5 Favorite Paper Plus Customer DIYs

Wednesday, August 1st, 2018 @ 2:05 pm, Tips

Working at Paper Plus, we see dozens of amazing crafts, designs and DIY projects every day. We are consistently amazed by the vision, resourcefulness and technical abilities of artists in the Berkeley area. Some craftspeople have started full-blown card businesses, while others are motivated to make beautiful cards, crafts and decorations simply for the love of creating (plus they love making their friends and family smile). Here are our 5 favorite DIY customer crafts from Paper Plus.

 

Intricate Handmade Cards

One of our regulars is a master card maker. Her designs range from bold cuts with two colors to soft designs using five or more paper colors. Her most impressive designs involve intricate folds, color blocks and thoughtfully designed layers of fabric, doilies, cardstock, and ribbon to jump off the page–some even have 3D elements. Many of her cards are so elaborate; a card truly becomes a beloved gift in and of itself.

Beautiful Banners

Sometimes simplicity is just as lovely as an elaborate design. We’ve had a few customers use fishing wire to hang cards that their kids made and strung it across the room as decoration. We’ve had others do spin-offs of this idea with photographs and clothespins or art prints.

 

Clever Cards

We could never forget when one guy came in and showed us his moon cards. He repurposed the aluminum peel top from a pill bottle to make a silver moon on all these cards for Groundhog Day. (FYI Groundhog Day has astronomical meaning–it comes between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox).

 

Astonishing Centerpieces

When it comes to centerpieces, the possibilities run as wide and deep as your imagination. We have seen downright mesmerizing centerpieces that started as a bundle of scraps and recyclables. We’ve recently seen quite a lot of jars and vases being repurposed for centerpieces. From string lights and succulents to polished rocks and glowing water, we’ve seen it all! One of our favorites was a jar filled with lights that were positioned in such a way that they resembled a jar of flowers. Don’t ask us how they did it, it looked like pure magic!

 

Another woman hosted her husband’s retirement party and themed each table with a different centerpiece. She made little tiny suitcases out of gift boxes for one table; another had an Eiffel tower constructed out of paper. The dedication, the detail and the love that she poured into these centerpieces was enough to make you tear up a little. Gorgeous!

 

Downright Delightful Decor

We had one customer who transformed a roll of old wallpaper into a holiday wreath. Now that’s resourceful! She cut the wallpaper the way she needed it and she spruced it up with a tarnished look. That might have been one of the most ingenious wreaths we’ve ever seen!

Thank you to all the inspiring artists and craftspeople who share their designs with us here at Paper Plus. Your work inspires us to do what we do, and we love seeing what our products become once you get ahold of them!

If you’d like to share your work with us, send us an email at schurman5@aol.com or share it on our Facebook page! We’d love to feature you and your work.