Last week I finally made it to the Balloni store here in Cologne for the first time. As the name suggests they carry tons of balloons and other party decorations. But as I discovered they also have a huge selection of beautiful wrapping papers, walls covered with ribbons in every color and design you can imagine, as well as tables filled with wonderful paper goods.

I bought a sheet of this beautiful red Hiawatha paper that you can see in the second photo (btw a new addition to the good life series from NineteenSeventyThree, which I blogged about previously) and am thinking about using it to make a large photoalbum. The wooden toy crocodile also caught my eye. It’s handmade by a local designer and I’ll have to try and find out the name again.

BALLONI
Ehrenfeldgürtel 88-94
50823 Köln
On the Map

www.balloni.de

Oh my – long time, no post. Part of the reason is that I just haven’t done any bookbinding so far since the new year started. I’ve been trying so many new crafts and it’s been exciting and fun to just try some new things: I crocheted a sunburst flower granny square blanket and created a photo-tutorial that I posted on my not-so-paper-related personal blog. The instructions are german, but the photos are quiet detailed and there’s also a link to the english instructions.

Besides that, I’ve started taking a weekly sewing class where I made a sweet little dress and learned how to shorten jeans. On the web I found this wonderful tutorial for sewing owls that also kept me busy several nights.

But slowly I’m starting to miss my papers, especially after yesterdays visit to Balloni – a quiet impressive shop here in Cologne. You can find a sneakpeak on flickr and some more photos hopefully here on the blog soon. Have a wonderful weekend!

Paperworld is a huge fair for paper, stationery, crafts and office supplies in Frankfurt – and a must-see for any paperlover. I feel like I’m still recovering from all the wonderful impressions…

My personal highlights: Beautiful journals and new paper designs by Jackie for Bindewerk, finally a catalogue from Carta Pura (Munich) so I can order via E-Mail and a secret tip from Brevi Manu on where we’ll soon be able to find their amazing journals, tapes and notepads in Cologne!
I’ll keep you posted!