Handmade Papers

I'm in love with handmade papers!  I've had a few of these Lokta papers from Nepal just sitting in my studio for several months, and I have yet to bring myself to use them.  I feel as though they're just too wonderful by themselves to be used for anything.  Originally, I bought them to use for wedding invitations, but now I realize that they're too special for a one time use.  They need a project that will highlight the paper as the primary element of the piece and provide a meaningful work to be treasured for much longer than an invitation might.

So, I'm thinking about using them for bookbinding.  I've been meaning to try this out and make some handmade journals and recipe books, and this would be the perfect way to use them.  Of course, you could just put them directly in a frame to add some color to a room.  I think I'll try out the bookbinding, though, because they have great textures that really need to be experienced instead of put behind glass.

The Lokta papers that I bought were from Paper Mojo, but I've noticed them also being sold at Paper Source and through other vendors.  The great thing about them is that they're made from renewable materials in villages of Nepal.  Yes, I know that's a long way to travel to be sustainable, but the purchase is benefiting community development in the region along with the materials being more eco-friendly.  There are also plenty more papers online that have been handmade in support of sustainable development.  So, definitely check out these beauties for all kinds of environmentally friendly projects.  Meanwhile, I'll be testing them out for you and will report back with how my project turns out.