Are you always on the look out for personalized projects that are great for anyone on your list, including those hard to shop for folks?! Well, our new 2012 DIY Calendar is perfect! With 12 months to work with and a manageable size, all you need is inspiration… and a little time to create!

And, speaking of time, we totally have that covered! On Thursday, September 8 join us for our Crafter’s Night Out event. From from 6-8pm you can use our supplies, including stamps, ink pads, punches, paper cutters, decorative papers, glitters, and more, to create your own calendar. Learn tips and techniques from our craft experts and leave with a completely finished calendar – ready for giving or for treating yourself!

For details or to reserve your seat, check out the Paper Source Workshops page. Remember: You can save $5 off the seat price when you register with a friend.

Cheers,

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

Many of us here at Paper Source cut our crafty teeth on the trusty ol’ scrapbook project – It was the original way to Do Something Creative Every Day! You could doodle, or write, or arrange collected treasures to tell any story. There were no rules, and artistry was not a requirement. You could spend hours arranging everyday items on a single page.

Ah… the nostalgia.

Now, our favorite pastime has been resurrected with the new line of SMASH journals and accessories. Everything from the SMASH folio to hip SMASH tape embellishments, is now available at our store locations and online!

See just how SMASHing this line is by watching the video. Or simply share photos of your SMASH journaling on our Facebook page, and bring back the days of sharing scrapbooks with your friends.

These bracelets are made by a group of women in Mali (West Africa), who collect worn out flip flops, melt them down and draw the plastic into colorful loops. Everyday flip flops are reborn as unique, handmade bangles. One can only guess the journey each one of these lovely trinkets has taken.

The story alone inspires gift giving, so I bundled a few of my favorites together and added a little PS style. Using a few products (listed below) and this printable tag template you too can share the story and the style of these wonderful bracelets.

Items needed:

Square Craft Box
Lace Starburst Rubber Stamp
Berrylicious Color Box Inkpad
Fuchsia Satin Ribbon
Flip Flop Bracelets
Strawberry Solid Paper (to print the template)

–Rebecca, store training & development
PS colors: papaya & cement
Latest fave: Zutter Bind-It-All

In the recent issue of People Magazine, Jessica Alba suggests creating a Mother’s Day scrapbook. According to Alba, “Receiving a keepsake from your child that’s filled with pictures, drawings and poems is priceless!”

To create your own, she recommends our Brown Fabric 12 x 12 Scrapbook or gorgeous Gold Mums Photo Album and our 12 x 12 papers to style the book. Alba listed Flora and Fauna Papaya Flower Circle Paper, Goldfish Paper and Pink Sweet Cupcakes Paper as her latest favs. Mom is sure to love this unique gift, especially if fellow mother Jessica Alba thinks it’s sweet.

Today, RealSimple.com featured a stylish gift basket for the Mom who has everything. Editors suggest creating a Mother’s Day basket with My Mom: Her Stories Journal, Robin’s Egg Blue Saffian Address Book and our own Pearl Border Custom Stamp, an exclusive design found only at Paper Source, to help her keep everything organized on her desk.

Check our complete assortment of Mother’s Day gifts, and let us know your recommendations.

It sounds strange, so let me backtrack.

Nearly four years ago, I had the great pleasure of marrying into a wonderfully eccentric family. My mother-in-law and her three sisters are artists in their own right, each marrying an equally creative gentleman— my father-in-law, the man with a band and a knack for glass etching; Clay, the advertising executive with the thirst for dirty martinis; Rocky, the fun-loving mad man with a major sweet tooth; and Giorgio, the Italian man with expertise in all things booteful.

This combination of characters has produced one large, hilarious extended family, who make every family gathering interesting. This past Christmas was no different.

Each year, I like to give the sisters a little Christmas gift, as a thank you for playing hostess to events throughout the year. So, in December, when Paper Source offered 25% off custom stamps, I ordered a return address stamp for each aunt.

Being such a large family, it’s rare that anyone notices gift opening, but this year was different. True to form, gifts were divvied out as everyone carried on with conversations, stories and dancing, while one of many Rolling Stones albums played in the background.

We were only a few minutes into opening when I heard, “Karol, get in here!” It’s was Rocky from the kitchen, all sugared up on pie.

“Look at this thing ol’ Liz and Joe got us,” he continued. I looked over as he made what was probably his tenth impression on a sheet of paper.

My attention then shifted to commotion at another table. It was Giorgio examining his stamp, instructing his wife to look at the design, “Look-a-dat Jo Ann. Ya, dats us. Wow!”

As if the flowery Italian rant wasn’t enough, he then signaled in our direction to give us an official hand symbol and kissing motion that lets us know es booteful.

Meanwhile, Clay saunters over to present to us a page of stamping he had produced, thanking us, hugging us, and then returning to the living room to resume his dance party.

Needless to say, The Mister and I laughed ourselves to sleep, recalling the enthusiasm that came with our custom stamp gift. And, since that evening, we have continued to hear how much each couple enjoys stamping their correspondence.

Now that custom stamps are 25% through Sunday I cannot stop myself from ordering a few for upcoming weddings, baby showers, graduation parties and, of course, Mother’s Day. Ba-lee-va-me!

But, would it be wrong to order one for myself? It’s only $30. And they certainly sound like such a treat.

– Liz
PS colors: peacock & fig
Latest fave: Cavallini Wrapping Paper

The newest and coolest items for women and teens are the colorful flip flop bracelets. Intended to be purchased in multiples (each one is unique), these are made from recycled flip flop parts and remind me of the jelly bracelets I loved as a kid. Another great stocking stuffer for ladies is the mushroom knit bag. It was hand knit in Nepal and is so cute!

