You will see a theme on our Pinterest boards beyond images of ecochic upcycled creativity. Each of our boards has a quote as the cover image! As a librarian by day, I know the value of words to add meaning and help reveal pieces of a story.
Here are some of the quotes that help tell the Paper Soil story:
One of our newer designs is the Japanese Origami Wedding/Holiday Ball. There are many steps that go into creating this beautiful minimalistic piece. We take a lot of care and time to ensure our product is consistent and well made.
The process begins with preparation of cardstock. We have selected a deep rich mediterranean blue and bright white cardstock for our piece that is featured here. We begin with a 12″ X 12″, 80 lb. sheet of cardstock. We cut 2″ X 12″ inch strips. Then from these, we continue to cut the paper into 2″ X 2″ squares. Each piece of cardstock renders 36, 2″ X 2″ squares. For each Origami Ball, we need 96-100 of these squares.
The next step is measuring and marking the squares for an even fold. Each square is measured and marked at the top center of the square at 1″. Using a our favorite bone folder, each square is folded at the top into an even triangle shape. The total time required to neatly cut, measure and fold one sheet of cardstock is 20 minutes.
Next we use size 17 Bridal and Lace Pins to secure the cardstock pieces to a 6″ foam ball. To begin, we take four blue cardstock pieces and pin the top point and two bottom corners of each piece to the top of the foam ball. We apply even pressure using our fingers and secure the pins by pressing them firmly with the top of our craft scissors. In the event that a piece is not well aligned with the other pieces or looks askew, we take out the pins and realign the cardstock piece.
Cardstock pieces alternating in two rows of white and blue are then secured to the foam ball with two pins at the bottom corners of each cardstock piece. When the rows reach the base of the Origami Ball, we repeat the initial process of selecting four blue cardstock pieces and pin the top point and two bottom corners of each piece to the bottom of the foam ball. A final row of blue cardstock pieces encircle the bottom of the ball, secured in the opposite direction, with the points facing downward.
When the cardstock pieces have all been secured, a 16″ length of 2″ sheer blue ribbon is secured with pins and glue to the top of the Origami Ball.
The total time required to secure the cardstock pieces and ribbon to the foam ball is 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Below is a collection of images from different stages of the process.
“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” – Vincent Van Gogh
One of the principles behind our work is a profound respect for nature. Growing up in New England in the United States, we are surrounded by deep forests, lush meadows and color wonderful seasons. Our family is deeply in tuned with nature and has developed life long pursuits discovering and appreciating nature including bird watching, gardening, hiking, camping and adventuring. We are dedicated to creating art that combines simple beauty and reuse to offer eco friendly alternatives for holidays, weddings and special occasions.
This month we became the new captain for the Recyclers Team on Etsy. This is a great opportunity for us to meet like-minded shoppers and sellers as well help promote some truly unique finds which include upcycled denim jeans, vinyl record art, eco friendly wine stoppers and much more! We have enjoyed exploring the many wonderful shops on our team and have been inspired to create online galleries on both Etsy and Pinterest to promote eco friendly holiday shopping.
Take a look at these fabulous finds and give a gift that helps keep our world beautiful!
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