bizarro.com, tweaked by Karina of KnittingandPurling.com. Photographs used in dissection images of my personal Japanese paper stash ©2010-2011 Karina of KnittingandPurling.com.

You’ll find below a list of all Knitting & Purling blog posts pertaining to Japanese paper crafts. Enjoy!

Blog Posts on Japanese Paper Crafts

Eagerly anticipating the Handmade Broaches workshop at The Paper Place Japanese paper store tomorrow!

2011
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I’m super excited, I signed up for this Handmade Broaches workshop at The Paper Place Japanese paper store in Toronto a while back, and it’s taking place tomorrow! (Well, technically today, since it’s already 2am… should really be sleeping, shouldn’t I?)

This is the workshop description from their website:

“Dive into our stash of beautiful paper off-cuts to create your own unique wood mounted broaches. Whether you make a mini collage or use straight Chiyogami, these beauties will make wonderful gifts – if you can bear to give them away!” -The Paper Place website

I’ll blog all about the workshop after tomorrow, including posting some photos. Stay tuned…

The Paper Place Spring 2011 workshop - Handmade Broaches

Can't wait to attend the "Handmade Broaches" workshop at The Paper Place store!



Image Source: Workshop description picture courtesy of ThePaperPlace.ca

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Time for another “Make Your Own Scrapbag” sale at The Paper Place! Plus, completing the dissection of my last scrapbag

2011
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The Paper Place Make Your Own Scrapbag sale ad (04-10-11)

It's time again to pay money to dig through trash! (OK, that didn't exactly come out right...)

If you’ll recall, back in October last year I had blogged about how happy I was to finally be able to make it to one of The Paper Place‘s famous “Make Your Own Scrapbag” sale… where you’re given an empty plastic bag for a set fee, and in return you’re free to dive into bin after bin after bin of gorgeous Japanese paper scraps while trying to stuff as much of it as possible into your “scrapbag.”

Last time I went, I was so giddy I felt like a child on Christmas morning… even though technically all I was doing was spending over an hour rummaging through what most normal people would call trash. But hey, if everyone else around me were equally delighted to be sorting through trash, then there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this picture!

Anyway, I’m bringing this up today because I just found out there’s another “Make Your Own Scrapbag” sale rolling into town this April, on the 10th! Just letting all of you know that I will be there. At the store. Front and center. Prepped and ready for some heavy duty digging. Right at the stroke of 4 o’clock.

The Paper Place Scrapbag Sale - My filled scrapbag of paper scraps from the last sale

A peek into my custom collection of Japanese paper scraps from the last Paper Place Scrapbag Sale

And to celebrate the return of the “Make Your Own Scrapbag” sale, I’ve decided to finally finish dissecting my scrapbag from the last sale (which I had started in a blog post written back in October, a couple days after the last sale)… a Japanese paper scrapbag “unboxing” of sorts, if you will. Check it out below!

It should be noted that I’m only dissecting the Chiyogami, Katazome, and Lacquered Yuzen Japanese paper from my collection. I was lucky enough to get my hands on tons of other papers (like handmade Japanese tissues, Torinoko Momi paper, Washi paper, and Nepalese handmade Lokta paper)… but they’re not as pretty and as beautiful as hand silkscreened Chiyogami paper, of course.

Dissection of my Chiyogami and Katazome scrapbag collection

Dissecting my Chiyogami & Katazome scrapbag collection

Legend tied to my Chiyogami and Katazome scrapbag collection dissection

Legend corresponding to my Chiyogami & Katazome scrapbag dissection



Image Source: “Make Your Own Scrapbag” sale advertisement image courtesy of ThePaperPlace.ca. All dissection images & photographs ©2010-2011 Karina of Knitting & Purling.

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What does “Black Friday” mean to you? Lining up for hours to fight strangers over door crasher deals? That’s silly. Next time, do it the online way… with coupons!

2010
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Natalie Dee Comics - Black Friday shopping

Ah, yes. The sacrifices one has to make in order to get land those pesky Black Friday deals!

Happy Black Friday, everyone!

That’s right, that day is here. Y’know, the one day of the year where stores across the US all simultaneously go berzerk slashing prices, thereby forcing grown men and women to act like children, getting into physical altercations with strangers just to get their hands on the “limited number” of door crasher sale items that they had stood in line in the cold for hours (or even days!) to get.

