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Rubber stamping technique: masking

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Masking is a very cool rubber stamping technique that involves layering rubber stamp images to create depth. By rubber stamping images one on top of the other using masking you give the illusion that images are in front or behind each other. I’ve demonstrated this technique in the 5 steps…
This weekend: a first look at the new at-home letterpress machine!

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Come to a Paper Source store this weekend for free holiday demonstrations and “make & take” projects… AND be one of the first to see the brand new at-home Letterpress Machine! We are so excited about this amazing table top machine that allows you to make your very own…
How-to: halloween mummy party favors

Meg Kowieski

I’m always challenging myself to find new ways to customize our favor boxes – they’re wonderful for so many occasions. Experimenting with our pillow favor box, I discovered that our ivory linen bookcloth worked perfectly for creating a Halloween mummy party favor. I love the color…
Cool paper craft idea: paper kites

Meg Kowieski

This is a great craft idea we put together to brighten our moods on a rainy spring day. Paper kites are a fun project to work on with kids and they make wonderful party decorations, or wall décor. (One day when we are master kite-makers we will figure out how to make these for outdoor... The post…
How-to: Independence Day paper rosettes

Meg Kowieski

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…
How-to: moving announcement postcards

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Just about every year, I find myself moving to a new apartment for one reason or another. This time around I wanted to send a creative handmade moving announcement to my friends and family to let them know my new address, instead of another mass email. In playing around with some of my favorite…
How-to: robot cupcake topper

Meg Kowieski

Repeat your party theme in unexpected ways…rubber stamps aren’t just for cards or invitations— here we use them as super easy cupcake toppers. Create your own look or theme– works great with almost any medium or small sized stamp. These are a perfect pair with our robot invites.…
How-to: new home greeting card

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My brother and sister-in-law recently bought their first house, so I wanted to send an extra special handmade card to their new address. To honor this significant life step I went with the theme, “Moving on up!”. With a few easy cuts I was able to create a fun pop-up, and heat embossing…
Paper Source Workshop: Wedding Save-the-Dates

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Are you looking for some great ideas, including templates for printing (finally some easy to use Word files) for creating unique “Save the Date” cards for all your guests? Look no further, because we have created the perfect class for you! You’ll get to walk away with samples of…
Thankful for YOU!

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To the Paper Source team – our employees and customers: It has been a year of big economic challenges, which have required all of us to use extra ingenuity to make ends meet. As a company, we have done some tough belt tightening to ensure that we would stay healthy and be able to grow.... The…
European-inspired colors: Part 1

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I’ve already professed my love for the farmer’s markets here in Chicago, but if I had my way I would spend my time traveling through the markets across Europe. There’s something about the way they present the food and the idea that locals go there everyday to buy fresh ingredients…
Paper monsters kids craft project

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My sister, a third grade teacher, is always looking for creative kids craft ideas. She recently asked me to come up with a fun project she could do with her students for Halloween. When I think Halloween, I think monsters, which led to these colorful paper monsters. The basic shapes are made from…
Our paper dolls are ready for Halloween!

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Halloween is my all time favorite holiday, and I thought our paper dolls should get into the Halloween spirit too! I decided that our paper dolls had classic style and would probably choose traditional Halloween costumes…if they could talk, that is. So I made a Halloween costume collection…
Easy gift wrapping with cellophane bags!

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We welcome one of our newest crafting accessories: clear cellophane bags! Though the product itself is really basic (how exciting can clear bags be?), there are literally hundreds of ways you can fill and decorate these handy food-safe bags. Here a few easy gift wrapping ideas, perfect for the…
How-to: cupcake birthday card

Meg Kowieski

Hole punches are a super easy way to decorate a handmade card or invitation. With this birthday card, we repeated the punch using the cupcake cutouts to create impact with lettering. In addition to the cutouts, you can also use the negative spaces left by the hole punch to create little peekaboo…
Fresh spring party favors

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Here’s a fun, affordable way to do a fresh take on party favors (think also wedding favors or baby shower favors). I picked out these sweet mini grape hyacinths at the market and set them into our recycled takeout boxes, lined with a simple wax paper to prevent moisture from showing. An…
Tools & techniques: what is a bone folder?

