I love pretty much all of the products associated with scrapbooking: paper, cardstock, flowers, embellishments, tools; you name it, I’ve probably got it. But my very favorite thing — my weakness — is patterned paper. I’m not shy about it; you’d know that if you ever saw my scrapbook room! So when I find a company that focuses on making fabulous patterned paper in all kinds of different colors and styles, I’m a happy girl. Therefore, Dream Street Papers makes me happy!

Dream Street Papers is a relatively new company; it was founded in 2006 by Tara Governo, who assembled 9 talented designers to create patterned papers in a variety of different styles. Dream Street Papers debuted 6 new paper collections, each with coordinating rub-ons, at the recent Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) Winter Convention. Each collection includes 6 double-sided 12″x12″ papers and 1 sheet of rub-ons. I was lucky enough to be able to check out all of these beautiful collections, and I’m excited to share my impressions with you!

Forever Family

Forever Family is a collection including beautifully designed papers in rich green, pink and white. These papers have a very flowery feel to them. There are vines, circles, stripes, leaves and — of course — flowers. This paper would be perfect for layouts and projects about family, but could easily be used to scrapbook a variety of topics. And the rub-ons – delectable! They might be the prettiest rub-ons I’ve ever seen.   Butterflies, flowers, birds….happiness!

Fresh

When I saw Fresh I immediately decided it was my favorite (though it is very hard to pick just one)! Blue is my favorite color, and green is a close second, so you can see why I like it so much! The Fresh papers are blue, green, brown and white – full of flowers, stars, circles and more. With names like Carefree, Lighthearted and Escape, I think they’d be perfect to scrapbook that adorable little boy of yours — or a fun summer day; the sky is the limit.  (When I use the piece pictured here, Carefree, I will definitely take a second piece of this paper, cut out some of the flowers and pop them up with foam dots to give them dimension. Oh, how cute!) So take my word for it, make sure to buy at least 2 pieces – 4 if you love both sides like I do – and don’t forget the coordinating rub-ons!

Heartsong

All of these lines have their own style; if you’re looking for whimsical, you will fall in love with Heartsong. Again, I’ve got more paper than you could imagine, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a piece as cute as the one pictured here – called Frolic! These papers – in turquoise, pink, orange and white — would be perfect for scrapbooking children of all ages and anything to do with love. And the rub-ons are equally as cute and whimsical!

MJ

As if all of other collections weren’t wonderful enough,  Dream Street Papers also came out with a line that includes not only hearts, cherries and paisleys — but also a label shape (my favorite) — and even sneakers! Yep, that’s MJ! This fun, bright and playful collection really spoke to me, and I thought it would be perfect to scrapbook pictures of my husband and me when we took care of our friends’ chihuahuas for a week last summer. (Yes folks, the founder of Qwowi.com has 2 chihuahuas!) All I needed for this layout was a couple sheets of paper, one of the coordinating rub-ons and a couple of items from my stash, and it was done. As the website says, this collection is perfect for children or the young at heart (or, I say, dogs)!

To see some really cute and creative projects using this line, click here.

Secret Garden

Not only does the talented team over at Dream Street Papers design fabulous paper, but don’t you just love the names they give the collections?! Secret Garden is just what you’d expect from the name: elegant, beautiful and flowery. The colors — pink, blue, green, red and brown — make this line especially well-suited to heritage layouts and projects. These papers would also be perfect for scrapbooking your daughter or the other women in your life. It’s hard to resist the paper or the rub-ons!

Lullaby

There are so many baby collections out there that just scream baby; sometimes scrapbookers are looking for something a little more subtle and universal. Lullaby fits the bill perfectly. I love that this collection can actually be used to scrapbook anything! With letters, hearts, stars, flowers and stripes in a variety of pleasing colors, this paper would suit tons of different topics. Options are fabulous, aren’t they? It wouldn’t be right not to mention the rub-ons; whether you have a baby boy or a baby girl or know someone having either, buy them now! They are SO SWEET!

Bottom Line

I have loved Dream Street Papers ever since I first got my hands on their paper; you can’t ask for better designs, versatility and quality. I am so glad to have 2 sheets of each, because the designs on the back are all as beautiful as the designs on the front. So take my advice, buy it all, and buy plenty of it!

Here’s another tidbit about this company that you are going to love. On their website, Dream Street Papers actually tells you what colors of Bazzill cardstock coordinate with their paper! If only every company did that, the world of scrapbooking would be an even better — and yes, dreamier — place.

Products by Dream Street Papers are available at these local scrapbook stores and these online retailers. Be sure to check out their website and blog for ideas and inspiration!