You must check out these adorable handmade crafts from The Papery Nook! We stumbled across them on Etsy and simply fell in love with the place-card stones and the damask luminaria! All of the products are organic and natural, and can be reused again and again. Sarah Sewell, owner of the Papery Nook talks to us about her inspiration for The Papery Nook, and discusses her products and costumization options! On top of that Sarah has also offered to do a giveaway for our readers! One lucky winner will receive either $25 in store credit or 10 Luminarias of the brides choice! In order to be entered in to the contest simply comment on the blog post!! Good luck and thank you again Sarah! 
{BH}
PW: How did you start The Papery Nook?
SS: I was a bride to be myself and was looking to find unique wedding décor that was beautiful and had a natural organic feel to it. After browsing so many wedding sites I was very discouraged by what was available to me as a bride.
Most favors were cheap plastic baubles, and everything was bright white and lacey. I am more of a creamy, natural, rustic kind of girl and was looking for something to fit into a simple natural wedding theme. I also found that most paper products were super expensive and would just be thrown away after the event. That in my opinion is sad and a horrible waste.
So I started with making my own place cards out of River Rocks…I loved this idea because not only could they be used as place or escort cards, but they also doubled as a favor for my guests to keep and I wouldn’t be throwing anything away.
From there my love for quality usable items that could be turned into beautiful wedding décor grew into a passion. So I decided to open up my own shoppe.
PW: What intrigues you about the wedding industry?
SS: How diverse brides are. It is fascinating to participate in wedding boards and blogs online as you really get a snapshot of what brides out there are wanting or dreaming of for their big day. There doesn’t seem to be a common thread of interest. So many different women have all kinds of different ideas about what will be “the” perfect wedding dress or perfect reception décor. It is truly wonderful to see such diversity out there.
PW: What are some recent wedding related trends you’ve seen?
SS: I may be biased in this answer. I have seen many brides opt to stay away from the traditional wedding décor and look to more rustic, woodland, one of a kind items to use on their special day. For example I sell Guest Book Stones in my shoppe and have found so many brides wanting to get away from the traditional guest book that they feel has become boring. They are looking for unique and exciting ways to entertain and WOW their guests. It seems every day new stores are opening up on Etsy offering unique wedding décor that are alternatives to the “norm”.
PW: What type of products do you offer that would be considered specifically for weddings, meaning… Style, product type, etc.?
SS: My shoppe is specifically for wedding and event décor so all the products I offer are used specifically for weddings!
My River Rock line includes: Place Card Stones, Escort Card Stones, Favor Stones, & Guest Book Stones. All of them can be personalized however the bride chooses and they are affordable costing the same as the paper alternatives except these stones will last forever, double as a keepsake and not hurt the environment.
My Muslin Bags line includes: Place Card & Escort Card Bags that double as a favor, Flower Seed Favors which include wildflower seeds & a Thank You note/poem from the bride and groom. Bird Seed Toss Bags are handstamped with a Thank You and have bird seed inside to toss at the bride and groom on their way out of the ceremony. Handstamped Bags can be used as perfect favor bags for the bridal party, bridal shower, or favors at the reception.
My rustic décor line includes: Ring Bearer Birds Nest Pillow, Rustic Twig Flower Girl Basket with woodburned heart tag, and a 4 Heart Wood Sign with Wood Burned personalization.
My Luminaria line which includes: Vellum Luminarias that can be used as Centerpieces, Table Numbers, Place Cards, Candle Gardens, Memorial Candles, and to just create beautiful ambiance at the ceremony or reception. These lumies can be personalized however the bride chooses with thousands of designs, fonts, and colors.
PW: What is the most popular item in your shop? What can you not keep in stock because it’s just that popular?!
SS: My Luminaria line is probably my biggest seller. At $2.00 and under per lumie you just can’t beat them for beautiful unique table numbers and centerpieces.
My guestbook stones are also a very popular item, they are so much fun for the guests to sign and they can afterwards be displayed in a garden or decorative bowl, instead of being stored away in a trunk or attic like a traditional guest book.
PW: What is your typical business? We would assume that you deal with a lot of brides?
SS: My business is all about the Bride….and frankly I feel that is how it should be. Women spend their entire lives (usually) thinking about and or planning their wedding day. To me it is of utmost importance that they get exactly what they dreamed of. If I can provide it for them I will do whatever it takes to make it happen. I have heard the term “bridezilla” but in dealing with so far over 300 brides I haven’t met one that has been unkind or rude…they are all happy and excited and I truly enjoy working on their custom orders. It makes my job super easy and lots of fun. I find myself at times getting super excited right along with them!
PW: What is your turnaround time for different size orders?
SS: My turnaround time depends on what they order. If they order luminarias (no matter what the size) I can get them created, printed, and shipped within 3-7 days. The custom bags depending on how much personalization can take 1-2 weeks to ship. Stones take a little longer as the rocks have to be washed, prepped and glossed before I can personalize them, then usually they have to be glossed again and of course there is drying time so I normally tell my brides that I can have the stones prepped, created, and shipped within 2-3 weeks.
PW: Do you have the ability to ship nationwide?
SS: I do ship nationwide and in fact I ship globally. I have many wonderful clients all over the globe. Believe it or not 30% of my business comes from Australia!
Congratulations Katy K. — we’ll be in touch soon! In case you missed our giveaway, you can still learn more about 
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