photos via: clockwise from top left, watercolor cake 100 Layer Cake, ombre bouquet 100 Layer Cake, watercolor inspired table Martha Stewart Weddings, ombre ribbon chair decor Wedding Chicks, Wild Hearts watercolor wedding invitation Paper Muse Press.

The ombre trend has been around for awhile in fashion and home decor, and it has filtered into weddings in so many beautiful ways.  From ombre bridesmaids dresses, to cakes, and even bouquets.   Another trend we love, closely related to ombre is watercolor.  Invitations and paper pieces with touches of watercolor have such an artful, handmade feel to them.  For even more watercolor wedding inspiration visit our Watercolor and Ombre Inspiration Pinterest board.

Last summer when we visited our friends Claudia and James in Chicago we had such a great time.  Claudia made me one of the best cocktails I’ve had the privilege of sipping.  It was light, refreshing, perfect for summer.  I’m calling it the coconut mint cocktail, but it also includes fresh lime juice, yum!

Here’s what you’ll need: mint leaves, about 3 or 4 per glass, limes, coconut water, coconut vodka (Claudia recommends Skyy because it has a more natural taste), simple syrup, or agave nectar.

Take your glass and drop in your mint leaves.  Add 1 ounce lime juice, and 1 ounce simple syrup.  For a lighter recipe use a generous splash of agave instead of simple syrup.  Muddle the mint to release the flavor.  Don’t have a muddler?  Use a spoon, just make sure you smash the leaves well.  Add 4 ounces coconut water, and 2 ounces coconut vodka.  Stir, and fill the rest of the way with ice to chill.  Garnish with a lime wedge, or fresh mint leaves.  Now enjoy.

Ahh, so refreshing, don’t you agree?

Father’s Day is coming up soon, how are you celebrating with your dad?  This year for Mother’s Day we hosted a brunch at our house, so a backyard BBQ for Father’s Day seems perfectly fitting.  And what goes great with burgers and dogs?  Cold beer of course.  Why not surprise dad with a beer labeled just for him?  With our free Father’s Day beer label printable you can do just that.  Just print, cut, and use double sided tape to stick to the beer bottle of your choice.  Just another fun little way to show day you love him on his special day.

Click the link to print this Paper Muse Press Freebie: Fathers_Day_Beer_Label

Happy Father’s Day from all of us here at Paper Muse Press!

When we were in New York one of my favorite spots we did some shopping was the Pearl River Market.  Sure it’s a little kitschy, but they have so many fun things, and all for a great price.  Home decor, clothes, tons and tons of adorable dish ware, and I loved their selection of hand made papers.  I also bought a package of mini origami papers.  They’re great for craft projects, or leaving little notes.  I was inspired by some of the home decor at the market for this project, a garland made of strips of paper.  I decided to make my own using the origami papers and some fun neon pom poms I’ve had my eye on.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Origami or scrapbook paper in a variety of fun patterns and colors
• Pom poms.  I used some that were plush, and I liked that they had a few neon colors thrown in.  However you can buy pom poms in different shapes, sizes, colors, and textures, or you can event make your own out of yarn.
• Scissors
• One skein of embroidery floss
• Circle template or circle punch
• Needle

If you’re using a circle template, trace it on the back of your paper and then cut out your circles.  If you’re using a punch simply punch the circles out.  The circles will go back to back, so you’ll want an even number of them.  

To begin putting your garland together, thread your needle.  Go though the center of your first pom pom with your embroidery floss.  Then next you can add another pom pom, or begin adding your paper circles.

Next, begin adding your paper circles.  Place two origami papers back to back, then use a simple running stitch to string them on the garland.

Keep adding various size pom poms, and your paper circles until your garland reaches it’s desired length.  Leave enough embroidery floss on each end so it’s easy to tie in your desired location.  Now put it up and admire your work.

I love the little pop of bright color that it adds to my entry decor, and since I got the paper in New York it’s also a little reminder of my trip every time I look at it.  Hope you’ll enjoy making your own pom pom and origami paper garland.  Customize it for any occasion or just use it like I did as a fun decorative addition to your space!

