Our popular picture frame kits come with instructions for making a vertical frame, and customers will learn learn how to create this perfect gift at today’s Handmade Frame Workshop. (Seats are still available – Call your local store for details!) But, as a special treat to our fans who do not live near a store, we are showing you how to create this handmade frame, but with a twist!

Print this special quick-step PDF and create a DIY horizontal frame.

Take advantage of free shipping on online orders $100 or more and create something special for mom, dad or grad. We will even bring the store experience online by featuring fan creations in an upcoming post – Email a photograph of your completed handmade frame project to PSFan (at) Paper-Source (dot) com or tweet your photo to @Paper_Source using the hashtag #handmadeframe.

Cheers!

–Linda
PS colors: paper bag & persimmon
Latest fave: Academic Great Big Calendar

The New Year has arrived, and what better way to commemorate 2010 than to reflect on the innovative ideas that helped us Do Something Creative Every Day throughout the year?! From guest bloggers to seasonal how-tos to adorable baby showers, here are 10 of the most-read ideas to ring in 2011 with crafty style:

How-to: 4th of July decorating

How-to: wall bulletin organizer

How-to: camp stationery

How-to: hamburger party invites

Our first guest blogger! Introducing Andrea Boudewijn

How-to: paper doll pool party invitations

Easy wedding table cards

“Twice as nice” twins baby shower

“Cute as a button” baby shower

How-to: tissue pomettes

So many kids have enjoyed our ‘Tween Message Board craft during private workshops that we wanted to create a crafting project for our adults – the perfect elegant French Message Board!

(Sorry this is not a kid’s class – this is for adults only – please see the policy page.)

If you are the crafter who is afraid of glue this project we will show you how to wrap book board using super-tacky tape to secure PS papers. No worries, we will also help you navigate the layout for your ribbon too!

There are still seats available for tonight’s class!! So sign up online or call your local store to get in on this wonderful French Message Board workshop.

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

Needle felting is a fun crafting technique that gets a little less of the spotlight than others. But there are endless possibilities to what you can make, once you know the basics. I learned this new technique making a soft sculpture using the beginners needle felting kit (Flower Felting Pin Kit). Then I transferred the knowledge into making a small family of birds. (But you can take this idea and craft whatever creature you like.)

Once I completed felting the birds, I found a piece of driftwood from the shoreline, and crafted a swing, simply by braiding pieces of string to each end. When the swing was assembled, the birds were then glued onto the piece of wood with PVA glue. And voila!…a cute family of birds who smell great!

That’s right, they smell ‘tweet’. One thing I’ve noticed about felt is that it holds smells very well. Simply spray or drop your favorite perfume/potpourri into the larger felt birds, and you’ve got yourself an adorable air freshener, as well as bragging rights. Hang it in your bathroom, car rear view mirror, or off your neck! Wherever it dwells, it has tweet smells.

–Minhi, Paper Source Bellevue Store
PS colors: moss & curry
Latest fave: I Can’t Sleep Journal

A few months ago, I was on a search to find boxes to package my handmade stationery. I searched high and low, but boxes just didn’t seem to come in the size I wanted. I was so desperate that I came close to paying a ridiculous price to have some boxes shipped from Asia, but luckily I stumbled across Paper Source on a weekend trip to Boston.

I walked past Paper Source’s window display of colorful papers and couldn’t resist stepping inside. I was so distracted by the beautiful papers that I almost missed the handmade boxes on display! They were so beautiful I wished I could learn how to make them myself. Luckily for me, Paper Source had all the materials to make boxes right there! I picked up some book board, bookbinding cloth, PVA glue, and an instruction manual, and headed home to make my box!

The PS instructions made the box construction easy to perfect with practice. I hadn’t worked much with PVA glue before, so that was a challenge at first. But I eventually found the best ways to handle the materials, and not get the table all sticky! I was happy to have my bone folder as well to smooth the paper down on the box as I glued. The handmade boxes turned out to be the perfect way to package my cards.

Here’s how I made my box: One by one, glue and secure the walls to the base. Read the rest of this entry »

I may not be heading back to school with a fresh supply of notebooks or have a locker in dire need of personalization, but that doesn’t stop my urge this time of year, to get organized. And of course, in the prettiest way possible! This cheery bulletin board made with our brand new Marigolds Wrapping Paper, envelopes and fun accessories will make putting things in their right place an absolute joy!

P.S. If there are kids in your family who would love a project like this, check out our Tween Message Board Workshop in stores August 21 (for ages 9-12).

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

Materials needed:
How to PDF
2 pieces of 9 1/2″ x 13″ Bookboard Read the rest of this entry »

Father’s Day is only one month away, and let’s face it, dad can sometimes get the short end of the stick when it comes to sentimental gifts! Of course we know why… he would probably rather be watching a ball game (of some sort) or out fishing on any given weekend, but deep down he loves being remembered, especially with a gift from the heart!

What better way to say thanks to the Big Guy than to create a one-of-a-kind gift at our Father’s Day Workshop on Thursday, May 27. You’ll use our most unique “fish file folder” to create a clever and personal keepsake filled with photos, cards, and messages, reminding dad of those things he might not get to hear everyday!

Whether it’s for a husband, grandpa, your own dad, or a dad-to-be, we have all the ingredients to turn this unusual pocketed accordion into an embellished treat – complete with rubber stamping, glassine envelopes, stickers and a tiny makeshift fishing pole to remind him that you “hooked the best dad!” Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve made plenty of paper flowers out of colored paper and old catalogs, but we recently found a new material that creates wonderfully frilly petals, perfect for these paper flower pins. Our new paper ribbon has a fun texture and comes in lovely colors. Layering fuchsia and pool, we created these festive flowers with a few cuts and folds, held together by floral wire and floral tape.

Add a safety pin for one of a kind boutonnières, or use them as package toppers, on napkin rings, and as playful decorations.

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

Materials Needed:
How to PDF
Paper Ribbon (Fuchsia & Sea Green – a.k.a. Pool)
Floral Wire/Tape Kit Read the rest of this entry »

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 »