I like to write letters. Theselokta notecards are my favorite.

I usually keep a few styles of lokta paper notecards around. The butterflies are particularly lovely and encourage me to find green ink.

Usually, I write with Noodler's Heart of Darkness, and ink that is designed to stand the test of time. Lokta paper is known for its durability and is resistant to mold, rot and bugs. The paper has a wonderful texture and simply looks beautiful, showing the pulped fibers it is made of.

There are claims in the packaging of how eco-friendly, local economy-friendly and indigenous peoples-friendly the makers of this paper are. These are all great things.

Writing on this paper takes a Medium nib or a very, very careful hand with a Fine and you must use ink that will flow. The paper accepts the ink, does not feather very much but even quick-drying ink will take a moment or two.

Beware the smudge!

The messages you send to loved ones will last forever on notecards that look lovely enough to keep!

Now you have to write things that are worth standing the test of time. It is fun tho, I treat writing letters on these a lot like I do taking photos with 120 roll film, every shot costs a few dollars, make it worthwhile!

I am sure folks toss my works of art into the trash.

Nepal Greeting Card and Envelope Set: Butterfly Notecards, Handmade Lokta Paper via Amazon Read the rest

Shipping on my favorite notebooks went from 30 days to overnight.

Last time I ordered a Maruman notebook it took a month for it to arrive. I love the Mnemosyne paper for writing upon with fountain pens and my favorite inks. I have been writing a lot lately, letters to friends as well as the mundane shit that passes thru my head. As my last notebook filled up I started to freak out a bit.

I did not, however, get off my ass and just order a new notebook.

I waited until I was surely doomed. Then I checked online and delivery times were down to 1 day. I ordered 2 notebooks. I like the "182" which is about 5"x8", spiral bound with perforated and SQUARE RULED pages.

I rarely tear pages out, but perforation is nice when you need it.

Ink doesn't feather. Pens both fine and medium glide over the surface. The white is good for me to spend lots of time staring at a blank page thinking about whatever terror I am trying to get out of my head and onto a page.

There are many size and rule options.

My go-to pen is a Parker Duofold International with a medium nib, and my favorite daily-use ink is Noodler's Heart of Darkness.

Maruman 1 Hardcover Executive Notebook (N182A) via Amazon Read the rest

All you need is love, love / Love and paper is all you need

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Kisaragi double 6 created this fantastic hand-drawn stop-motion animation of the Super Mario Bros (1985) World 1-1 level.

動画内では分かりづらいものの、紙ならではのこだわりを持った出演者達です。実際に折ったり燃やしたり、クリボーのやられ方を考えるのは、とっても楽しかったです。 pic.twitter.com/GeawVAkagb

— 如月 二重 6 (@KisaragiHutae6) February 11, 2019

Designers Assia Quetin and Catherine Denoyelle created this ingenious sticky note desk accessory inspired by the beloved abstract artist Piet Mondrian. "Monde Riant" is €13.75 from PA Design.

Of course it reminds me of pastry chef Caitlin Freeman's wonderful Mondrian Cake below. (Recipe in Freeman's book Modern Art Desserts.)

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As we know, the absurdly long CVS receipts are due to the rise of data mining and target marketing. A fellow from Lakewood, Ohio recently Tweeted his ingenious upcycling of one of those ridiculous receipts. From News 5 Cleveland:

Andrew said he got the idea quite on accident – he bought a few items (less than 10, he said) from the Rocky River CVS, then laid the receipt out on his bedroom floor to take a picture of it to send to his friends.

He came back later and actually thought the receipt was one of the blinds that had fallen on the floor. “…they’re cheap blinds so they fall off pretty often,” he said in a chat with News 5.

“…and when I realized it was actually the receipt, I thought it would be funny to see if it fit in the window, and it happened to fit perfectly,” he said.

Japanese specialist paper manufacturer Hidaka Washi Ltd makes the world's thinnest paper using 1,000-year-old methods.

The paper is then sent to museums and libraries around the world—including the British Museum and the Library of Congress—and is used to restore and protect books and works of art.

