What could be more personal than creating custom stationery for a special friend? By choosing specific paper colors, embellishments, and adding their name you are honoring their personality and creating a one-of-a-kind gift. A stationery set can be as simple as a collection of note cards and envelopes, but by adding other letter writing components like labels and pens, or personalizing the stationery with rubber stamps, you create something truly unique.

To take it over the top include a custom return address embosser plate – an easy and elegant way to add a return address to envelopes. Finally, be creative in your presentation – put all of your stationery items into an adorable suitcase, or organize them inside a linen folio.

Here are some things you might need:
• Flat cards & folded cards
• Envelopes
• 8.5″ x 11″ text paper
• Labels
• Stickers
• Pens
• Return address embosser plate
• Rubber stamps – try alphabet rubber stamps to add a name or monogram

As the holidays approach, consider making a set of personalized stationery for family members, or as a thank you gift for a teacher who has made a difference in your child’s life.

p.s. If you’re looking for inspiration on making your own stationery, sign up for our Personal Stationery – Handmade Gifts Workshop taking place at all stores tomorrow – Thursday, November 12.

–Linda
PS colors: chartreuse & pool
Latest fave: Saddle Stitch Notebooks

Just about every year, I find myself moving to a new apartment for one reason or another. This time around I wanted to send a creative handmade moving announcement to my friends and family to let them know my new address, instead of another mass email. In playing around with some of my favorite materials, I ended up creating the perfect “I’ve moved” postcard!

I rubber stamped and embossed the front of a postcard, and addressed each one.

To the back of the postcard I attached a 2 1/4″ x 3 1/2″ glassine envelope and added the message, “I’ve moved! Write me at my new address…”. I inserted a business card with my new address and sealed with a circle label. Such a fun and unexpected presentation!

Sending postcards lets you save some money on postage as they only require postcard postage stamps, and your friends will be more than thrilled to receive something fun in the mail! If you’re worried about the glassine envelope staying attached in the mail, you can always slip your finished piece into an envelope for protection (though all of my postcards made it safely to their destinations!).

–Catherine, Paper Source Alexandria Store
PS colors: gravel & curry
Latest fave: 2010 Cavallini Easel Calendar – Italia

Materials Needed:
Postcards Read the rest of this entry »

The associates here at the Evanston Paper Source store are always excited to see the new and creative products that arrive on a regular basis. We love being able to share these products and all the imaginative ways they can be used with our customers. Our most recent favorite is a set of decorative tapes – so unusual and so multi-purpose. We immediately began coming up with ways to use this fun product!

We love this greeting card made by our associate Kate, which uses the woodgrain decorative tape along with chocolate 2.5” circle labels and the heat embossing technique. Kate applied the tape across the front of a folded card as well as to the outside flap of a chocolate envelope. Making greeting cards is a great way to use up odds and end scraps leftover from other projects, and these decorative tapes are great for no-mess crafting – this greeting card did not require any glue!

Our four decorative tape styles (also available in black damask, purple lace and chartreuse scrolls) feature various patterns and colors allowing you to create a completely different card with each. Decorative tape is also great (and easy) to use for gift wrapping…really the uses are endless!

–Paper Source Evanston Store Team
PS colors: curry & gravel
Latest fave: Eco Cups

A typical day in my life:
4:30am- get up, do yoga for ½ hour
5:00am- take shower
5:15am- walk dog
5:30am- drink coffee, watch the weather, get dressed
6:00-6:15am- leave for work, drop Gus off at Doggie daycare
7am-6pm- WORK-WORK-WORK
6:15pm- pick up Gus from Doggie daycare
7pm- whew! Finally get home, scramble to find something for dinner
7:30pm- eat dinner w/hubby, talk about Gus and what he did that day
8:30pm- watch a little T.V.
9:30pm- check my email
10pm- go to bed…. Read the rest of this entry »