November Challenge - Lazy Daisy

I have a habit of picking up pretty paper, colorful ribbons and all sort of bits and pieces when I shop. I'm almost worse when I shop online. You know how some of those "shops" will entice you. Free shipping on orders of $100 or more. After a nice hefty paper order how can you resist spending an extra $12 to hit that $100 mark and save $20 in shipping.

The Lazy Daisy is a result of several shopping episodes. What we have here is a really nice off white paper that has a great canvas texture. Layered on top of that is a "gumdrop green" paper. It's all held together with a trio of daisy brads.

Lazy Daisy Packet is $2.15 a packet. Includes fully assembled invite and one envelope with return address. Note: 10% off order of 100 qty. or more.

November Challenge - Texas Tea

While I love designing custom invite I sort of get bummed that all the ideas in my head - well, stay in my head. So I've decided to challenge myself to designing, printing and posting a new design of my own - every day in November. Yikes. Well, I'm getting a head start and here is my first design.

Texas Tea - (aka, Black Gold) This invite is for the more daring bride. It's dark, it's deep, it's perfect for a wedding close to Halloween. You might think this is a black invite with gold paper. Not so. This cardstock is a complicated mixture of shimmery black/brown/gold/even red. The overlay is a fabulous metallic gold vellum. The corners are attached with brown eyelets.

The matching Envelope

Texas Tea Packet $3.20 This invite is one of my costlier ones. The standard package is a fully assembled invite with an inner envelope and an outer envelope with return address.

Addressing Service Availabe for additional cost

Please note: I take 10% off when you order over 100 invites.

Pictures and . . . all sorts of stuff

Okay, so my birthday is coming up and I'd like to give a blatant hint to my husband. Or rather my DH (dear husband) if you frequent wedding planning message boards and use the lingo.

I'd love a new digital camera. Not anything extravagant, just something that takes action shots and a good close-up without a lot of fancy lighting. True the camera I have is a good one (so I'm told). For awhile I've been meaning to "learn" how to use my current camera but never took the time. So I've been goofing around a little, hoping my weak efforts will be rewarded with a newer, much easier to use camera.

A new Sara Paper Notecard Design. I like it. It's cute. It only cost $2. A pack of 10 costs $15

This one was designed awhile back, when I was anticipating a wealth of tomato (tomatoe) from our garden. Sadly, we only reaped a handful of the little cherry ones.

A more earthy looking card. Love this new paper/envelopes I found. It's called butcher paper. Hard to tell but there are subtle swirls of red marblized in the paper.

I like this photo. It's actually a "good" photo with great lighting, etc. It's an arieal view of a box of programs.

A recent project. My customer is a friend of a friend and we accomplished this look via email and samples sent the old fashioned way. I love this invite because it has three of my favorite things. Shimmery paper, quality ribbon and rounded corners.

A "still-life" photo of a portion of my desk. My humorous "Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Book of Etiquette", A cool vintage clip art book from "Crafty Friend Kat", my plant, a nice stack of bills underneath my very frivilous orange stapler (which, by the way, matches my orange chair).

And now an interesting tibit from Ms. Vanderbilt. This section regards manners in children. Ms. Amy lists 22 different things children should not doing in "polite society". All of these seem to be as true now as when the book was written 56 years ago. Don't pick your teeth, chew with your mouth open, burp in public, chatter incessantly, etc.

For once I can't fault Ms. Amy for be hoity toity. What I found interesting was that the previous owner had the gall and bad manners to make marks in the book. In a random sentance the previous owner boldly underlined the words elemental and manners. Then they neatly put a tick mark next to 19 of the 22 rules. The ones that weren't marked off were,

#12 Speak ill of the dead or repeat damaging gossip.

#13 Swear in a way that is generally considered offensive

#22 (was clearly ticked but then later erased.) Pull our finger joints in public, drum our fingers or indulge in any similar irritating little habits that set people's teeth on edge.

As my friend Laura like to proclaim, "interesting indeed." Are we to assume that some unfit mother was allowing her children to gossip and swear at will? And then, maybe, sometimes allowing them to just plain be annoying?

I'm looking forward to sharing some new designs in the next couple month. Then it's almost 2009 and I get to present the prizes for the "Free Invite Giveaway". I've been booking 2009 Brides left and right but I've been too busy to organize what I need for the Giveaway. Don't worry, if you've booked, you're in the drawing. Good Luck!

Beautiful Babies

A special congrats to Tom and Amy Wilker of New Bremen. They were blessed with a beautiful set of baby girls. I was thrilled to print the birth announcements. They now have five little gals and Amy running the house. I would feel a little sorry for Tom being the only man but he's probably okay with it. Double diaper duty, maybe not so much.

Now onto fall related stuff. Crafty friend Kat and I had our booth at the New Bremen Pumpkinfest. Her sister Amy added her pottery to the pleasant mix of stuff. We had Kat's hand dyed wool, my notecards, her little clay pumpkin magnets, all kinds of stuff. It was a perfect day, perfect weather, and perfect pumpkin brats and cookies.

I hate to ruin a perfectly nice post about fall by bringing up the matter of Christmas. I know, I know it's too soon. But it's really not. If you are a business or organization you likely have a large Christmas Card mailing in front of you. Best to look over your options now. Chck out this site for some ideas and give me a call. http://viewccproduct.singleresource.com

If you just need cards for your personal family and friends you can tinker away for another month. But at some point you have to tackle that job. So start thinking about it now people. Find a great family picture and make a mental note to contact me for a personal card.

Look at your gift list and see who would appreciate a gift of :
- Personalized stationery,
- Notecards basket with a self inking return address stamp
- Personalized recipe cards
- A gift certificate to a new bride. She can order invites, programs, a guest book, cake topper, whatever.

And now a gem from Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Etiquette (circa 1952) regarding household management.

"If you have a one-employee household and a busy family it will certainly be necessary for you to give your maid some systematic assistance, as well as careful supervision.

Ms. Amy then describes (at length) how to instruct the maid with regards to the groceries. She helpfully tells us we can save money by doing the grocery shopping ourselves though she warns that while phone in orders from a charge-account store is convenient it is also expensive. If you opt to have the maid do the shopping her wise advice is to "check up" on the staff. She encourages us by saying, "Don't be embarressed at checking up. Your employees will respect you more if you are not "easy".

Atleast Ms. Amy has another chapter entitled "Gracious Living without Servants". Ohhhh the horror!