Thanksgiving. It is that wonderful time of year to give thanks and express our gratitude for family, friends and the bounty we enjoy in Canada

There are so many occasions to show our gratitude throughout the year. A hand written card is such a pleasure to receive and as always feels so good to give. But sometimes it is hard to find the words to express our deep felt appreciation. Fear not, help is on its way! Just google “saying thank you.” You will find endless combinations of inspiration to help you express those magic words... It is that easy!

We wanted to show you these thank you cards by Anna Bond and her husband Nathan of the Rifle Paper Co. This is what they say... ”We strongly believe life's personal stories and moments are best told through the gift of a hand-written card or note, and hope that our goods inspire you to share these moments with others”.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Paper-Ya!

Ohh la la have you ever noticed how you can come across something like a pen that you love and you feel inspired to write? Or a swatch of material and all of a sudden you’re making a skirt?

Or you can’t resist picking up that beautiful eggplant from the grocers even though you’re not sure how to prepare it? All because the “thing” got your juices going and before you know it you are off on some great ride with creativity. That’s how we feel about paper. Autumn seems to inspire the making of things. Which is good. Cause if you start making now, you got yourself some sweet gifts to give to loved ones. No, I am not going to mention the word, but I know you know what we all know. Time flies! And before you know it, the season is here. Anyway, enjoy your time now! And if you are a paper lover like we are, come in and enjoy our new shipment of gorgeous papers from India and Italy. Perhaps creative inspiration will take hold of you too.

The Limited-Production, All-Natural Macinari Ballpoint Pen is pure Japanese craftmanship. Made from woods like walnut, tulip, and amarello

Designed by Housei Suzuki and engineered using a special Numerical Control machine for the intricate wooden parts. Not only is it gorgeous but it is also a pleasure to hold as so many objects made from nature are. We wanted to tell you about them since it is that time to get back to work at school or the office. Macinari pens are all made of wood except refills. Colours are all natural without any coating or painting. As they are handmade, they are produced only up to 100 per month.

Stay inspired!

Yep, this is an outhouse. It goes to show that even the humblest of spaces can be enhanced by beautiful paper

This summer we built an outhouse on our recreational property. The paper is 100% cotton made in India. The design on the paper reminded me of a sweet cottage my grandmother would have. I was so excited to use it in this unexpected way. I glued it onto plywood using plain white glue. The tricky part was getting the air bubbles out. Using a clean rag I pushed any air pockets to the edge of the wood till the surface was nice and smooth. Then I put another heavy board on top to give it some weight so it would dry flat. It dried perfectly flat in a few days. After the paper was dry and secure on the plywood I painted 2 coats of clear water-soluble varathane over it. It is now washable and protected. Just add a toilet seat and you're good to go.

Elegant & classy wax seal is a great way to make your letter/creation stand out. Here's how to make it [video]

The concept of using personal seals dates back to ancient Egypt, where seals were applied to documents using strips of material. Over the ages, seals have been composed of clay, bees wax, resin and more recently sealing wax.

Sealing an envelope with a wax seal is a great way to make your letter stand out from the rest as it adds a touch of elegance and class.

There are generally two methods to apply wax seals. In the first method, you can directly apply the melted wax to your document/envelope before applying the seal, as shown in the video below:

In the second method, you can choose to apply all your seals to non-stick craft paper (a.k.a. wax paper) first, as shown in the video below. After the seals hardens, peel off and apply to the original document or envelope with craft glue. This method ensures that every finished product has a perfect seal. We recommend practicing before applying your seals to your creations. 

The wax seal stamper should be oiled before each use. Baby, mineral & vegetable oil all work well.

Who said you cannot find Zen in anything ephemeral? We beg to differ

Ever find yourself wanting to doodle just for doodling-sake without wasting papers? We found ourselves wanting to focus on our task, but sometimes a quick diversion to re-focus is just what we needed even if it lasts only for seconds. Doodling as an art of diversion can be extremely productive when channeled right and Buddha Board can help immensely.

Better have a camera handy though, because you never know, that Picasso within you might just be bubbling up to the surface as we've seen time and again:

Digital girl in an analogue world

The first word processor I'd ever seen was introduced to our grade three class. We were told we had to learn to type faster than we could hand write, and as I searched for the right letters, small hands stretched wide across a great expanse of keys upon keys, I wondered how anyone could possibly type faster than they could write on this clunking thing.

Today I type faster than I hand write. And my handwriting is atrocious.

Right now, I'm preparing for a month-long trip wherein electricity will be guarded and cherished as if it were a pile of precious kittens. Read: the laptop shall be used sparingly. I haven't written steadily with a pen on paper since I kept a diary with a lock on it. My grocery lists look like the cat wrote them. I sometimes question the worth of my opposable thumbs.

Enter graph paper, a friend of anyone who was brought up to type rather than hand write. Those neat little squares beg to be filled with perfectly legible handwriting. Also: yellow paper! I will sing the praises of these Rollbahn notebooks for all eternity. Or until I get back to the city to suck up as much electricity as I possibly can.

Along with the Rollbahns, I've armed myself with a couple Delfonics ballpoints—so sleek, so slidey—and some irresistible nautical clips. I count on being thoroughly inspired and struck by bolts of amazingness, since blank notebooks and full pens bring a certain ring of threat—er, promise, to a writer. Anchors aweigh!