I can’t quite go into details about this gift, because it’s a small world and it’d be pretty easy to figure out who this was for. Basically, this was a bookmark for a friend who repeated a hilarious (if rather sexist) quote from a man about her techie abilities, which is apparently surprising to members of the opposite sex.

When the time came to make her a birthday gift, I knew that Bryce of the Awkward Owls trio would do such an offbeat remark proud. The 250g gsm white textured cardstock was treated to look vintage to match Bryce in Bark, and to also go with the old-school typeface of my beloved Senior. (Note how the letters registered with quite a lot of variation– to be expected of an old pre-WWII typewriter!)

A close-up of Paper Exploits blind-embossed on the bottom right hand corner. Also, the pretty ribbon threaded through the paper, to add some new shades to the otherwise brown/warm-toned bookmark. :]

Any other awkward quotes to share for future Bryce bookmarks? Feel free to e-mail or leave a comment if so!

A side-story before this post starts proper. Meet Frederick Frog, or Freddy for short. My mother got him for me as a post-op gift; he now sits by my bedside and imparts sagely wisdom on a daily basis. I absolutely adore him! He is pictured here on the arm of our living room sofa, next to the tree. Freddy is clutching a Spangler candy cane, which Andrew got for me as a post-op gift, for re-gifting. His words at the hospital: “So that you can play Santa when your friends and family visit you over the next few weeks! You can give out candy canes.” My partner for you.

13 days to Christmas! It’s time to share Andrew’s Christmas playlist for this year (read about this five-year strong tradition, and last year’s playlist which I first shared here). The K+A Christmas Playlist for 2011 is– for me at least– a great mix of love-at-first-listen, plus slow discoveries of aural gems after a few more runs.

Apologies that quite a few of these aren’t the original videos themselves, since the songs are either too old or too obscure to have a music video– but they’re worth clicking on the links for a listen :] Also, a warning: If your idea of Christmas tunes is confined to Diana Krall + Susan Boyle et al, time to run from this motley crew:

1. Boots, The Killers (2010)

2. Christmas Day (And I Wish I Was Surfing), Emmy the Great & Tim Wheeler (2011) – 10 points down for bad grammar but 10 points up for a hilarious song. Net-net, this song is cool. :]

3. Christmas Girls, Boston Spaceships (2011)

4. It’s Christmas Time, The Standalone (2009)

5. This Christmas, Donny Hathaway (1970)

6. The Christmas Song, The Raveonettes (2008)

7. I’d Like You For Christmas, Christabel and the Jons (2010) – No video here, but well worth a listen if you like old school vocals and a rarely-covered song!

8. In The Bleak Midwinter, Sam Airey (2010)

9. O Come All Ye Faithful, The Branches (2010)

10. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, Caleb and the Caroling Caravan (2010) – Andrew sums it up perfectly in his line notes: “Can’t say I am a fan of the band’s name, but the song is a wonderful addition to this year’s reflective tone and yes, that is a banjo again.”

11. Christmas Must Be Tonight, Bahamas (2011)

12. The Christmas Song, Hootie and the Blowfish (1997)

13. Christmas Time With You (Featuring Acacia & Andre Miguel Mayo), David Ian (2011)

14. The Song the Season Brings, Beta Radio (2011)

15. Christmas Wrapping, The Waitresses (1981)

16. We Wish You A Merry Christmas, Weezer (2008)

17. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Weezer (2008)

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18. Welcome Christmas, The Clumsy Lovers (2006) * – A really fun cover of a song from Dr Seuss’s The Grinch!

19. Kicked Back Christmas, B. Read (2010) *

* Bonus tracks, which are basically Andrew’s way of including ridiculous (but fun) songs.

(I still can’t believe the sneaky pants weasled not one, but TWO Weezer songs, back-to-back. But I grudgingly admit that it works for welcoming 2012 with a bang!)

Along with the tunes, Andrew sends along line notes to explain why he chose what he did for the mix. A paragraph is worth quoting; in the curator’s own words: “This is certainly one of the more quieter playlists I have put together; carrying with it a more laid back, “folksy” tone … It is full of newbies waiting to take the test of time on the K+A playlist … And so as humbly as this playlist begins, let us too humbly give thanks to all that we had in 2011! Enjoy.”

