With save the dates under her belt, Sarah moved onto planning her wedding invitations and day of details. Continuing to leverage colors from her inspiration print, she used Sapphire cardstock to create a custom piece that would hold all of the items in her invitation suite. She backed her printed invitations with the featured Italian paper creating a decorative trim, then adhered that to the inside of the Sapphire folder.

A sheer ribbon tied around one half of the Sapphire folder secured the response card and envelope in place, and created a lovely embellishment for the closed invitation. Each envelope was lined with the Italian paper for a fully finished look.

Knowing that she would be having a photo booth at her wedding, Sarah wanted to create her own guest book that would hold the memories captured in the photo booth that day. Using a photo album kit, she created a one-of-a-kind guest book covered in the same Italian paper.

As guests took photos in the photo booth, they used photo corners to add them to the guest book and signed personal messages on the bright white pages. A true keepsake for the bride and groom!

Sarah used 3D Star Kits covered in the Italian print to create large dimensional decorations for her wedding venue. Read the rest of this entry »

I recently had the pleasure of reconnecting with my childhood friend, Sarah, who moved away long ago when we were in elementary school. What an amazing surprise to find that over the years Sarah has become a wonderfully talented crafter and has fallen in love with Paper Source. In April of this year Sarah got married in beautiful Charleston, and I’m thrilled to be able to share some of the incredible things she created for her big day.

Sarah said it all started with a trip to the Paper Source Georgetown store. In searching for inspiration she kept in mind her wedding location – a historic Charleston building right on the waterfront. She was looking for something that would emulate the colors of a sunset. What she found was a decorative Italian paper glittered in golds, oranges and blues. She knew right then that print would become the aesthetic for her entire wedding day.

First on her list were save the dates, and Sarah wanted something bold and unique. With a little coaxing from the Paper Source associate she was working with, Sarah decided that she could only get the perfect design by creating it herself. Using A2 matchbooks, colored brads, and the Italian paper, Sarah put together a beautiful four page save the date booklet. Each handmade save the date took 30 minutes to make, but Sarah was so pleased with how they turned out she said it was worth every minute.

The first page of the save the date booklet featured a US map that listed fly and drive times from various locations where their guests would be traveling from to Charleston. She also included an introduction about the wedding and the events to come.

The second and third pages Read the rest of this entry »

I threw my first baby shower this year!… and my close friend had her first baby. Okay, one of these is more momentous than the other. The new mom is a laidback librarian-to-be, so she requested that for her baby shower guests bring books in lieu of other gifts (such a great way to build a library for baby!). From this we decided on a “bookworm” baby shower theme.

Inspired by Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar and all of the Paper Source circle card and sticker options, I started playing with baby shower invitation ideas. My first thought was to use 1 1/4″ circle stickers to create a little bookworm on an A7 folded card with hand written details on the inside, but I quickly realized my handwriting wouldn’t look so pretty after 50 invitations! This card idea, did however, turn out to work perfectly for coordinating thank you notes, which I presented to the mom-to-be as a gift.

Next I experimented with printable circle stickers Read the rest of this entry »

I just love the “aha!” moments when I make a discovery that saves time or turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. I had one of those wonderful moments when putting together my sister’s wedding invitations. My sister loved the richness of our satin ribbon, but the idea of tying a bow didn’t appeal to her. My solution? Use the ribbon as a decorative band for a pop of color.

In my quest to perfectly adhere our 1 1/2″ Satin Ribbon to the wedding invitations I reviewed all the standard options. Glue stick? Messy and time consuming. Double-sided tape? Would create visible ridge from the tape’s edges. Zots? Bumpy and lumpy. Liquid glue? Would soak through the ribbon creating splotches. Ugh! I was out of options.

Thankfully, I don’t give up easily. I spied our Baby Xyron, a great little machine that turns almost anything into a sticker – including ribbon… Aha! The results could not have been better. The ribbon adhered smoothly to the paper and the process was clean and quick. The final product was more than I’d hoped for – perfect wedding invitations with an elegant ribbon embellishment. I also layered on a 1/4″ Satin Ribbon with a little knot in reference to the happy occasion.

Read on for a list of materials and instructions needed to create wedding invitations in the style I did for my sister. The printed wedding invitation (so easy using our online print templates) accented with the satin ribbons is mounted onto a backing creating layers or textures and colors. A beautiful design for any special occasion!

–Sarah, Paper Source Oak Park Store
PS colors: rhubarb & moss
Latest fave: Owl Placecard Kit

Materials Needed:
A7 flat cards (backing) Read the rest of this entry »

I’m a sucker for a pop-up, so I knew I had to incorporate one into a spooky Halloween party invitation this year. There’s just something about the unexpected three-dimensional experience that instantly puts a smile on your face… and then, like a self-proclaimed geeky engineer, you can’t resist opening and closing it to see the mechanics behind it all. Creating a pop-up is actually quite simple, and once you learn, you’ll want to add pop-up elements to all your party invitations and greeting cards. Go ahead, let your inner geeky engineer shine!

