Creative Ideas – Page 2 – custompaper.com/blog

June 13, 2014

How to Make 100 Ribbon Embellishments

We were thrilled to receive news of our inclusion in the latest book by the talented Elaine Schmidt: How to Make 100 Ribbon Embellishments: Trims, rosettes, sculptures, and baubles for fashion, decor, and crafts.

“Create amazing trims, butterflies, flowers and more with How to Make 100 Ribbon Embellishments. With clever techniques and a huge selection of ribbon styles to choose from, the timeless art of making ribbon embellishments is better than ever. Let author Elaine Schmidt take you through 100 ribbon designs, offering helpful hints and tips to help you make beautiful accessories to place anywhere.”

This is the second time Elaine has used our products, the first was in her second book The Complete Photo Guide To Ribbon Crafts. The tutorial using our silk ribbon is featured below.

This is actually not our first foray into the publishing world. Our products have also been included in Green Wedding, It’s Easy Being Green and The Everything Green Wedding Book.

Thank you, Elaine – and congrats on yet another lovely publication!

January 29, 2014

Hand addressing envelopes – how to stand out from the junk mail.

Calligraphy sample from Long Village Lettering — How to stand out in the mail

In this incredibly busy week as we gear up for the new bridal season and work on last minute plans for tomorrow’s flight to New York to set up our booth at the National Gift Show in Manhattan I was stopped for a moment, long enough to sit down even to enjoy a piece of mail that the dripping wet postman just delivered. It was a hand written thank you note from a woman in North Carolina who runs her own Calligraphy business. She sent us one of our own seed embedded envelopes back in the mail with beautiful hand lettering on the front and a business card and note on the inside.

I think this can stand as a clear testament to the power of the personalized mailing. I know everyone is busy, I know I am busy, and yet this simple act of handwriting really can stop someone in their tracks for a few moments and draw their attention to the message you are sending.

For all of you brides out their considering printing your guest’s names instead of hand writing them, don’t. Just take the extra time to let the people (you care enough about to invite to one of the most exciting days of your life) know that you really care. You really want them there and your own handwriting spells it out for them. It is that personal touch missing from so many areas of our lives today. Your extra effort will be noticed and appreciated. It really does make a difference.

Okay so clearly we don’t all have amazing handwriting like the image above, but still you have family you can enlist to help, you can pick up a book or watch a video demo for pointers and tips on improving your own handwriting. Start early and it will be manageable, and worth it.

December 19, 2013

Silk Flower Hair Clips for Flower Girls, Brides and Bridesmaids

We announced earlier this year a partnership with Sashaco, a local (Kirkland, Washington) startup company who began buying our silks last year and makes beautiful hair clips and pins out of our ribbons. Here we have a collection of photos of their wonderful work!

As 2013 winds down, we find ourselves without much time to reflect on what a crazy year it has been as we are looking forward to what 2014 has in store for us. We expect big things to come from this and our other (soon to be revealed) partnerships as we keep our eyes on what is next.

I am sure you will agree, these silk flowers are fantastic! We have over 170 colors now in our silk line and there are so many that would work beautifully in this clip format. Imagine the brides who can color coordinate their whole suite of paper goods with their bridal party attire, just by tying together the ribbon on their invitation with the ribbon in their flower girl’s hair. What do you think?

These hair clips (or pins, they have both hardware on the back) measure 3.5″ in diameter and sit 2″ tall. You can find them for sale right now on Etsy here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/173418350/. They can be ordered in any of the colors shown here: http://www.custompaper.com/earthsilk/hand_dyed_blends.html

Each color we make comes out so uniquely on these flowers, we can’t wait to see them all!

3" silk flower clip — Lavender silk flower pin

December 17, 2013

WRAP IT UP

Our green flower print handmade wrapping paper was included in a round-up of holiday wrapping options in Artizen Magazine.

“Artizen magazine’s goal is to spread the love with inside scoops on the artisan and handmade industry.” The magazine is free to readers and offers myriad of inspiring images and projects. We love seeing the creative holiday uses for our papers and we also love being recognized by our fellow artisans – what a compliment!

