This year I challenged myself to make my own holiday cards – my first attempt…ever. I’ll admit, it takes a lot of time, but I’m so happy with the finished product and I know the recipients will be too. My holiday card design was inspired to by things: 1. Annie’s blog entry about the Halloween wreath card and 2. an amazing assortment of Italian scrap paper that my friend brought back for me from her trip this summer (a gift only a true paper lover could appreciate).

Packed inside the simple plastic bag were scraps of paper no bigger than note cards (and many much, much smaller) with pattern after pattern – intricate, colorful, elegant…totally inspiring. I’ve been stumped over the past few months as to how to use them, but when I saw Annie’s card idea using decorative punches I knew this scrap paper was perfect.

I created a few different holiday card designs all using the same components – A2 folded cards onto which I printed a holiday greeting and decorative punches (either a leaf branch or snowflake shape). I used Zots to apply the paper punches, and embellished some cards with crystal adhesives. I love that they’re a bit non-traditional in color.

I still have many more to create – good thing I got started in November!

–Kristen
PS colors: lake & chocolate
Latest fave: Decorative Atomizers

Looking for a glam decorating idea for the holidays, but have a fear of glitter or aren’t feeling especially crafty? Try this easy craft project from our team at the Paper Source Reston store! They added tons of elegance to kraft ornaments with a clever combination of stamp pads.

It takes just 3 simple steps to make these festive holiday decorations! With this Ball Kraft Ornament they first applied a Colorbox Chalk Inkpad to add color, then used the Platinum Color Box Metal Extra Inkpad on top. Hang them on your tree, decorate a mantle, or use in a centerpiece on your holiday table.

Stop by a store location this weekend for more tips & tricks on decorating holiday ornaments!

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

1. Stamp Your First Ink Color: Add your first ink color by applying the stamp pad directly to the surface of your kraft item (here I’m using a shimmery Galaxy Gold Brilliance Inkpad). Hold the edges of your object with a paper towel to prevent ink from getting on your hands.

2. Stamp Your Second Ink Color: Read the rest of this entry »

Advent calendars are so much fun for kids (and adults!) – a festive count down of the days til Christmas. We were so excited to come up with a way to create an advent calendar using our Gingerpaper House Kit, so that kids could actually make their own (yes, with some help from mom or dad)! By adding numbered shingles to the house, you have a way to mark the days – and because the roof opens, parents can hide candy or little gifts inside, as a surprise for each day.

A great way to get the whole family into the holiday spirit!

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

Materials Needed:
How-To Advent Calendar PDF
Gingerpaper House Kit
Eco-White 1 1/4″ Circle Labels
Pool 1/8″ Satin Ribbon
1/4″ Super Tacky Tape
Glue Stick
Scissors

Instructions:
1. Follow the instructions included with the Gingerpaper House Kit. Read the rest of this entry »

To the Paper Source team – our employees and customers:

It has been a year of big economic challenges, which have required all of us to use extra ingenuity to make ends meet. As a company, we have done some tough belt tightening to ensure that we would stay healthy and be able to grow. I am grateful for all of the teamwork in our stores and our Chicago headquarters that has allowed us to find new ways of working, utilizing our resources in nimble and creative ways – all with the goal of keeping the magic alive in our mission to inspire people to “do something creative every day”.

A special thank you to our customers, who have continued to inspire us with ideas and great feedback. We value our relationship with you and appreciate the purchases you make. Our goal is to continue to inspire your creativity, make you laugh, and provide you with the highest quality assortment of exciting papers, crafting materials, cards and stationery (as well as keen gifts). We hope you will be thrilled with what you see coming…particularly our new wedding line in January. Thank you for your candor and loyalty.

I am thankful to work with such an inspiring team of people, and appreciative of the customers who make this all possible. This year, my kids are making owl placecards for the Thanksgiving table (after acorns and turkeys the prior two years!!). My hope is that you ALL enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.

Cheers!

