If you missed PS craft expert Linda Barrett on HouseSmartsTV this weekend you can catch the segment online. Watch Linda help “Mr. Fix-it” Lou Manfredini get crafty at our new Southport Chicago store:

When “Mr. Fix-it” himself, Lou Manfredini, and his crew came to film a crafting segment at our new Chicago store on Southport, I found myself with quite the crafting challenge.

To begin a project, I find it is best to consider the audience, including the person for whom the party, gathering or project is built around. In this case, Lou Manfredini is a contractor with a love of all things DIY. His audience is a mix of men and women who love to learn lots of interesting tips and time savers. And, since several of his segments also include food, what better way to inspire a project for both he and his audience then to find a way to marry all of those elements together? Read the rest of this entry »

I love the ease of our printable place cards, especially during this busy, bustling, holiday season…it allows just enough time for me to get my craft on! An edging of ink color from a rubber stamp ink pad and a simple raffia bow adds that perfect dash of warmth to my Thanksgiving table. Bon appetit!

–Annie
PS colors: peacock & paper bag
Latest fave: Spritzer Rubber Stamp Cleaner and Rubber Stamp Cleaning Pad

Materials Needed:

• PDF How-To
• Printable Place Cards (Computer & Printer)
• Kraft Paper Ribbon
• Happy Thanksgiving Rubber Stamp
• Color Box Chalk Inkpads (Butterscotch & Tangerine colors)
• Small Glue Dots
• Rubber Stamp Cleaning Pad (Optional…but highly recommended)
• Spritzer Rubber Stamp Cleaner (Optional…but highly recommended)

Instructions:

1. Print names onto place cards just below midway point.
2. Stamp “Happy Thanksgiving” in butterscotch and tangerine at tops of place cards.
3. Add a hint of color to edges by lightly smudging place card edges with ink pads.
4. Tie single knots at centers of paper ribbons measuring approximately 6”.
5. Adhere to place cards with glue dots between “Happy Thanksgiving” and name.
6. Place one at each setting for your guests.

Our Santana Row store manager, Linda Kaiser, did a wonderful job hosting the Live Well Network’s “Home with Lisa Quinn,” demonstrating three great party invitation ideas! Have a look at the simple projects she shared using our cards, rubber stamps, favor boxes, and table tents:

Makes you want to host a fun party, doesn’t it?! Cheers to Linda and team!

P.S. To catch the show with lots of other great decorating and party hosting ideas, watch it air on the Live Well Network next week, Tuesday, November 9 at 9:30 PM, Wednesday at 10AM, and Sunday at 4:30PM (be sure to check your local listings to confirm these dates and times).

Yes, I am an adult. And, yes, I love Halloween.

Admittedly, I am not much of a seasonal decorator, however, I do play hostess to an annual Halloween party where I try out crafty tricks and treats, one of my favorites being the graveyard of sandwiches.

The original idea called for an assortment of salad (chicken salad, tuna salad, etc) fillings, but we prefer roast beef and soft cheese (for veggie lovers I use marinated Portobello in lieu of meat). I also commissioned my neighbor to weld a brander, so I could toast cross markings into the sandwiches instead of decorating with condiments.

In pre-Paper Source days I used greens as the ground covering for these bites. This year, I decided to freshen up the party offerings. So, for this Halloween inspiration, I am giving you three additional ways to present spirited sandwiches.
Read the rest of this entry »

If you ever feel nostalgic for those sticker collections of early childhood, then let me introduce you to my new crafty best friend, the Xyron Create A Sticker. It brings back memories of carefree days and transforms all sorts of beautiful paper into stickers I can use for grown-up things like cards, files, books, and other craft projects. Recently, I found an even more practical use for my Xyron – making labels! This is not your mother’s old one-font label maker – you can print any font, shape, and color that you want, turn it into a sticker, and label to your heart’s content.