This will be my last post about our trip to NYC.  I took about a million pictures, and I know I said it already, but it was such an amazing experience.  I soaked up every minute of our trip, and can’t wait til the day that I can go back and do even more exploring.  It’s definitely a place that needs to be visited multiple times over, there’s just so much to do!  One of my favorite parts of our trip was wandering the streets on our way to different destinations.  There’s just so much to look at in each different neighborhood.

A bright blue door in Hell’s Kitchen, and a funny dog statue I spotted outside an apartment building.

We ate dinner one evening at Five Napkin Burger, and it definitely lived up to it’s name.  I didn’t even try to pick it up, it was a monstrous meal, and oozing with delicious cheese.  Plus the decor was great too.  Sarah and I loved their collections of vintage soda bottles and scales.

We played the part of tourists and made a trip to Times Square.  I have to say it definitely didn’t disappoint, there was tons of great people watching, and a whole lot to take in.

We liked the Chelsea Market so much that we made another trip back one evening to try one of the many delicious looking restaurants we came across on the first day of exploring.  We ate at The Green Table, and it didn’t disappoint.  All locally sourced ingredients, and a pot pie to die for!  I’m also totally obsessed with gold these days, so their glowing golden bar really caught my eye!

While we were in NYC I thought it was fitting to include a pic of the Kate Spade NY booth at the National Stationary Show.  Out of all the booths this was one of my favorites for it’s styling.

Another landmark, I couldn’t help but snap a pic of the Flatiron Building as we went by on our way to Chinatown.

Our last night we spent wandering the streets of China Town and Little Italy.  Of all the neighborhoods we explored I have to say that it was one of my favorites.  So many great old buildings, tons of unique shops, and of course wonderful restaurants to dine al fresco in.

This was the view from our hotel room, a clear shot of the new World Trade Center.  Thanks for being a tourist with me throughout our trip to New York.  I hope you loved seeing all the pics, we had such a great time in the Big Apple!

If you’ve been following along with our travels to New York in the last week, you’ll know that were were in town for the National Stationery Show.  It was such an inspiring event to attend.  We got the chance to meet tons of talented designers, and also see exciting new products, and the best of what the stationary and gift world has to offer.  I’ll be exploring some of our favorite designers and artists more in depth in the coming weeks and months, but for now here’s a super quick re-cap of some of my pics from the booths we visited.

The prints and products in the banquet atelier and workshop were amazing.  I saw the big neon heart print in the “Best New Products” showcase and immediately wanted to know who created it.  Their images are so graphic and bold, but with a fun playful edge to them.

The notecards and other stationary at Ferme a Papier were so original.  They didn’t look like everything else at the show, and Cat, the artist, paints all the images that go on her cards.  She was super sweet, and down to earth as well, so easy to chat with.

Brainstorm was another great booth that really caught our eye.  Their simple layout included a fun, faux fireplace.  They had mostly prints ranging from scientific charts of plant and animal cells, to constellations, to maps of different regions across the U.S.  I enjoyed chatting with them about my screen printing days, as this is how they create all their work.

I also saw An Open Sketchbook‘s “The Little Teapot” print in the “Best New Products” display.  Their booth was full of great illustrations that this talented husband and wife team created themselves.  It was quite literally like being in an open sketchbook.  From watercolor washes, to pencil or pen and ink drawings, there was inspiration everywhere.

The Great Lake Goods display was one of the most unique out of all the artists we visited.  With a silver tinsel background (who doens’t love that), and lots of stuff other than cards.  Hand painted ornaments, candle holders, arrows, and feathers, and the list goes on and on.  I enjoyed the bright color palette, and unique hand made feel of everything they created.

I was excited to see one of my hometown favorites, Hammerpress, had a booth.  Aside from their ever popular cards and prints they also had a fun line of wrapping paper and coordinating die cut gift tags that I absolutely loved.  The bright colors are so fun, and are a great way to add a touch of pattern and color to make a present special.

Ladies of Letterpress had a huge booth, encompassing a whole group of female letterpress artists.  Their tagline “Dedicated to the proposition that a woman’s place is in the print shop”, was super clever.  There was a lot of talent in this space, and they also were giving out little packs of artist trading cards, each a different design.  Such an original idea.

