At Paper Source we take birthdays very seriously, especially when it comes to decorating. There’s nothing better than coming into work on your birthday and being surprised by a festive birthday banner. Over the past few months we’ve celebrated many birthdays in the office and we thought we’d share some of our birthday banner ideas!

This summer our intern, Sara had her 21st birthday! We were a bit perplexed of how we would hang a banner in Sara’s area because she did not work in an office – instead she had a desk in the middle of a large loft space (no walls!). Annie came up with the genius idea to do a miniature birthday banner attached to her desktop computer. She printed letters onto colored 8.5″ x 11″ text weight paper and cut tiny pennant shapes (the shape actually looks like an oblong diamond, which when folded over becomes a triangle pennant). She wrapped each pennant over a piece of string, secured with double stick tape, then attached the string to two straws that would serve as the posts. Leftover colored scrap paper was sprinkled onto her computer and desk as confetti. Sara was thrilled!

When Nikki in the PS Buying Department celebrated her 29th birthday, we made her day special by decorating her office space with 29 (count ‘em) flaming birthday candles. To do this I formed the base of the candles using 8 1/2″ x 11″ text weight paper cut in half widthwise, then rolled into tubes and secured with double stick tape. Next I cut out flame shapes, added smiley faces, and slotted them into slits made at the top of each candle base. Finally, I printed letters using the outline of Arial bold font onto cover weight paper, cut and attached to each candle.

Early this September our head of Workshops, Linda, had a birthday Read the rest of this entry »

You asked for it… our first ever Holiday Card Making Girls Night Out! Get your creative juices flowing while you play with our new holiday rubber stamps, punches, cards and glitter – leave the mess with us and take home all sorts of great ideas. The event is this Thursday, October 1, so call your girlfriends and reserve your seats today!

Along with useful tips and tricks, you’ll bring home a beautiful linen folio to hold your holiday card creations. Even better, you’ll receive 10% off all your purchases in the store that night – an opportunity to gather keen card making supplies and get ahead on your holiday gift list! Tickets for Thursday’s event are only $25… sign up with a friend and receive 10% off your ticket purchase.

WHAT: Holiday Card Making Girls Night Out
WHERE: All Paper Source stores
WHEN: Thursday, October 1, 7-9pm
HOW: Visit our workshop page to find your store & purchase your $25 ticket.

We hope you’re so very proud of your hand-made holiday cards this year that you will submit your design to our Fourth Annual Holiday Card Contest also kicking off October 1st!

–Linda
PS colors: chartreuse & pool
Latest fave: Saddle Stitch Notebooks

Who would have guessed that our new Paper Doll Kit would cause such a stir around here? The kids of Paper Source employees are showing their true creative roots in their continued excitement over our paper dolls!

Nicole (9) and Nina (7), daughters of Sally our CEO, have gone to town with their kits, literally. In addition to creating all kinds of outfits, they have spent countless hours building homes for their dolls adding table clothes made from origami paper and rugs from our French canvas fabric. While out walking the dog after having introduced the kit to some friends, Sally said a car pulled up and a little girl shouted to her daughter out the window, “Hey Nina, have you finished your curtains?!!” Word is spreading quickly in their neck of the woods!

Check out the girls’ bedrooms complete with bunk beds, tiny books on the bookshelf, and a painting hung on the wall! Who doesn’t stand around in their bedroom in their best bathing suit? Read the rest of this entry »

I threw my first baby shower this year!… and my close friend had her first baby. Okay, one of these is more momentous than the other. The new mom is a laidback librarian-to-be, so she requested that for her baby shower guests bring books in lieu of other gifts (such a great way to build a library for baby!). From this we decided on a “bookworm” baby shower theme.

Inspired by Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar and all of the Paper Source circle card and sticker options, I started playing with baby shower invitation ideas. My first thought was to use 1 1/4″ circle stickers to create a little bookworm on an A7 folded card with hand written details on the inside, but I quickly realized my handwriting wouldn’t look so pretty after 50 invitations! This card idea, did however, turn out to work perfectly for coordinating thank you notes, which I presented to the mom-to-be as a gift.

Next I experimented with printable circle stickers Read the rest of this entry »

Who doesn’t love Halloween?… the perfect time of year to throw a spook-tacular party! This year we decided to dedicate an entire workshop to fabulous and festive Halloween Deadcorations. Mark your calendar for our workshop on Saturday, October 10th.

We will teach you to make frighteningly fun party decorations including coffin invitations, spider-webbed favors, bootiful candy corn placecards, and more. These Halloween goodies are sure to inspire a festive night of Trick-or-Treat fun for all ages! All you’ll need to come up with is the perfect Halloween costume!

