Lately I’ve been journaling in a book of elephant dung.

That's right: who knew that searching for tree-free alternatives would take us straight to the elephant's bottom!

Ellie Pooh is a small-scale, artisan business that sterilizes Sri Lankan elephant dung and turns it into beautiful handmade paper. You really have to see it to believe it. No smell, of course - just thick, beautiful paper. (After all, elephants eat grass and that grass just goes through a little conversion to come out the other end.)

Enough about those details, just check out these beautiful tree-free paper products for yourself. The company makes journals, stationery, paper pads, photo albums and so much more. With their bamboo-spined journals going for only $12, these books make great gifts for children, who will surely be mind-boggled and delighted knowing that they’re writing on recycled elephant poop.

Image: Ellie Pooh