September 3, 2010

Paper Source

By Maria

This week bring exciting news!

Paper by Maria is featured on Paper Source’s blog!

If you haven’t experienced this wonderful store, you must make a trip there! There are several locations, but the two closest to NYC are in Brooklyn, NY and Princeton, NJ. They have wonderful handmade papers, cardstock, stationery, and lots of fun items. They also have craft kits and workshops for DIY opportunities!

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August 29, 2010

Your Mom Was Right…

By Maria

Remember those days when you would get a gift for your birthday, graduation, or a holiday, and your Mom would remind you,

“Don’t forget to send a thank-you card!”

And most of us would probably groan, and roll our eyes, thinking it wasn’t that important, and we’d just say thank you for the gift in person whenever we saw them next.  But it usually ended up that we forgot about it with our busy schedules, or didn’t see them for awhile…so the thank-you was never given.

—

This past week I celebrated three of my friends’ birthdays. It’s a lot of work to think of thoughtful gifts, plan the parties, and bake the cakes, but I enjoy it all. It gives me pleasure to make someone happy, especially on their special day.

So of course when I celebrate my friends’ birthdays, all I want is for them to be happy and have a good time, and I don’t care about much other than that…but this week one of my friends reminded me just how nice it is to be thanked.

We celebrated her birthday on Wednesday at a popular restaurant, and I gave her a small present I thought she’d enjoy. A few days later, she gave me a card. I was not expecting it because she had already said thank you in person and posted a grateful status on Facebook after her dinner on Wednesday. (This seems to be the usual way of thanking people these days.) But when I read the card, it was evident how much she appreciated her birthday celebration, and it meant a lot to me to see how much she had enjoyed it.

So next time you get a gift, remember this story and what your Mom used to tell you…because if someone took the time to think about you, I’d bet they’d enjoy a proper thank-you.

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August 13, 2010

Do You Know Your Mailman’s Name?

By Maria

I don’t know about your mailman, but mine knows me by name, and will even deliver packages or letters he thinks are important right to my doorstep (he climbs three flights of stairs to get there!) I’m probably just lucky to have such a cool mailman, but I think my enthusiasm for getting mail probably has something to do with our great relationship too.

When I was in grade school, I used to hear the mailman’s keys rustling downstairs around 3 pm in the afternoon and run downstairs to catch him before he left. (My mom had the only mail key, so if I didn’t catch the mailman, I’d have to wait a few more hours until my mom got home!) He would always laugh, and hand me the mail. I guess he realized how important the mail was to me, because soon after, if I didn’t come running downstairs, he would bring the mail up to me! Especially if it was an envelope from colleges I was applying to, or if it was around my birthday.

To this day, five years after I have moved out of my mom’s apartment, he waves to me on the street when I visit home. They know me at the post office too…I’m the girl who always wraps her packages and decorates with lots of colorful stickers.

So what’s your relationship with your mailman? You should get to know him/her…and then they’ll treat your mail with extra care!

Thanks, Mom, for the comics!

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August 9, 2010

Handmade Tea Bags

By Maria

Hello!

Sadly, summer is almost over, and we’ll have to say goodbye for awhile to iced coffee, beaches, and cool salads. But fall brings wonderful treats as well, like changing leaves, fall flavors, and warm drinks.

This weekend I came across the cutest idea to use paper…just in time for fall! DIY tea envelopes!

Check out A Print a Day Blog for instructions!

This is so simple, yet adorable, and makes the perfect gift for a friend, or just to make someone feel special. You can choose paper to match the tea, or even make a bunch in coordinating patterns. Have fun!

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August 1, 2010

Feathers in Design

By Maria

One day this week during my lunch break I stopped in Pottery Barn to look around for design ideas. I came across some beautiful feathers, which I was surprised to find in a furniture store of all places, but I figured they could be of some decorative use in a home. I’m always keeping my eyes open for new things to use on my cards, so I bought them. When I got back to work and showed a few friends my purchase, their reaction was the same: what are you going to do with these feathers?!

For some inspiration when I got home, I searched online for some creative uses of feathers…and I found quite a lot! Look at some of the great ideas I found. I’ll let you know when I’ve come up with a way to use them on my cards :)

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July 25, 2010

Origami

By Maria

I stumbled across a blog entry on “Omiyage”  this week that brought back memories from my teenage years:

I’ve always had a love for origami…I guess because it’s so small, fragile, and delicate. But most origami designs are very complicated and difficult to make. It takes lots of patience and practice-definitely well worth it once you’ve completed your design.

Small origami figures were really popular when I was growing up to give as gifts. I would spend hours folding and folding, and putting the figures into a small glass jar. Once the jar was filled with colorful figures, I proudly gave them to a friend. This gift represented care, love, and hard work…it was a gift that required time and patience.

My favorite figures to make were a Korean version…paper stars. They’re simple, yet beautiful, especially it a variety of colors. I’ll show you how to make them so you can share with your friends :)

This is the paper you use for each star.

