Paper Pastries feature & Promo!

For this week's Shop Small Saturday Showcase feature, I am so happy to introduce Paper Pastries!  I first met Margaret at Patchwork Long Beach, and I am so excited to show you just a sampling of her beautiful items!  I had a hard time selecting just a few, so you will see a bunch of collages of the pretty customized stationery, stamps, art prints, washi tape, and more pretty presents!

Also, just in time for Valentine's Day (and honestly just to stock up), Margaret is offering a special deal for Vintage Zest readers.  Woo hoo!  Stay tuned for that at the bottom of the post, but first to the interview!

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Tell me a little bit about yourself!

Hi, I'm Margaret Haas and I run Paper Pastries, a small stationery studio based in north San Diego county. I make stationery and rubber stamps.

Where did the name of your store come from?

My husband (then boyfriend) Tony came up with it. It's named after my two favorite things.


Why did you start making goods for Paper Pastries?

My dream was always to have my own stationery business. It was 2009, I was a college graduate and I couldn't find a job. My good friend Jessica comissioned me to make her a personal stationery set. Then friends and family wanted their own, it grew from there.

What is your favorite item?

When I moved down here from LA, I was very lonely. I didn't know anyone in the area, and my husband was at work all day, every day.

I signed up for a local art class and made this print (see below). It's my favorite item because it reminds me that I'm capable of changing a situation that I don't like. I didn't like working all day by myself, and not having any human interaction. So, I found this art class and it made me being here fun.

It was carved and printed by hand.

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2014 Computer Desktop Wallpaper Download - A Chalkboard Calendar!

I am really, really, really excited about this computer desktop wallpaper!  Why?  Well, I mentioned in these two posts that I have a new computer.  Woo!  Since getting it, I have been customizing absolutely everything, and I am about 95% done.  Yay!

Anyways, it was January 2nd, and I realized that I still had my 2013 wallpaper up, which would not normally matter, except that I like having a calendar on my desktop background for quick reference.  I was inspired by a chalkboard calendar, and although it is completely different, I love my final product.  In fact, I think it's pretty awesome, so I'm sharing it with you all!

Scroll down to download either version, and I hope you enjoy it!  :)

Now, this may be a funny thing to share with you, but I'm a little bit of a nut!  I thought it would be interesting to share a couple of my past desktop wallpapers so you understand what I was looking to create.

These four desktops are ones that I used from years ago, before I learned how to photoshop.  Obviously a bit vintage and retro-flavored, and super cute!

Pic 1 source
Pic 2 Source unknown:  Let me know if this is your image!
Pic 3 source
Pic 4 Source unknown: Let me know if this is your image!

Then, I decided that I wanted something that would help me be more organized.  The month calendar was okay, but annoying to switch up every month.  That's when I ended up using a 2012 calendar that I downloaded.  For 2013, I could not find a similar calendar, so I customized a more fun calendar.  It was great, but there was one tweak I wanted to implement.  Whenever I had a few icons on my desktop, they would end up blocking parts of the calendar.  How annoying!  In fact, that is why I almost considered this organizing wallpaper, which helps to sort through icons...

Pic 1 Source, Pic 2 Source (no longer available), Pic 3: By me!, Pic 4 Source

With all of this in mind, this is what I whipped up in Photoshop!  Yay!  I am loving the chalkboard look, and it is still cute and vintage-y while being practical.  It makes me happy whenever I need to take a peek at the date.  :)

This is the first version, which is completely centered in the screen.

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Etched Beer Steins

I had some presents that were long overdue, and I finished them up today.  Whew, another item checked off of my list!

The first time I etched a beer stein for my friend, I ended up with pretty good results.  However, it took forever!!!  I printed out a font that I liked, and used a blade to cut contact paper for my stencil.  The combination of tough contact paper, a dull blade, and an ornate font made me NEVER want to attempt this again.

Attempt #1 (taken by my friend's much nicer camera)

However, it was present time, and I decided that it would be much easier with my new Silhouette!  I was absolutely right.  So much easier to make my own design and have it cut out.

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My Customized 2013 Calendar & Planner!

So, I promised a peek at my 2013 calendar & planner with my customization, and here it goes!

First of all, I decided the cover was beautiful but needed a little pizzazz.  I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out vinyl decorations.  I found a beautiful damask pattern (to match the blog and my personalized sewing labels) and used the same font I use in my sewing labels as well.  Here is the result!

I obscured my last name's initial for privacy, but I absolutely adore everything else!

As for the inside, I used the pockets for a few items such as sticky notes, flags, and blank To Do list forms.  I used a personalized stamp to enter my information, should my planner get lost.  And my favorite part of the inside is my vinyl labeled tabs!

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