While we don’t like to contribute to the frenzy of the season, we know there are only a few shopping days left and hope you consider using handmade, beautiful packaging this year. A thoughtful and lovely finishing touch to even the most practical or impractical of gifts – you can check out our selection of papers here.

Happy Holidays!

October 15, 2013

WEARABLE RIBBON

It appears we have officially segued into the fashion industry: we have launched our very first silk ribbon wrap design! This is a one yard length of our hand dyed silk that is finished with two pointed ends and a seam stitch along the entire length.

Our modern take on the classic “fairy ribbon” design is available in over 150 color options. These Earth Silk ribbons are made by hand in our Seattle studio. We measure, mix, dye, rinse, wash, dry, fold, iron, stitch and sew to bring you this great wrist accessory.

The wrap is a thoughtful, eco-gift idea and an easy and affordable accessory option to elevate any ensemble. After years of inquiries, we are excited to offer to offer a hand dyed silk ribbon option to our jewelry-designing and accessorizing clients worldwide!

October 2, 2013

THE GOOD EARTH CANDLE COMPANY

We often write of the custom orders we create for clients’ worldwide, commissioned projects remain to be some of our favorite and most memorable endeavors. Recently we had the pleasure of working with Jeanette Maurer of The Good Earth Candle Company.

“The Good Earth Candle Company features a thoroughly sustainable product, it is carefully crafted in the US in collaboration with a number of skilled artisans and small companies. All candle components are made of natural and renewable materials.”

Jeanette discovered us at a trade show and worked patiently with us to create the right combination of petals and seeds to pair with her line of soy candles. The paper we make for her acts as both a label and a protective cover for her product.

“The last touch to her candles is the unique cover. Jeanette partnered with a creative “eco” printer Jen Merrill, and Kevin Graham who handcrafted the beautiful paper. The paper is infused with real flowers, ferns and seeds that can be planted into the soil to beautify our wonderful planet even more. Jeanette has passion and pride in everything she creates and is very excited to pass this on through offering high quality, very special, “Eco Elegant” products to her customers.”

Upon completion of the project we chatted with Jeanette about her experience working with us to create unique packaging for her candles.

“Kevin and his team have been amazing! When I came to him with my custom project I was impressed with his ability to seamlessly design and execute the elements for my candle covers. He continues to be gracious, generous and helpful even after our project has technically been completed.”

Thank you, Jeanette! We so enjoyed working with you!

September 16, 2013

Summer 2013: A Recap

The end of summer always marks the winding down of our busiest season, and this year was no exception. There was no shortage of productivity; in addition to the usual fervor of the wedding season, we moved to a new location, continued working on our website redesign and found time in the sun with our kids. Whew! We are exhausted just talking about it. We cannot wait to “officially” share our new space with you, but until then take a look at highlights from the last few months:

In June we made it on to the front page of Etsy! As you can imagine it is the dream placement for any crafter/maker selling on the site. Our hand dyed silk ribbon is featured above.

Here we are again in July! This time our ribbon was included on the craft supplies browse page.

Finally, a lovely feature by Canadian blogger Janick in mid- July had us blushing; it is always an honor (and an exciting surprise) to receive praise from fellow designers and crafters.

We hope you enjoyed a lovely AND relaxing summer; keep an eye out for news on our open house to showcase our new space!

We can’t resist sharing this image from our summer fun.

Lake Dorothy - North Cascade Mountains — Looking for mountain lake trout

May 24, 2013

DIY: NO LONGER JUST A TREND

DIY (Do It Yourself) weddings have far surpassed the trend status and are now becoming a popular practice for creative, budget-minded couples who want to put a personal touch on their event without breaking the bank. Some of the most lovely and unique nuptials we have ever seen (or attended) are those where the couple put their stamp on the ceremony and reception. All you truly need is an open mind, some extra time, a few helping hands, and a source for inspiration.