Even if you aren’t planning a Halloween party, you’ll be able to use the tips and tricks you learn in this class for craft projects and party planning any time of year. Sign up now, seats are limited.

WHAT: Halloween Deadcorations
WHERE: All Paper Source stores
WHEN: Saturday, October 10. Times vary, see store for details.
HOW: Visit our workshop page to find your store & purchase your $45 ticket.

–Linda
PS colors: chartreuse & pool
Latest fave: Saddle Stitch Notebooks

I love the graphic simplicity of our India Rubber Stamps. Whether used as one clean image or stamped in multiples they really make a statement. When I find a new rubber stamp design I love, I make several cards and gift tags to keep on hand. These cards would work for birthdays and as thank yous, and gift tags are great attached to a gift box or tied to a bottle of wine (the ultimate last minute gift!). If you love our India collection as much as we do, read more about the inspiration behind the entire collection.

p.s. Did you know that elephants are a symbol of luck, fortune and protection? They’re perfect for so many occasions!

–Annie
PS colors: gravel & beet
Latest fave: Owl Placecard Kit

I just love the “aha!” moments when I make a discovery that saves time or turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. I had one of those wonderful moments when putting together my sister’s wedding invitations. My sister loved the richness of our satin ribbon, but the idea of tying a bow didn’t appeal to her. My solution? Use the ribbon as a decorative band for a pop of color.

In my quest to perfectly adhere our 1 1/2″ Satin Ribbon to the wedding invitations I reviewed all the standard options. Glue stick? Messy and time consuming. Double-sided tape? Would create visible ridge from the tape’s edges. Zots? Bumpy and lumpy. Liquid glue? Would soak through the ribbon creating splotches. Ugh! I was out of options.

Thankfully, I don’t give up easily. I spied our Baby Xyron, a great little machine that turns almost anything into a sticker – including ribbon… Aha! The results could not have been better. The ribbon adhered smoothly to the paper and the process was clean and quick. The final product was more than I’d hoped for – perfect wedding invitations with an elegant ribbon embellishment. I also layered on a 1/4″ Satin Ribbon with a little knot in reference to the happy occasion.

Read on for a list of materials and instructions needed to create wedding invitations in the style I did for my sister. The printed wedding invitation (so easy using our online print templates) accented with the satin ribbons is mounted onto a backing creating layers or textures and colors. A beautiful design for any special occasion!

–Sarah, Paper Source Oak Park Store
PS colors: rhubarb & moss
Latest fave: Owl Placecard Kit

Materials Needed:
A7 flat cards (backing) Read the rest of this entry »

Want to learn impressive bookbinding skills AND get organized at the same time? In this workshop we’ll teach you easy bookbinding techniques using our adhesive tapes and precut boards. At the end of the class you will have created your very own handmade 2010 datebook and we promise you’ll feel SO very accomplished! Our lovely Italian datebook inserts have traversed hurricane seas to get to us, so sign up early as this class is sure to sell out quickly once the books hit the stores.

Just think, once you gain these skills you can (and will want to!) make many more datebooks as keen holiday gifts!

WHAT: You never forget your first “Datebook”!
WHERE: All Paper Source stores
WHEN: Thursday, September 24. Times vary, see store for details.
HOW: Visit our workshop page to find your store & purchase your $35 ticket.

–Linda
PS colors: chartreuse & pool
Latest fave: Saddle Stitch Notebooks

During the planning stages of my wedding about a year ago I was looking for a way to carry a theme through elements like my wedding invitations, menu cards, etc. And although I am surrounded by inspiring design ideas and expert crafters everyday at work, I am NOT a crafty person myself, which means I needed a simple design solution. After ordering beautifully letterpressed Cottage Bloom wedding invitations, I turned to coordinating rubber stamps as something I could use to embellish other wedding decorations. In the end, the Cottage Bloom Rubber Stamps saved me and even made me a wee bit craft-savvy! I never imagined myself owning rubber stamps let alone using them in all aspects of my wedding day.

For an unexpected way to present my wedding invitations, I placed them inside A7 box mailers wrapped with a paper band stamped with the Cottage Bloom. This would be the first peek for my guests at the theme to come. Was the box mailer necessary? Maybe not, but expectations were high and my guests raved about receiving them in the mail! You can mail them in a number of ways – seal the box closed with stickers, then add a label and postage to the box lid…or wrap the box in cellophane and add a label and postage.

To incorporate the Cottage Bloom icon on my wedding day, I stamped them onto my menu cards and table tents. I printed the menu details onto Luxe Cream Fino 5” flat cards, then layered them onto Chocolate 5.5” flat cards, which were displayed at each place setting.

I used Luxe Cream Fino Table Tents to display table names, Read the rest of this entry »