As Paper Source expands in Chicagoland I thought my weekend adventure to a destination near two of our newest suburban stores might interest artists and crafters who seek local inspiration.

A good friend told The Mister and I about Cantigny Park in Wheaton, IL. History buffs and journalism folk might know this as the estate of the late Colonel Robert R. McCormick, famed editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. Our friend simply described the gardens, the historical home and the tanks, which line the grounds outside the First Division Museum, as a must-see for any Chicagoan. Truth be told, we’re transplants – Hoosiers through and through – but highly invested in living like local anywhere we go, so we strayed from our usual West Town Sunday happenings and headed West… further West.

It was definitely worth the 40 minute drive and $5 per car admission (so cheap!). Obviously, the botanicals provide inspiration with the fabulous colors and wonderful variety spread throughout the estate, but you might be surprised to find the industrial works round out the experience and inspiration nicely.

As a lover of antiques and textiles, I really enjoyed the home tour (Photos were not allowed, but you can take a virtual tour online.) From to the Art Deco theater on the lower level to the wooden spindles lining the first and second floor walkways, the home had little treats for every kind of designer. Industrial artists would enjoy the mission style woodwork and unique lighting featured in Freedom Hall. Fine artists would appreciate the hand-painted works and collections of Amy Adams McCormick. And paper artists, like most of us, would spend hours studying the 70-foot-long hand-painted mural that lined the formal dining room. Painted on rice paper and hung with linen, this Chinese treasure inspired me to write this blog.

It’s refreshing to be reminded of our roots – the color, the pattern and the tradition of fine paper – and take away a piece of local history. But, even if you prefer the clank of metal or the sound of songbirds, a day trip to Cantigny Park will leave you with plenty of color, sound, and relaxation to get those creative juices flowing.

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

Why are we so fond of daisies?

A daisy is associated with simplicity, innocence, loyal love, beauty, purity and patience. It is one of the few flowers to have absolutely no negative symbolism. They exude a positive energy that is ideal for those who suffer from winter fatigue, and a genuine happiness that transcends geographic location.

Our daisy pattern began as a simple line drawing of a small daisy cluster, showing the fronts and backs of the flowers. We also incorporated a few closed blooms, as if they had not yet opened their eyes to begin the day. Like many of us! (Did you know: Daisies open during the day and close at night?)

We expanded this simple line drawing into a lush field of daisies—First, over a fresh pool background and, now, in a rich black and persimmon pairing. This floral icon has inspired more than a dozen daisy products. Take a look and tell us which ones ignite your springtime spirit- Go now!

*Chicagoans, who dig their car out from neighborhood streets, sometimes elect to place random household objects in the cleared spot, claiming “dibs” on a portion of the public street. Yes, this is a controversial and subjective practice. Click for evidence.

It is just the beginning, but the tree and color scheme provided perfect inspiration for her upcoming baby shower. Here’s a glimpse of the invitations (stay tuned: shower details coming later this month!).

Can you guess the Paper Source products used to create this look? Given this nursery as inspiration, what Paper Source products come to mind for you?

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

The Mister and I knew we wanted our guests to have fun, but we needed it to be a little more meaningful than the usual “Party at Joe and Liz’s.” We kicked around a dozen possibilities – my I-give-up-let’s-go-to-the-courthouse suggestion was nixed – and went with what made sense: a hometown Indiana celebration. (I know what you’re thinking, here come the corn, cows and country line dancing. Think again.)

Once we picked home as the destination, our personal commitment to supporting small businesses quickly fueled the planning process. A friend opened up his beach-inspired restaurant and bar (Yes, I got married in a bar) to us for our late September wedding. Rental needs were managed by a family-owned business. A local jeweler helped us with rings, a long-time friend and judge officiated the ceremony, and a family friend took on the task of creating floral designs out of found natural objects of the season.

Our newly planted Chicago roots were not lost in the occasion either—Carol’s Cookies sat on our cake table instead of cake and, of course, Paper Source designs helped set the tone for the evening.

So how does this all come together?

Truth of the matter is we weren’t exactly sure. We unloaded boxes of hand-picked berries and blooms to the floral designer days before the ceremony. Late night cattail and beach grass capers took place all around our little lake town. A few wardrobe decisions happened late in the game. And the official menu came in the day before our ceremony. But, with a little help from our friends (and family), a lot of DIY, and loads of good attitude, everything came together beautifully.

Sure, the design enthusiast in me can name a handful of things I would have done differently. But, as I reminded myself numerous times along the way, “It’s only a day. We’ll have a lifetime of opportunities to celebrate.”

Perhaps some of you are losing track of your inspiration as you look at hundreds of incredible blogs and flip through the glossy pages of wedding magazines? Well, let this post remind you that it’s only a day, and even the most disconnected ideas can come together if you need them too.

Still nervous? Might I suggest a pre-ceremony cocktail hour to loosen up even the most discerning eye?

Eat. Drink. And just BE married.

