Lately, we’ve been playing around with a new saying: If it isn’t neon; it shouldn’t be on. Neon has certainly become an A-lister in the world of fashion, making it a noteworthy must-have for your crafting creations.

Whether you’re penciling in a slue of dates and engagements, designing a card or adding decorative flair to an ingenius idea, bright and bold is the way to go. And our new NEON accents offer a few bright ideas.

Tell us, what are your favorite neon looks?

The latest Paper Source catalog hits mailboxes this week! Inside you will find a special feature on The Art of Craft, an inspirational resource page with recipes for rubber stamping, embossing and stenciling. We also explored DIY letterpress and digital die cutting projects.

Paper Source associates, even many from your local store, offered their vision for an assortment of Silhouette Machine executions. Here are the stories behind their innovative designs, along with tips for helping you master this versatile cutting tool.

Butterfly Box by Wendy Parks
Paper Source Evanston

Q: What inspired your design?
A: SPRING! I like to think of creative ways to spruce up something simple (like a kraft box) in minimal time.

Q: What tips do you have for successfully executing this Silhouette project?
A: I loved the idea of layering butterflies to give them a 3-D effect.

Did you know: You can get 1 free download each week to add to your library! It’s like iTunes for images.
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After another food-free crafting “lunch” playing with cool new product from the Buying team, and some talented creative work from the Crafting team, taking that inspiration and bringing it to life, we have our next round of card making “recipes”!

Have fun and do something creative for Valentine’s Day!

– Cindy
PS colors: persimmon & paper bag
Latest fave: 2011 Paper Source Booklet Calendar

It is so warm here in Chicago. It hardly feels like it is almost Thanksgiving! In fact, it feels a little weird to talk about my favorite holiday products when I didn’t even wear a coat to work, but here goes…

For crafting, a couple super-easy, but super-impactful items are the Snowflake Trim Double Edge Punch and Tinsel & Twig embellishments .

The chain punch allows you to make perfectly die-cut belly bands that wrap around an invitation or card while the crepe paper embellishments are self-adhesive, so you can stick one on a card or on the top of a gift. The embellishments are layered with four different accents so it looks handmade without the time investment. Just peel and stick! I used it in the sample to adhere the snowflake chain to the card.

When it comes to boxed holiday cards I cannot resist telling you about another one of my favorite vendors, Saturn Press. For years Paper Source has carried this line of beautiful letterpress cards, both in our everyday single card assortment, as well as in boxed holiday offerings. Not only is their product simply lovely, but their commitment to green living has been alive since the start of their business in 1986. Read the rest of this entry »

We had such fun creating our holiday card idea samples this year – including a multi-department crafting lunch, complete with holiday tunes (but missing the “lunch”)!

From the creativity of that day came the cards pictured above, along with recipes for you to follow, or improvise. We hope you enjoy the inspiration they provide and that you have a ball “cooking up” your own holiday cards this season. Remember, if you submit your ideas to us, as part of our Holiday Card Contest, you could win a PS gift card (always handy around the holidays)!

– Cindy
PS colors: persimmon & paper bag
Latest fave: 2011 Paper Source Booklet Calendar