I of course had to stop by the Rifle Paper Company booth since I’m a huge fan.  It was just as lovely as you might imagine, with all the beautiful designs.  To top it off they had some amazing floral arrangements by Amy Merrick, who I am totally in love with.  And yes that’s Anna Bond herself in the background.

We were super impressed by the crazy detailed laser cuts by Laser Cutting Shapes.  My favorite card was this NYC Subway design.  I’ve seen laser cut paper before, but never with this amount of accuracy, and with such delicate line work.  They can even do shading using laser cut.

Ladyfingers Letterpress had an assortment of adorable cards, but what caught my eye was some of the items that you didn’t see at all the other booths, like these wine bottle gift bags.  Cute, and practical.  And aren’t their business cards just the coolest?  They really excel at hand lettering to create unique customized pieces for their clients along with their stock card offerings.

I loooooove to read, and these book covers at Mr.Boddington’s Studio were a great take on something so classic and familiar.  It didn’t hurt that some of the titles they included are among my favorites.

Have you heard of One Canoe Two?  If you haven’t you need to look them up.  I was thrilled to find them, because not only did I like their designs, but they’re also from right here in Missouri.  One of my favorite pieces was this wall calendar.  The patterns remind me of quilt blocks, but done in a modern, fresh way.

Another local favorite, Jill from Ruff House Art, also had adorable wrapping paper.  She’s also been getting a lot of attention for her plantable paper cards, a sweet set of stationary with designs reminiscent of vintage seed packets.  Great stuff Jill!

Another booth that had great items aside from stationery was Thimblepress.  Push pops full of confetti?  Um, yes please.  Gold party hats?  But of course.  Her cards and prints were adorable as well.  I could go on and on, but I’ll save that for another post.

And last but certainly not least was These Are Things.  Their display caught my eye first, but further inspection made me fall in love.  It also doesn’t hurt that Jen and Omar are super down to earth and easy to talk to.  And their modern world map is kind of a big deal, I may just have to get one for myself.

We’ve been in New York (see the first post here) for the National Stationary Show this past week, looking at all the great designers, and stationary trends, and taking some classes.  Lucky for us there were also several other design related events happening at the same time, including Surtex, and the ICFF or International Contemporary Furniture Fair.  When Sarah told me I was going to love the furniture show, I figured she was right, but didn’t realize how much.  The design of so many of the pieces at the show was so inspiring, it was definitely a high light of the trip.   The space at Amuneal Manufacturing was incredible.  Carefully styled, with beautiful curated objects, that enhanced the pieces that they create.  The art wall was full of eclectic works that had been altered and updated.

The booth at O&G Studio was so simple, which made their pieces stand out.  The textiles, and mirrors were a collaboration with two other designers.

The Fab.com booth was CRAZY colorful, and I couldn’t help but be drawn to the brightly patterned geometric rugs.

Grow House Grow was a favorite.  Not only were the wallpaper designs colorful and interesting, a closer inspection reveals unexpected details like octopi and jellyfish.  Plus the designer Katie was so sweet, and friendly.

Another one of my favorite pieces was this end table by Hinterland Design.  It had a beautiful natural quality made modern with the geometric cut, and who doesn’t love a planter with some succulents?  A great way to bring nature into your space.

We stopped by the Iacoli & McAllister booth, a favorite of Sarah’s from last year.  The simple clean lines, and geometric shapes were refreshing.  I also loved the use of color including copper or rose gold, greys, pinks, and blacks.  She also had some wonderful modern necklaces she was selling, which we each promptly purchased.

Of course I couldn’t resist snapping a picture of these brightly colored dachshund chairs at the Jimmie Martin booth.

Molo specializes in alternative materials, and they set up a whole environment for their space, complete with free standing accordion fold cardboard walls, and light fixtures that all glowed, and almost looked like jellyfish and other sea creatures.

I just can’t resist a little sparkle, and these fixtures from moooi were perfect.  They had nice modern shapes, and weren’t overly flashy with their simple chrome armature, and grouped together created a magical display of soft glowing light.

