I spotted this incredible 4th of July DIY project by Kathleen of Twig & Thistle on Twitter the other day, and I just had to give it a mention here, too. What better way to decorate for the summer festivities than with these awesome printables? Kathleen has created super pretty matchbook and straw tags, as well as sparkler cards for you to download and use to deck your fireworks-filled shindigs out in red, white, and blue. Thank you for your generosity, Kathleen!

To everyone in the US (and anywhere else) who celebrates Independence Day, have a fun-filled, safe, and hopefully sunny (we’ll see what happens here in Boston) day! See everyone back here on Monday.

image from Twig & Thistle

Matt Hawkins’ paper toys never fail to make me smile. He’s created two new toys in honor of the upcoming 4th of July holiday here in US, and I’m getting a real kick out of both. Check them out! - via Plastic and Plush
This is Splodey (I love the match detail on the hand):

And this is Splodey’s brother, Dudley (such a sad little bottle rocket, he is):

You can see all of Matt’s fab paper toys over on his blog, and be sure to have a look at his impressive illustration portfolio, too.

images from Matt Hawkins

Paper & Cake has so many cute and clever printable party sets that it’s very difficult to choose a favorite! They cover a variety of themes, including the Fourth of July set shown above (love the red, white, and blue pinwheels and drink parasols, not to mention the Abraham Lincoln cupcake wrappers), as well as pirate and race car party sets, which would be perfect for kids’ birthdays.

The sets give you everything, minus the food and people, that you’ll need for a party and include items like super cool cupcake wrappers, jar labels, paper hats, signs and garlands, and invitations. And you don’t have to worry about waiting until the last minute because you can print out the PDFs as soon as you purchase the sets!

images from Paper & Cake

Laurie Cinotto (aka Lalalaurie) shows us how to make a darling wreath using candy cups, a styrofoam wreath form, ribbon, and a few other things that you can easily find. What a clever way to use the little paper cups, and what a great result! Check out the entire tutorial over at Once Wed.

images from Once Wed

If you’re looking for a last minute Mother’s Day decoration, then Poppytalk has you covered with this lovely printable “Happy Mother’s Day” banner. Simply download, print, cut out, and tie with a string. The four part download can be found here.

image from Poppytalk

I first found out about kusudama from a lovely tutorial by Folding Trees, and lately I’m seeing these beautiful origami flowers in many places. I’m just loving the growing trend of using paper flowers for decoration!

#1 & #2 are gorgeous kusudama from Flickr user Malia (her “Origami” gallery is a must see), which inspired #3 Rag & Bone to create a garden of kusudama made from book pages. Check out the lovely new Rag & Bone postcard, inspired by their eco friendly kusudama.

#4 & #5 Spotted over at the wonderful wedding blog, The Inspired Bride, sweet kusudama decorations — cupcake toppers and a kusudama garland — from Millalove on Etsy.

images from their respective owners

I was introduced to the work of Eloise Corr Danch through Decor8’s post on the Brooklyn based designer and artist and instantly fell in love with her gorgeous paper flowers. She recently designed a display for the 2009 Macy’s Flower Show — on view until April 19 in the windows of the flagship Macy’s store in Herald Square, which features lovely paper flower headdresses and bold, colorful paper flower garlands that would look great in my apartment (hehe)! Seeing Eloise’s lovely work has inspired me to start working on the various paper flower projects that I’ve had swirling around in my head.

See more from Eloise Corr Danch’s portfolio here.

images from Eloise Corr Danch

Download and print these fun Easter gift tags (86Kb PDF file) to decorate packages and baskets, or print them on adhesive paper to make oversized stickers. You could also string these on thread, as I did for this Halloween garland, and make a colorful Easter garland. Images include a chocolate bunny who has seen better days, a peep, a rainbow colored Easter egg, a carrot, and a tulip.

File requires Adobe’s Acrobat Reader to download.

Happy Easter!

images from Paper Crave