Happy Memorial Day! (and a sale to celebrate...)

Happy Memorial Day weekend to everyone, especially to veterans and active duty military. Thank you for your service and sacrifice!!

It seems the weekend wouldn't be complete without a SALE, and seeing how I completely missed out on having a sale for my 2-year anniversary of the shop (on May 22), I'm offering three different coupons good only until May 28.

Use code Memorial10 to save 10% off orders of $30 or more (before shipping). Use code Memorial15 to save 15% off orders of $50 or more, or use code Memorial25 to save 25% off orders of $100 or more. These coupons are good in the Etsy shop of Paper and Present, because that shop still has the best selection of items. If you do make a purchase this weekend, please write in the notes to seller if you or someone you know is a veteran or active duty military. :D

Have a safe and happy weekend!

Hello!

As you might have guessed by now, things have been busy. I just found out a bit of news and thought to myself, "Wow! I need to put this on the blog!" And then I looked at this here little blog and realized just how long it's been. Sorry about that!

I've been busy adding lots of new stuff to Paper and Present, and buying lots of other new stuff to add to the shop once I get the chance. And then there's that whole building-a-whole-new-website-by-myself thing. On top of the he's-a-wild-and-crazy-two-year-old thing. Plus a second house still under renovation, and an assistant who left to move back closer to her family. And general life.

But I have it in my mind to get back here more often. So I will be seeing you again soon.

Oh, and that bit of news? My safari animal paper was recently featured on Apartment Therapy, which was quite a thrill for me.

Hope you all are doing well, and I will be back here again soon with lots of updates and news and photos of all the fun new things going on around here.

XO,
Melissa

Paper and Present on Joss and Main today

Hi all. Just a quick note to let you know that Paper and Present is featured on Joss and Main today. Only our gift wrap, gift bags and packaging kits are offered in the sale, and they are in limited quantities. You can get a particularly great deal on the wrapping papers, but they are going fast, so act soon if you would like some for yourself! The sale started today and runs for 72 hours, while supplies last.

In other news, I am dreaming about packing boxes these days. I took 84 packages to the post office on Tuesday. Definitely a new record for me!

We're in Real Simple magazine!!

A couple of months ago I told you that I had a request from a magazine to feature one of my items in their magazine. We went back and forth on the colors, and in the end I created a packaging and gift wrap kit specifically for them. And then I held my breath, and hoped like heck that it made the final cut after the stylist and photographers had their way with it.

So I am THRILLED beyond belief to finally be able to tell you that my humble little shop and one of our gift wrap kits is featured in the December 2012 issue of Real Simple magazine!! I can still hardly believe it.

The great news for everyone out there is that it's included in their "Discounts and Deals" section, which means it is a discounted deal!!

The magazine will be on news stands November 19, or perhaps you already subscribe to it and will see the issue in person. Or, you could always check it out on their website and see it in all its glory. Well, almost. There are about 160 items in the kit, and only a tiny fraction of them are shown in the image online. It also made my day to see them describe it as "So fetching, it could be a gift in itself."

You can see the online version here.

And even though the magazine suggests that the discount code is good only for this product, here's a little secret: the code is good for your entire purchase on everything in the shop that you may also want to buy.

Crafting at warp speed

Wow. This week has been filled with an overwhelming list of things to do to get ready for the holidays. Nobody will buy my awesome wrapping papers if they can't see what they look like. And it's one thing to see a single box wrapped up pretty, but it's another thing to see all sorts of fun (and I hope original and unique) ways to use it to decorate packages. That means I have to create all those examples of fun (and I hope original and unique) ways to use it to decorate packages. And when you have to do that for five different wrapping papers, it tends to require some really late nights.

Then I had to decorate for the photos, stage the photos, rush to take the photos during Lachlan's naps, and then edit the photos. I'm also rushing to set up a new website, and that of course has its own specifications for the photos. And I'm rushing to complete a set of photos for something special that is coming up the middle of this month. I'll tell you all about that next week, because it's a deal that you will. not. want. to. miss. Weee!  But I digress...

I'm still working on editing all of the photos, but here's a little peek at one of the collections, red birds and berries. I had this gift bag in the shop last season and it was really popular, so I added the wrapping paper this year and it is already the top seller.