Seriously, have you seen some of these pictures of Black Friday lines? It’s utter insanity! Check it out.

Photo collage of insane Black Friday lines

Photo collage depicting the utter insanity that is Black Friday

Now, I’m not saying people shouldn’t take advantage of rock-bottom Black Friday sale prices. I mean, I’m all for discounts and savings. Me and frugality? We’re best friends. All I’m saying is, it just doesn’t make any logical sense to stand around for hours at the crack of dawn (I’m not even going to acknowledge those who would stand in line for days… don’t get me started!), all so you can fight, claw and push your way to those coveted door crasher items.

Do you know what does make sense? Taking advantage of online Black Friday discounts! Why, you ask?

Perks to online shopping on Black Friday

  1. Shop from the comfort of home

    2. >> Why freeze to death while standing in line for hours (or days!), outside on a cold November morning (old days!)? If you shop online on Black Friday, you won’t even need to change from your pajamas!
    >> Plus, the chances of you getting into a physical altercation with a stranger are zero to none. Whereas if you were to hit the stores in person? If you want to get your hands on those door crasher deals, good luck trying to avoid a fight!

  2. Access to “online-only” Black Friday deals that are as good as (if not better than!) the in-store offers

    3. >> With each passing year, more and more retailers are going down the online route. So y’know those coveted door crasher in-store Black Friday deals that people stand in line for hours to get? Retailers are slowly starting to post those same deals online. That means you’ll likely able to get equal access to those door crasher deals, but from your computer!
    >> Retailers are also starting to offer Black Friday deals that are exclusively available to online shoppers only! So if you neglect to go down the online shopping route, you may actually miss out on the best Black Friday sales available!

  3. …there are many more perks, too many to list here!

Like I said, with each passing year, more and more people will be turning to online shopping in order to take advantage of Black Friday discounts. We’re pretty much almost reached that point already in 2010. How do i know this? Because I tried checking out the online Black Friday offers for Victoria’s Secret during my lunch break at work on Friday, and discovered the entire Victoria’s Secret website down!! Can you imagine? A company of that caliber, having its entire online shopping site crash due to an overload of visitors… on the busiest shopping day of the year!

Victorias Secret website down on Black Friday error message

There were so many people checking out the online Black Friday deals on Victoria's Secret, they temporarily crashed the entire website!

Since I’m both a die hard shopper (let’s just say, if shopping was like martial arts, I would have a black belt), and I work in the online shopping industry, Black Friday is like Christmas and my birthday rolled into one… and I’m not even American! But like I said earlier, more and more retailers are rolling out their Black Friday sales online, and most ship to Canada. I spent the majority of tonight mining through offers from my favorite retailers, and here are some notable ones that caught my eye…

Victorias Secret Black Friday 2010 sale ad

"Buy one, get one 50% off" Black Friday bra sale at Victoria's Secret!


Victoria’s Secret

  • Black Friday Offer: Buy one bra, get one 50% off!
  • Coupon code: VSBOGO
  • Expiry: Valid through 11:59pm EST on November 30, 2010 (while supplies last)

Rag and Bone Bindery Black Friday 2010 sale ad

Rag & Bone Bindery's "25% off" Black Friday sale!


Rag & Bone Bindery

  • Black Friday/Cyber Monday offer: Save 25% off sitewide!
  • Coupon code: None needed
  • Expiry: Valid November 26 to 29, 2010

The Paper Place Black Friday 2010 sale ad

The Paper Place's "20% off Chiyogami paper" Black Friday sale!


The Paper Place

  • Black Friday week offer: 20% off Chiyogami paper on our online shop!
  • Coupon code: None needed
  • Expiry: Valid November 22 to 28, 2010



Image Sources: Images used in Black Friday lines photo collage courtesy of Blog.BlackFriday2010.com, NoCaptionNeeded.com, DoorofTruth.com, USAToday.com, NYDailyNews.com & Technorati.com. Victoria’s Secret images courtesy of VictoriasSecret.com. Rag & Bone Bindery image courtesy of RagandBoneBindery.com. The Paper Place images courtesy of ThePaperPlace.ca.

