Paper Poppies

I really wanted red poppies or red anemones at the wedding, but I'm told that 1) they will die a thousand times over in the sweltering San Diego County heat, and 2) they won't be in season in July. *small cry*

[Poppies Paper Flower Kit from Paper Source]

Perhaps I can make them? Paper flowers are really easy to make (albeit time consuming!) and perhaps, to go along with the paper wreaths I am planning to make, these would look nice as napkin rings or to decorate our favors (if we have favors.)

That would mean making 150-200 red poppies in the next year. That's a whole lot of poppies to make, and I know that my heart would sink if I saw a guest tossing one in the trash on the way out!

Is anyone else planning to make a lot of paper flowers/decorations too? Any advice for someone with a year to plan? If you're coming to my wedding, do you promise not to toss the flower in the trash in front of me?

My DIY List

My wedding sounds more and more like an art project everyday. Things I plan to make:
save the dates
invitations
programs
thank you cards
menus
the website
celebratory wands/pin-wheels for ceremony (inspired by this post on Once Wed)
table numbers

I'm also planning to do a lot of diy decor for the wedding, like these cute paper rosettes:

You can view how to make them here. I think in addition to a fun garland or some paper lanterns, these would look great! I'm also planning on making two wreaths out of paper like I did in this post.


I'd like to hang them on the back of our bride and groom chairs and add labels.

Anyone else diying a whole lotta stuff? Think of anything I might have missed in my list?

Olympic Mascots II

[Images from cardmodel.cn]

I gasped when hyperartpro sent me this link where you can download a pattern of an Olympic mascot, print it, and then cut and paste it to assemble your very own paper Olympic friend! Too friggin' adorable.

Creatures and Critters Origami Craft Pad

[Image from Chronicle Books. Creatures & Critters Origami Craft Pad, by Randy Stratton, published by Chronicle Books]

Chronicle Books' new craft book, Creatures and Critters Origami Craft Pad, is hitting shelves on Wednesday. The book has 25 projects you can make with origami paper (and the book comes with the paper too!) I'm a sucker for anything that comes with paper.

I want my copy now!

Paper Wreaths

[All images+paper wreath by Mo. Paper wreath made with paper from...a Paper Source catalog, the 2007 calendar from Good on Paper, red polka-dot vellum, floral origami paper, and paper flowers from Paper Source's flower kit]

I don't remember when I was introduced to Haru's paper wreaths, but I do remember that I was immediately awed by how they utilized recycled paper and were so spectacularly unique and beautiful. What a great way to make something gorgeous out of paper that's just lying around! Under my desk, I have what I call my "craft box" which is code for "the leftovers from old art projects" and which isn't really a box but a big storage crate I got at Target. Last week as I was kicking the craft box while working at my desk, I got really ambitious and decided to make my own wreath. After making a royal mess on my living room table and peeling shards of dried mod podge off my fingers for a week, I finally finished! And I hung it up!

I guess you could say this wreath is an ode to Paper Source. The flowers are from a paper flower kit from Paper Source, the red polka-dot vellum is from Paper Source (leftover from holiday cards I made,) and the meat of the wreath is made up of pages from the wedding invitation catalog from Paper Source. As you can blatantly see, I'm really missing my favorite store since one doesn't exist in San Diego. Yay for paper wreaths, I think I'll make another one soon!

You can see Haru's gorgeous paper wreaths and purchase them at her Etsy store here.

Picapica Design

[All images from Picapica Design via Etsy]

I'm guilty of using way too much paper and stuffing the recycle bin full of sheets in which I have made typos, fed the paper incorrectly, etc. etc. I'm also guilty of buying way too many magazines and having a panic attack when they start to pile up on the floor next to my book shelf. So it always makes me happy when I see beautiful objects made from scraps that could have easily been garbage in the recycle bin. Picapica Design has some great stuff -- check out these vases made from recycled magazine pages, and these neat bowls made from an old map of San Francisco.