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Merry Christmas From Botanical PaperWorks! December 23, 2011

Everyone here at Botanical PaperWorks has really gotten into the Christmas spirit over the past few weeks. Everything got kicked off at our Christmas party a couple weeks ago. Look at this group - we clean up nice!

We had a family-style turkey dinner, complete with all the fixings. The night also included Botanical PaperWorks charades, where we had to act out such work-specific terms as 'bucket of love' and 'shipping a package'. So much fun to spend time with each other for an evening, we had loads of laughs and a really great time.

And the fun continued today! Take a look at some of the photos from today's potluck lunch:

Look at this table! So full of food, I'm surprised the legs didn't buckle. And it all tasted as good as it looks.

Here's our tree. Decorated with seed paper stars, of course!

Then there's Bryce, sneaking in on what was going to be a nice shot of the table…

And HERE is the star of potluck lunch. Robyn, the nice voice you talk to when you contact us, makes the most amazing chocolate cake. We ask for this by special request! I'm pretty sure there was almost an arm wrestle when it came down to the last few pieces. It's THAT good.

From all of us here at Botanical PaperWorks, we wish you all the very best during your holiday season! Enjoy your time with family and friends, and be sure to have an extra piece of dessert!

Hello from Heidi, Botanical PaperWorks president December 21, 2011

Hello there! I'm so happy to be blogging today about my personal project, a blog called Stationery Scoop. As president and co-founder of Botanical PaperWorks, I'm passionate about living green, crazy for anything paper and enthusiastic about creative expression. I write about this and much more on Stationery Scoop and invite you to come take a look.

Recently, I wrote about free candy cane images for last-minute projects, the funny behind-the scene images from my recent photo shoot and I shared some of the sights of Christmas. I also sent out a HELP! for making Rice Krispie Treats and received some super helpful feedback.

Please come and say hi, and while you're there, check out this make your own Christmas tag project that I posted this morning.

Our Seed Paper Bouquet, Now With a Horse! June 15, 2011

On Friday I showed you a lovely photo we took of a bouquet of planted seed paper flowers. Today, I'm going to show you what happened to that bouquet after the photo was taken.

Our lovely designer Kristen really liked the photo and commented on how pretty the flowers were, so I gave the bouquet to her for her desk. On her way out the door on Friday afternoon, she yelled to me, "Check out the flowers on my desk! I put an expandable horse in the vase!"

So I had to go look. This is what I found:

Yep, the girl doesn't lie. That's an expandable horse in the vase.

And here's what it looked like on Monday–the horse had successfully expanded, and the flowers are still going strong!

Just a note that there were no expandable horses harmed in the process of writing this blog post.

Hope you're all having a great week!

No Plantable Paper today, Just a Funny Pug in a Jug May 12, 2011

Our Operations Manager Bryce is a softie when it comes to animals. He has two dogs; Tobey, a beagle, and Porkchop, a pug. Him and his wife often foster dogs when local shelters get too full too, which is really great.

Today he shared a photo of Porkchop that's been making me giggle all day, and I just had to share the story with all of you.

Porkchop loves honey. So when Bryce's wife Nicky was making muffins, she thought she'd share the last bit with her. A few minutes later, Bryce went to see if the muffins were ready, and instead found this:

Their pug. Stuck in a jug. A little bit of assistance, and Porkchop was free once again.

Hope you're all having a great week, we sure are!

Peacock Wedding Invitations May 9, 2011

(shown above, rsvp and place card to coordinate with the Peacock Wedding Invitations suite)

We love these peacock wedding invitations that are printed on plantable paper, special eco-friendly paper that grows wildflowers when it's planted! The collection made its debut this Spring and now includes invitations, rsvp cards, place cards, thank you cards and favor tags. 

What's special about these peacock wedding invitations

The unique thing about these peacock wedding invitations is that they are printed on plantable paper, a very special paper that is embedded with wildflower seeds. When your guests plant the invitation, they will grow a colorful bouquet of flowers. These invitations are stylish AND eco-friendly because by planting them, you leave no waste behind.

Currently, you have the choice of three color combinations - blue and green, scarlet and slate, mustard and gold. Custom colors are also available - please contact us for more information.