– Sally, Paper Source CEO
PS colors: papaya & pool
Latest fave: Paper Source Grid Calendar

If there is something I look forward to every year, it’s holiday card making! But with the hustle and bustle of the season, the task can seem daunting. Luckily, with a little imagination I’ve discovered a few ways to embellish cards that are quick and easy. For example, what’s easier than peeling and sticking? Decorative stickers are a simple way to add colorful images to a card. To really make them stand out, stick them onto a strip of paper in a contrasting color, and add a few adhesive crystals for sparkle.

When I’m feeling really crafty I use rubber stamps in my card making. Try rubber stamping in a bold color and adding layers of paper to create borders and dimension. The card above features our new Holiday Greetings Square Rubber Stamp, which is a fun way to add holiday sentiments to the outside or inside of a holiday card. Layering a rubber stamped piece onto a patterned note set creates a festive finished look.

Use decorative punches to create graphic shapes that turn blank cards into modern works of art! I punched circle shapes in a few bright colors using a 1″ circle hole punch. Next, I punched cute holiday shapes with the Fat Tree Punch. Once I was happy with the arrangement of the shapes, I used a glue stick to stick them in place. The overall effect is striking, yet so simple!

This technique works for many occasions with different hole punches and colored paper. Just imagine our Heart Hole Punch with red and fuchsia paper for Valentine’s Day cards, or a card with our Rubber Duck or Bunny Hole Punch and pink or blue paper to congratulate a new parent! Make a bunch and keep them on hand for when you need a last minute greeting card.

Here’s a tip for when you want to send a handmade card that looks exceptionally sharp – use our classic holiday shape cards as a base. They’re already diecut, so all that’s left to do is embellish! With so many combinations of adhesive crystals, stickers, ribbons and snippets of paper, the options are limitless!

Happy holiday card making!

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

We worked hard for it and now we’re seeing the results – a whole lot of exciting Paper Source product featured in the press this holiday season! The fun part about seeing our products in these wonderful magazines are the great ideas their creative teams come up with on their own – often with new uses we hadn’t thought of, that we love!

Better Homes and Gardens really showed us off with their story on holiday trimmings. Our Solid Wrapping Papers in pool, moss and red are coupled with our Moss, Pool Diagonal Stripes Wrapping Paper, along with gift wrap from our good friends at Snow & Graham – an inspiring mix of pattern and color. They used the 2010 Paper Source Mini Calendar to top a gift box in place of a bow (a great idea if you’re shipping a gift wrapped package since a bow might get smashed in the mail). The pool January page of the calendar looks so fresh with the red and white wrapping paper featured.

Another clever idea is using our Moss, Pool Diagonal Stripes Wrapping Paper as a bellyband around a pool package, then topped with a band of red wrapping paper that’s trimmed at the end to look like ribbon! It’s all held in place with a Pool Border 2.75″ Circle Label and a 1 1/4” Chartreuse Circle Sticker in the center – we love the layered look!

InStyle got crafty creating homemade wrapping paper with many of our rubber stamps. I love how they used the Alphabet Rubber Stamp Kit to stamp a recipient’s initials onto solid gift wrap – a great way to call out whose gifts are whose under the tree. I also love the Fleur de Lis Rubber Stamp done in gold on pool wrapping paper – very French. And finally, they used a technique that we too like to use – making dots of ink with a pencil eraser… so easy!

In their Christmas Ideas magazine, the folks at Better Homes and Gardens came up with another clever use for our product. Featuring our Red #1 Baby Envelopes tacked onto a background of our Moss Flourish Wrapping Paper, they created a 12 Days of Christmas activity calendar. They rubber stamped numbers onto metal-rimmed key tags you find at the hardware store to count down the days. Beginning with Christmas Day and ending with Twelfth Night, each envelope holds a holiday activity – making cookies, sledding, ice skating, and others. What a wonderful way to remind us all to celebrate the joy of the holidays!

p.s. Real Simple and Redbook each featured our 2010 Paper Source Wall Art Calendar – thank you, thank you, we’re so glad you love it too!