Hold the paper color face down, and make a loop at the bottom

Turn the paper so the loop is at the top, and fold the long piece into the loop, color side up

Finish folding the paper through the loop, and flatten it. This is what you should have so far...

Start folding the paper around the hexagon, following the shape.

Pinch the flat sides of the hexagon with your fingers to pop out the shape.

Now you have a star!

Now make a bunch in different colors for your friends :)

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July 19, 2010

The Art of Packaging

By Maria
This week I worked at the New York Philharmonic Concert in the Parks in Central Park, helping to hand out picnic baskets for VIP guests. The food was neatly packaged in take-out boxes, with a cup, napkin, utensils, and cookies. But what really made the picnic dinner special was the packaging. The dinner was wrapped in a cute red bag…designed similarly to a picnic tablecloth.


As I handed out picnic baskets to guests, the interest around me started to grow. People not receiving the baskets walked by, pointing, and saying, “Oh, look how cute!”, or, “I want one of those baskets!”. Many people stopped by the table to ask how they could order a basket, not even knowing what was inside.


These interested customers had never tasted this food before, did not know the menu of the meal inside the basket, and were clueless to even the price. But somehow they knew that they wanted one of those picnic baskets. Standing there, continuing to hand out baskets and listen to passersby’s comments, I wondered why there was such an appeal, with little to no information on the product?


I discovered the reason later that night when the red bags started to run out and they were replaced by plainer white bags. It was when people started asking if they could have the red bag instead of the white,  that I noticed that the appeal was the packaging. The red bags were so cute and inviting, who wouldn’t want one? If these dinners were packed in a regular brown bag, there probably wouldn’t be as much interest, no matter how good the food was!


This really drove a point home for me. I had always been aware of the importance of nice packaging, but this night just confirmed for me how much it counts… especially when you don’t have a big reputation to rely on. Packaging has the potential to really set a product apart from another.


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July 11, 2010

Japanese Tape

By Maria

I try to keep an eye out for new trends in design, and one has been popping up a lot lately: Japanese tape! It’s not what you would think…it’s much different than scotch tape. It comes in lots of designs, widths, and colors! It has only become available in the US recently, and since then has become super popular. Here’s a picture:

The great thing about this tape is that it has so many purposes, and it’s just calling for you to be creative with it. It’s also really practical because it’s functional (as tape) and fun! It can be used to wrap a package, design cards, or decorate things around the house. Here are a few ideas I found on JuBella’s design blog:

I’m curious to see if you have any new ideas for Japanese tape… Post a comment with your ideas!

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July 6, 2010

Burgers and Cards

By Maria
This weekend I was in the mood for traditional American food for the 4th of July, so I went with some friends to Bobby’s Burger Palace in Paramus, NJ. For those of you who like watching Food Network, this restaurant is one of Iron Chef, Bobby Flay’s. Needless to say, my friends and i ordered our food with big expectations.


The menu was creative, but not unlike other burger places I had visited in NYC. There was a choice of turkey, beef, or chicken, and each burger had it’s own combination of toppings. Mine included goat cheese, arugula, and lemon vinaigrette and my friends’ had avocado and cheddar. And because burgers go best with fries and shakes, there were many options of those as well.


Our first impression upon ordering was great because of the great variety of the menu, without being overwhelming.
When our food came to the table, we were anxious to see how it would taste. The sweet potato fries were first, and the reaction was unanimous: mmmmm :) The fries actually tasted like sweet potatoes! And the honey mustard worchester sauce added just he right amount of kick without masking the potato flavor. Our burgers were just as impressive- it was evident that each ingredient was carefully picked and blended into the perfect combination of tastes, while still standing out on it’s own.



After eating at Bobby’s, I started to think about why the meal had been so pleasant to my friends and me. Why would we chose to return to this burger restaurant instead of visiting the many other options in NYC? The answer was good ingredients, and precise, careful execution. I decided the same qualities were relevant to my cards.


Similarly to the fresh ingredients at bobby’s, for my cards to stand out I have to use the finest papers and ribbons. I also have to plan the design carefully. Just like the flavors in the burger, I want the elements of each card to stand out, but at the same time blend into a cohesive idea.


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June 28, 2010

Playing with Colors

By Maria
I love playing with colors. Whether it is putting together an outfit, arranging flowers, or making cards, its so much fun for me. Every combination has a different feel, even if you just change one color. Each decision you make when putting colors together is important because certain colors will make others stand out, or bring out different hues.
 
This weekend I traveled to D.C. for my mom’s birthday by bus, and was fortunate enough to have my iPod touch with me for the ride. There are so many apps for playing with colors. One of my favorites is called “Find Colors Plus”. It gives you the option of searching by HTML code, color name, or crayon color! Then, you can adjust the color by scaling down the amount of blue, green, or red to get the perfect shade. On my trip I put together a few color combinations for my fall collection, and one for summer, just for fun. The summer combo is a honeydew green, raspberry pink, mild cantaloupe orange, and a blue gray. It looks like a rainbow sherbet but with a little something different because if the blue-gray. It reminds me of summer night strolls :)

If you have any favorite color combinations, share them with me…I’d love to see your creations!

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