Papier de Paris

I’ve been to Paris a few times now.  This was the first trip I got to go paper shopping!  I followed this excellent post from Damask Love and visited two of the shops on her list.

Both of these shops are right across the street from each other on the right bank, a very quick walk from Île Saint-Louis. 

At Papier Plus, I picked up this card and envelope set.  Grey and yellow – love!  It comes packaged in a larger grey envelope and includes a pencil.

I also purchased a card with a picture of the shop on it.  The photo above is the inside of the shop.  Minding my Parisian manners, I asked the shopkeeper first if it was okay before I got out the camera.

At Calligrane, I bought this neat note/envelope pack.  The note folds into an envelope and has adhesive to seal it.

But the best thing I saw were these wood grain envelopes.  They’re made from real wood!  The shopkeeper spread several out on the counter, told me what wood they were made from, and let me pick which ones I wanted.  They are all unique!

Lovely paper from a lovely city.  I don’t need another reason to love Paris but I’ll take it!

Papier Plus 9 rue de Pont Louis-Philippe, 75004 Paris
Calligrane 6 rue de Pont Louis-Philippe, 75004 Paris

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Paper from Argentina

When I finally got home from Antarctica (after spending some time in Argentina), I really wondered whether getting this paper was worth it.

Was it worth carrying the roll out of the shop in over 100-degree heat and 80% humidity?

On the last day of our trip so I had to carry it around until our 11:15pm flight?

When I left it on the check-in desk at the airport and had to run back and get it?

When I had to carry it when I ran through customs, through security again, up an escalator without my shoes, and onto the plane that they thankfully held for us?

Hanging onto it while we were dealing with a lost suitcase when we got back to SFO?

I finally unrolled the paper last weekend and thought, man, was it worth all that?

Yes.

Most definitely, yes!  I had forgotten how awesome this stuff was when I bought it!  This came from a shop called Papelera Palermo in Buenos Aires.  So many cute paper products!  They even make some of the big sheets on site!*

I got this great speckled blue and this fantastic roll of gold.  I’ve been looking for just plain gold for a while.  I either can’t find it or it’s too expensive.  Now I have an entire roll of great, warm gold!  And it was less than $10!

I had my Spanish-fluent friend repeatedly confirm that this stuff was acid free and that was that!

Now I want to put gold in everything.  I have quite a few layouts that I need to post here before you’ll start seeing it show up.  I can’t wait to use it!

*Mr. P stood for a while watching the guy make the paper in the back of the store.  Really it was because that’s where the air conditioner was.  He and our friend only promised to let me have all the time I wanted in the paper store as long as it was air conditioned.

Paper Treats from Melbourne

I popped into any paper or card store I could find in Melbourne.  I wanted to buy so much more than what I ended up with – mostly because my bag going to Melbourne was at the weight limit!

Here’s what I ended up with:

1. Some cute long envelopes from Japan.

2. Paris notecards, 4 different designs.  I am out of notecards and am really glad to have these.

3. Melbourne notecards – these are produced from an old map of the city in the possession of the State Library of Victoria.

4. Nifty tissue paper that is made to look like clothing patterns.  This is a gift for my mom!

5. A world map file folder.  I think I’ll put paper scraps in this.

6. An I Tram Melbourne postcard.  The trams in Melbourne are awesome!  If you’re a fan of Melbourne trams, check out the I Tram Melbourne website for other cute goodies from this designer.

I also got a load of new birthday cards which I won’t post here lest people receiving them get a sneak peek!

Paper Treats from China

A friend of mine asked me what I wanted to shop for in China.  Paper, I said.  Paper, really?  Yup, paper.

People think I’m a weirdo when I want to shop for paper products on vacation.  I’m not looking for scrapbook stores but random interesting paper that I can make into something.  Remember when I tried to by blank papyrus in Egypt last year?

I came away with lots of goodies!  The picture above is several big sheets of paper with pretty designs.  It’s actually supposed to be used as wrapping paper.  However, this stuff is heavy duty, very unlike flimsy American wrapping paper.  It’s probably not acid free, so no scrapbooking with it.  I’ll definitely make something cool though!

Next, I picked up pretty postcards and notecards.  There were a bunch of cute paper/card shops on a neat street called Nanluoguxiang in Beijing and I had to stop in each one.

Of course, I ended up with a stack of pretty tickets from the sites we visited.  Some of the tickets even double as postcards!  Clever!

Finally, I snapped up this blank little book.  It’s small, just a few inches square.  I have a really cool project in mind for this little book.  Stay tuned!

Do you shop on vacation?  What types of things do you shop for?