KevinGraham – Page 8 – custompaper.com/blog

January 30, 2013

More Photos from the Seattle Wedding Show

seed paper invitation with eco-twist paper twine — Bifold invitation closeup

Seed paper natural petal paper invitation with larkspur flower — Larkspur stem wedding invitation on display at the Seattle Wedding Show

Natural, rustic seed paper wedding invitation display — Of The Earth at the Seattle Wedding Show

Just wanted to share with you photographs of our seed paper invitations display at the January Seattle Wedding Show. Wallflower Photography came by our booth and wanted to snap a few photos of our display, we of course said yes! They just sent these to us and we love them!

Please note how much better professional photographers can capture our handmade invitations – even without studio lighting. If you look at our earlier post you can see a dramatic difference. Think about that next time you are shopping online; how bad photos can really impact your impression of a product.

Thanks so much for sharing Wallflower Photography! We love your work!

You can find the full set of photos from the Seattle Wedding Show on Wallflower Photography’s special wedding show photography webpage; the direct link to the 2013 SWS photo gallery is www.wallflowerphoto.com/weddingshows/galleries/SeattleWeddingShow2013.

If you want a sample invitation to hold in your hand so you can see the difference between your screen and the real thing, just visit our sample request page so you can get yours for free! Be sure to tear off a bit and plant it to watch what grows. Our unique blend of seeds that are embedded in our papers is listed below.

Our North American wildflower seed blend paper contains all of the following wildflower seeds:

Perennial
English Daisy

Perennial
Tussock Bellflower

Annual
Lilac Godetia

Annual
Monkeyflower

Biennial/Perennial
Foxglove

Annual
Dwarf Spurred Snapdragon

Perennial
Showy Evening Primrose

Annual
Red Corn Poppy

Biennial/Annual
Catchfly

Perennial
Creeping Thyme

This blend is specifically designed to be mailed and planted in all growing regions of North America. With the proper care some of these flowers will thrive from New Mexico to New Brunswick.

January 12, 2013

The Seattle Wedding show is this weekend and Of The Earth has lots of great invitation ideas to share

Of The Earth is at the Seattle Wedding Show this weekend and tomorrow is the last day of the show. We have filled the booth with lots of invitation ideas, ribbon and of course, handmade paper. There are also some great DIY invitation options to help trim your costs but still receive a beautiful unique product. If you miss us at the show, we have a showroom in our Georgetown studio so feel free to stop by Monday-Friday between 8:00am and 5:00pm. The wedding show is from 10:30am-5:00pm on Sunday and is located at the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle.

SONY DSC

Of The Earth has been in business for 17 years and is owned and operated by Kevin and Lori Graham. We offer an array of handmade flower petal papers, many plantable, as well as all of the invitation components needed to create the perfect invitation. We also offer guest books, favor boxes and bags and an array of ribbons in various widths and fabrics. We have created a line of hand dyed bias cut silk ribbons which look lovely on invitations, favors, floral arrangements and bridesmaid dresses. We are constantly creating new color blends so there are always new ribbons and color combinations just waiting to be seen. Photos of all of our products can be found on our website, www.custompaper.com, and we are always happy to send out samples.

For more info about the Seattle Wedding Show go to www.weddingshow.com

December 20, 2012

Eco-Twist Paper Twine – earth friendly handmade paper decorating ribbon that biodegrades without harming the earth

This unique paper twine is being sold in 8 yard length and 54.7 yard spools. Pictured is the full 54.7 yard spool. This hand twisted paper twine has been carefully dyed with vegetable based dyes so you can put an Eco-friendly finishing touch on your product or project. No trees were harmed to create this item as the handmade paper used to make the 1″ strips is made from the bark of a shrub. The best thing about this twine is that you can unwrap the cut end and create cute little leaf ends for a very natural vine looking attachment. The twine is formed by cutting our large 20″ x 30″ handmade sheets into 1″ strips and then these 30″ x 1″ lengths are pinched together in an overlapping joint to create the continuous spool. View an ordering page here: Eco Twist Ribbon

Our available colors are: Sequoia; a cool Brown with lighter pale undertones, Hemlock color; an rich Brown with orange and red tones, Birch natural color; the natural paper state, without dye, Spruce blue color; an rich India ink blue tone and Aspen green color; an earthy brown green tone.

Lotka is made in the highlands of Nepal by rural craftspeople. The Daphne bush is farmed and harvested from 3-4 year old plants that are cut down and stripped of their bark to become the raw material from which the sheets are formed. The plant is not destroyed when cut down, it regenerates from the root. The cane like stick, once it’s bark is removed is dried and used to heat the villagers homes and to provide cooking fuel for meals and also for the production of the paper. All of the water used in the paper production is reclaimed and reused. The bark is beaten by hand and boiled to break it down to a pulp (where it is mixed in with recycled pulp and paper scrap collected from the card and envelope manufacturing process) that is then pored into screens to form the sheets. These sheets are then dried in the sun. The whole process is not only earth friendly but also provides a large community with a healthy enterprise. All of our lotka paper is at least 50% recycled fiber content.

December 20, 2012

Visit Of The Earth at the Seattle Wedding Show, January 12 and 13th.

Of The Earth is excited to be at the Seattle Wedding Show on January 12th and 13th, 2013. The event runs from 10:00am-5:30pm on Saturday and 10:30am-5:00pm on Sunday.

Of The Earth is a paper and ribbon company that has been in business since 1995. Our business started with handmade paper (embedded with flowers, herbs and flower seeds) and has expanded over the years to include many more items. Some of our more popular items are hand dyed silk ribbons(dyed in our Seattle studio) plantable favor boxes, pressed flower stickers, embellishments and note card sets. We offer fully assembled invitations, as we are happy to do all of the work, but we also offer more budget friendly options that allow the client to do as much or as little as they’d like. Visit our website at www.custompaper.com to see our many products and services.

