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DIY With Smock: Merry Paper Christmas Trees

Erica Henriksen — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:00:05 +0000

Christmas is right around the corner, and we love having an extra reason to get crafty around here! We made these festive Christmas Trees with our double-sided gift wrap for a little extra holiday cheer — they’re a fun DIY project and pretty enough to give as a gift — just be sure to make a few for yourself!

You will need: a cone/tree form (we preferred the cardboard cones, but styrofoam works, too!), paper, scissors, and a hot glue gun. Start by covering your tree form in the paper color of your choice. We used our Merry wrap for this tree. If you purchase a cardboard tree form, these typically have a point on top, but if you use a styrofoam form (like the one shown above), we recommend making a point with the wrap for a sleek look (see below).

After you’ve covered the tree form, you’ll need curls. LOTS of curls. We used our Merry wrap and our Mistletoe wrap for this part for some variety. To make the curls, cut your paper into thin strips of varying lengths and widths — the variety will help the tree ‘fill in’ nicely. Then, begin curling the strips with scissors the way you would for curling ribbon. When you’ve compiled a decent amount of curls, begin adhering them to your tree with a hot glue gun.

Fill the entire tree form with the paper curls until you’re happy with the look. If you’d like, make a star to adhere to the top or leave it as is — and tada! A very merry (paper) Christmas tree.

The 2011 Holiday Gift Guide from Smock

Erica Henriksen — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:45:03 +0000

Smock’s owner (Debbie Urbanski) and Creative Director (Amy Graham Stigler) put their heads together and came up with some really unique gifts for this year’s holiday gift guide. While some of the products are local to upstate New York (we love buying local!) everything is available online! Happy shopping!

Fancy oils and flavorful vinegars: you’ll never need to buy bottled salad dressing again. Pick an oil + a vinegar and it’s the perfect gift. The vinegars are wild — a favorite combination is walnut oil + ginger spiked blackberry.
Uncommon iphone cases: support indie artists. Choose your favorite artwork by a cool indie designer, then create your own unique iPhone case.
Snack Taxi snack sacks: great for parents or kids. Get rid of your plastic bags for snacks! Wild and crazy patterns, made in the USA. Stella is partial to the gnomes.
Toothbrushes: a years worth of toothbrushes. Made of bamboo, practical & witty – and perfect for the person who has everything.
Walnut end grain cutting boards – made with local New York State wood – these cutting boards are simply beautiful. Makes cutting pretty and fun!
Canning for a New Generation: get your beloveds hooked on canning with this cookbook (lower sugar, wild flavors!) and a big old case of mason jars.
Lunastix Juggling Sticks: these are the perfect gift for active kids as they keep their hands and minds busy. There are sticks for all sizes, ages and levels. Made in Salt Lake City.
Clementine Art Supplies: natural, non toxic, well designed. The natural gift set includes everything needed for your favorite young artist and comes in a tidy box.
Mint owl coasters: Etsy has some of the coolest owl coasters (like the minty ones above)
Hindu Holiday tea: lovely tea made right in brooklyn. This is the perfect gift for anyone with exquisite taste, and because of their beautiful packaging no wrapping is required. Amy’s favorite for the holidays is Bellocq’s Hindu Holiday herbal tea – a delicious fragrant caffeine-free Fairtrade chai.
Dead Feminists Broadside: A beautiful, hand-pulled letterpress print, created with hand-lettered original typography and hand-drawn illustrations and patterns (in fact, everything was done by hand, the hard way!). This particular broadside features Jane Mecom and her brother, Benjamin Franklin, but there are more available in the Dead Feminists Etsy shop.
Felt kindle sleeve: make someone’s Kindle reading experience more pleasurable with this cozy sleeve!
Liberty water bottles – made in the USA from recycled aluminum. They are works of art!

Letterpress Christmas cards in Cherry + Grass

Jessica Primavera — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:00:20 +0000

If we were not already in the holiday spirit- these colorful and cheery Christmas cards would surely turn that right around! This custom and lovable set was submitted to us by our good friend, Sara at Salutations in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Check out the reindeer envelope liner that is actually made from our Smock gift wrap! Looking at these cards we can’t help but feel good inside, as the holiday season is just around the corner! What a perfect way to send warm wishes to your friends and family!

Smock Sale to benefit Earthworks! Make your holiday shopping matter.

Erica Henriksen — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:45:01 +0000

If you haven’t gotten started on your holiday shopping yet, head over to our sale section for some great gifts for the paper lovers in your life! Sale section items are marked down to 50% off, and if that weren’t reason enough to start shopping, we’re adding a bonus: all proceeds from sale items purchased on Monday, November 28 or Tuesday, November 29 will be donated to Earthworks Oil & Gas Accountability Project to help raise awareness about hydrofracking. Through this project, Earthworks teams up with tribal, urban and rural communities to protect their homes and the environment from the devastating impacts of oil and gas development. Your purchases can make a difference! Need some ideas? We’ve put together some great combinations for gift sets with items straight from our sale section, so check out our picks! We’ve included a wide range, so you’ll find ideas for under $15 or $30. Our sale section has also got some fantastic holiday cards & gift tags, so stock up before they’re gone!

