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Eco-Friendly Gifts for Holiday Gift Exchanges November 25, 2011

If your holiday season is anything like ours, it will soon be filled with a whole bunch of Christmas parties and gift exchanges to attend. Finding these kind of gifts can be hard, so we've updated our Green Gifts Guide with a bunch of helpful (and eco-friendly) hints for three common price ranges - $10, $15, or $25.

For a simple and practical gift under $10, consider a Coil Bound Plantable Notepad or a Plantable Pocket Notebook. These notepads are perfectly sized to keep lists and thoughts organized on the go, without taking up much space. With so many beautiful designs to choose from, anyone will appreciate these notepads, and the wildflowers that will grow when the cover is planted!

One of our favorite gifts this year is our newly updated Plantable Journal. They are so handy! With an extra thick cardboard back, this journal is so easy to write in, no matter where you are. Once the journal is filled, simply plant the cover for a bouquet of wildflowers.

Looking for a gift under $25? We've got that covered with our gorgeous Tin Plantable Eco Calendar. This beautiful, nature-inspired calendar comes with all the months printed on seed paper. Every couple months, the owner can plant the sheets and have wildflowers blooming year-round! This tin can be re-used each year by replacing the pages with the Plantable Eco Calendar Refill Pages.

Order your gifts today and don't miss out on our free shipping from now until December 14th! And for more eco-friendly holiday gift ideas, visit our Green Gifts Guide - it's full of ideas for anyone on your list!

Cranberry Mason Jar Candle Decoration November 24, 2011

Last week we showed you how to make a Cranberry and Pinecone Ice Bowl for a festive holiday decoration. Hopefully all of your ice bowls look marvelous! We had some cranberries left, and wanted to share another simple mason jar candle decoration to add to your home this holiday season. We got the idea from our friends at Do It Yourself Magazine - it's so easy!

Here's what you will need:

• Mason jar
• Cranberries
• Floating tea-light candle
• Water
• Matches

How to Make It:
1. Place the cranberries at the bottom of the Mason jar.
2. Fill the Mason jar with 1 1/4 cup of water.
3. Place the tea-light candle in the middle of the jar.
4. Light the candle and place the jars around the room.
5. Soak up the compliments you're going to get for your beautiful cranberry mason jar candle decoration!

Keep checking the Botanical PaperWorks blog for even more fun holiday crafts and freebies we're ready to share for the upcoming holidays!

Image Credit: Do It Yourself Magazine

Stop Motion Wedding Video from Bayly & Moore November 23, 2011

We are absolutely smitten with Bayly & Moore, a couple of wedding photographers based out of New Zealand. Their stop motion wedding videos and photography are stunning, and so fun to watch. Check it out!

Marina + Andy's Wedding in Stop-Motion | Melbourne, Australia / NYC from Bayly & Moore on Vimeo.

Botanical PaperWorks featured on OrganicSoul November 21, 2011

OrganicSoul is a website that provides a whole bunch of resources on how to live the most natural and eco-friendly lifestyle. Featuring recipes, reviews, and even a daily shopping offer with proceeds supporting various worthwhile causes, there are so many reasons why we love this site and its eco-friendly values.

It's for all these reasons that we were so happy to be interviewed by OrganicSoul, who wanted some eco-friendly insight into Botanical PaperWorks. The review is called Infuse the Planet with Your Paper: Botanical PaperWorks, and includes our plantable wedding collection, green Christmas cards, and plantable postcards among others. Take a look, we'd love to hear what you think!

Cranberry and Pinecone Ice Bowl November 18, 2011

Happy Friday! The holiday entertaining season is here, and I don't know about you, but I love finding inspiration for home holiday decorating. Inspired by our Tranquil Garden Berries design, we made a festive cranberry and pinecone ice bowl that's both a great and useful holiday centerpiece.

Every year at Christmas, my mom makes these ice bowls when we entertain our family and friends. We use this to keep shrimp cool while guests nibble away, or as a extra icy ice bowl at the bar. This holiday centerpiece is SO easy to make with very few supplies.

What you will need:

• 2 Mixing bowls (two different sizes, and make sure there's at least an inch of size difference between the two for thicker ice)
• Water
• Cranberries (we used frozen, but fresh would work too)
• Spruce Tree Branches (we love that we found some with pinecones!)
• Something to weigh down the smaller bowl inside of the large one (we used another bowl with water)

How to Make It:
1. Place a 1 inch thick layer of water on the bottom of the bigger mixing bowl to make a solid base.
2. Place the bowl in the freezer for a couple hours until it's frozen.
3. Next, place the smaller bowl on top of the frozen layer in the larger bowl.
4. Add weight inside the smaller bowl to keep it from floating when more water is added.
5. Add another inch or so of water around the outside, and make sure you have enough weight in the smaller bowl.
6. Drop some cranberries and sprigs of pine in. Freeze again.
7. Once frozen, add in more cranberries and pine sprigs, and pour water in up to the top. Make sure some sprigs go above the water line so they stick out and add character!
8. Freeze again and you're done!