Hope you like it, and if some of these tunes make their way into your respective Christmas playlists this year, hohoho! We are happy to spread the joy.

And because I could not resist, here’s another picture of Freddy with his Christmas candy cane.

Barely hours since the last post, but this is cracking me up on Facebook, yessir. Join the fun at www.facebook.com/PaperExploits :]

I went in for surgery last Wednesday (Nov 30) to remove a benign tumour in my right ovary. Don’t freak out, the surgery went great with no complications, and I’m okay! I didn’t tell many people before the operation (I think excluding my family, fewer than 5 people knew) as I was super anxious myself, and did not want to have to deal with questions. I was discharged on Saturday and am now recovering at home. The days in the hospital were not great, if I am to tell the truth (long story– apparently general anaesthesia and I are not friends), but the comforts of home are immeasurable. With a very loving family and boyfriend, I’m improving by the day and can’t complain.

I’m off work at the broadsheet for 3 to 4 weeks– pretty much for the entire month of December. In that time, I’ll be musing about the wonders of life. I will also probably re-watch the entire series of Band of Brothers and The West Wing, and maybe throw in some American Dad and Modern Family. :]

Unfortunately, this means that I am not taking anymore new Christmas orders this year . All customers who had pre-ordered way back when will still be getting their cards (if they haven’t already) as I had worked on them prior to the procedure. What clever little monkeys you were for getting your orders in early :]

Now, reading about a post-op crafter isn’t much fun, so I also wanted to use this post to share a Christmassy thank you card design that I made for my gynaecologist/surgeon, anaesthetist, and nurses. At the moment, I’m trying not to use any overly-fancy techniques that may require lifting heavy things/pushing down on things/moving to and fro points in my room/too many chemicals, etc. That leaves me with a select few punches and pen knives that I can use with minimal effort.

It’s basically a regular flat 4 x 5.5″ light textured cardstock base that I use for my letterheads, punched through with a gorgeous winter-y looking scene.

This’ what it looks like when taken out of the envelope, rather flat and unexciting.

One just has to put their finger under each little cut out, and prop them up gently, one by one. That allows the little village scene to come to live, complete with three Christmas-looking conifers in the back!

I had to use less heavy-weight paper for these, because a thicker piece of cardstock would have been impossible to punch through successfully. So I used what I usually use for letterheads.

Each of the cards comes in this pretty cotton envelope, with a snowflake cut. I decided to do away with my usual Paper Exploits blind embossing on the flap, to let the snowflake take center-stage. The cards have the blind embossing on the bottom left hand corners.

Here’s a close-up of the snowflake, which shows the little spokes poking out from the envelope base.

I hope you and my giftees like the cards! It’s really the least I can do for the good people. I can honestly say I had the best gynae/surgeon one could ever ask for. She is the sweetest lady with a wonderful sense of humour, and with her deft hands I was in and out of the operating theatre in under an hour and a half. The anaesthetist was a good ol’ joker, who made me laugh despite myself. Together, the both of them were making me giggle as I went under. True story.

And of course, the nurses at my ward were so sweet in helping my family and I be as comfortable as possible during my stay. I go in for a follow-up with my gynae tomorrow, and will be giving these cards out then. Tis the season!

I’ve received some questions from friends asking why I’ve set up a personal twitter account when I already have the beloved @PaperExploits. Thanks to a quick chat with a friend, I’ve figured this is the best way to put it (in his words): A public account for Paper Exploits and another public account for me, the person and writer, is a good idea.

I’ve been feeling like it’d be worth having another account to share non-Paper Exploits-related updates, such as this one:

My colleagues had a fruit basket sent over a couple of days ago. A most thoughtful (and healthy) surprise, if I’ve ever seen one. Note the functional basket housing all that goodness– I’m sure it’s going to make its way into one of my booths at some point. :]

Anyway, with this new personal account, I’ll be sharing thoughts/articles/pictures/etc that fall outside the purview of Paper Exploits. Feel free to follow at @kellyannetay :]

This may seem like a non-post, but believe you me, it is a moment worth celebrating! I have officially cleaned up my act– my desktop is spankin’ clean (and is even sporting my beloved cityscape pinwheel), my files and folders are organised properly, and everything has been backed up. The last time I did this was in January this year. Ding ding ding!