This was the first paper I used for my crafting, and I had a ball thinking of different ways to use it. Every year when I'm wrapping presents, I try to save every tiny scrap because one day I might have a tiny present to wrap. In the end, all those scraps go into the recycle bin and I feel so wasteful. So the idea behind what I'm doing this year is that you can wrap a present or two with the paper, but then use the scraps of paper to decorate a whole host of different, very simple items. Of course, everything I'm using is available for sale in the shop (and the new website, details coming soon!), but people can also use these ideas with simple things they may already have in their own home. It's a nice way to come up with a beautifully coordinated set of gifts that each have something special about them.

Here's the complete set I came up with, in two photos.

Over the next few days I'll show you some closeups of each item, along with the details of how to get the other products in the photos so you can "get the look" for yourself. In the meantime, here are some pictures of my two favorites from this set.

 

 

I'd love to hear any other suggestions you have for fun ways to use leftover bits of wrapping paper to decorate packages.

Christmas decorations

I'm the person who walks into a store in October and becomes almost overwhelmed by my irritation with the number of Christmas decorations already in the stores. And yet, here I am today, decorating my house for a photo shoot I'm planning for my Christmas items. Crazy! And what's worse is that I'm waaaay behind on doing this. Ack.

The past few days have been spent in a major crafting frenzy as I decorate packages in (what I hope is) unique and creative ways using the wrapping papers and other items in the shop.

I hope to show people how to stretch their dollars this year by using regular old tissue and wrapping paper in fun and unexpected ways. I'm pretty delighted with some of the things we've come up with, and I can't wait to show them to you!

In the meantime, here's how things are starting to look.
Stage 1. Pinecone garland:
Stage 2. Berry garland addition:
Now it's back to work on the setup!

When life gives you failed perc tests, stain berry baskets

So the dirt at the new house failed the perc test. Failed it miserably. So unless we want to shell out nearly $25k to put in a new septic system with special pumps and whatnot, we can't add the fourth bedroom. And we don't want to shell out the $25k. So it's back to the drawing board on the house plans...

In the meantime, I'm making some berry baskets for Christmas. I'm going with two general color themes in both shops this year: cardinal red, white, and silver, and moss green, gold, and ivory. Yesterday and today I was staining lots of clothespins, wood tags, jute twine, and berry baskets in the moss green and cardinal red colors. I can almost smell the pine cones and hear the jingle bells...

What makes me happy

My new employee, Gigi, makes me happy.
 
For the past few days she has been organizing my space out in the workshop. Last night before she headed home, she left me a little surprise that I discovered this morning.

It actually stopped me in my tracks and I laughed out loud because she gets it. She just took some of the milk glass vases, a few wooden boxes, and just odds and ends sitting around in all areas of the shop and created this adorable little display. Goodness do I wish I had a brick-and-mortar shop so she could design the window displays!!



Once she helps me catch up on all my pre-packaging in anticipation of the holiday rush, I'm going to have her take all the different items in my shop and decorate packages and make little displays to photograph for the shop. It's been on my list of things to do for a loooong time, but there's never enough hours in the day. I am ecstatic just thinking about all the fun things she'll come up with.

In other news, those of you out there who were crossing your fingers that I made the final cut in the magazine I was working with, thank you! I just now filled out the final form from the fact checker. The issue will be on newstands November 19. I'll tell you more about it once the time gets closer, so you can get a copy if you don't already subscribe to it. :D!!

Projects in the works

I've been working on several new things lately that I hope to add to the shop soon.

One new item is a little gift basket set of a stained berry basket, a piece of jute twine, and a stained gift tag (in the same or coordinating color). They are the perfect size for homemade treats and small gifts, and I plan to offer them as a single basket so people don't have to buy a large set. I'm working on building up my inventory of several different colors, and hope to have them in the shop soon.


And I spent my time this weekend (and tonight!) working on several new stain colors and these new handmade tags to go in a special edition holiday packaging kit. And the reason this kit is a special edition is because it was created specifically in response to a request by a big (BIG!!) magazine for possible inclusion in their December feature on giftwrap and packaging.

I've made it through the first round of editors and then had to tweak a few of the colors and contents at the request of the photography department so that it would work better with the colors of the other items they're considering. I don't want to say too much right now in case I don't make the final cut, but let's just say that if I do make the final cut, this feature will be huge, huge, HUGE! Please keep your fingers crossed for me! :D

Berry baskets in blue

My hand-stained wood berry baskets are turning out to be pretty popular. I sure wish I had been able to get them into the shop sooner! Here are some navy blue baskets in the final stages of drying before being sent off for a wedding in California.

