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 »

It’s so much fun for us to find good ideas using Paper Source products (things we had not thought of)! This bride, featured on marthastewartweddings.com had a very clever use for our Academic Grid Calendar. Enjoying sending birthday cards to friends and family, she asked that her wedding guests write their birthdays onto the calendar. Such a wonderful way to keep in touch and show you care!

photo courtesy of marthastewartweddings.com

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

A few weeks ago Cindy asked readers to talk about their wedding inspiration and the discussion showcased so many thoughtful themes. It also gave me pause: What the heck was my inspiration?

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? Read the rest of this entry »

When the new Squirrel Place Card Kit arrived at our Brookline store I just about squealed with excitement! (I might have made the Brookline staff a little deaf.) My fiancé has had a slight obsession with squirrels since he was little (or maybe I have the obsession with his obsession?), so I thought how adorable they would be as bride and groom place cards at our very own barn wedding! I dressed these up giving the groom a nice size rock to hand to his blushing bride. The fall colors included in the place card kit made them a very compatible and stylish couple!

Cheers to Paper Source and these new adorable and functional friends!

–Mallaree, Paper Source Brookline Store
PS colors: paper bag & sunshine
Latest fave: Hydrangea Wrapping Paper

It’s no secret, the last few weeks leading up to your wedding can be surprisingly action packed! Even the most Zen personalities can find themselves overwhelmed by all the tiny details. It’s a story the wedding experts at Paper Source hear all too often. You may have booked the venue for your reception ages ago, but those last few straggling RSVPs have prevented you from completing the guest list. Before you know it your wedding is two weeks away and just thinking the words “seating chart” makes your temples throb. What to do? Where to turn?

Don’t fret! The design geniuses over at Paper Source have your back with the perfect solution to your pre-wedding woes. We are thrilled to (finally!) announce our new print-at-home folded place cards! They come as 8.5 x 11 sheets with 4 place cards each in creamy superfine soft white cover paper. Easy to use in Word, Pages, or InDesign (print templates available online) — on a Mac or a PC — these printable place cards are a cinch to punch out. Micro-perforation ensures a clean edge, and the fold line is scored for crisp, even folds and superior standing.

Quick tip for super savvy brides and grooms: These place cards easily do double duty as escort cards (as pictured). Long before your wedding, when you have ample time, print out all of your guests’ names in a decorative font but leave a blank space for their table number. When you get closer to your big day and know the seating arrangement, simply use a decorative pen or marker to write in each guest’s table number. Have all the place cards in alphabetical order on a table outside the reception along with your guest book. Watch in awe as your guests sign your guest book, pick up their place cards, and walk directly to their tables!

–Leslie
PS colors: persimmon & paper bag
Latest fave: 2011 Academic Black Date Book

When planning your wedding, what inspired you? It’s interesting to reflect on this question after the fact. My friend Linda shared photos she had taken from my wedding in the fall of 2007, and through these photos it’s clear – the place John and I were married, on the shores on Lake Michigan, was the inspiration from which our wedding was built.

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! Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve never planned a wedding, but when I do, I’m calling Linda (my colleague and regular blog contributor). Look at this easy wedding table card idea she shared with me – just a table tent with a beautiful rubber stamp and an expression note attached with eyelets. We have expression notes printed with wonderful sayings, but you could print your own with words or numbers and use the same design.

I just used our table tents for a baby shower to mark the favor table and baby shower gifts – they’re so easy to use and make an impact. Try them at your next dinner party (a sign to list featured drinks at the bar or items on the buffet), and of course, they’re perfect for a wedding.

This also made me think – what would I use for wedding table names? Have you seen any creative wedding table name ideas?

–Kristen
PS colors: lake & chocolate
Latest fave: Printable Labels

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

Sometimes a bride goes above and beyond to create something truly magical for her wedding. With the help of friends, family and her 5th grade class, Laura brought a theme with personal meaning to life. Here’s her real wedding story:

Jon and I had a long-distance romance between Seattle and Chicago, thanks to mutual friends who thought we would make the perfect match. The first time Jon came to visit he left behind a paper crane with a message written on the wings that summed up our wonderful weekend together. I left shortly after for a trip to Greece and took the crane along. While on the trip I decided to unfold the crane and discovered a secret message written on the inside as well! After 3 weeks of traveling, I came home to a mailbox full of letters; each letter contained a crane with sweet messages on the wings and secret ones inside. I knew he was a keeper!

We wanted to incorporate the cranes into our wedding because they were so special to us. With the help of a few friends, family, and the class of 5th graders I was teaching at the time, over 1300 cranes were folded. Most of the paper came from Paper Source, including the prints and solids. Our vision was to use about 1000+ of the cranes for a backdrop to be used during the ceremony. The cranes were attached to fishing line and each one was secured with a bead to hold its’ place on the line. My brothers constructed a wooden frame with lights to hang them from.

The result was breathtaking!

Read the rest of this entry »