(Great Big Story) Read the rest

For note taking with a fountain pen, which I do, there is no better paper than Maruman Mnemosyne.

While there is a lot of variety in ink, and I like to swap between several colors and pens, Maruman Mnemosyne is the most reliable paper I've found to write upon with my fountain pens. It takes a lot of ink to bleed through, doesn't feather very much, and allows my nibs to glide over the paper.

I like quad-ruled paper, as well. Makes it easier for me to sketch things, or to organize the page. College-ruled paper annoys me.

Mnemosyne was the Greek goddess of memory and gave birth to the muses. "Nemo" is right there in the middle. He's my dog.

Maruman Mnemosyne Inspiration 5 mm Grid 6.3 x 8.3" via Amazon Read the rest

John "The Paper Airplane Guy" Collins shows us how to fold "Suzanne," the aircraft that set a 2012 world record for flying 69.14 meters.

"I bring paper airplanes into classrooms and start talking about complicated ideas involved with fluid dynamics and using paper airplanes to explain it," Collins told Wired. "If you can have a group of middle schoolers and high schoolers that don't look at their phones for 45 minutes while you're doing a demonstration, you've hit success," he says.

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The Origami Simulator depicts prefolded paper on screen, all ready to go: to fold it into a beautiful bird, crane or geometric monstrosity, all you have to do is manipulate a slider. There are plenty of preferences to explore, too, including a VR mode and the option of having a young, slightly menacing Edward Olmos come around your house and place the origami knowingly on a table or desk. Read the rest

It turns out quite a lot. Here’s part two of Mr. Hacker’s series:

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Doane Paper makes wonderful pocket-sized notebooks with paper that is fantastically compatible with fountain pens.

I absolutely love my Maruman Mnemosyne notebooks, but they are big and rigid. These 5"x7" Doane Paper pads have similarly awesome paper, and fit in casual clothes pockets, if you need small they also make 3"x5".

The paper is slightly off-white and is quadruled with a light blue. My Levenger, Pilot and Parker's all glide over the paper very smoothly, tho the Pilot Vanishing point definetly shows its "travel-ness" when compared to the Duo-fold. Ink gets absorbed quickly and only slightly bleeds through unless I write with a heavy hand. I tried various Noodlers and Parker Quink black. Noodler's Blue Nose Bear is almost the same color as the grid lines.

Doane Paper Large Utility Edition, 3-Pack Grid + Lines Memo Notebooks via Amazon Read the rest

Zim & Zou make these delightful hand-cut paper buildings for their Forest Folks display in Dubai. Read the rest

Strictly Paper blogs the work of Eric Standley, who uses lasers on hundreds of sheets of paper to create incredibly-detailed works of art. [via]

These laser-cut masterpieces, reminiscent of stained glass windows, are inspired by geometry found in Gothic and Islamic architectural ornamentation in an attempt to capture a reverence for the infinite. “I am interested in the conceptual migration from the permanence and massiveness of stone to the fragility and intimacy of paper,” he mentions in an artist statement.

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Yelldesign: "We thought it would fun to make a complete meal from start to finish, using only paper. Everything you see is made from paper, except for the hands."

See more of their Papermeals here.

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Today we travel to a fully digital world, a world where paper is a thing of the past.

Flash Forward: RSS | iTunes | Twitter | Facebook | Web | Patreon

In this episode we talk about how likely it is that we might get rid of paper (not very) and what might happen to our reading habits, memories, and environment if we do.

▹▹ Full show notes Read the rest

If you like to write with fountain pens, sketch with colored pencils or otherwise enjoy the physical art of writing, Maruman's Mnemosyne is my notebook favorite paper to write on. Quad ruling on paper just makes me feel good, a throw back to college I guess. This fantastic, top-bound and slightly smaller than B5 size notebook has both!

Fountain pen inks dry fast, don't bleed through, and all of my pens glide over this paper. The slightly warm, off-white of this paper is also super pleasing to the eye, and is wonderful to work on.

Maruman Mnemosyne Inspiration 5 mm Grid 6.3 x 8.3" via Amazon Read the rest