Great Gifts under $15

Perfect for the person who loves to send little notes just because. Pair a box of our Ellie notecards with a box of coordinating petite folded notes — at just $7 per box, give these letterpress cards as a set for a pretty present at just $14.

Know a paper-crazy kid? Introduce them to letterpress with these sweet cards! Petite folds in fun colors with kid-friendly motifs come in sets of 8. At only $7 per box, these would be great little stocking stuffers! Choose from our Ellie, Horsey, Liony and Ducky notes.

Great gifts under $30

Our Thackthwaite attachment is a pretty cube full of sticky notes — 700 of them, to be exact. Attachments from Smock are made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper and they’re FSC certified, so they’re eco-friendly and cute. Snag this deal (marked down to $9!) and pair with a set of blank Thackthwaite notecards for just $21.

Pair some flat social notes with one of our notebooks for another great gift idea under $30 — we love seeing our Horsey flat notes with a Persimmon notebook, a fun combination for only $16.

At just $2 per card, we love the idea of giving a sampling of cards (paired with a lovely keepsake box, like the Veranda box pictured below). Simply choose 10-12 cards from our fabulous selection of designs, package your picks in a small keepsake box, and you’ve got a great present for less than $30. Cards for special occasions such as engagements, birthdays, a new baby or ‘just because’ will have the recipient of this thoughtful gift prepared for the year.

Holiday Cards

Don’t forget about holiday cards! Check out the beautiful holiday cards in our sale section — stock up on our Joy & Peace cards and send stylish letterpress greetings this season. Our Joy petite folds make great gift tags, and our Celebrate cards make lovely thank you notes after the gift giving is over. Looking for something more traditional?? Check out our Holly letterpress greeting cards or our festive Poinsettia gift tags – boxes sell for just $7 each!

We’ll be posting more gift ideas along with DIY projects for the holidays over the next few weeks (including tutorials for gift bows and the most beautiful holiday wreaths ever), so stay tuned!

Smock’s 2011 Letterpress Holiday Promotion is Here!

Erica Henriksen — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 19:45:37 +0000

It’s that time of year again — the Smock letterpress holiday sale is back! This year, we’ve got even more options to choose from for custom letterpress holiday cards, and to make the holidays even sweeter, we’ve got a special promotion going on! Between now and December 1, all custom letterpress holiday orders will receive free printing on our luxury bamboo envelopes. All you have to do is purchase the blank envelopes, fill out a coupon with your local Smock dealer and we’ll take care of the rest. Need some ideas for your holiday cards? Check out some of the customizations below!

These are just a few of the designs available for the 2011 holiday season — check out this slideshow on Flickr if you’re looking for more inspiration!

Wreath Letterpress Holiday Invitations

Cynthia Converse — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:14:31 +0000

Created for our friends at Nest Paper Studio, we printed these cute custom letterpress holiday invitations for a fun Christmas Cordials party. They were printed in raspberry and grass inks and feature our cool new Harrison calligraphy font. We love the petite size and the fun color combination. Not to mention, this sounds like such a fun party – we’d love to get invited!

Custom Letterpress Holiday Party Invitations

Cynthia Converse — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:35:24 +0000

This pretty letterpress holiday design from Gus & Ruby Letterpress was designed for a fun holiday party. It’s a custom design printed in moss and red inks with a spray of leaves and holly that reminds us of all things merry and bright. Printed on our 1-ply bamboo paper, it’s a budget-friendly approach to custom holiday letterpress. A big thank you to Samantha and Whitney at Gus & Ruby for sending us this lovely design!

Custom Offset Photo Holiday Cards

Cynthia Converse — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 14:53:16 +0000

Modern and a little bit quirky, we love these custom holiday cards that we worked on with our friends at Nest Paper Studio in Oxford, Mississippi. They use motifs from our Everyday collection, offset printed in pewter and red inks. They cheekily wish family and friends a holiday that is “off the chain,” a playful season’s greeting that we can’t help but love.

Don’t forget that our Smock holiday promotion ends December 1! Visit your local Smock dealer to get started today.

Custom Christmas Tree Letterpress Holiday Invitations

Cynthia Converse — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 22:16:13 +0000

Printed for the folks at By Invitation Only in Little Rock, Arkansas, we love these custom letterpress holiday invitations we recently printed. They feature a cute Christmas tree motif and corner rounding, printed in gold and grass inks. On our ivory 2-ply paper, the look is elegant and festive, perfect for this holiday cocktail party.

Custom Monogram Wreath Lettepress Holiday Cards

Cynthia Converse — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 23:01:54 +0000

We continue our tale of a letterpress Christmas with these pretty photo cards printed for Anne Grace Designs in Dallas. This custom design features two cards fastened with a grommet on the upper corner. The design is printed in red and olive inks and features our bambine pattern in red on the front and back of the second card. The family is attaching a photo to the second card for a lovely, custom letterpress photo card. We love how bright and festive this design is, perfect for the holiday season.