After reviewing more than 400 submission, our team couldn’t be more thrilled to announce the winners of the Paper Source Holiday Crafting Contest!

Drum roll, please…

Décor Category

#1 – Homemade Advent Calendar

#2 – Friends-giving Tablescape

#3 – Woodland Winter-land Garland

Wrapping Category

#1 – Shipping a Sweet Surprise

#2 – The Edible, no-so-abominable, Snowman

#3 – Christmas Cottage with Gingerbread Santa

Card Making Category

#1 – Under the Sea Christmas

#2 – Sweet Treats & Warm Wishes

#3 – Advice from a Snowman

We enjoyed seeing the creative talents of so many customers. We hope those who participated enjoyed making cards, decorating and wrapping packages for both the contest and the pleasure in exchanging and sharing them with all. We hope everyone finds a bit of inspiration from the entries. See them here: https://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/photo-contest.html

Happy Holidays from all of us at Paper Source!

We pride ourselves on having some of the most creative customers in the entire world. And we know you guys really love to outdo yourselves around the holidays! That’s why we are pleased as an elf to present the Paper Source Holiday Crafting Contest! As long as you’re already creating beautiful cards, elegant decorations and festive gift wrap for friends and family, you may as well enjoy the opportunity to be rewarded for it!

 How to enter:

Prizes: Each category (Wrapping, Card Making & Décor) will be awarded:

Deadline: Submission deadline is December 16th, 2012 at 11:59pm CST. Winner will be announced on December 21st, 2012.

To see full contest details or to submit a photo of your project for submission, simply visit click to visit the Holiday Crafting Contest!

Online image submissions only, no submissions will be accepted at store locations.

Our PS design team has been busy creating fresh new gift wrap. Go from drab to fab with one of our groovy new graphics.

Our latest wrapping paper designs feature our exclusive color palette, making it easy to coordinate with gift wrap accessories. Give your package a little extra eye candy by pairing with:

That’s a wrap!

Show off your nautical side with this maritime knot accent. Fashion your own accent using our red jute twine and a few twists. Follow the photos below to create this gift wrap accent or modify for a DIY bracelet or decorative embellishment.

First determine your use and cut two strands to accommodate the item you need to wrap, so that together the strands will fit your item. Add an inch or two to assure you have room to finish. Then add more strands based on the desired thickness of your knot – we used six strands, two groups of three.

Since we planned to set this knot off-center on the package, we wove with center landing a third of the way on the string. You can always center your knot.

Once a loop is created on one side, create the same loop and thread through the other with an over-under weaving method – use the photo as your guide.

Smooth out your loose knot, laying each strand of cord flat and making sure there are no tangles. Then, slowly pull the ends to tighten your knot, adjusting the strands as you pull to make sure they do not overlap.

In this execution we took the loose ends around the box, crossing on the bottom and pulling around to the sides. To keep our nautical theme going we secured the sides with another maritime knot. (No glue or tape needed!) We finished with a anchor rubber stamp that we heat embossed on a Chalkstock gift tag – perfect for your favorite sailor!

Last year, Ann brought us together when she gleefully confessed that she is a Wrapaholic. Slowly, confessions trickled in from others who admitted their obsession with color, coordinated style and perfect corners. Her post was like a safe place for fellow Wrappers to disclose the amount of time spent preparing packages or share in the joy of present perfection.

This year, Ann revealed her secrets to perfect packages in our latest gift wrapping video. In it, Ann talks about five main components she credits for helping her stay cool, calm and coordinated.

Scissors
Ann recommends having two pair of scissors — one for paper and one for ribbon — but make sure you have at least one pair solely dedicated to gift wrapping, so they stay nice and sharp.

Tape
Always have a full roll of tape on your spool. If you’re a fellow Wrapper, we suggest using double-stick tape — it keeps your adhesive hidden and works really well with ribbon application.

Solid Gift Wrap
Select a few rolls of solid wrapping paper to have on hand. Mix up the colors, so you have a base for any occasion that might come up.

Ribbon
Store a few spools of ribbon, in various colors and sizes, so you can accent boxed packages and gift bags.

Patterned Gift Wrap
It is hard to choose just one, so Ann recommends having a wedding print, a gift wrap for kids, and a colorful polka dot gift wrap to cover events throughout the year. Read the rest of this entry »