As an aside: I can’t believe this macbook of mine. It’s over four years old now, and still running with no sweat. Battery still lasts well over three hours. Amazing! So glad I left PCs behind in 2007– never looking back, baby!

Today I’m sharing a card that I made awhile back for one of Andrew’s younger brothers, and his fiancee. I am honestly super excited for their wedding because I know it will be beautiful– his fiancee has great style and taste! So of course I knew my engagement card had to match up, right?

I made it in a pop-up style, much like the popular custom Zombie card I made earlier this year.

Here’s the set together. A custom cream envelope sized to fit the card, with two holes punched through to allow a light pink scalloped ribbon to be tied on the flap. The ribbon in turn matches the exterior of the card.

Here’s the exterior of the card again. I used a highly-textured, extremely heavyweight piece of cardstock in a dusty pink. I embossed the outside with a pretty floral pattern, which you’ve seen on these Christmas tags. I’m quite amazed by how just a different type of paper, colour, and cut can result in such a drastic shift in style and feel!

Tah-dah! The inside, where a pop-up diamond engagement ring greets you! Yes, I am fully aware engagement rings don’t actually look like that, and this is mighty bling, but I took some liberty with it. :]

In order to allow Andrew and I to pen a message inside, I had to make sure there was a new “base”, which is where the cream paper comes in (which I also vintaged to give some warmth).

Here’s a close-up of the blingy ring! I was rather annoyed that I didn’t have any silver paper on hand, but necessity is the mother of invention. So I improvised. The ring is actually made of the same paper as the cream backing! Hoho. I just used my handy dandy silver stamp pad to glitz it up.

The couple received the card in Canada safe and sound. Hooray for international post! Hope you liked this one :]

4 x 5.5″ white textured cardstock with a simple “Thank You” in a circle with some swirls around it, paired with a cream cotton envelope and a tiny leaf motif.

I didn’t want the entire pack to look the same, so I did them in six different colours– Brick Red, Boysenberry, Bark, Black, Navy, and Evergreen.

Here’s a picture of the matching envelopes, prettily fanned out!

Feels funny writing about projects I made eons ago– we can blame switching from student life to work life for that! But I am getting better at juggling. :]

Meet my colleague’s dog, Chewy, who is the sweetest little Shih Tzu you could ever imagine. This was a picture of him as a puppy quite awhile back, the little cutie is much larger now, and is still very adorable.

What does this have to do with stationery? Absolutely nothing. But it has everything to do with Paper Exploits and its mission to spread beauty and warm fuzzies around. :]

Over a year ago in May, I received a custom order request for a Fathers’ Day card from a mum-to-be. My customer was pregnant with her first child, and wanted to make it a special first Fathers’ Day for her husband.

She had wanted an elephant-themed card, and pretty much gave me free rein with it, and here’s what I made:

You can read more about the card here.

This year, to my delight, she wrote back with an order for another Fathers’ Day card–and with updates about how her little family was doing since we were last in contact. Again, her only specification was an elephant theme.

I decided that it’d be cute to do something similar like the last one for some continuity, and came up with this:

Basically the same idea of a single elephant, the word “daddy”, and a heart. Went with a square-cut sheet of 250gsm white textured cardstock.

Because the size of the card was a little larger than usual, I made an envelope from scatch to fit the card’s dimensions snugly. Instead of putting her husband’s name/initial on the front, I thought it’d be nice to let her address it in writing instead. So I went with a floaty banner image, for her to write his name.

I went with a die-cut elephant this time, complete with googly eyes! I also had the word “daddy” going down the arch of the elephant’s back. The look for this year’s card was a lot more subdued because of the very neutral colours of cream/brown, but I decided to add a pop of colour with the lightly-striped heart blowing out of his trunk (again, harking back to the original card of 2010).

Here’s a close-up of the elephant, which shows his googly eyes really well! The close-up also shows the inking on the edges that I did with each layer of the elephant, which helps the otherwise light-coloured cream paper to contrast with the white cardstock.

I also curled his ears a little so that they flap upwards from the paper, for some dimensions. I decided not to make him a pop-up elephant, so I wanted to find another way to make sure that there was some visual/tactile interest to the card.

If you look closely, you’ll also see that he has toenails… :]

Again, here’s a photo of the card that I made last year. Same same but different, no?