This mantel piece made us do a double take.  At first glance it just looks like a traditional, if not rather opulently tiled fireplace, but further inspection shows the wealth of details, and fun juxtaposition of unexpected elements to a classic piece.  It was a collaboration of three artists with the Rookwood Pottery company.  I’d definitely suggest you check out the whole thing on their website.

Sandback was one of the first booths that caught my eye.  It was simple, and clean, with beautiful, quiet pieces.  Owner Peter Sandback creates modern wooden furniture, with delicate metal inlaid patterns.  I would absolutely love to have one of these pieces in my home.

This pile of chairs and stools caught my eye over at the Tom Dixon booth.

And last, but definitely not least was Volk, based in Brooklyn, NY.  The simple Oak pieces were lovely, and for the show had been hand painted with, you guessed it, geometric designs.  On closer inspection I was pleasantly surprised by the lovely fabrics that lined each drawer, and the gold pulls were another favorite detail.

Thanks for coming along on our trip to the ICFF.  It was an amazing experience!

So as I mentioned on Friday, we’re in New York for the National Stationary Show.  It’s been such an amazing trip so far, and I’m so happy that I was invited to come along.  We’ve done so much already, and we’ve still got three more days to go.  Here’s a little peek at what we’ve been up to, via our Instagrams.

We spent part of Friday exploring the city.  We walked down to Chelsea Market which was highly recommended (and didn’t disappoint).  It was a great spot with so many restaurants, shops, and tons of stuff to look at.  We spent quite a bit of time browsing the spice and tea market.  Tea, tea, as far as the eye can see.

We walked past Washington Square Park.  It was a beautiful day, and was totally packed with people enjoying the weather.  I of course had to snap a picture.

We had some lunch, and brews at the Blind Tiger Ale House, another recommendation from a friend.  They had a large beer list, and the sliders were delicious!

We wandered down Bleecker Street, popping in and out of shops.  At a vintage modern furniture store I loved this display of beautiful white porcelain sculptures against a black wall.  The yellow shelf was a perfect pop of color, and I had to take a pic.

There was obviously lots of graffiti all over the city, but this was one of our favorites.

We came across Molly’s Cupcakes and obviously had to stop in for a sample.  It didn’t disappoint.  I had the creme brulee cupcake, which tasted exactly like the dessert it’s named after.  The decor was simple and sweet, with swings as bar stools.

To get home we took a stroll down the High Line, and even stopped for a few minutes to enjoy the amazing weather outside.  Such great people watching, and I love the idea of taking something old, and making it new again.  If you don’t know the story behind the High Line, you need to check it out.  It’s so cool to be able to walk right through the city, but up above all the traffic, almost like a whole other peaceful world.  Great people watching too.

Of course it’s no secret that NYC has an incredibly diverse amount of restaurants, a food lover like me’s dream.  We ate dinner at a mediterranean restaurant where we sampled 15 different dips.  It certainly made for a pretty plate.  Last night we dined at KTCHN, which we spotted walking through the neighborhood.  It was a great meal, from the atmosphere, to the food, to the service.

Thanks for joining me for the first part of our NYC adventure.  Later this week I’ll be sharing some favorite pics from the National Stationary Show, so stay tuned!

We’re beyond excited to share that the Paper Muse Press product site is now open for business.  It’s a soft launch, meaning we’re going to be continually adding new products as the weeks go by, so please check back often.  We’re also offering the above discount code for $5.00 off to our family, friends, and followers who have been so supportive throughout our journey.  Please take a look at the site, and feel free to send any feedback.  We hope you’ll try out Paper Muse Press, and love our stuff as much as we’ve loved designing and creating it!

(photo via Creative Commons)

High fives all around.  We’re so excited to be in New York City once again for the National Stationary Show.  Rowena and Sarah attended last year (see posts about their trip here), and this year I was also invited to join in.  I can’t wait to explore the city, it’s my first time in the Big Apple.  I’m also looking forward to being inspired by great stationary trends, the designers at Surtex, and also all the amazing pieces at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair.  I’ll be posting updates all week as we travel and learn, so read along and join our adventure!