Luckily for today’s brides there is no shortage of sources for said inspiration. There are a variety of bridal magazines, bridal blogs (we gravitate towards the green selections) and of course, Pinterest. Tutorials on everything from creating your own bridal bouquet to instructions for printing on pre-folded paper are abundant on the internet.

On our invitation supplies page you can find many of the tools and materials you need to construct any of the hundreds of invitation styles we display. We have templates and instructions for free here.

Our plantable seed paper box was part of a DIY wedding profile in the Minneapolis St. Paul paper’s “Aisle Files”. We will soon be adding video demonstrations of the detailed finish work we create, like the lovely leaf seen on this seed paper box.

Cotton Seeded DIY Kits with Eco-Twist Paper Ribbon

For those of you who want to handle every aspect of the invitation process, we offer almost everything you need to make your invitations at home: cotton linters to make your own paper, seed and petal inclusions sold by the ounce, paper folding and tearing tools and all the blank paper and envelope stock you need to print and mail your invitations.

Whether or not you take a DIY approach to your entire wedding, or choose to tackle certain projects here and there, we hope we have provided you with a few feasible options in the invitation and favor departments. And, if you ever have questions on any of these topics, please don’t hesitate to contact us directly.

May 15, 2013

BLOG PRESS

It is always a pleasant surprise when we stumble upon our products or work in the blogosphere. Last week we had a client mention in passing that they had included photos of our seeded paper used on a wedding project in a past blog post.

wedding menu on our seeded paper — wedding menu our seeded paper

Stacey and Company is an invite, décor and event planning company in California. We have been working with Stacey since 2007. She often uses our seeded papers when working with clients who want stylish, green paper options for their events. We love how this couple used our seeded products throughout the event and also as their take-home gift for their guests. You can check out the entire post here.

The Green Bride Guide is a go-to resource for those searching for “wedding ideas, inspiration and supplies to assist you with planning a green wedding.” They included our hand dyed silk ribbon as a way to add “glam” to your eco-wedding, and offered some great suggestions for integrating our ribbon into wedding décor. “Speaking of eco-friendly ribbon, there are about a hundred ways to use the stuff in your decorations—from creating sparkling gold garlands to wrapping it around your bouquet. Tie shimmering tendrils to your up-do, or weave some thin strands into the bodice of your dress. Decorate your chairs and tables with ribbon and use it to add some metallic accents to your ring pillow or flower girl basket. The possibilities are endless.” One of our favorite uses so far has been a wedding background trellis covered by streamers of silk that gently move in the slightest breeze, we are still trying to get Pearl and Godiva to share their images with us (nudge nudge). You can check out the Green Bride Guide post in it’s entirety here.

Thank you Stacey and Company and Green Bride Guide for supporting our work!

April 26, 2013

CUSTOM PROJECTS

What do we do? We make paper and ribbon, right? Piece of cake. Two products, easy peasy. Well no actually, we have over four thousand inventory items currently featured on our website and thousands more when you consider the custom work we offer. This includes everything from the aforementioned Accommodation Cards to Memorial Invitations. Since starting this business eighteen years ago, we have greatly increased the breadth and depth of our collection. While we continue to expand and take on a variety of products outside wedding planning, invitations and promotional events, we always welcome the opportunity to take on custom projects.

We created this custom silk ribbon for our friends at Tiny Pine Press in California who needed to match a fabric color for invitations and wedding day decorations.

We took on a custom matching dilemma for Susan Hammer of Fontastic in Georgia. Ultimately this order did not go with our hand dyed silk. We could not match the effect created in this Dupioni silk where threads of different colors are woven together and seem to shift color from different angles. We were able to provide a ribbon for her wedding programs, just not one we dyed by hand.

A beautiful custom place card for an English bride. This customer has been working with us for close to a year planning her wedding. Tomorrow is the big day! April, 27 2013. We are very excited for her and all of the couples we have the pleasure of working with.

If you are in need of a custom piece, please contact us directly. Some of our favorite and most innovative works come directly from client commissions.