Happy Mother's Day from Botanical PaperWorks! May 8, 2011

I was so touched after talking to one of my coworkers this week. Her name is Selam, and she's getting married in just over a week. While we were chatting, I asked her if she was getting excited about the wedding. Naturally, she said yes, but she also had another reason for excitement–her mom is going to be at the wedding. This is common for most people, but for Selam it's different. She hasn't seen her mom in seven years, and she'll be here visiting for the next three months! So amidst all the wedding excitement, they'll be able to celebrate their first Mother's Day together in a really long time. Needless to say, I instantly teared up, and got goosebumps too.

Selam inspired me to ask my other coworkers to share what they love most about their mom, and share a photo if they had. Here's what I heard:

Phoebe
My mom gave me an amazing chance at life, by bringing my family to Canada from Hong Kong when we were young. The opportunities I've had here have been wonderful, and I've been able to pursue my passion: drumming. I wouldn't have gotten that there, and for that, I'm forever grateful.

Heidi
One thing that I love about my Mom is that she sees life through "anything is possible" glasses. From pouring plaster of paris into rubber gloves to make a large hand to creating our own pinatas, nothing was ever too crazy, too messy or too difficult for my Mom. If she didn't know how to do it, she helped us figure it out. I have to thank my Mom for raising us this way because she blessed us with a wonderful childhood and handed down to us an optimistic attitude for life.

Bryce
This is my mom, Teri, and I on my wedding day. What I love most about Mom is that she's always happiest when her kids are happy. What a great mom.

Me (Amber)
This is a photo of (a very young) me, my mom, my baba, and great-baba (and my Cabbage Patch doll, Dodie). What I love about my mom is her strength, determination, and ability to see humor in (just about) anything. She has always stood up for herself and what she believes in, and has taught my brother and I to do the same. I respect her so much.

We hope you are all having a wonderful day with your moms, and Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! (We hope you all got plantable Mother's Day gifts!)

Free Shipping for all of April! April 1, 2011

Nope, this isn't an April Fools' prank!

We are extremely excited to announce that for the entire month of April, we are offering FREE STANDARD SHIPPING within Canada and the US on all retail orders over $49 before taxes. To activate your discount, all you need to do is enter the coupon code april flowers during checkout. So easy!

We always tell you how very important feedback is to us here at Botanical PaperWorks. We listen to everything you have to say. And as much as we all love shopping online, we understand that paying extra for shipping can sometimes be a pain. With Easter, Holy Communion, Mother's Day and so many other holidays coming up that you may need plantable seed paper products for, we thought now would be a great time to offer you a break on shipping costs.

And if you need any gift suggestions, don't forget to check out our recently updated Green Gifts Guide! It's ready to go with all of our favorite plantable gift-giving items.

Happy shopping!

We Want to See Plantable Products at Your Wedding! March 30, 2011

It's no secret that we at Botanical PaperWorks LOVE weddings. Every day we see so many wedding sites filled with pictures and stories of unique and fabulous weddings. Every detail from the dress, to the decor, to the wedding favors that have been carefully planned and well thought-out.

Because plantable wedding products are such a large part of what we do, we really like feedback from those that use them. That's why we have begun the search to hear back from YOU! We want to hear your story, and see where your creativity lead you to incorporate plantable seed paper into your Big Day. It would also be great to see photos of your wedding day that show both you, and your eco-friendly wedding choices. Whether it be seed wedding favors you designed, assembled, or created yourself, such as plantable place cards or seeded wedding invitations. We would love to see them all! We want to share your ideas too, and post them here for other brides and party planners to be inspired by.

Send us your pictures to info@botanicalpaperworks.com. Feel free to include a little note about what you and your guests thought of the seed paper, and anything else about your wedding we should know. Of course, make sure you include your name and what seed paper product you used, and if you like, the date or season of your wedding, and where it took place.

We are no stranger to being part of beautiful weddings. Martha Stewart's Executive Assistant Liesl and her husband Kevin had a romantic outdoor wedding and had plantable seed confetti for guests to throw. When these little unique pieces landed in soil, the seeds would grow right out of the paper. It's eco and elegant.

Martha Stewart Weddings magazine has featured Botanical PaperWorks too! A great DIY craft they suggested used green plantable seed paper and a special cutter to make leaf shapes. The shapes were then placed in little pots of soil for guests to take home. Not only is this seed wedding favor unique and from the heart, but guests have a pot to plant the paper in and watch the flowers bloom!