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We’re very protective of our bone folders around here. So protective, many of us refuse to even lend one to a friend for fear we may never see our much-loved crafting tool again. And for good reason: a bone folder forms to the user’s hand over time, remembering your index fingers and…
How to tie a bow

Meg Kowieski

Learning how to tie a bow is easy with a little practice, and is a wonderful skill to have for gift wrapping, card making, and more. We love our double-faced satin ribbon for tying a bow – it’s silky and flexible, and always looks amazing…but you can use almost any ribbon type…
Paper Source Dedham, MA – Grand Opening Event this Saturday!

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This Saturday all Paper Source stores will be celebrating the Grand Opening of our 32nd store in Dedham, MA! If you live nearby, we invite you to visit our newest store at Legacy Place for our Grand Opening Event, where you can enter a raffle to win cool Paper Source goodies and check out our...…
Paper Source Special Event: Wedding Day Details

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So much attention is paid to spring and summer weddings, but we know that fall and winter brides are also looking for unique ideas to make their wedding truly special! Our hands-on Wedding Day Details event will feature fabulous seasonal wedding ideas for wedding programs, placecards, table tents,…
Paper Source Palo Alto – Grand Opening Event this Saturday!

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If you live in or around the Palo Alto area, stop by our store at Town & Country Village this Saturday for our Grand Opening Event! Join us for creative crafting demonstrations featuring clever tips & techniques, enter a raffle to win cool Paper Source goodies, and check out our brand new…
Celebrating Paper Source Princeton!

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We’re thrilled to be celebrating the grand opening of our newest Paper Source store in Princeton, NJ this Saturday, August 1st. If you live nearby, swing by for an afternoon of creative demonstrations and a chance to win fun Paper Source goodies. And through Saturday, get a coupon for $5.00…
Packaging ideas for little treats

Meg Kowieski

There’s something about the holidays that makes our creative minds turn to baking. Maybe it’s the comfort of something warm as the weather turns so cold or the yummy smells coming from the oven. We’ve found lots of festive ways to package little treats with our favor boxes, box mailers and…
How-to: gingerpaper advent calendar

Meg Kowieski

Advent calendars are so much fun for kids (and adults!) – a festive count down of the days til Christmas. We were so excited to come up with a way to create an advent calendar using our Gingerpaper House Kit, so that kids could actually make their own (yes, with some help from mom or... The…
Paper Source Workshop: You never forget your first “Datebook”!

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Want to learn impressive bookbinding skills AND get organized at the same time? In this workshop we’ll teach you easy bookbinding techniques using our adhesive tapes and precut boards. At the end of the class you will have created your very own handmade 2010 datebook and we promise…
How-to: rocket party invitation

Meg Kowieski

I am loving our new rocket rubber stamp, one of many new stamp designs that we recently launched (no pun intended). It’s perfect for kids’ parties and is an image that’s timeless for year round use. Here we used it with our For Date Time Place rubber stamp to make a folded card…
This weekend: free tips & tricks at Paper Source!

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Did you know that you can create your own embossed design on solid ribbon? We’ll show you how– come check out our 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!…
Celebrating winter solstice

Meg Kowieski

In celebration of today – winter solstice – I thought I’d share a peaceful image from the December/January 2010 issue of Country Living featuring our Paper Doves. Their use of these simple decorations is so beautiful and creative, bringing life to the paper birds. Makes me wish I had…
How-to: fancy bookmark

Meg Kowieski

In addition to being eye-catching, this fancy bookmark allows you to sandwich multiple pages to keep your place. Of course, the decorated front can be stamped with any image and embellished to your heart’s content — I went with an India-inspired theme. A great way to show your love of…
Fave holiday gifts — loco for luchas

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If you’re looking for funky holiday gift ideas, listen up. Lately I’ve been into Mexican kitsch like “lucha libre” – a theatrical, acrobatic and campy form of Mexican wrestling. I was a luchador for Halloween, I own masks for spontaneous late-night wrestling with…
Inspired by sunflowers

Meg Kowieski

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…
A new take on the essential grid calendar

Meg Kowieski

We’ve all had them and we’ve all used them. The free calendars that businesses often give away each year (think your local bank or dry cleaners) become a necessity when trying to collect a family’s activities all in one place. Yet the part we all most appreciate about these freebees is the grid,…
Paper Source Workshop: Rookie Rubber Stamping