Tonight I'll be staining some dark purple for another event. I just love these little baskets and wish I had enough time to plan a party for something so I could use them myself!

Twine, twine, and more twine

I got a new order of the solid twine in the other day. I now have 35 colors! Cute little bundles of twine are now sprouting up all over my kitchen...

And when I'm not making cute little bundles of twine, I am ordering the last of the items for Christmas. I am SOOOOOO excited about the papers and tissue and fun things for the holidays this year. I can't wait to show them to you!

P and P projects: Succulent terrarium

One thing I've been meaning to do for ages (and one thing I've had numerous requests for) is post fun little DIY projects that involve using Paper and Present products in ways you might not have thought about. But there's that constant problem I have of a lack of time, and so I have yet to start posting ideas and inspiration for the lovely folks in blogland. But I recently did a fun little project with a few items, so I thought it would be the perfect thing to kick off this new series, "P and P projects", however infrequent it might be. ;)



As you might have guessed, I spend a lot of time at the post office in my small town. Like every day. Over the course of the last few years I've gotten to know all the women who work there. They watched me lugging in packages while pregnant, then lugging in packages while lugging in a baby carrier, and now lugging in packages as my trusty little assistant lugs in a small package or two of his own.

One woman in particular is particularly smitten with Lachlan. She loves him. And I know she loves him because every single time I walk out the door as we leave, I hear her exclaim to no one in particular, "I just LOVE HIM!"

This one particular woman also happens to be a breast cancer survivor and recently was away for a month after having reconstructive surgery. We asked about her almost every day and were overjoyed when we found out what day she'd be back to work. It was a Saturday, and we don't normally go to the post office on Saturday, but we certainly made an exception on this day! I knew she'd love just being able to see Lachlan again, but I wanted to bring her a little something out of the ordinary to let her know she was a bright part of our day and that we missed her while she was gone.

I had a little succulent that somehow found its way home with me after a recent trip to Home Depot, so I decided to make a tiny little terrarium for her. Lachlan and I found a cute little sorbet glass at the thrift store for pennies and Lachlan carefully selected some rocks from our gravel driveway.

It was sort of sad on its own, so I used some of my 1.25 inch circle stickers in the colors pool and poppy. I just stuck the stickers together, one of each color, and then wrote the message "welcome back" on alternating colors. To keep the stickers in a perfectly straight line, I punched two small holes in the tops of the stickers and wove through a piece of the solid baker's twine in the color coral. I attached the twine to two bamboo skewers that I stained a light teal color (you could easily leave them natural), and then inserted the skewers into the planter at a slight angle.


I happened to have some cardstock in the same pool and poppy colors, so I created little flags out of the poppy cardstock and attached them to the top of the skewers using double-sided tape. Then I cut out a piece of pool cardstock about 2" tall x 4" wide and folded it in half to create a card. On the back of the card I wrote the care instructions for the succulent, and I decorated the front with a single poppy sticker with a hand-drawn heart. Lachlan "wrote" a little message on the inside of the card.


I attached the card to the planter with a single miniature wood clothespin that was stained a coordinating light teal color. The woman loved it and said she put it on her kitchen windowsill at home so she can see it every day. :)



I hope you enjoyed this little project, and hopefully it gives you a few ideas for a quick DIY gift next time you know someone who needs a little cheering up. I think they'd also make cute favors for a party, or you could even use them to display table numbers at a wedding or other event. I'd also love to hear any ideas you have about how they can be used, and what other fun things you might have done with a similar terrarium.

Quiet

Hello? Is anyone still there? It's me. I know I've been quiet for awhile. Again. I am back to just treading water, keeping up with the must-dos, and sadly that means that blogging is on the back burner.

Here's what I did last night and this morning. Only 18 orders (it was a slow day because of the holiday yesterday), but many of them were big. I can only pack orders when Lachlan sleeps and naps, so it takes up the majority of my free time. I am rushing to do this blog post before he wakes up from his morning nap!



I did finally get some time yesterday to work on some new product development: some new packaging kits in various color schemes. I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out! Now if only I could find the time to photograph them and get them into the shop...