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

Salmonberry Studio is actually a lovely woman named Francy Kling Blumhagen. An artist for over 30 years, Francy got her art degree in painting from the University of Washington in Seattle. She works in a variety of media including block print, woodcut, collage, and wax resist. While Francy was busy creating art, her late husband, Bob – who I had the great pleasure of knowing before he passed away – ran the business side of their little publishing company. He LOVED their company with all his heart, and when Paper Source met the pair at a trade show several years ago, we began a long lasting and memorable relationship.

The thing I love about buying cards from Salmonberry is that I know every single one is made by hand with passion and love. Each card is hand signed too, so your recipient (maybe your favorite teacher?) will know he/she is getting something special. Their library of images is so vast that I am almost sure to find a card for any occasion. Because of this, you’re likely to see different Salmonberry Studio images in Paper Source stores throughout the year.

I hope you’ll stop in our stores (sorry, not currently available on our website) and check out the detail of these little works of art. They are truly special cards made by a truly special woman. And I’ll never forget her wonderful husband, Bob, who paved the way for Francy’s art to touch the world.

–Gretchen, PS Buying Team
PS colors: fuchsia & moss
Latest fave: 2011 Paper Source Academic Grid Wall Calendar

Some of the envelopes are duplicates so I made some origami with them. Patterns courtesy of “Home Decorating With Origami” by Tomoko Fuse.

What kind of unusual items do you collect?

–Fabra
PS colors: gravel & cement
Latest fave: Xyron 510 Machine

The beaches we had walked, so many visits prior, provided the foundation – rocks! Both of us love to comb the beach for smooth, layered rocks and through our visits had collected enough to use as natural wedding favors at the place of each of our guests.

The warm browns and varied greens of the landscape and porch of the inn where we were married inspired our color scheme, including green striped wedding favor bags for the kids and petit chocolate bars – an edible favor for the adults!

Wood bowls held our flowers on the tables – certainly the wooden inn and all the tall trees surrounding it inspired our natural choice of the wood. Now those bowls serve as our salad bowls, a wonderful way to incorporate that extraordinary day into our everyday life.

What inspired your big day? How did you play that inspiration through in your wedding invitations, favors, programs, and flowers?

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

You can see some of our favorite illustrations, patterns and designs in our 2011 Letterpress Calendar, Wall Art Calendar, Mini Desk Calendar and Academic Grid Calendar. Have you seen Archie the dog? Or the classic cruiser bicycle (see Elaine’s bike inspiration)…or the serene forest? You’ll also see our new colors­ Persimmon, Peacock, Sunshine and Paper Bag featured prominently throughout the designs.

This year, we were given the opportunity to create brand new calendar formats! So, without further ado, please allow me to formally introduce 3 new additions to the Paper Source calendar collection:

1. Great BIG Calendar: Clean, classic typestyles in bright bold colors on our lovely new Paper Bag. As the name implies, it is nice and BIG so you can see it halfway across the room! The Great Big Calendar is perfect for a classroom or office.

2. Booklet Calendar: To be truly honest, the 1991 freebie calendar from the bank was our inspiration for this calendar…we loved how handy it was, compact enough to go in our bag and a perfect solution for those of us who just can’t use our PDAs for everything. But no offense to the handy bank calendar, we wanted ours to look really GOOD!

3. Art Grid Calendar: Last but not least… when the Wall Art Calendar was all said and done, we had some leftover art that we just couldn’t put aside, so the Art Grid Calendar was born. We also realized it would be great to have an art calendar with writing space.

We hope you fall in love with ALL of our 2011 calendars! And you don’t have to wait until 2011 – some of these are academic calendars that start in August…right around the corner!

– Karen
PS colors: moss & papaya
Latest fave: Home, Paper, Scissors

P.S. Take a close look at what inspires our team, perhaps you’re somewhere up on our inspiration doors!

– Cindy
PS colors: persimmon & paper bag
Latest fave: Keep Calm and Carry On Water Bottle and Colored Dots Insulated Lunch Bag

The first step after an idea is conceived is its design. Elements such as print method, fonts, color, size, imagery, and copy all must be taken into account. For this card, one of our graphic designers, Elaine, used an existing image of a Boston Terrier as inspiration for her hand-drawn computer image. She made sure that the dog had the right angle and facial expression in order to create a strong composition with lots of character. Once the design is created, it goes through an approval process. Often there are color, composition or sentiment tweaks that must be made in order to prefect the card.

Something I was able to help with this summer was brainstorming the messages that will be displayed on the inside and outside of new card designs. Paper Source is all about collaboration, especially in design where the more ideas and perspectives the merrier.

Next steps in the development process include envelope color and packaging selection. These Archie cards were sold as a greeting card set for Valentine’s Day and because Archie is a letterpress card, he is packaged in a paper box, rather than banded with a plastic sleeve.

Once all of these elements are approved the card is ready for production. Something you may not know, is that all of the Paper Source designed cards are packaged and distributed right here at the headquarters in Chicago (and yes, they are printed locally, something I was happy to learn too)!

I hope this gives you some insight into how much thought and work goes into every Paper Source product. Working here has opened my eyes to all that must be taken into account, in order to turn creative ideas into reality, every day!

–Lauren
PS colors: curry & paper bag
Latest fave: Marigolds Wrapping Paper