We are currently busy in our studio prepping for the upcoming bridal show. We will have a plethora of invitation samples, DIY kits, silk ribbons, guest books, eco-twist, favor ideas and of course lots of handmade papers for you to get a close look at. Kevin and Lori, the owners of Of The Earth, will be in the booth to answer questions and discuss wedding invitation options.

Stop by and take a look. We’d love to help you plan for your big day.

The Seattle Wedding Show is the largest wedding show on the west coast. This annual event is at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center located at 800 Convention Place, 4th Floor, Seattle, WA 98101. Tickets are $17.00 and can be purchased at the door. For more details you can go to www.weddingshow.com.

December 17, 2012

Elegant, speedy, affordable and earth friendly wedding invitation options by Of The Earth

Christmas is just a week away and when the festivities and visits
with family are over, the realization hits you. It’s January and that
spring wedding you had so much time to plan for is fast approaching!

Before the panic sets in check out invitation DIY kits by Of The Earth. Both of our DIY kit collections contain seeded paper which, when planted, will sprout a bouquet of wildflowers.

Of The Earth DIY invitation kits come in many different sizes and paper styles. All of
the paper is handmade, biodegradable and environmentally friendly. Choose
from handmade papers produced in Nepal to papers made by local artisans in our Seattle, Washington studio, made the same way as when we started 17 years ago!

The Nepalese paper, we call Lotka paper, is made from the bark of the Daphne bush. Harvesting the bark does not kill the plant, it 6-7 years the still living root ball generates another harvestable crop naturally making this a great renewable material. The Lotka DIY kits come in five different colors and 8 different sizes ranging in price from $57.40 to $88.25 for 25 torn edge invitations and handmade envelopes.

Lotka invitation kits contain 25 seed paper cards, cut edge overlays,
online instructions, templates for punching and folding (if needed) and enough Eco-twist to assemble the entire order. All of the components are biodegradable and the seeded paper will bloom when planted. These invitations range in price from $2.30 -$3.53 each set.

The cotton DIY kits are made from paper produced in our Seattle studio.
Each sheet is individually made then the invitations are hand torn in our studio. The
Cotton DIY kits come in 5 different seeded flower paper options and 8
different sizes.

The cotton kits contain 25 seeded hand torn cards, cut vellum overlays,
online assembly instructions, templates for punching and folding (if needed), envelopes and enough Eco-twist to assemble the entire order. All of the components are
biodegradable and the seeded paper will bloom when planted. These kits also
contain enough supplies to make 25 invitations, ranging in price from $47.29-$112.46.

Both the vellum and seeded overlays can be printed on your home computer.
By doing the printing and assembly at home you are saving significantly over the printed and assembled invitation costs. The kits containing gate-folds and bi-folds come with a folding template. All of the printing and assembly work is done at home.

The staff at Of The Earth is available Monday-Friday form 8:00am-5:00pm Pacific time to answer any questions or assist you with assembly concerns. We can also be reached from our customer service page on www.custompaper.com.

Our invitation kits typically ship on the same day you order or within 24 hours. If you would like to order custom printed or assembled works we are happy to help you with our speedy one week production time.

December 4, 2012

Custom blended colors in our hand dyed silk ribbons create some of our most unexpected treasures..

Real Card Company sent us 4 different color swatches and asked if we could make a ribbon blending all of the colors together. Our colorist did a great job matching the swatches and the results turned out beautifully. We love these type of projects as it’s always fun to see how the new blends are going to turn out.

All of our silk ribbon is dyed in our Seattle studio. Earth Silk ribbon comes in five different widths and two different finishes. Our 100% silk which has a matte finish and our 100% silk satin which has a satiny light catching side. Our ribbon is all bias cut and is available by the spool as well as in cut lengths (depending on the collection). Of The Earth has created an extensive collection of colors with over 150 to pick from.

Real Card Company is an invitation company based in Seattle, WA. You can find them at www.realcardcompany.com.

November 15, 2012

Eco-Friendly Wedding Rings

Since 1995 when Lori and I started this crazy thing called Of The Earth, we have had so many wonderful opportunities to work with wedding professionals who are making a difference in their communities and the larger world we share. Over the next several months we will introduce you to some of them here.

Back when we first wrote our business plan and mission statement we were committed to never losing our focus on what was important to us which is why we selected the name “Of The Earth” to conduct business under. We were frustrated by the lack of accountability in the work environments we spent time in. Kevin watched plastic bags of ship’s garbage being punctured (to let in sea water) and then tossed overboard during his commercial fishing days. Done in the dead of night to avoid detection, this was the accepted standard when the on-board incinerator was “broken”. Lori started countless recycling programs at the many jobs she juggled during her college years. While Seattle was a leader in residential recycling programs, business were slow to catch on. It was not until the Green revolution of 2008 that businesses saw the marketing potential of touting how “Green” their products and practices were. One company that we love working with that has been focused on our earth since their beginning is Green Karat.

Green Karat is an earth focused wedding ring business that you can read more about here: www.greenkarat.com. They have been using our lotka printer safe seed paper as order receipts for their customers and shipping many of their rings in our 2″ square seed paper favor boxes. We love working with them and highly recommend their products and services, they really are the best!

seed paper to print at home — Of The Earth printer safe seed paper

Seed paper favor box that is a 2″ cube

2" square favor box of seed paper — Of The Earth printer safe seed paper

Seed paper favor box that is a 2″ cube

Author: KevinGraham