We’ve turned our Pocketbook Favor Boxes into just about every kind of animal, so we knew we had to try a turkey for a fun Thanksgiving party favor! With just paper, labels, and tape or glue, these favors are super easy to put together. If you’re having little ones over to your house this Thanksgiving, use this as a kids craft project that will keep them entertained while you’re busy in the kitchen with the big bird!

Gobble, gobble!

–Annie
PS colors: gravel & beet
Latest fave: Owl Placecard Kit

Materials Needed:
8 1/2″ x 11″ Text Weight Paper
Chocolate Pocketbook
Eco-White 1.25″ Circle Labels
1/8″ Hole Punch
1″ Circle Hole Punch
1/8″ Super Tacky Tape
Glue Stick
Scissors
Pencil

Instructions:
1. Using tape, assemble the pocketbook favor box according to instructions.
2. Stick eco-white 1.25″ labels in place for eyes.
3. Print out our PDF template, then trace the feathers, beak, and other turkey components from text weight paper in various colors. Cut out pieces as indicated.
4. Adhere pieces in place with glue stick, as pictured.

At Paper Source we take birthdays very seriously, especially when it comes to decorating. There’s nothing better than coming into work on your birthday and being surprised by a festive birthday banner. Over the past few months we’ve celebrated many birthdays in the office and we thought we’d share some of our birthday banner ideas!

This summer our intern, Sara had her 21st birthday! We were a bit perplexed of how we would hang a banner in Sara’s area because she did not work in an office – instead she had a desk in the middle of a large loft space (no walls!). Annie came up with the genius idea to do a miniature birthday banner attached to her desktop computer. She printed letters onto colored 8.5″ x 11″ text weight paper and cut tiny pennant shapes (the shape actually looks like an oblong diamond, which when folded over becomes a triangle pennant). She wrapped each pennant over a piece of string, secured with double stick tape, then attached the string to two straws that would serve as the posts. Leftover colored scrap paper was sprinkled onto her computer and desk as confetti. Sara was thrilled!

When Nikki in the PS Buying Department celebrated her 29th birthday, we made her day special by decorating her office space with 29 (count ‘em) flaming birthday candles. To do this I formed the base of the candles using 8 1/2″ x 11″ text weight paper cut in half widthwise, then rolled into tubes and secured with double stick tape. Next I cut out flame shapes, added smiley faces, and slotted them into slits made at the top of each candle base. Finally, I printed letters using the outline of Arial bold font onto cover weight paper, cut and attached to each candle.

Early this September our head of Workshops, Linda, had a birthday Read the rest of this entry »

Who doesn’t love Halloween?… the perfect time of year to throw a spook-tacular party! This year we decided to dedicate an entire workshop to fabulous and festive Halloween Deadcorations. Mark your calendar for our workshop on Saturday, October 10th.

We will teach you to make frighteningly fun party decorations including coffin invitations, spider-webbed favors, bootiful candy corn placecards, and more. These Halloween goodies are sure to inspire a festive night of Trick-or-Treat fun for all ages! All you’ll need to come up with is the perfect Halloween costume!

Even if you aren’t planning a Halloween party, you’ll be able to use the tips and tricks you learn in this class for craft projects and party planning any time of year. Sign up now, seats are limited.

WHAT: Halloween Deadcorations
WHERE: All Paper Source stores
WHEN: Saturday, October 10. Times vary, see store for details.
HOW: Visit our workshop page to find your store & purchase your $45 ticket.

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

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 talk a lot about color around here, but it really can be inspirational. A room painted in yellow can leave you feeling sunny and pair of great pink shoes can make you smile. The same is true for inspiring memorable details for any event. Recently, we had the pleasure of hosting a baby shower for one of our coworkers. We used her nursery colors – night and chartreuse (gender neutral since the sex of the baby was going to be a surprise) – as the jumping off point for all of our decorations.

Our delightful banner was super simple to make using a roll of solid gift wrap (also great as a table cloth) with clouds cut from large sheets of cover weight paper. To make the letters we printed outlined letters onto sheets of 8.5 x 11 paper, then cut just inside the outline to create perfectly stenciled letters. Ribbons in different colors, widths and textures created a rain effect. The banner was such a hit one of the clouds now hangs in the baby’s nursery!

What’s a baby shower without baby shower games? Read the rest of this entry »

Did you know that you can create your own embossed design on solid ribbon? We’ll show you how– come check out our free hands-on demonstrations this Saturday, August 15 in stores to learn this simple technique for dressing up favors, gifts or invitations. Just stop by between 11am-2pm, no reservations required!

We’ll also be demonstrating how to use our super cute new owl kits (which are all the craze this year and really easy to make), plus some fun ways to put our new grid calendars to use long past 2010, transforming each month’s art into things like gift boxes, stationery and file folders.

Saturday, August 15 Demo Schedule (all Paper Source stores)
11:00am Owl Kit
12:00pm Grid Calendar Templates
1:00pm Embossing on Satin Ribbon

Hope to see you at the stores this weekend for some fun hands-on learning!

Cheers,

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

We originally created a version of these classic 4th of July decorations for Inauguration Day 2009. To celebrate the day, the PS Design team had streaming video of the day’s events projected onto a wall, framed by curtains and hanging red, white and blue (lake, of course) paper rosettes. It really created a festive patriotic setting and we noted we’d have to remember the rosettes again in July. Well, here we are, halfway through summer (though not in Chicago) and ready to celebrate our country once again! Our take on the tissue paper rosettes you often see at Independence Day celebrations is SO easy. You’ll want to hang them from front porches, around backyards or patios, from tree branches or on the backs of chairs – wherever you choose to celebrate, they’re the perfect decorative spark!

Materials needed: Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, if it’s possible to have a total FAVE outside of PS designs, then these French canvas fabrics from Les Toiles du Soleil (”canvas of the sun”) have to be mine. They just scream summertime and the beach! The best news is that on top of using them to make our awesome French canvas journals (handmade at Paper Source here in Chicago), we are now selling the cloth online by the meter– ideal for summer craft projects! I have been hoping for years that we could offer it by the meter, so with five summery patterns now to choose from it’s a dream come true for me. Read the rest of this entry »

Our new India-inspired prints really got us thinking of summer– and what kinds of crafts and party decorations we could dream up for warm-weather celebrations. Using bright colors, including our vibrant new Fuchsia, we created these simple paper lanterns. They look great hanging from anywhere, adding a colorful touch to any outdoor occasion!

Materials needed:
One 26″ x 20″ sheet of text weight paper in each of 2 colors (one sheet of each makes two lanterns); floral wire; 1/8″ hole punch; double-sided tape; craft knife; ruler

Instructions:

Exterior sheet (outside frame of lantern)
1. Cut text weight sheet of one color down to a 10″ x 20″ piece. Fold each of the 10″ ends down 2″ to create a crease, then unfold.
2. Using craft knife and ruler, make vertical cuts between fold lines at roughly 1/2″ intervals. Read the rest of this entry »