– Cindy
PS colors: pool & red
Latest fave: Dutch Woodcut Floral Wrapping Paper

I recently found myself needing a gift for a friend of mine… a friend who has everything. I came up with the idea of making him a set of decorative kraft letters in his initials. Although I’ve used glitter to decorate these in the past, I wanted to try a new technique that would create a handsome piece he could display on a shelf in his home.

Turns out heat embossing using a metallic powder creates an elegant and sophisticated finish. I used the VersaMark Watermark Inkpad on the kraft letters, sprinkled on embossing powders in a mixture of Jade Patina and Metallic Copper, and used the heat embossing tool to set in place. Combining those two embossing powders created a patina that looks similar to an old penny.

In the past I’ve decorated kraft letters with glitter by covering them in PVA, then sprinkling on glitter. These “JOY” letters in True Red Glitter make a great holiday decoration – use in a centerpiece arrangement or display on a mantle surrounded by evergreen branches. You could achieve a different red finish by using the heat embossing technique described above and Cherry Twinkle Embossing Powder.

My gift of the “JC” initials was extremely well-received, because it was personal and unlike anything he had. They turned out so well in fact that I decorated other kraft letters to display in our store!

–Ken, Paper Source NorthPark Dallas Store
PS colors: chartreuse & pool
Latest fave: Woodgrain A2 Embossed Stationery

With save the dates under her belt, Sarah moved onto planning her wedding invitations and day of details. Continuing to leverage colors from her inspiration print, she used Sapphire cardstock to create a custom piece that would hold all of the items in her invitation suite. She backed her printed invitations with the featured Italian paper creating a decorative trim, then adhered that to the inside of the Sapphire folder.

A sheer ribbon tied around one half of the Sapphire folder secured the response card and envelope in place, and created a lovely embellishment for the closed invitation. Each envelope was lined with the Italian paper for a fully finished look.

Knowing that she would be having a photo booth at her wedding, Sarah wanted to create her own guest book that would hold the memories captured in the photo booth that day. Using a photo album kit, she created a one-of-a-kind guest book covered in the same Italian paper.

As guests took photos in the photo booth, they used photo corners to add them to the guest book and signed personal messages on the bright white pages. A true keepsake for the bride and groom!

Sarah used 3D Star Kits covered in the Italian print to create large dimensional decorations for her wedding venue. Read the rest of this entry »

Come to a Paper Source store this weekend for free holiday demonstrations and “make & take” projects… AND be one of the first to see the brand new at-home Letterpress Machine! We are so excited about this amazing table top machine that allows you to make your very own letterpress cards. Paper Source is one of the only vendors in the country to carry this item, and we’re thrilled to give you the opportunity to see how it works in person.

11:30am – 12:30pm • Holiday Gift Wrap, Accents & Hang Tags – Make & Take
During this hands-on make & take, we’ll show you how to dress up your holiday packages and hostess gifts using our baby #1 envelope template, hang tags, punches and more.

12:30 – 1:30pm • Keen Holiday Shapes & Kraft Ornaments – Demo
Learn simple tricks for dressing up our kraft ornaments with ribbon, adhesives, glitter, and paper accents. Perfect for hanging on your tree and adorning your holiday packages.

1:30 – 3:30pm • The NEW Letterpress Machine – Make & Take
Be one of the very first to see the new at-home Letterpress Machine in person! We’ll show you how to use this table top machine to create amazing letterpress cards. You’re sure to fall in love and be inspired to make your own letterpressed holiday cards this year!

3:30 – 5:00pm • Creative Crafting Time
Explore rubber stamping, heat embossing, quickie glue pens, glitter and more during our free Creative Crafting session. Please contact your local store for this “reservation required” crafting experience.

Come early to our make & take sessions (especially to see the Letterpress Machine!) as supplies are limited and available on a first come first serve basis.

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