For guys, the iPlunge is a great little gift, shaped like a tiny plunger it suctions to the back of any phone or mp3 and serves as a kick-stand. The Fingerstache temporary tattoos are fun for any ‘stache lover in your life– look like a hipster without the commitment (google fingerstache to see some fun photos)!

Another item for all ages is the set of six cupcake key covers, they decorate keys with super cute style. The Hottie Handwarmers are a great new item too! You simply click the metal piece inside the bag and it starts to warm immediately, and it can be boiled and reused over and over. And last, but not least, for the curious kid, the pocket microscope is the perfect stocking stuffer. They can carry it around with them to closely inspect the world around them.

Happy shopping and happy holidays!

–Lindsay, PS Buying Team
PS colors: beet & peacock
Latest fave: Pretty Aprons

Handmade through and through will make your friends feel loved by you!

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

Materials Needed:

• Handmade Holiday Treat How-To PDF
•Chartreuse Square Favor Box
• Winter Garden 12″ x 12″
• Thick Birch 12″ x 12″
• Handmade By Rubber Stamp
• Coffee Bean Brilliance Inkpad
• Superfine Soft White Grosgrain Ribbon
• Olive Leaves Ribbon
• Double-Stick Tape
• Scissors
• 1/8″ Hole Punch
• Ruler
•Pencil
• Paper Trimmer (optional)

Instructions:

1. Assemble square favor boxes and fill with handmade treats or a petite gift.
2. Cut decorative 12″ x 12″ to 3 1/4″ x 3 1/4″ and adhere to lid of favor with double-stick
tape.
3. Wrap approximately 11 1/2″ of grosgrain ribbon around favor and secure in
place with double-stick tape.
4. Trim birch 12″ x 12″ to 3″ x 1″.
5. Stamp on “handmade by” message, fill in name, punch 1/8″ hole at one end and tie on to favor box using olive
leaves ribbon.

The gift giver in me instantly started indexing items against my list of “People Who Need Gifts.” I found myself coming up with occasions like, “I got you this because you’re really weird and today seemed like a good day to give you something weird,” as reason for giving certain items.

But, like everyone, my wallet and wishes have not yet had that crucial meeting. Instead, it seemed appropriate to share these ideas with people who might actually be looking for gifts for the upcoming giving season and who might lack inspiration (or time).

So here goes:

For the aunt who cooks a Thanksgiving meal for 30+ people – The new Café Toile line of stylish kitchen goods.

For my best friend, who welcomed her first child this week – Sophie the Giraffe Teether

For little Leela Amelie who is named after her mommy’s favorite movie – Gnome Soap-on-a-Rope

And, for her mommy who travels more than she would like – Paddywax Travel Tin

For the young cousins who believe Santa is making a list and checking it twice – The Elf On The Shelf

For the artistic in-laws who make tree decorating an annual occasion – New holiday ornaments

For my friend who bakes the meanest cupcakes – Cupcake Wipes

For my sister and sister-in-laws, who are fanatics about animals and the holidays – Santa Hat Dogs Wrapping Paper & Letterpress Merry Woofing Christmas A2 Holiday Cards

For my brother (Ladies, he is a twenty something, and single. Hint, hint.) – Mentos Geyser Tube

For my father, who seeks friendly competition in any form – Dining Table Ping Pong

For my husband, the Updike fan (and holiday cynic) – The Twelve Terrors of Christmas

And, lastly, for my mother who works so stinkin’ hard – Gratitude Journal

The possibilities are endless! Feel free to message with your gifting challenge. We can help you find that perfect something for your special someone.

– Liz
PS colors: night & curry
Latest fave: Cavallini Wrapping Paper

A favorite around here are the sound machines. We have a lot of fun in the office with these, playing the bomb dropping sound when someone bombs a joke or the “re re re” knife stabbing sound when we’re dealing with a difficult situation such as… well, a completely new computer system. The sound machines come in three styles: classic, cartoon and horror, just in time for Halloween. You could have a lot of fun scaring trick-or-treaters, hiding in the porch shadows with the Spooky Sound Machine.

Another personal favorite is the Monster Balloon. This thing gets huge! It can be inflated to over 3 feet in diameter and is seriously mesmerizing for kids and adults alike. It’s made in the US from completely biodegradable latex, and is a great lung workout for whoever gets the treat of blowing it up! What fun they would be inflated with helium in clusters for a party like this pic!

Now that the new school year has started kids will need some things to keep them entertained, besides just Silly Bandz and Japanese erasers – hopefully some of these great kids gifts will do the trick.

–Lindsay, PS Buying Team
PS colors: beet & peacock
Latest fave: Pretty Aprons

One of the most fun parts of creating this product was coming up with the clever little phrases that adorn the backs of the cards, relating in some way to the artwork on the front. Whenever we have to come up with wording ideas for things like this, it becomes a very team-oriented activity because we literally start a board and pass it around to get everyone’s input. And at the end, it’s always fun to sift through all of the great ideas as we select the winner. For this specific project, we even had some help from our manager’s 12-year old son (his contribution was “have an egg-cellent day”, which is paired with the artwork of a birds nest on a bright curry background)! My favorite, “orange you just wonderful!”, features orange branches on the reverse side, on a punchy peacock background. Some of them may be a bit cheesy, but hey, if it draws a smile or a laugh out of the recipient, then I’d say it’s well worth it!

So, we’ve got a compact, artful calendar that can double as functional wall art, a reusable box, and postcards… bet you didn’t know you were getting all of that for just $14.95!

–Alanna
PS colors: gravel & persimmon
Latest fave: Colored Dots Insulated Lunch Bag