In other news, we are still on the hunt for a house. I found two I really liked. One can't be insured because it is built with a crawl space that you can't access. What? Who builds a crawl space and then doesn't provide access to it? And without insurance on the place, the bank would laugh in my face if I asked them for money. I also found an ADORABLE 1906 farmhouse in Palisade. Awesome views, a peach orchard in the back yard, and huge rooms and closets (a real surprise in a house that old), but the foundation of the house is going every which way but upright. Walking through the house was like one of those carnival houses with floors tilting in different directions. I know it can be fixed, but at a certain price and level of commitment that I just can't give it right now. It's sad, too. The house would be adorable all fixed up. So we keep looking...

Paper and Present products: solid baker's twine

Not long ago, a blog reader asked me about the items in my packaging shop, Paper and Present. She mentioned she'd like to know more about them, where they come from, what makes them unique, what can and can't be found in a regular store, what is made by me, etc.

When I first started Paper and Present, I simply sold the envelopes that I stocked for my letterpress shop, Paper Ink Press. I already stocked them in large quantities, and because I buy in such large quantities I get wholesale pricing on them. I saw a need for nice envelopes in small quantities on Etsy. There are so many people on Etsy who either run a small hand-made card shop--small enough that they can't justify huge orders at wholesale--or they enjoy making cards as a hobby. So I started selling the envelopes in small quantities and letting people pick an assortment of colors. They turned out to be really popular, not only because of their quality (which is great), but the range of available colors means that pretty much anyone can find a color that will work for them.

After I had enough sales to put some money in my pocket, I started selling stickers in the same colors as the envelopes. I then had really grand plans to add all sorts of hand-made items to the shop, but as I started accumulating a little bit of money in sales, I started re-investing the money and buying other supply items. Then it got to the point that I was so busy packing the orders for the supply items that I didn't have time for many of the hand-made items.

Although several of the items I sell in the shop--the patterned paper gift bags, the Divine Twine and the Twinery Twine, and the washi tape, for example--are sold by other Etsy sellers, I try very hard to out-perform everyone else, either by price, available color selection, or just by providing great customer service.

I do, however, have a few fairly unique items, with more in the works.

The latest addition that is pretty unique to my shop is the solid baker's twine. I've always loved the regular baker's twine that is the color striped with white, but sometimes it just looks a little too casual. I still love the size and feel of the twine for so many things, and I knew that if it was possible to get 1 or 2 strands of color with white in a twine that it had to be possible to find a twine that had all 4 strands in color.


It took me about 8 months of searching to finally find a source for it. And although I know of just one other shop that sells it, I have her beat in price and selection of colors. In fact, just yesterday my selection of colors expanded greatly, from the original 16 colors I offered to 30 now!


I currently offer the twine in several different lengths, but I have an idea for packaging the twine that I'm currently investigating. And if I can make it work, I will be the only person that I know of who is able to offer it. :)

Business cards for Paper and Present

I had to print some more business cards for Paper and Present the other day. I printed 100 of them not all that long ago, but I seemed to have run out almost immediately and had to send out several days' worth of orders with regular cards from my inkjet. This time I printed 200 of them and I'm trying to be a little more selective about who gets them. I set a minimum dollar amount for orders that qualify for the good letterpress card, but the stack seems to be getting smaller already. It's a good thing, to be sure, because it means I'm getting lots of orders (I'm almost at 1,000!). But on the flip side, I'm so busy packing orders that I don't have time to print more cards. It's an interesting dilemma. :)

 

In other Paper and Present news, I am busy trying to add lots of new products to the shop. I've had several requests for masculine gift wrap options, so I'll be adding several new wrapping papers and tissue paper that have a masculine feel, as well as several new feminine tissue paper designs.

I also am working on lots of custom colors for my stained wood clothespins and something completely unique to Paper and Present: stained wood berry baskets!! Just like the cute little pint baskets you get berries in at the farmers' market, only BETTER because they are stained a color. So far I have seafoam and fuchsia, and I am working on peach and a few other colors. I think they'd be perfect to hold favors at a summer wedding, but they'd be equally great for a family picnic or BBQ. I'm working on the photos now and hope to have them in the shop soon.

And even though it is only June, yesterday I placed a GIGANTIC order for Christmas gift wrap, gift bags, and tissue paper. As busy as I was last year at Christmas (when I was the new kid on the block and no one had ever heard of me), I am anticipating a very busy holiday season so I thought I should start preparing now. I can't wait to show you all the pretty new things. :)

Paper and Present 1-year anniversary celebration!

