Don’t just decorate your home for the holidays… Adorn your party guests too with this festive 4th of July lei! It’s a great way to add a patriotic touch to anyone’s outfit!

Have a happy AND safe Independence Day!

–Annie
PS colors: peacock & paper bag
Latest fave: Spritzer Rubber Stamp Cleaner and Rubber Stamp Cleaning Pad

Materials Needed:

• Patriotic Lei How-To PDF Read the rest of this entry »

Keep those pesky bugs away from your favorite summer beverage. These stylish cup covers are festive AND serve as a drink marker too… write your guest’s name on top! Use this super easy how-to at all your summer fêtes!

–Annie
PS colors: peacock & paper bag
Latest fave: Spritzer Rubber Stamp Cleaner and Rubber Stamp Cleaning Pad

Materials Needed:

• Summer Cup Cover How-To PDF
• Not a Plastic Cup (set of 4 re-usable red cups)
• Red & White Paper Straws
• Circle Cards in Sunshine, Clover & Poppy (or whatever colors you like!)
• Flower Shapes Pack
• 1/4” Round Hole Punch
• Small Zots Glue Dots
• Pen

Instructions:

1. Begin by folding petals for added dimension.
2. Re-punch holes in centers of flowers using a 1/4” round hole punch. Stack flowers as desired in two or three layers. Position flowers on top of circle card, close to the edge (making sure to leave room for writing a name), and punch a hole as far as your hole punch will reach.
3. Write name on circle card opposite from where the hole is punched. Place on top of cup, position flowers on top of circle card and feed straw in place. Place two glue dots on lip of cup.
4. Place cover on top of cup with the straw placed closest to glue dots. This will keep your cover in place AND acts as a hinge allowing for refreshing refills!

If you’re throwing a bbq or pot luck for the upcoming holiday weekend, use these easy 4th of July decorating ideas to make your gathering extra special with patriotic touches made from paper.

A festive banner done in red, eco-white and blue (I mean, lake!) will add instant charm to your celebration. Adhere the leftover star punch-outs to toothpicks to dress up your 4th of July cupcakes, cheese plate or hors d’oeuvres. Or use them loose as table confetti. Couldn’t be easier! And as always, you can use these decorating ideas for any occasion by swapping out your paper colors and punch shape.

P.S. Check out our Independence Day paper rosettes from last year – so lovely, we want to use them again!

–Annie
PS colors: gravel & beet
Latest fave: Japanese 8 1/4″ Scissors

Materials needed:
How to PDF
8 1/2″ x 11″ text paper (red, eco-white and lake) Read the rest of this entry »

Looking for a summer party invitation that will WOW your guests? Send them a tasty hamburger with all the trimmings, including your party details! Such a fun and unique idea for cook outs and backyard bbqs.

Our favorite part – it features one of our brand new colors…persimmon!

–Annie
PS colors: gravel & beet
Latest fave: Japanese 8 1/4″ Scissors

Materials Needed:
How to PDF
5 3/4″ square persimmon envelope Read the rest of this entry »

Before the kids head off to summer camp, squeeze in some craft time to create this camp stationery set. Note cards, envelopes, address labels and postage stamps are all neatly packed inside a little backpack, which you can add to their favorite stuffed animal!

Kids will have a fun time making their own stationery set, and then filling them in later so you can hear all about their summertime fun!

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

Materials Needed:
How to PDF Read the rest of this entry »

Dress up our oh-so-sweet paper dolls and turn them into adorable party invitations for a child’s birthday or even your BFF’s bachelorette shower. Ours is going to a pool party sporting the latest in pool safety with her very own inner tube. To create this accessory, slice a curved line almost in the center of a circle card with an xacto knife, then tuck your paper doll into the slit. Don’t forget flippers! Simply cut a tapered rectangle to fit over each foot. Our dolls fit into A9 envelopes so you can mail them off to party guests!

Show us what you create with our paper dolls – upload your photos to our Facebook page to inspire our fans!

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

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 »

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

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 »