As promised, I’m sharing the photos from this year’s Paper Party during the National Stationery Show! I can’t believe the party was already two weeks ago – the whole evening went by so fast! The iridescent disco vibes that helped shape the invitation design also helped guide the overall party design. We incorporated a pastel rainbow color palette – lavender, mint green, light blue, and shades of pink and peach – along with plenty of sparkle!

This year’s party was again held at Hudson Terrace in the 2nd floor Salon. My talented friend (and professional event planner) Janice from Bellwether Events helped me plan the party and kept the entire evening running smoothly. Our amazing group of sponsors and creative partners helped us bring the party to life, including the National Stationery Show, Mixbook, Etsy Wholesale, My Mind’s Eye, Smock, Bella Figura, Sakura of America, Hester & Cook Design Group, Legion Paper, Mailchimp, Crow & Canary, Honeybook, Sugar Paper, Foryourparty.com, Soirée Floral, Meant to Be Calligraphy, Ashley Buzzy, Parabo Press, Sarah from Parrott Design Studio, and Smilebooth.

I printed the sponsor thank you banner on a 3′ x 4′ color engineer print from Parabo Press! Michele from Meant to Be Calligraphy provided the calligraphy lettering, which I combined with my own text and layered over the watercolor background from the invitations – then just printed the whole thing! Easy peasy. We decorated with our signature honeycomb clusters with mini disco balls! We also incorporated iridescent tassels made from fringe door curtains.

I also hand painted the Paper Party 2016 logo (designed by Ashley Buzzy) on a 3′ x 4′ engineer print from Parabo Press. The lettering is actually made of holographic silver glitter over glue. It didn’t photograph very well, but it looked really cool in person!

Can you seriously believe this paper fan wall?? It was definitely the highlight of the entire party. The team from My Mind’s Eye put the entire thing together – they even made the disco ball YOLO letters! Amazing.

(image by Sugar Paper)

Sugar Paper made the gift tote bags for this year’s party – stay tuned for more on that soon! Hint: there will be a giveaway involved!

I always like to have an interactive element at the party – and this year that activity involved Sakura of America pens! We asked our party guests to help us celebrate 70 years of the National Stationery Show by writing a little love note using Sakura of America Glaze, Gelly Roll, and Soufflé pens or Pen-touch paint markers. Janet from Fox and Fallow used silver Pen-touch markers to make a little sign to display amongst the colorful notes and pens. I loved the bright pop of color and seeing all the beautiful notes left by the party guests!

AND OMG THE FLOWERS. Dawn from Soirée Floral creates the most gorgeous arrangements for the Paper Party year after year. I really don’t know how she does it! This year I asked Dawn to create arrangements comprised mostly of greens – ferns, tropical leaves, vines, etc. – with just a few pink blooms tucked into each arrangement. For the blooms we used a mix of peonies, ranunculus, roses, and cymbidium orchids. They turned out even more beautifully than I could have possibly imagined!

photo via @exit343

photo by Carrie Fleck

We served two signature cocktails at this year’s party: a Pineapple Mai Tai and a Lavender-Lemon Collins. We’ll be sharing the cocktails and recipes tomorrow – they were so good! Sarah from Parrott Design Studio was kind enough to design a cocktail menu for the party. I love her illustrations and hand lettered recipes!

Mixbook sponsored this year’s Paper Party photobooth – and they made a book with photos from past Paper Parties (aw, memories!) for guests to browse while waiting for their turn in the photobooth, along with a few other photo book examples and some of their gorgeous photo cards. So fun!

You can find all of the Smilebooth photos from Paper Party 2016 right here!

Finally, a HUGE thank you to the wonderful sponsors and people who made the evening possible:

• The National Stationery Show, Mixbook, Etsy Wholesale, My Mind’s Eye, Smock, Bella Figura, Sakura of America, Hester & Cook Design Group, Legion Paper, Mailchimp, Crow & Canary, Honeybook, and Sugar Paper

• Foryourparty.com, Soirée Floral, Meant to Be Calligraphy, Ashley Buzzy, Sarah from Parrott Design Studio, and Smilebooth

• Infinite thanks to Janice and Carrie for all of their invaluable help over the past few months and throughout the evening – and our small army of friends (Kristina and Rob, Sarah, Mindy, Sam, Brad Burks, and more!) who helped stuff gift bags or with set up before the party. We couldn’t have done it without you!

And of course a big thanks to Sara Wight for the gorgeous photos and Hudson Terrace for having us!

Party Sources

Event Coordination: Bellwether Events

Floral Arrangements: Soirée Floral

“Yolo” Paper Fan Wall: My Mind’s Eye

Engineer Prints: Parabo Press

Pens and Paint Markers: Sakura of America

Gift Tote Bags: Sugar Paper

Cocktail Menus: Parrott Design Studio

Lavender Foil Coasters, Stir Sticks, and Matchboxes: For Your Party

Micro Glitter Hologram Foil Coasters: Smock

Marbled Paper Placemats: Hester & Cook Design Group

Venue: Hudson Terrace

Photo Credits: Sara Wight Photography