I used my newfound labeling skills to spruce up the envelopes for a friend’s bridal shower invitations. The wrap-around address labels were the finishing touch that the invitations needed to make them look complete and professionally crafted. It was all courtesy of my Xyron, a little imagination, and Read the rest of this entry »

When the new Squirrel Place Card Kit arrived at our Brookline store I just about squealed with excitement! (I might have made the Brookline staff a little deaf.) My fiancé has had a slight obsession with squirrels since he was little (or maybe I have the obsession with his obsession?), so I thought how adorable they would be as bride and groom place cards at our very own barn wedding! I dressed these up giving the groom a nice size rock to hand to his blushing bride. The fall colors included in the place card kit made them a very compatible and stylish couple!

Cheers to Paper Source and these new adorable and functional friends!

–Mallaree, Paper Source Brookline Store
PS colors: paper bag & sunshine
Latest fave: Hydrangea Wrapping Paper

It’s no secret, the last few weeks leading up to your wedding can be surprisingly action packed! Even the most Zen personalities can find themselves overwhelmed by all the tiny details. It’s a story the wedding experts at Paper Source hear all too often. You may have booked the venue for your reception ages ago, but those last few straggling RSVPs have prevented you from completing the guest list. Before you know it your wedding is two weeks away and just thinking the words “seating chart” makes your temples throb. What to do? Where to turn?

Don’t fret! The design geniuses over at Paper Source have your back with the perfect solution to your pre-wedding woes. We are thrilled to (finally!) announce our new print-at-home folded place cards! They come as 8.5 x 11 sheets with 4 place cards each in creamy superfine soft white cover paper. Easy to use in Word, Pages, or InDesign (print templates available online) — on a Mac or a PC — these printable place cards are a cinch to punch out. Micro-perforation ensures a clean edge, and the fold line is scored for crisp, even folds and superior standing.

Quick tip for super savvy brides and grooms: These place cards easily do double duty as escort cards (as pictured). Long before your wedding, when you have ample time, print out all of your guests’ names in a decorative font but leave a blank space for their table number. When you get closer to your big day and know the seating arrangement, simply use a decorative pen or marker to write in each guest’s table number. Have all the place cards in alphabetical order on a table outside the reception along with your guest book. Watch in awe as your guests sign your guest book, pick up their place cards, and walk directly to their tables!

–Leslie
PS colors: persimmon & paper bag
Latest fave: 2011 Academic Black Date Book

We reached out to you recently for guest blogger submissions and received many great stories about how you use your favorite crafting essentials. We’re thrilled to introduce our first guest blogger, Andrea Boudewijn, whose creative inspiration is simply delicious! Here’s her story:

Hi PS Fans! My name is Andrea Boudewijn and I’m a baker of wedding cakes and confections who loves to shop at Paper Source in Pasadena and Beverly Hills. As a cake maker, I’ve often looked to Paper Source for tools I can use on my cakes. I know what you’re thinking: What could a paper store offer that could be used at a bakery? More than you can imagine. Everything in the shop is an opportunity to get a creative edge on my cakes, but today I want to talk about a tool I reach for and use every single day: The bone folder.

If you’ve used one, you likely know its primary purpose: To aid in the clean, precise creasing of hand made notecards, origami, and other projects needing paper-folds. But in the shop, we use the comfortable, slightly-rounded face of this tool to smooth and heal our fondant and gum paste. The comfortable grip, organic feel and convenient shape allow us to rub out wrinkles, tuck fondant under a cake tier for a clean line, and on occasion texture the surface!

Once we have the fondant and gum paste smooth and perfect, we dig into our collection of PS rubber stamps to decorate. It makes an image so much more precise to use a stamp (with edible food coloring, of course!) then paint over or around it for the desired effect. We also use them in a repeated pattern to create unique texture on our cakes. It takes a steady hand and lots of math to get it exactly right, but that’s our kind of everyday creativity.

photo credit: Andrea Bricco

When we’re doing a suite of confections (‘sweet’ of confections? Blerrrg…), we love to Read the rest of this entry »