Dreyer's Fruit Bars Paradise Anything Book

I'm really excited to share this new Anything Book with you. I made it to donate to a local trade organization's fundraising event.


This is Paradise, the first Anything Book created to celebrate a special location.

 One of my friends is on the board of the Phoenix chapter of NEWH, a trade organization for the hospitality industry. They are having a fundraiser for their scholarship programs called Off The Wall Art. She suggested that my Anything Books would be a great fit. So, I skurried around last night and made Paradise.

A peek inside Paradise shows you the wide variety of materials in use.

For some time, I've been considering making a series of Anything Books for the tourists who find their way to Scottsdale and the Phoenix area. I decided this was the perfect chance to see what kind of materials I already have for a book with this theme. 

Paradise gets its name from the coffee holder from Paradise Bakery, a local restaurant chain that is now part of Panera Bread Company.

I have a small collection of local travel guides and tourist maps that I pulled out to make this Anything Book. Everything from playing cards with Scottsdale on the back to local restaurant menus, to Sonoran desert holiday cards, to a door hanger from a local utility company--they all found their way into Paradise. In fact, the name comes from this coffee holder from Paradise Bakery (they have delicious cookies). 

A scrap of dimensional art paper appears inside the front cover with washi tape and a postage stamp.

 The colors of Paradise are rich and diverse. Deep saturated colors run through this Anything Book from the cover through the interior pages. There are two pages of paint chips and a piece of ikkat fabric just to keep things interesting. A bright red (used) Arizona Lottery card found its way inside, too. 

A map with descriptions of local day trips add local interest to Paradise pages.

 There are 5 different local maps inside Paradise, along with materials from the Arizona Biltmore resort, Phoenix Magazine, the Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB), two local restaurant chains, a familiar grocery store chain, an ad from the Heard Museum and Out of Africa Wildlife Park, and postcards from the Tempe Center for the Arts and the Old Town Scottsdale Farmers Market, Plus, there's a page from a baseball book as an homage to the Cactus League Spring Training presence in Phoenix. 

Paradise comes with two red book rings and a polka dot book belt.

The contrast of colors and materials encourages you to keep turning the pages, with each page a new discovery and delight. The pages of Paradise were designed as a beautiful backdrop to hold someone's thoughts and items from their day. They might add baseball tickets, or a shopping list, or a golf scorecard to one page, and a photograph of a desert sunset on the next. Your imagination is the limit with an Anything Book! 

Paper scraps, washi tape, and postage stamps embellish the corner of this Paradise page.

 Each two-page spread is designed to create a canvas for memories. The pages are empty, but they are not blank. I've added embellishments to inspire creativity and overcome that what-do-I-put-on-this-blank-page obstacle. These items will peek out from behind and between the items the owner adds to the pages.

The proceeds from this auction goes to support scholarships for the hospitality industry students.

I'm very excited to offer Paradise for the NEWH auction. I'm also excited about the entire event. I want to see the other art being offered, and maybe I'll even bring home something myself!