From road trips to nurseries to unpacking boxes labeled HOLIDAY DECORATIONS, it seems everyone is ready to deck the halls. And, in many cases, the holiday tree is one of the highest priorities. (Runner up to outdoor lights, for those who brave the conditions for sparkling eaves.)

Personally, my decorating effort is limited. Partially due to our city-sized living quarters and holiday travel, but also due to my husband’s flashbacks of decorating the family tree as a child (It might be familiar to some of you). Despite our modest effort, we do enjoy pulling out the holiday ornaments and remembering all the people and events that have contributed to our collection of keepsakes, even if they never make it on the tree. My mom is responsible for our ornament base, gifting me one each year of my life. Adding to the collection are wonderful handcrafted creations by my father-in-law and gifts from friends and family. Read the rest of this entry »

From picking a turkey to assigning side dishes to cleaning house, few obligations toe the line of exciting and stressful quite as well as hosting Thanksgiving, so — to help you along — we dug up some of our favorite fixings for a grateful table. With the help of a paper kit or one of our Thanksgiving How-tos your guests can savor the color of the season along with the feast.

Centerpieces & Table Accents
Try your hand at creating something unique using a fall wreath or paper leaves. Last year, Paper Source Designer Karen showed us three table accent themes built from our kits. This lovely Leaf Light How-to is another great option. Read the rest of this entry »

Create a lovely garland of thanks for all to enjoy this Thanksgiving.

Materials Needed:

• Garland of Thanks How-To PDF
• Printable Label Template
• Turkey Shapes Pack
• Paper Wraphia in Natural
• Superfine Soft White 2.5″ Round Printable Labels
• Small Die Cut Fall Leaves
• 1/8″ Hole Punch
• Transparent Tape
• Scissors

Instructions:

1. Using the Printable Label Template, print the words “GIVE THANKS” onto Super Softwhite 2.5″ Round Labels.
2. Stick labels onto alternating colors of turkey shapes. (Note that we have turkeys facing each other in pairs.)
3. Layout shapes and use transparent tape to adhere them to Paper Wraphia.
4. Stack several leaves in various colors on top of one another and use a hole punch to make a hole through the layers.
5. Thread leaves through end of Paper Wraphia and knot end. Repeat so that each end is finished with a stack of leaves.

Last month, we shared Halloween craft inspiration from our Chicagoland stores and many of you were giddy over the Halloween Haunted House Craft created by our Lincoln Park associates. So we decided to feature it in celebration of today’s holiday!

Keep in mind, the team used scrap materials and pulled from our stock of “vintage” tools, so this craft may be hard to replicate, but it still provides wonderful inspiration for Halloween. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve had time to flip through our latest catalog you probably found yourself having a hoot with our new line of office organization products.

We always have a hard time picking a favorite calendar, but now the new office storage is causing greater debate. Some prefer the traditional style (and humor) of our new file folders while the DIYers love the creative possibilities of the kraft storage line. Then again, there is something special about bringing the outdoors in with our latest Paper Source designs – Adorable owls and birch tree branches!

Karen, one of the Paper Source designers, pulled owl inspiration that dated back to her youth to bring PS style to this symbolic icon, “When I was young, my mom and her dear friend Joan had a running joke where they would find odd owl jewelry and decorations at garage sales and send them to one another in the mail.”

With fond memories of sterling owls with turquoise eyes, quirky owl paper weights and vintage owl needlepoint designs, the team set out to create friendly owls that would represent wisdom, intelligence and protection and infuse a little good humor into any space. A few sketches, renderings and color variations later and they unveiled a wonderfully detailed scene, which features fun hits of Peacock, Chartreuse, Pool, Curry and Papaya that bring a playful touch to the owl’s owl natural habitat.

Take a peek at our new office and organization and tell us your must-have accessory for home, office or heading back to school.

Paper Source Fan Jennifer W. shared her DIY projects from a shower she recently co-hosted. As a regular of our Pasadena store, Jennifer worked with our team to create a bridal shower theme that perfectly celebrated the couple’s wedding plans.

Since the wedding colors were black and white with hits of red, I thought a theme of red with hints of black and white would be a nice twist.

Jennifer paired our graphic Iron Scroll Wrapping Paper with Red and Eco-White solid papers and envelopes, using this palette for everything from invitations to menu cards to favors.

Her DIY bridal shower creations were too pretty to pass up. Our only questions is: Did the cupcakes taste as good as the favor boxes look?

–Jennifer W., Pasadena PS customer
PS colors: bluebell & gravel
Latest fave: Double stick tape

I’m loving the pennant garlands I see online. Whether made from paper or fabric, strung inside or outside, and used for kids or adults, they are perfectly festive. And I especially love them when they are scaled down to a miniature version (take a look at the tiny birthday garland Annie made…adorable). For simple, yet incredibly festive gift wrap, I used our craft box and wrapped a strand of pennants around the box a few times.

I love using craft boxes as gift boxes…even plain, they are really interesting. For the banner, I cut lots of triangles and adhered two back to back with a small piece of tape with the string in between. What is great about this banner is that wrapping it haphazardly only enhances the look, so there is no need to be perfect. I think I’ll be using this technique again and again!

–Kristen
PS colors: peacock & chocolate
Latest fave: Craft Boxes

We love how Paper Source Fan Lisa Y. used a monochromatic color palette and rubber stamps to accent her Eagle Castle Winery wedding in Paso Robles, California.

Photograph courtesy of Inktree Photography

I worked with TwoYellowShoes to design a custom template since I wanted the grapevines to go with our winery wedding.

To complete her DIY place cards, Lisa adhered each printed card to a Plum Place Card using Double-Sided Tape. She used Clear Embossing Powder, the purple from her Petal Point Color Box Inkpad and Menu Set Rubber Stamp images to heat emboss each place card (the carrot indicated vegetarian, the cow was for short ribs, and the fish signified the Monkfish entrée). 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!