We only used a couple layers of freezing, but you can do as many as you like! You can also try using other festive fillers such as orange and lemon slices. These ice bowls are really stunning, but will eventually melt down slowly. So when you make your own ice bowl, be sure to have a drip pan underneath!

Carry on the winter berry theme by giving guests a party favor to take home. Our Tranquil Garden Berries Coil Bound Plantable Notepads are festive and perfect to organize their holiday plans and lists. The cover is plantable, so once the notebook is filled, guests can plant the seed paper cover and a pot of wildflowers will grow.

Or with all the pine in your ice bowl, why not add Pinecone Plantable Place Cards to the table?

Don't forget to stock up on party favors or do some holiday shopping while we are offering free shipping on orders over $49 to Canada and the US!

Classic & Retro Gift Plantable Christmas Cards & Matching Bow Plantable Gift Tags November 17, 2011

Today I thought I'd show you my personal favorites from our collection of brand new green Christmas cards; the Classic Striped Gift Plantable Christmas Card and the Classic Argyle Gift Plantable Christmas Card. These patterns are so much fun, and perfect to share with all your friends and family.

Or if retro style is more your thing, throwback with our vintage-inspired Retro Snowflakes Gift Plantable Christmas Card or Retro Striped Gift Plantable Christmas Card. These green Christmas cards are both eco-friendly and unique, and all four designs feature a removable seed paper tag that will grow wildflowers when planted.

If you're looking for a smaller greeting to add to a gift, or simply trying to help people find your gifts for them, take a look at these Bow Plantable Holiday Gift Tags. Each tag is printed on plantable seed paper, and includes a simple yet elegant bow on top. Just like your gift!

And best of all, we are still offering free shipping on all orders in Canada and the US over $49, but only until December 14th! Don't miss out!

Plantable Reindeer Holiday Card Featured in Do It Yourself Magazine November 16, 2011

If there's something we love almost as much as plantable paper, it's DIY projects (heck we even have a new DIY blog category!). So when we saw our very own Plantable Reindeer Holiday Card in Do It Yourself Magazine this month, we just about flipped.

This magazine is great, and full of tons of inspiring holiday projects. So great in fact, that we had to quickly scan it before it was snagged off our desk by another staff member.

We found our card in the article 12 Ways to Mail Merriment - a page dedicated to the most Giftable Cards. We're so happy that the editors of Do It Yourself Magazine agree that seed paper cards make for the perfect greeting and a gift in one!

Eco-Friendly Holiday Host Gift Ideas November 15, 2011

We can not believe how this year has flown by, and that the holidays are already here.

With so many great holiday parties and events to attend at this time of year, it can be hard to find that perfect little something to bring with you to show your host how much you appreciate their hospitality.

As a huge fan of entertaining guru Anthea Turner, we have learned that although flowers are really thoughtful, they can also be hard for your host to trim and prep amidst putting the finishing touches on the evening's food and drink. And even though Poinsettia's are beautiful, they are toxic to pets. Plantable paper gifts still gives your host the great gift of flowers, but in a much more manageable way!

For a host that loves to garden or gourmet cook (and we assume they do if they're hosting an evening of food and fun), give them a Plantable Yummy Card Set. Included in the set are 6 greeting cards, each with a recipe to match a piece of plantable paper embedded with herb seeds (basil, dill, chive, mint, parsley and sage). A delicious AND thoughtful gift that's guaranteed to be appreciated!

Maybe you already have a gift for that generous host of yours, and just need that perfect card. Take a look at the Classic Striped Gift Plantable Christmas Card, which features a plantable seed paper tag that will grow wildflowers when planted.

Whether you make your own wine, or picked up a bottle of your host's preferred vintage, add a more personal touch with these Plantable Wine Bottle Tag. Place this tag on the bottle neck for a pleasant greeting and a bouquet of wildflowers!

For more great gift ideas that covers just about anyone else on your list, check the newly-updated holiday edition of our Green Gifts Guide! Teachers, kids, even your boss - we've got them all covered. And don't forget, we're still offering free shipping for the holidays too!