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Dissecting my custom-filled scrapbag of Japanese paper from The Paper Place!

2010
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Paper Place Scrapbag Sale (10-24-10) - Photo of people searching for scraps

Photo taken on my iPhone of The Paper Place Scrapbag Sale in action (where people were beyond thrilled to be searching frantically through buckets of paper scraps!)

Last week, I blogged about my excitement over finally being in town for the “Make Your Own Scrapbag” sale at The Paper Place, the best Japanese paper store in all of Toronto.

As promised, I attended the event this past Sunday, and I can’t wait to blog all about the experience!

So when I say “experience,” I really do mean experience. Apparently, there is a percentage of the population out there (albeit a very, very, very small percentage) who consider diving into buckets of scrap, leftover Japanese paper as being synonymous with opening presents on Christmas day.

I’ve never seen so many grown adults find such joy in diving through what would probably be considered “recycling”/”garbage” (or even the end product of what would come out of the bottom end of a paper shredder!) to the remaining percentage of population who are normal.

And you know what? I was in the thick of it all with them, elbow deep in scrap paper and happily diving away for almost an hour… just like a kid in a candy store. Good times!

And yes, you read right. I was there for almost an hour. Y’know why? Because there was an actual line up that you had to wait in before you can get your paws on the paper goodness!

So I figured if I had to wait in line, I might as well make the most of it by staying until the end of the sale, meticulously digging through each bucket like the rest of them. Plus, by staying until the end, I was able to sidestep the one-and-only rule that they had for the sale: Your scrapbag must be able to be taped down and sealed. Why? Because by the end of the sale, they had so much scrap paper leftover they just allowed everyone to walk contently away with overflowing scrapbags. And, y’know, they probably just wanted to shoo away all the crazy paper nuts as quickly as possible ’cause it was closing time.

So look at what I, myself, walked away with! That’s right. What you’re looking at is $18 of glorious paper scraps. And yes… boy, am I proud to show that off!

The Paper Place Scrapbag Sale - My filled scrapbag of paper scraps (collage image)

Here's what I walked away with from The Paper Place Scrapbag Sale: $18 worth of Japanese paper scraps!

Image sources: Photographs ©2010 Karina of KnittingandPurling.com.
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Finally in town for the “Make Your Own Scrapbag” sale at The Paper Place Japanese paper store on Queen St. West!

2010
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The Paper Place Scrapbag Sale ad image (10-24-10)

It's that time again! That's right, it's time for another "Make Your Own Scrapbag" sale at The Paper Place

Guess what? I’m really, really excited!

The best Japanese paper store in all of North America* (see below) is having their famous “Make Your Own Scrapbag” sale this Sunday from 4pm to 6pm! Last time when they held this sale, I was in Europe on my wedding and honeymoon trip. And believe me, I was extremely disappointed to have missed it. Well, there’s no way I’m missing this one!

This sale is great because unlike the usual “scrapbags” of Japanese papers that you can buy at arts and crafts stores (that are already filled with pre-packaged scraps, much of which aren’t of the “quality” kind and are just there for filler purposes), you’re instead given the freedom to buy only the quality papers that you choose.

So yes, I’ll definitely be there come Sunday at the stroke of 4!

In case you were interested, stay tuned as I have plans of blogging about my new Japanese paper scrapbag purchase after I return from the sale!

*Why is The Paper Place the best Japanese paper store in North America?
Well, The Paper Place‘s physical store in downtown Toronto on Queen St. West is awesome enough as it is, with its extensive selection of authentic Japanese Washi paper, gorgeous Chiyogami silkscreen patterned paper, unique Katazome-Shi stencil-dyed paper, and more.

But its online shop is quite possibly even more impressive, and apparently people from all over the world have shopped at their site… even people in Japan! (I know this because I had attended one of their lectures once on Washi paper.)

Interior profile of The Paper Place Japanese paper store (collage image)

Collage image profiling the interior rooms of The Paper Place Japanese paper store in Toronto

So yes, I don’t believe I’m exaggerating when I classify The Paper Place as the best Japanese paper store on the continent!

Image source: Scrapbag sale ad image plus pictures profiling the interior rooms of The Paper Place store courtesy ThePaperPlace.ca. Collage image pieced together by Karina of KnittingandPurling.com.
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