I got engaged and laid off in the same week…in that order. Rather than being entirely saddened by a job loss (well, a little bit), I thought, “Well, now I’ll have time to make all 200 of our wedding invitations, response cards, rehearsal invitations, and open house cards by hand!” Oh, and I didn’t stop there. I also proceeded to make 200 save the dates, 200 reception place cards, and one gigantic paper sunflower, all through the creative inspiration provided by Paper Source! I actually visited the River North location in Chicago so often that my husband (then fiance, of course) called “paper-sourcing” my new job!

Save the Dates: We stopped at our neighborhood farmer’s market to pick up some fresh flowers, set up a tripod on our roof, and used the camera timer to take our photo with a view of the Chicago skyline in the background. After developing the photos, I attached each one to the front of an A6 folded card in moss, printed the inside message using my home computer, and added a touch of whimsy with the Dandelion Rubber Stamp using a White Chalk Inkpad.

Shower Invites: After seeing how excited I was making our save the dates, my mom asked if she could “order” some handmade shower invites for the sunflower-themed wedding shower that she and my aunt had been planning. Of course I agreed, especially since I had been eying up the Martha Stewart sunflower stickers at PS earlier that week. I bought all that they had left in the store that day! I also picked up a few packs of the 4 bar note cards in khaki, the corresponding envelopes in curry, and a spool of satin ribbon in moss. Printed, assembled, and tied them up with a bow!

Wedding Invites: Read the rest of this entry »

Here at Paper Source headquarters in Chicago winter seems to linger until mid-May, so we can’t tell you how much pleasure we get from having the warmth of sunshine finally hitting the Midwest. Everywhere we look we see greenery – the hopeful anticipation of those colorful summer flowers, many of which have yet to bloom.

As you may have already guessed by our latest paper flower kit, gerbera daisies are one of our favorite varieties around here. While we featured them in our store windows last month, many of you were wondering when a workshop might be offered for making these bold, beauties. Well, this months Girl’s Night Out will teach you not only how to make these fabulous blooms, but also how to create a bookboard terra-cotta looking flower pot. It’s the perfect table accent (sure to get lots of oohs & aahs!) for your upcoming summer parties!

Please join us for our Girl’s Night Out Paper Flower Garden next Thursday, June 17 from 7-9pm for our version of summer planting…without the dirt! Grab your gal pals and enjoy a night out with us (don’t forget to sign up together so you can save $5 off the price of each ticket).

Can’t wait to see you there! Here’s to many happy summer days ahead.

P.S. Green thumbs not required!

Cheers,

–Linda
PS colors: chartreuse & pool
Latest fave: Circle Stickers and Presentation Envelopes

For the past several years, I’ve been making “cake boxes,” putting chenille fabric, lace trims and other vintage baubles on craft boxes to resemble frosted confections. When I came across our Flocked Cream Fine Paper, I instantly recognized it as a perfect “frosting” for a cake box. With a few other PS embellishments, what a beautiful cake box it would make!

To begin, I took three sizes of our vanilla craft boxes and covered each with the fine paper. I then trimmed the edges of the lids—as well as the top center of the second lid where the smallest box would sit—with chocolate grosgrain ribbon. To have the ribbon resemble decorative icing trim, I applied the ribbon by doubling back and adhering it in small folds (about 1 inch wide) using a hot glue gun. I used Diamond Stickles Glitter Glue to give the icing trim a soft gleam. I trimmed the bottom of each of the boxes with straight chocolate grosgrain ribbon.

When the layers were finished, I constructed the cake by attaching the stacked boxes with a hot glue gun. I then attached the whole cake to a piece of cardboard covered in Silver Glitter Wrapping Paper. Now for the fun part of decorating! Using flocked cream and opal shimmer papers, and templates from two sizes of our Magnolia Paper Flower Kits, I made a collection of magnolias to drape over the cake. I glittered the magnolia stamens with adhesive crystals and Stickles Glitter Glue. For a finishing touch, I placed green leaf trim on the straight grosgrain ribbon by anchoring it every few inches with Zots.

The cake box made a lovely centerpiece during our Wedding Suites Girls’ Night Out in March. A cake box can also be used as a wedding wish box to hold cards given to the bride and groom, as a table decoration at a bridal shower, or as a gift box for a special occasion.

–Denise, Paper Source Princeton Store
PS colors: violet & bluebell
Latest fave: Printable Round Labels

We’ve made plenty of paper flowers out of colored paper and old catalogs, but we recently found a new material that creates wonderfully frilly petals, perfect for these paper flower pins. Our new paper ribbon has a fun texture and comes in lovely colors. Layering fuchsia and pool, we created these festive flowers with a few cuts and folds, held together by floral wire and floral tape.

Add a safety pin for one of a kind boutonnières, or use them as package toppers, on napkin rings, and as playful decorations.

–Annie
PS colors: gravel & beet
Latest fave: Tree Trunk Tea Light and Japanese 8 1/4″ Scissors

Materials Needed:
How to PDF
Paper Ribbon (Fuchsia & Sea Green – a.k.a. Pool)
Floral Wire/Tape Kit Read the rest of this entry »

We are all in a scurry here…this spring brings new Paper Source stores and there’s a lot to do before opening day! Our first two new stores this year are in Corte Madera, California opening in June and Houston, Texas opening in July…and when they do, they will have lush, colorful paper flowers in the windows and throughout the store. We are enjoying having all the paper flowers here at headquarters before they get shipped off to the stores – they are certainly bringing spring a bit early to Chicago!

Look forward to more Paper Source stores opening in 2010. We’ll keep you posted as we determine each great new location!

– Cindy
PS colors: pool & red
Latest fave: Dutch Woodcut Floral Wrapping Paper

This spring we introduced a new paper flower kit to celebrate one of our all-time favorite blooms, the sunflower. At Paper Source, from the moment we decide on a kit concept, we begin the rounds of brainstorming, sampling and prototyping that make up the creative process. After investigating different varieties of sunflowers (there are more than 50 species), and bringing in lots of fresh ones to examine in person, we decided on a look and began creating initial models. Read the rest of this entry »