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We’ve all been there– standing at the rubber stamping wall, eyes glazed over, pondering what the difference is between all those ink pads and what embossing powders actually even are. Which is why we’ve created Rookie Rubber Stamping, an all-store workshop designed to explain all…
Buyer’s faves for back to school — Lindsay

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Sometimes trying to be environmentally conscious and still loving to shop puts me in a bit of a bind. We all have that one friend who claims to care about the environment but nevertheless drives a three-ton suburban mini-tank to her yoga classes, or happily sucks down 14 plastic bottles of water a…
Now open: Paper Source Palo Alto!

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After lots of hard work and preparation, last weekend we welcomed the 30th store to the Paper Source family, located at the Town & Country Center in sunny Palo Alto, CA. A wonderful addition to our Bay-Area gang, the Palo Alto store is warm, inviting, and choc-full of charm. We have a fabulous…
A flirty and fabulous bachelorette party!

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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…
Summer craft idea: French canvas fabric

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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…
How-to: decorative wedding favor box

Meg Kowieski

Requested by SO many of our customers, this spring we introduced the classic square favor box. This perfect little square is quickly becoming one of our favorites to embellish. With just a few folds and double stick tape they are ready to fill with little cookies, tiny treasures, or four exquisite…
Charleston Wedding: Part 2

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With save the dates under her belt, Sarah moved onto planning her wedding invitations and day of details. Continuing to leverage colors from her inspiration print, she used Sapphire cardstock to create a custom piece that would hold all of the items in her invitation suite. She backed her printed…
Tree decorating idea safe for kids & pets

Meg Kowieski

When you have a toddler or puppy in the house, decorating a tree for the holidays is all kinds of fun for little ones, but means constant monitoring for you. Last year Noquet joined our family and now just a year old, she is still all puppy. In decorating our Christmas tree, I wanted to... The post…
Paper Source Workshop: Carve Your Own Rubber Stamps

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If you’ve ever had trouble finding just the right rubber stamp or if you’ve wanted to create a custom rubber stamp for a wedding or special event, consider making your own rubber stamps! This month we’re running a Carve Your Own Stamps workshop at all of our stores. We’ll…
How-to: bookworm baby shower invitation

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I threw my first baby shower this year!… and my close friend had her first baby. Okay, one of these is more momentous than the other. The new mom is a laidback librarian-to-be, so she requested that for her baby shower guests bring books in lieu of other gifts (such a great way to build...…
2009 holiday card contest winners – store submissions

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As promised here is the second installment of some of the Holiday Card Contest submissions from a few of our stores. We think you will find these soooo amazing and inspiring that if you haven’t already sent cards for the holidays, a brilliant handmade New Year’s card may be just the…
The making of a rubber stamp

Meg Kowieski

If you’ve ever seen the dedicated wall in our stores or our large selection online, you know we have a soft spot in our hearts for rubber stamps. Our very first rubber stamps were created from drawings done by Paper Source’s founder Sue, and to this day, stamps are still created from drawings and…
Charleston Wedding: Part 1

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I recently had the pleasure of reconnecting with my childhood friend, Sarah, who moved away long ago when we were in elementary school. What an amazing surprise to find that over the years Sarah has become a wonderfully talented crafter and has fallen in love with Paper Source. In April of this…
How-to: robot invitation

Meg Kowieski

For fun and easy kids party invitations, we used our blank recycled printable invitations, and Smencils scented colored pencils to bring our robot rubber stamps to life. Be sure to use a fast-drying ink like Versa Magic to prevent smearing. Great for a kid’s birthday party, and the kids can…
Rubber stamping on chalkboards?!

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I’m so in love with our Chalkboard Sticker Frames! We use them around the store to highlight upcoming workshops and events – so much more fun than flyers. I usually write on the chalkboard surface with Bistro Markers, but I’m always looking for new ways to decorate them. So, what…
How-to: cozy snowman holiday card

Meg Kowieski

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! With a few simple steps you can make your own festive snow-people to use as holiday cards or gift tags. We love this snowman’s happy smile and glittery scarf and mittens so much that we’ve featured him in our blog last week and also in our... The…

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