–Annie
PS colors: eco-white & pool
Latest fave: 12″ Guillotine Trimmer — great for cutting large sheets of paper!

Materials Needed:
A7 Folded Cards Chartreuse Read the rest of this entry »

There’s nothing I love more than planning a good party. Coupled with my love of paper… well, you can imagine the trouble I get in working at Paper Source. This year one of my dearest friends announced that she was getting married, so naturally I planned the perfect bachelorette party (which doubled as a lingerie shower because she needed some fun things for her honeymoon!). Here’s how the mind of a party planner works:

The Theme: The best party planning advice I can give is to come up with a theme – it always makes for an event full of unexpected and fabulous details. A theme can be as simple as a color, a destination or an object. Use the theme to drive decorating decisions from invitations to favors to décor. For this shower I used our new fuchsia (it’s so hot and so very bachelorette) and polka dots as the base for all of my decorations.

The Invitation: Every great party starts with an equally great invitation – it sets the tone of the event. I printed the party details in a chocolate ink onto a fuchsia 5.5” square card then layered that onto a chocolate 6.25” square card. White and chocolate 1.25″ circle stickers served as festive polka dots. My finished invitation went inside fuchsia envelopes – I mean, who wouldn’t want to get that in the mail!

The Details: I live by the adage, “It’s the little things that count,” and parties too should be full of little details. I filled our classic square favor box with candy favors, banded it with a strip of fuchsia paper, and embellished with chocolate stickers and a tiny white bow. For a bachelorette party game we put together a simple (and slightly risqué) scavenger hunt. Instructions for the game were printed onto a white #10 card, which I trimmed slightly so it could be backed with a fuchsia #10 card to create a colorful border. Once again chocolate stickers (quite possibly the easiest way to decorate) are used for polka dots.

The Wow!: I know I just got done singing the praises of the details, but it’s also important to have a showpiece – think the tree at Christmas or the cake at a wedding. I picked up an old dress form at an antique store and dressed it in this stinkin’ adorable paper lingerie set. Despite its couture appearance, it couldn’t be simpler to create – make a form out of cardstock in the shape of lingerie, pleat tissue paper by folding over and under, then attach the tissue to your form. Accent with braided ¼” satin ribbon. I set the dress form behind the cocktails and it was indeed a show stopper.

Happy Planning!

–Ann
PS colors: moss & papaya
Latest fave: Fall Wreath Kit

We’ve all been there– standing at the rubber stamping wall, eyes glazed over, pondering what the difference is between all those ink pads and what embossing powders actually even are.

Which is why we’ve created Rookie Rubber Stamping, an all-store workshop designed to explain all the incredible (and easy) things you can do with rubber stamps– enhancing invitations, stationery, favor boxes– really anything! In this technique class, you’ll learn to differentiate between stamp pads, when to use various inks and what papers work best. Plus, you’ll create your own “primer” filled with stamped swatches using our extensive collection of rubber stamps.

After you leave, you’ll be ready to face the rubber stamping wall with the confidence and inspiration to create dozens of new projects. If you’re ready to perform rubber stamping magic, mark your calendar and join us!

WHAT: Rookie Rubber Stamping Workshop
WHERE: All Paper Source stores
WHEN: Thursday, August 20. Times vary, see store for details.
HOW: Visit our workshop page to find your store & purchase your $35 ticket.

Seats are limited so sign up now!

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

I am loving our new rocket rubber stamp, one of many new stamp designs that we recently launched (no pun intended). It’s perfect for kids’ parties and is an image that’s timeless for year round use. Here we used it with our For Date Time Place rubber stamp to make a folded card into an invitation, with details on the inside.

Materials needed:
Rocket Ship Rubber Stamp
For Date Time Place Rubber Stamp
1/8″ Round Hole Punch
Versamark Watermark Inkpad
Brilliance Starlight Silver Inkpad
Metallic Silver Embossing Powder
Read the rest of this entry »

This breezy summer party invitation is easy to make using fill-in printable invitations and our honeycomb rubber stamps. The honeycombs take on a citrus look in these ink colors, but you can change up the colors and use them again and again for any occasion– make fireworks in red and blue for a 4th of July celebration, or a garland in red and green for a holiday party. We finished these off with clear embossing powder for a shiny, textured look.

Materials needed:
Recycled Black & White A7 Printable Party Invitations
Honey Comb Flower Small Rubber Stamp
Honey Comb Flower Large Rubber Stamp
Sunflower Color Box Stamp Pad
Moss Color Box Stamp Pad
Orange Color Box Stamp Pad
Clear Embossing Powder
Heat Embossing Tool

Instructions
1. Along the top of each invitation, stamp small and large honeycombs in a staggered pattern in various ink colors.
2. To emboss, begin by sprinkling clear embossing powder over pattern while ink is still wet.
3. Shake off excess powder. We recommend doing this over a large sheet of scrap paper so you can funnel the excess back into your jar — it’s totally reusable.
4. Set with heat tool to create a raised, glossy finish.
5. Pair with a colored A7 envelope to complete your invitation!

– Annie
PS colors: eco-white & pool
Latest fave: Zots Glue Dots