Holiday Giveaway!

This year we are so excited to be part of Triad Moms on Main's Holiday Giveaway.  We've put together a fun and stylish collection of holiday stationery and gifts valued at over $100.  Included are two Mainstreet Collection ceramic ornaments, two sets of Kris-10's Creations fill-in holiday thank you notes for children, 50 holiday fill-in invitations by Paper Prince, two sets of holiday wine tags by Inviting Company, holiday note pads by Boatman Geller and MM's Designs and a set of 24 holiday photo cards beautifully greeted by Julia D. Azar. Plus, a couple of extra treats. This giveaway collection is perfect for celebrating the holidays this year and definitely helps you "delight in the little things".  Check out the other great gifts featured in their giveaway on their blog.

Early Holiday 2 for 1 Photo Card Sale

Now through August 31st, we have an awesome early holiday sale going on with some of our favorite brands.  If you captured a great family photo this summer, go ahead and take advantage of this sale.  You can finally be ahead of the game!  Includes stylish and fun designs from Stacy Claire Boyd, Prints Charming, Rosanne Beck, Putnam House and more.

Tips for Kids' Thank You Notes

Having a birthday party is so much fun, but sometimes it can be like pulling teeth to get kids to write the important thank you notes afterwards.  Use these tips to help make the job easier:

• When you address the invitations, go ahead and address the thank you note envelopes.  This way, you only need to find the addresses once and it makes quick work out of getting the notes in the mail once they've been written.
• Find a friend to help write down the name of the child and their gift during the party.  If the list is easy to read, older children can use this as a guide when it's time to thank the gift givers.
• To help encourage those kids that love to procrastinate, make a rule that a gift cannot be played with or used until the note has been written.
• Sit down with your child and come up with a template for the notes.  Be sure to specifically mention the gift, compliment the gift or gift giver, and mention when you hope to see or talk to the person in the future.  Having a template will help your child with spelling, punctuation, and knowing what to say in the note.
• Get younger children involved by letting them apply return address labels and stamps to each envelope.
• Pick out stationery that reflects your child's personality and personalize it with your child's name. 

Writing thank you notes is a great opportunity for parents to talk about gratitude with children.  You can explain why this an important value in your family.  Even better, have this discussion before a birthday or celebration where gifts will be given.  Instead of having to prompt your child with "what do you say to Aunt Helen?" you may find your child showing sincere appreciation for someone's thoughtfulness . . . which is something we all can appreciate.

Check out our great selection of children's stationery and thank you notes here.

Super Summer Sale

We are having a great summer sale on things like luggage and bag tags, Lucite ice buckets and trays, personalized calendars and padded stationery, stickers . . . so many cute things to chose from our favorite lines like Stacy Claire Boyd, Picture Perfect, Boatman Geller and Prints Charming. 

The Cutest Background

I am a total sucker for cute things, ask anyone! I love to have things coordinate and to have fun everyday items to brighten my day. When I came across this adorable wallpaper from Boatman Geller, I just couldn't wait to get it on my Ipad. The best part is that it is free! Click here to download wallpaper for your device or desktop computer.

My Ipad is held inside my Boatman Geller Note Tote, now on sale at Sassafras Paper. I love the portability of this tote. I can keep all of my cards, stamps, and labels in one place and it easily fits in a large purse for when I am on the go!

Party Idea: Luau Birthday Party

For Ainsley's seventh birthday party she wanted to host a Luau for her friends and family. We had a wonderful Hawaiian fest!

We sent out invitations from Boatman Geller featuring a surf board and hot pink hibiscus border. Our surfer girl loved them! She greeted her guests with leis as they arrived. The girls received a grass skirt and bright flower clip for their hair. The kids loved getting dressed up. We had a video with instructions on the Hula dance, a water balloon fight, tiki pinata, and decorate your own tiki craft. We had loads of tropical fruit and various pizza flavors, including pineapple, for supper. It was a great birthday celebration!

Party Idea: Super Heroes!

One of our customers planned a super spectacular party for her little super hero's 5th birthday.  This invitation from Picture Perfect is just the right start to a party like this.  You could include small masks with each invitation to get the guests excited about their own super hero costume for the party.

She kept it simple with decorations by using the colors red, blue and yellow in balloons and a flag banner. (By not focusing on one particular super hero, it made it easy to incorporate all of the children's ideas about a super hero.)  Galvanized buckets filled with red & blue colored tootsie pops centered each table and the birthday boy's cake incorporated four different super hero emblems in the corners.

With an afternoon party from 2 to 4, she was able to keep the refreshments light.  Crazy straws in cups filled with Sprite and colored ice cubes (made out of colored juice) gave the guests their super powers!  Cat-woman claws (Bugles), chips and dip, and fruit rounded out the rest of the fare. 

The birthday boy crossing the "Lava Pit"

When guests arrived to the party, they received a brown bag that had been painted with a simple crest and their initial.  Inside was a "Super Hero Training Academy" card, a can of silly string, a t-shirt for creating their own super hero symbol, a ring pop, and an energy (granola) bar.  The kids began with making their t-shirt.  They were able to sponge paint their initial on the t-shirt which had been pre-painted with a small crest-emblem.  Then, they began the Training Academy, which was filled with different stations in the back yard.  The children used silly string to "Vaporize a Villain" by spraying it on the faces of villains which had been taped to balloons.  Another station had the children "Capturing Kryptonite" by finding special green spray-painted rocks that had been hidden around the yard.  The big hit of the party was having the kids "Cross the Lava Pit".  The Lava Pit was an inflatable pool that had been lightly filled with water and a red bath tablet.  The pool was flanked with cinder blocks on which rested a wooden plank.  Inside the pool and under the wooden plank was a small bucket filled with dry ice and hot water.  The kids loved it!  The structure of the stations kept the children engaged and kept all that super energy in check.

At the end of the party, each child received a certificate stating they had graduated from Super Hero Academy with their own made-up Super Hero name on it.  The party was a huge success and everyone was happy, especially our customer.  She felt like the stations were easy to set-up and there wasn't much prep work.  In fact, the super hero birthday boy was able to help with most of the preparations.