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 »

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 »

There’s nothing I love more than planning a good party. Coupled with my love of paper… well, you can imagine the trouble I get in working at Paper Source. This year one of my dearest friends announced that she was getting married, so naturally I planned the perfect bachelorette party (which doubled as a lingerie shower because she needed some fun things for her honeymoon!). Here’s how the mind of a party planner works:

The Theme: The best party planning advice I can give is to come up with a theme – it always makes for an event full of unexpected and fabulous details. A theme can be as simple as a color, a destination or an object. Use the theme to drive decorating decisions from invitations to favors to décor. For this shower I used our new fuchsia (it’s so hot and so very bachelorette) and polka dots as the base for all of my decorations.

The Invitation: Every great party starts with an equally great invitation – it sets the tone of the event. I printed the party details in a chocolate ink onto a fuchsia 5.5” square card then layered that onto a chocolate 6.25” square card. White and chocolate 1.25″ circle stickers served as festive polka dots. My finished invitation went inside fuchsia envelopes – I mean, who wouldn’t want to get that in the mail!

The Details: I live by the adage, “It’s the little things that count,” and parties too should be full of little details. I filled our classic square favor box with candy favors, banded it with a strip of fuchsia paper, and embellished with chocolate stickers and a tiny white bow. For a bachelorette party game we put together a simple (and slightly risqué) scavenger hunt. Instructions for the game were printed onto a white #10 card, which I trimmed slightly so it could be backed with a fuchsia #10 card to create a colorful border. Once again chocolate stickers (quite possibly the easiest way to decorate) are used for polka dots.

The Wow!: I know I just got done singing the praises of the details, but it’s also important to have a showpiece – think the tree at Christmas or the cake at a wedding. I picked up an old dress form at an antique store and dressed it in this stinkin’ adorable paper lingerie set. Despite its couture appearance, it couldn’t be simpler to create – make a form out of cardstock in the shape of lingerie, pleat tissue paper by folding over and under, then attach the tissue to your form. Accent with braided ¼” satin ribbon. I set the dress form behind the cocktails and it was indeed a show stopper.

Happy Planning!

–Ann
PS colors: moss & papaya
Latest fave: Fall Wreath Kit

We talk a lot about color around here, but it really can be inspirational. A room painted in yellow can leave you feeling sunny and pair of great pink shoes can make you smile. The same is true for inspiring memorable details for any event. Recently, we had the pleasure of hosting a baby shower for one of our coworkers. We used her nursery colors – night and chartreuse (gender neutral since the sex of the baby was going to be a surprise) – as the jumping off point for all of our decorations.

Our delightful banner was super simple to make using a roll of solid gift wrap (also great as a table cloth) with clouds cut from large sheets of cover weight paper. To make the letters we printed outlined letters onto sheets of 8.5 x 11 paper, then cut just inside the outline to create perfectly stenciled letters. Ribbons in different colors, widths and textures created a rain effect. The banner was such a hit one of the clouds now hangs in the baby’s nursery!

What’s a baby shower without baby shower games? Read the rest of this entry »

Created by one of our assistant store managers, these make great kid’s party favor boxes — or a rainy day project for kids to make themselves. Come by your local Paper Source store to see this favor box created in person!

Materials needed:
Chocolate Pocketbook Favor Boxes
Chocolate Oval Scallop Cards
Cover Weight Paper in Eco-white and Strawberry
Brads in Chocolate, Pool and Silver
Scallop Paper Punch
1/8″ Round Hole Punch
Scissors
Gluestick

Instructions:
1. Fold and assemble favor box according to instructions in package.
Ears & tail
2. Cut one scallop circle card in half lengthwise and fold each down to create two ears.
3. Cut a half moon or u-shape out of another scallop circle card to create tail, folding end about 3/4″ to create an anchor.
4. Using 1/8″ hole punch, punch holes in the ends of each ear Read the rest of this entry »

Invited to a summer BBQ recently, I tried this fun decorative idea to transport my go-to homemade brownies (a jazzed up version of the boxed kind that could fool anyone). While I like to use something inexpensive that I can leave behind, those disposable aluminum trays kind of kill the presentation. And if my mother taught me anything, it’s that presentation is key.

The solution? Read the rest of this entry »

I am loving our new rocket rubber stamp, one of many new stamp designs that we recently launched (no pun intended). It’s perfect for kids’ parties and is an image that’s timeless for year round use. Here we used it with our For Date Time Place rubber stamp to make a folded card into an invitation, with details on the inside.

Materials needed:
Rocket Ship Rubber Stamp
For Date Time Place Rubber Stamp
1/8″ Round Hole Punch
Versamark Watermark Inkpad
Brilliance Starlight Silver Inkpad
Metallic Silver Embossing Powder
Read the rest of this entry »

We originally created a version of these classic 4th of July decorations for Inauguration Day 2009. To celebrate the day, the PS Design team had streaming video of the day’s events projected onto a wall, framed by curtains and hanging red, white and blue (lake, of course) paper rosettes. It really created a festive patriotic setting and we noted we’d have to remember the rosettes again in July. Well, here we are, halfway through summer (though not in Chicago) and ready to celebrate our country once again! Our take on the tissue paper rosettes you often see at Independence Day celebrations is SO easy. You’ll want to hang them from front porches, around backyards or patios, from tree branches or on the backs of chairs – wherever you choose to celebrate, they’re the perfect decorative spark!

Materials needed: Read the rest of this entry »

This breezy summer party invitation is easy to make using fill-in printable invitations and our honeycomb rubber stamps. The honeycombs take on a citrus look in these ink colors, but you can change up the colors and use them again and again for any occasion– make fireworks in red and blue for a 4th of July celebration, or a garland in red and green for a holiday party. We finished these off with clear embossing powder for a shiny, textured look.

Materials needed:
Recycled Black & White A7 Printable Party Invitations
Honey Comb Flower Small Rubber Stamp
Honey Comb Flower Large Rubber Stamp
Sunflower Color Box Stamp Pad
Moss Color Box Stamp Pad
Orange Color Box Stamp Pad
Clear Embossing Powder
Heat Embossing Tool

Instructions
1. Along the top of each invitation, stamp small and large honeycombs in a staggered pattern in various ink colors.
2. To emboss, begin by sprinkling clear embossing powder over pattern while ink is still wet.
3. Shake off excess powder. We recommend doing this over a large sheet of scrap paper so you can funnel the excess back into your jar — it’s totally reusable.
4. Set with heat tool to create a raised, glossy finish.
5. Pair with a colored A7 envelope to complete your invitation!

– Annie
PS colors: eco-white & pool
Latest fave: Zots Glue Dots