Coffee Filter Paper Flowers

We love the paper flower craze that has been blooming these past few months for so many reasons. In addition to being adorable, paper flowers can be reused again and again, thus helping hostesses to reduce their party impact in style. If you’re in the market for paper flowers be sure to browse Aunt Peaches’ paper flowers. These lovely ornate flowers are crafted from coffee filters, providing them with an interesting texture as well as an extra dose of eco-chic flair.

Photos: Design*Sponge & Aunt Peaches

Recycled Paper

When incorporating recycled paper into your party décor think of unique options that surpass bags of confetti. This lovely table setting features rippled placemats, napkin covers, chair accents and other small table accessories all crafted from reclaimed book pages.

Photos: Green Wedding Shoes

Bookity

Bibliophiles everywhere will absolutely adore our new favorite Etsy vendor, Bookity. Bookity specializes in beautiful handmade decorative items for book lovers. Their Etsy store features charming ornaments, garland and confetti all crafted from the pages of recycled books. The perfect compliment for any green, DIY-inspired affair!

Photos: Bookity via Etsy

Homemade Garland

Garlands and flags are having a bit of a moment recently and for good reason. These adorably quirky throwback decorations are the perfect way to convey a message or to add a pop of color to any setting. DIY flags and garlands can easily be crafted from scraps of paper, wallpaper or fabric. Looking for something more inspired? Take a cue from the photos below, which feature flags crafted from the pages of a Jane Austen novel as well as letters cut from sheets of music.

Photos: Emmaline Bride

Smart Eco Place Settings

Give your guests something to talk about during dinner. Instead of purchasing new, traditional chargers or placemats, rummage through your bookshelves for some décor inspiration. Gently tear out pages from an old book (or a dictionary, as pictured below) and place the pages beneath plates for a “smart” (pun fully intended), vintage feel. After a few glasses of wine, guests are certain to share some laughs while reading their favorite passages to each other.

Photo: Green Wedding Shoes

"Paperless" Invites

Photo: Lucky
An excellent compromise between staying green and staying stylish can be found at www.paperlesspost.com. This unique website allows you to send chic (paperless) invitations, greeting cards and save-the-date cards completely virtually, thus eliminating the need for both wasted paper and wasted postage. The site boasts electronic card designs that are as elegant as those found on any reputable, traditional invite, as well as a streamlined RSVP function that allows you to monitor and track when your recipients open and reply to their cards. Getting started is easy: visitors simply sign up for free and then pay per “stamp”, with one “stamp” equaling one piece of sent paperless mail. Cards can be customized to include photos, logos and even envelope “liners.” The site currently features Valentine’s Day cards and Super Bowl Party invites, just in time for your upcoming festivities!

Green Invites

Photos: Paper Culture

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about invitations. After all, invitations mark the official starting off point of most events. What better way, then, to begin to plan for a green event than right from the beginning of things.

Of course, the most logical green option would be to simply opt out of the invites all together. But I have to admit: I really love the idea of receiving an invitation no matter how informal. Perhaps receiving a personalized invitation brings me back to my childhood and the sincere excitement I felt when I was the recipient of a party invitation from a classmate, or even better, a crush. I think that, even as adults, many of us still feel this same excitement when we receive word that a great party is on the horizon.

Below are some stylish options to start your green event off right.

Green Paper Options:

I know. It seems like an oxymoron. A green event with (gasp) paper invites. However, there are several companies who are busy crafting green invitations and stationary for all occasions. One of my personal favorites is Paper Culture (www.paperculture.com). They carry invitations and stationary for a range of events including holidays, baby showers, bridal showers and housewarming announcements. There are two reasons I adore this company. For one, they pride themselves on creating modern designs that contain sleek lines, tasteful color combinations and a contemporary whimsy. But the main reason I love them is because they create such beautifully contemporary designs in an eco conscious way. All of Paper Culture’s products are printed on Forest Stewardship Council certified post-consumer recycled paper, and all of their envelopes are also printed on recycled paper. Translation: big design with little guilt and definitely no sacrifice.

Paperless:

It’s become a popular trend for brides in recent years to create personalized wedding websites via www.theknot.com and other similar host sites. And while I find it fun for brides to create these pages as an online home for their wedding registries and “how we met” stories, why not take things a step further?

With blogs and websites becoming more and more easy to navigate, it is easy for hostesses to use technology to create one-of-a-kind website “invitations.” With sites like www.ewedding.com, which allows users to create a wedding website for a fee, and www.yola.com, where anyone can create a personal website in just a few easy steps, the computer may just be housing this generation’s new line of invites and announcements.

On your “invite” website, you can post all of your big event information, such as the date, the time, the location, etc. You can also help to get your guests excited for the event by posting images to your site that are related to your affair. The options are innumerable. You can post maps and directions compliments of Google Maps (eliminating the obligatory “directions” sheet found with most invitations), post links to products you’ve added to your registry (no need to print a ten-page registry list or to take an unnecessary trip to a mall) or even links to websites that will help your guests to better understand the theme or dress code of your event. Once your website is complete, simply set up a separate email account (ex: pamandjimsbigday@email.com) to send out a link to your site, and then ask guests to RSVP you via email (thus eliminating RSVP cards, additional postage, etc.).