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 »

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 »

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how we created the cover of our most recent Paper Source catalog. Valentine’s Day is all about taking the time to show love, so we really wanted something handmade on our Valentine’s Day catalog cover. What we came up with was simple and lovely – a paper heart hand-stitched with the word “love.”

Create your own hand-stitched sentiment by following the easy steps below!

– Karen
PS colors: moss & papaya
Latest fave: India Calico File Folders

1. Choose the note card onto which you want to stitch (in this case our heart shape card). Read the rest of this entry »

For those of you who have tried it, you know, lining envelopes is oh, so satisfying! It’s an easy, instant upgrade to wedding invitations, stationery, and greeting cards, and even if you claim you’re not crafty, you will be able to do this. You can use almost any paper imaginable to make envelopes liners – solids, patterns, fine paper, newspaper, magazine pages, even photocopies of pictures.

When lining Paper Source envelopes, the trick is to use our Envelope Liner Template Kit, which comes with traceable plastic templates in 7 envelope sizes. Check out our How-to Video where our beloved founder Sue will show you how to make envelope liners, and keep you entertained along the way.

Enjoy, and, as Sue will remind you, Do Something Creative Every Day!

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

Brides are always looking for unique wedding ideas and we think we have just the thing! This wedding cake wish box is the perfect addition to a guest book table or to display on the way into the reception area. Guests can write well wishes onto small slips of paper, then open the lid of the wish box and drop them inside. What a treat it will be to open the wish box when you return from your honeymoon! A charming keepsake for you and your groom.

We used the three smallest Scallop Edge Kraft Boxes to make our wish box, which creates a cake that is about 9″ tall (excluding the ribbon loop) and 5 1/4″ in diameter. You can create a larger cake by stacking larger box sizes or even add more tiers. The boxes can be decorated in colors and patterns to match your wedding decor. A wish box also makes a wonderful bridal shower activity!

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

Materials Needed:
How to PDF
Scallop Edge Kraft Box (extra small, small & medium)
7 Point Shape Hole Punch Read the rest of this entry »

While it might seem obvious, cleaning rubber stamps does need to be done and with care to prolong the life of your stamps. Whether you’re an avid stamper or just a periodic user, you should learn how to clean rubber stamps.

A simple way to clean rubber stamps is by using a spray bottle with luke warm water. You don’t need to add soap to the water as long as you are using a water-soluble ink such as Color Box, Versa Mark, Versa Magic or Brilliance stamp pads. Spritz water onto the rubber portion of the stamp and dab with a paper towel. It’s important to dab at the rubber stamp, and not to scrub it – repeated scrubbing, even if not done aggressively may loosen the rubber from the stamp block. Although you can use water, do not clean your stamps by running water over them (e.g. in the sink) – too much water in contact with your entire stamp can degrade the adhesive that binds the stamp to the block eventually causing it to fall apart.

While no special supplies are required for cleaning rubber stamps, we do recommend two stamp cleaning products that make the process easier, especially if you use your rubber stamps often.

1. The Spritzer Rubber Stamp Cleaner is a pump-action spray cleaner that works perfectly with paper towels. Spritz some cleaner onto a rubber stamp (rubber side up in the direction of the spray) – be sure to spritz generously onto the areas that have been heavily inked. Once the stamp is moistened, gently dab (don’t scrub) at the ink with a paper towel. Repeat the dabbing process as needed until all the crevices are clean and clear of any residual ink.

2. Another great rubber stamp cleaning product is the Rubber Stamp Cleaning Pad by Rub-N-Scrub. This is especially good for lightly inked stamps. The surface of the cleaning pad is covered in soft bristles – dab your inked stamp against these (do not scrub or rub your stamp). We love this pad because it’s a green way of cleaning: the pad is removable and reusable, so you don’t waste paper towels as with other cleaning methods.

So, go forth and clean. Happy Stamping to all!

– Betsy
PS colors: gravel & red (and curry)
Latest fave: Desk embossers, Yuzen Red Pool Plum Blossoms Japanese paper and Yuzen Seagreen Orange Fish Japanese paper. Love them!

Make this zero calorie dessert as a delicious party favor for your next dinner party, ladies lunch or tea. With scallop icing trim and chocolate curls, they are lovely to decorate a place setting or stack them on a cake platter for a centerpiece. Also wonderful as bridal shower favors or decorations.

Use our PDF template to cut out each cake shape for easy assembly, and choose any colored paper to create your own combination of “flavors”…red velvet…strawberry…dark chocolate!

Sweet!

–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 Cover Paper (Superfine Soft White)
8 1/2 x 11 Text Paper (Shimmer Chocolate and Stardream Opal)
Xacto Knife or Scissors
Ruler
Cutting Mat (optional)
Bone Folder (optional)
Glue Stick
Scallop Scissors
Pencil

Getting Started:
Begin by printing the How to PDF and cutting out each cake part template. Read the rest of this entry »

With rubber stamps, labels and super cute googly eyes, making homemade valentine cards is easy as can be. Take this idea and substitute with your favorite Valentine rubber stamps and stamp pad colors. Be careful, googly eyes are totally addicting…you’ll be sticking them to everything before you know it!

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

Materials Needed:
4bar Folded Cards Pure White & 4bar Envelopes
Blossom Strawberry Cloud Labels Read the rest of this entry »