Hey ya’ll:)

I get questions all the time about how to best use printables and what kind of party supplies to purchase. Questions range from the type of paper to use to good ways to display cake pops. To help assist all my wonderful clients and readers with all of these issues, I decided to do a blog series on all these behind-the-scene party set-up questions and issues.

Today, I am going to be sharing my recommendations for PAPER…

Overall….the best paper to purchase for basically everything in a printables package is a nice thick matte photo paper size 8.5×11. There are many, many brands and variations out there, but this is the brand I have found to be the best value: Royal Brites – Photo Paper, Inkjet/Laser, 8-1/2 x 11″, Matte – 100 Sheets

Many people also use cardstock, the colors are not as vibrant on cardstock, but a good cardstock (Wausau Paper Index Card Stock, 92 Brightness, 110 lb, Letter, White, 250 Sheets per Pack (49411)) will still print nicely. Another option to give your printables a little “pop” is to print on a thick glossy photo paper (this is a great alternative for invitations that include photographs and banner panels.) I DON’T recommend the glossy paper for any items that require glue. Here is the best glossy photo paper I have found: Royal Brites Premium 8.5 x 11 inch Brilliant Gloss Photo Paper (75 sheets/box). It is thick and has cardstock backside.

Alternatives for stickers and adhesive labels:

When it comes to adhesive items, you can always print on matte photo paper or cardstock and use glue to secure the paper to the bottle/favor/etc. This can get very time consuming if you are throwing a large party or have lots of stickers. To save yourself a lot of time and energy, I recommend water-resistant, adhesive photo paper. The absolute BEST value for this I have come across is: LD Glossy Inkjet Photo Sticker Paper (8.5″”X11″”) 100 pack. This is a really, really good price for adhesive photo paper. Craft stores often charge $10-$15 for 10 sheets of sticker paper, which is not as good of quality. Another really good option for adhesive photo paper is from Labelsbythesheet.com.

The important thing to remember when purchasing paper, whether it is adhesive or regular is to order 8.5×11 sized paper. Mimi’s Dollhouse printables are not aligned to any particular paper company’s templates and are designed to be printed on 8.5×11 full sheets and cut out, not to be printed on a sheet of labels or stickers.

That about covers paper:) I will post more later this month about party prep tools, baking items and display pieces. Please feel free to comment with any questions!!!