It was so interesting to see what all of the couples – the brides, along with their entourage – created at last week’s Wedding Suites workshop. At our River North store in Chicago we had some really fun folks join us for an evening built around learning DIY basics for creating their own invitation suites. We thought we’d share some photos with you starting with David and Sue, the raffle winners for the embossing heat tool. Based on David’s impressive techniques, I know who will be the one using the tool to stamp and emboss their wedding invitations!

Paper Source associates, Cheryl and Erin work their demo magic for inspiration!

Deidra and Larry made a fast friend, and by the end of the evening Cheryl was exclaiming “I heart Larry!” Read the rest of this entry »

Anytime we work on new product development at Paper Source, it starts with a creative idea and then it leads to seeking out visual inspiration. Right now we’re working on our 2011 Paper Source Wall Art Calendar, and we wanted to include one of my favorite icons: a bicycle.

I looked towards vintage bicycle posters to get inspired, before illustrating what could be a cute “Paper Source-styled bicycle”, for our colorful calendar. Here are some of the posters I’ve found that got me excited to start drawing— hopefully it’ll get you excited about next year’s calendar!

And just to share my love of bikes with you, here’s a photo my very own “Moss” colored bicycle that I ride to work when it’s not snowing in Chicago. I’ve photographed her behind my desk, in front of our PS calendar press sheets.

Go ride a bike, get inspired by the day, and stay tuned to see how our bike calendar page for 2011 turns out!

Cheers,

–Elaine
PS colors: moss/blossom & fuchsia/khaki
Latest fave: Bicycle with Basket Rubber Stamp

We love making these little versatile booklets – great for keeping track of projects, to give as gifts, even use as event programs. We love making them so much ourselves that we decided this would make a fantastic workshop. They’re so simple and can be made using a few different stitches in a vertical or horizontal format.

Above are a few of the notebooks we’ll be making in our upcoming Variations on the Booklet Workshop on Saturday, March 13. Not only will you have a kool new collection of booklets for yourself or friends, you’ll learn all the steps to make dozens more!

–Linda
PS colors: chartreuse & pool
Latest fave: 2010 Paper Source Letterpress Calendar

At Paper Source headquarters, here in Chicago, the winters are long and a bit bleak. So, a little color is always welcome. For one of the first birthdays of the year we created a colorful banner – Estela was so surprised to get her very own rainbow birthday banner!

This was created by simply printing individual letters onto 8.5 x 11 text weight paper. A skinny vertical font like Eccentric works great, and you’ll want to center your text and use a landscape page layout. For each sheet, run a strip of 1/4″ super tacky tape along one of the 8 1/2″ edges, roll to form a tube and adhere edges together. Once all the tubes (your letters and spaces) are formed, connect the sides of the tubes together with more tape. Punch 1/8″ holes on both ends and center to hang.

– Claudia
PS colors: curry & fuchsia
Latest fave: Mini Magnolia Paper Flower Kit

These sweet egg cup holders will make an adorable addition to your easter table or spring gathering. Nestle ready-to-eat hard cooked eggs inside or proudly display the dyed and decorated variety. Another great tip – use them as place card holders! Just make the grassy coil tighter, write guests’ names onto business cards, and tuck them into the tall grasses.

–Annie
PS colors: gravel & beet
Latest fave: Tree Trunk Tea Light and Japanese 8 1/4″ Scissors

Materials Needed:
How to PDF
8 1/2″ x 11″ Text Paper (Moss, Sage & Curry) Read the rest of this entry »

We had such a great turn out for our Paper Wedding and Morning Tea events. What fun it was to show off our new wedding invitation collection, as well as to have the chance for our customers to experiment with wedding rubber stamps and assorted stamp pads at the demo and make & take tables.

We know many of you are wondering if there is another opportunity to attend one of our wedding events…the answer is YES! Our Wedding Suites Workshop, which sold out last year and even had a waitlist, is running again this year on Thursday, March 4, from 6-8pm. We have designed this event to reflect the desire of both brides and their entourage to “learn by doing”. You will create your first invitation suite in order to learn technique and gain ideas, then for your second suite, add in your personal style and wedding color palette – making it uniquely your own.

WHAT: Wedding Suites Workshop
WHERE: All Paper Source stores
WHEN: Thursday, March 4 from 6-8pm
HOW: Visit our workshop page to find your store & purchase your $30 ticket. Sign up with a friend (your fiancé, bridesmaids, mom, etc.) at the same time and receive $5 off both reservations!

If you’d like an evening of learning simple DIY wedding tips, Read the rest of this entry »

Here at the Charlotte store we were so inspired by this year’s Paper Wedding and the pictures of cakes featured on our sample invitation wall, we decided to put our culinary talents to the test and create a paper wedding cake! The best part — going shopping and finding all the “ingredients” right at Paper Source.

We stacked various sized square boxes to create our three cake layers, then covered them in fondant icing (warm white book cloth). We decorated the cake with three types of flowers (mini paper rosettes made from superfine soft white text paper, black text paper, and our new Black & White Paisley Fine Paper). We added piping (black 1/4″ satin ribbon), a border (strips of our new paisley fine paper) and more flowers. The cake topper was made from the lid of an oval craft box covered in fondant and adorned with streamers (strips of curled black text paper) and flowers.

Our customers love our paper cake creation and we have fun telling them, “at Paper Source, baking it was, well, a piece of cake!”

–Tiffany and Kristine, Paper Source Charlotte Store
PS colors: blossom & black
Latest fave: Peace Sign Rubber Stamp and Cupcake Kit

With wedding season just around the corner, we thought we’d share some cute ideas for using our cellophane bags to package up wedding favors and gifts for your bridal party and guests. Clear cellophane bags work great because they’re both affordable and flexible, making them ideal for a wide range of stuffers… and you’ll have money left over to spend on the important stuff – what’s inside!

Wedding Favor Bags
Beautifully packaged treats make wonderful wedding favors. Cupcakes fit very nicely into our food-safe cellophane bags, but you could also use a small stack of cookies, a few chocolate truffles, or even a piece of cake! To incorporate your wedding colors, insert tissue paper into the bag before you place your treats inside and choose a coordinating ribbon.

Supplies & Tools: small cellophane bags • 1/4″ satin ribbon • scissors

Directions:
1. Insert your hand into the cello bag to open it up and flatten out the bottom to create a base.
2. Arrange your treats inside the bag.
3. Gather the top of the bag about an inch or so above the treat, and tie closed with ribbon (a friend’s help at this point comes in handy… get your bridesmaids or family members involved!).
4. Tie the ribbon into a bow and neatly trim the ends.
5. Trim the top of the bag if there is a lot of excess (I left about 3 inches above the bow in this sample). And done!

Gift Bags & Welcome Packages
Fill our larger cellophane bags with gifts and present to your bridal party Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome baby with a banner that’s cute as a button! You can easily customize the colors using any combination of our circle cards and labels. Further personalize by changing the message on the banner – use baby names or special greetings. Makes for great nursery décor too!

–Annie
PS colors: gravel & beet
Latest fave: Tree Trunk Tea Light and Japanese 8 1/4″ Scissors

Materials Needed:
Circle Cards (blossom, strawberry & poppy) Read the rest of this entry »