Stationery Scoop

On these last days of 2007...

Celebrate with greenness

2 Magazine put it well in their Winter 2007/08 issue: "Save the earth by keeping your celebrations environmentally friendly". During times of celebration, we have the opportunity to spend our money in a way that makes a positive impact on our environment AND sets an example for friends and family in attendance at the celebration. [read here for 2's recommendation of Botanical PaperWorks' plantable green cards]

I'm thinking these days of the New Year's Eve party that we're hosting for 10 people. How can I make smart choices for the environment? A couple of things that I'm doing - using cloth napkins instead of disposable paper and using plantable placecards so that my guests can plant the placecard and recycle it into wildflowers. I'll be baking my own bread instead of buying something wrapped in plastic and trucked half-way across the country. And we'll be enjoying the fellowship of good friends, something that I guess I can't track back to helping the environment, but it's definitely good for the soul!

I'd love to hear how you're making your holiday celebrations green. Please post your comments or email me and I'll include them in a future post.

Gift wrapping & New Year's plans

After a brief and restful hiatus from normal life, we're getting back into the swing of things including work and regular exercise and eating normally (if I can remember what that is!).

While I was wrapping gifts last weekend, I found a number of great sites for gift wrapping and gift tags. I'm documenting them now, in case you still have some New Year's gifts to hand out, and as a reference for next year.

Blueprint print-your-own black and white wrapping paper and tags. I used these templates together with gold wrapping paper (see right) and was delighted with the results. This paper would also be wonderful for Valentine's Day, paired with red or pink tissue paper.

I needed some fun and festive tags for my daughter's gifts so these tags were great, so were these gift adornments.

And with Christmas over, my thoughts are on New Year's Eve. It's our turn to host this year, and my husband and I are considering this Menu #3, provided that we can pull everything together over the weekend (Monday is a work day).

And for New Year's Eve favors, what better than a Plantable Greeting Card set, to equip our guests up for any special occasion in the new year.

Holiday Office Hours

Here are the planned office hours for Botanical PaperWorks during the next two weeks of Christmas and New Year's:

Mon, Dec. 24 to Wed, Dec. 26 - closed
Thu, Dec. 27 and Fri, Dec. 28 - open

Mon, Dec. 31 - open
Tue, Jan. 1 - closed
Wed, Jan 2 and onward - open with regular business hours of Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Central

Orders will be processed and shipped out ASAP on the days we are open. If you have an urgent need, please email us or leave us a message (1-877-956-7393) and we'll get back to you. Thanks!

Wonderful Friday

Thanks to Ace Burpee and Chrissy Troy from Hot103 for their ENTHUSIASTIC support of Botanical PaperWorks *plantable* calendars, journals & gifts. It was SO fun to hear them talking about us on the radio at 7:15 am in the morning!

We had a great party at lunch today. With a potluck meal and "secret Santa" gift exchange, everyone had fun celebrating the season! Here are some photos...

Customer Care Manager Laurie

Papermaker Selam

Me (Heidi) with my reindeer antlers

Click here for the complete photo gallery.

With the imminent arrival of Christmas, I'm signing off until the end of next week so that I can spend a ton of time with my immediate and extended family. Wishing you a joyous and peaceful holiday and a blessed Christmas. ~Heidi

3 shipping days left

You're still good to receive plantable cards from Botanical PaperWorks by Dec. 24, PROVIDED that you order ON OR BEFORE this Friday, December 21. So don't delay....now's the time....get to it! :)

Coming in January 2008...

We are waiting to unveil 11 new collections of modern photo invitation designs from sister company Absorb Creative. The artwork is not quite complete, but we're so excited & we're having a hard time waiting, so here is a sneak preview of the collection christened by designer Kal Barteski: WIDGET.

Joy to the world

So many reasons to be joyful these days - Kal's new baby, decorating gingerbread houses with my kids this weekend, tons of great press for Botanical PaperWorks!

Thanks to these blogs for recommending Botanical PaperWorks' plantable cards and gifts:

• Paper Crave writing about eco-friendly paper
• When Santa Turned Green writing about eco-friendly cards and stationery
• Style Saves the World and their Green Gift Guide

Here's a picture of me and friend Kara, who was part of the Botanical PaperWorks team for many years before going back to school for massage therapy. We didn't plan this for Saturday night, but notice how we're dressed almost alike? Black capris, boots and gray-striped turtlenecks!

REMINDER: Last shipping day before Christmas is THIS FRIDAY, Dec. 21. These are the last days, baby, so get your order in TODAY!!

[I have to brag - my 5-year old took the Joy picture from this post. I added the words, but she set the scene up and shot it on my Nikon!]

Welcome new vendor: cry if i want to

Shoppers and party planners in Toronto are in for a treat at local shop cry if i want to. Owners and sisters Rochelle and Allison offer contemporary party decor for modernists who love to entertain with style.

cry if i want to has a showroom and retail space in Liloo at home featuring home decor and party planning accessories.  And we're thrilled to announce that Rochelle and Allison offer Botanical PaperWorks' plantable, eco cards and stationery.

Best wishes to Rochelle and Allison and your clients especially during this very busy holiday season!

Plantable Eco Calendar on Elle Magazine's Top Shopping List

Botanical PaperWorks' 2008 Plantable Eco Calendar is #7 on Elle magazine's Top Calendars list of 2008. A huge thanks to Elle for featuring our 100% green plantable calendar in this very elite holiday gift-giving guide. Each page of the calendar is embedded with wildflower seeds that grow when planted, either indoors or out, right out of the paper.

Shop now for the Plantable Eco Calendar in order to receive it in time for Christmas.