Paper and Present turns one year old today! Can you believe it? I'm still a bit in shock over how quickly the past year has gone and how much the shop has grown and expanded in the last 12 months. Never, ever in my wildest dreams did I think it would take on a life of its own the way it has!

I'll be celebrating the anniversary all week long. To stay on top of the current coupon codes and fun things I have planned, be sure to check out the shop announcement at the very top of the main page of the shop. There you will find information on the day's coupon code and how to get an extra little goodie bag stuffed with awesome products with every order.

And because I love you guys so much and appreciate your patience with my frequent absence here lately (the shop really has been keeping me busy!), all of your orders this week will get an extra bonus in addition to the goodie bag for which you qualify. Just write the word "HANDWORK" in the notes to seller at checkout (don't enter it in the coupon box) and I'll include an extra bonus for you.

I'll also be hosting a giveaway right here on the blog, and you won't want to miss it. Stay tuned for details...

Introducing the new Paper and Present

The world continues to pass me by at breakneck speed as I try to keep up with posting here about all of my adventures.

One item that I can almost cross off my list of things to do is the new logo for my packaging shop, Paper and Present. I am still working on trying to update everything with the new logo and print new cards, etc. It feels like a never-ending project. But it's at least up at the shop right now, so that's a start. I still need to work on the files for the image. I can't seem to get them to look clear and crisp online no matter what file type or resolution I try. Is anybody out there a whiz at that kind of thing?

I'm also having a little sale in the shop to celebrate the fact that we're getting a tiny little refund from the tax man. Now through Friday April 20, get 25% off everything in the shop with the coupon code TaxRefund.

I will be ducking out of here early this week to get caught up on things (including getting ready to add lots of new products to Paper and Present, like washi tape. Yeah!!) and to start getting myself really organized for Saya's Nest. I officially opened the Etsy shop this week; now I need to finish all my product photos so I can actually add some items to the shop. Weeeee!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Another day

Today is like most days around here. Playing with Lachlan, trying to get Lachlan to eat something, and packing orders. Things are busy around here. I spend all of Lachlan's nap time and many hours every evening after he goes to bed packing orders and packaging items for sale. I keep thinking I'm getting ahead but then a whole new batch of goodies arrives on my doorstep (thank you, Mr. UPS!) and I'm back to square one. But I'm not complaining! I'm thrilled that there are people out there who enjoy nice stationery and pretty packaging supplies as much as I do. :D

Here are the last four packages that I sent out today. One to Virginia, one to California, one to Australia, and one to Denmark. Every day I do the packages in a different color, and today's color was blue.









The weekend is supposed to be amazing (63 degrees on Sunday!) so I think we might take Lachlan out for a weekend adventure somewhere. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Leap Year!

Happy Leap Year, especially to any leap year babies out there! Wouldn't it be weird to be born on a day that doesn't normally exist? Anyway, if any of you are in or near Pasadena, California, I hope you are planning on attending the Utterly Engaged Leap Year Remix party and Design Challenge tonight! It looks like it will be an amazing time, and I'm so sad I can't be there to see it all in person, especially the design challenge part of it. Some of the inspiration boards put together by the design teams are beautiful! I especially like the Mexico and India board submitted by design team #6 (the painted elephant is beautiful!!), but they are all amazing!



Aside from having what will surely be a great time, the first 100 people through the door will get an awesome swag bag including a goodie bag put together by yours truly (with significant help from my mom!). The colors of the party are neon pink and gray, so I put together goodie bags with gray and hot pink wood heart tags and mini clothespins, silver metallic and neon pink heart stickers, and a hot pink chevron baby bag with custom stained hot pink wood shred filler. We were up until 2 in the morning staining the tags and wood filler (and I almost caught our gas stove on fire while trying to use the warming drawer to dry the wood filler!), and I kept saying to my mom that I sure do hope they like them!

Paper and Present + Heartsy

Update: I got my days mixed up, and the Heartsy deal is currently available to VIPs today, even though it doesn't "officially" start until tomorrow. ;)

The Heartsy deal for Paper and Present starts on Wednesday the 23rd, but it's for VIPs only. Only 50 vouchers will be available, so get yours in a hurry if you're interested (and are a VIP). Or you can use your own special discount, which is good through November 26. :)