Featured on Popular Baby Products

How exciting! On January 23rd, we are being featured on the Popular Baby products website. They are featuring our custom photo birthday invitations, baby thank you notes and personalized family stationery.

You can view the article here.

THANK YOU to the great team at Popular Baby products for featuring our site!

Organization Tips for New Year Communication

What New Year resolutions did you make this year? Any of the usual ones?

Lose weight Get or use a gym membership Learn something new

Achieve a dream Spend more time with family Keep in touch better

Worthy goals! Perhaps the most important ones are those that touch the lives of the ones you love.

Keeping in touch and spending more time with others are crucial to strong relationships. After all, when people look back on their lives, they rarely seem to say, "I sure wish I had put in more time at the office." The biggest regrets involve relationships that have fizzled out or even died!

With our organization tips for New Year communication, you can keep in touch and spend more time with others!

Organizing your Contacts

An important place to start your organization for New Year Communication is with your contact lists, address books, and business or calling cards.

One of the biggest obstacles to keeping in touch with others is losing important information. The best way to avoid this problem is to organize your contact information, keeping it in a convenient place.

We suggest only keeping the most important business or calling cards in your wallet. Consider categorizing the rest with a business card organizer. Suggested categories are

• Business contacts
• Friends
• Family
• Service contacts (i.e. restaurants, favorite stores, maintenance services, etc)
  

It may be wise to have one copy of an important card in your wallet, with another copy in your business card organizer.

Purchase a new alphabetized address book for contact information that is not included in your business or calling card collection. Be sure to record all contacts, including ones on printed out contact lists.

Organizing your Work Space

A messy desk is also an obstacle to keeping in touch. With inexpensive letter trays, folders, bins, drawer organizers, and other organization tools, you can have a dynamic work space that no longer hinders you!

Have set places for

Address Labels & Stickers Blank Sheets of Paper Calendar with important dates Contact Information Envelopes Pens, pencils, markers, etc.

Phone Books Note Cards Special Occasion Cards Stationery Stamps Staplers, scissors, paper clips and other miscellaneous items

Preparing your Communication Supplies

One of the best ways to be organized for communication is to be prepared ahead of time!

When preparing your communication supplies, you may need note cards, thank you cards, personalized stationery, your own calling cards, and memo pads.

These are all items that you can have on hand ahead of time, branded with your own sense of style and personality. For a fabulous selection of personalized stationery to fit the needs of the whole family, check out the unique collections at Fun & Sassy Designs.

For special occasions, having invitations, announcements, or cards on hand may prove to be difficult, especially if you love the customized touch.

To stay organized, keep a calendar close by, with references to those special occasions. Check the calendar at the beginning of each month. Then contact the team at Fun & Sassy Designs for all your wedding, baby, holiday, stationery, party, and birthday needs!

With these organization tips for New Year communication, we trust you will keep in touch and save valuable time that can be spent with loved ones, all year round!

Awww I Heart Cute Little Cards!

We just added the cutest little Valentines Cards to our store. Choose from 4 fabulous designs:
I heart you
sending my love
floating hearts
xoxo

Sold as a set of 6 cards + envelopes
Personalized with a greeting and or your little ones name
Use them as a Valentines card or works well as a thank you
$13.50

Now your child can spread love and happiness to friends and family with these stylish Valentine's Day cards. View the collection here!

Experience science in a whole new way!!

Who says that kids can only learn about science in school? Mad scientist parties are the coolest way to teach kids all about science while having an explosive good time! The mad scientist party theme has been a huge hit for those who have done it in the past!

Not only will you have a "blast" hosting a science theme party, but your guests will be talking about it for months! The mad scientist party can be done for birthdays, summer parties, or just because you want to experience science in a whole new way!

The Mad Science party theme is one of our most popular themes. Here's a few of the party tips and ideas we created to help you plan the perfect party:

• Use one room for your experiment area for easier clean-up.
• At the entrance to your house or to the lab room, put up some danger tape and a sign that reads, "Secret Lab Zone: Mad Scientists Only!"
• Use decorations that coordinate with the mad scientist theme
  
  • Use beakers for serving snack foods like peanuts, pretzels, and potato chips. Come up with cool science names for each snack and affix a label on the appropriate beaker. For a lower budget, use glass bowls with labels.
  • Tape posters of famous scientists on the wall.
  • Make creative decorations out of black construction paper, such as magnifying glasses, goofy lab goggles, question marks, etc.
• Have adults that are helping, including yourself, dress up as mad scientists. Use white lab coats, crazy wigs, goofy goggles, etc.
• Have an assortment of science lab activities and games planned
  • Take closeups of every day items. Give the kids a magnifying glass, and ask them to guess the object in each picture.
  • Put several objects in individual brown paper bags. Have the kids smell or feel the objects to guess what they are.
  • Help the kids make an erupting volcano!
    
  • Create slime for play at the party and for your guests to take home with them.
• Make a magnifying glass cake!
• Use science theme items for party favors for your guests to take home.

Of course, the perfect start to your Mad Scientist party would be the Party Invitation. Coordinating thank you cards, flat notes, enclosure/calling cards and return address labels are also available.

SALE ALERT -- 10% off plus FREE shipping

Tis the season to go shopping...

10 % off everything plus FREE ground shipping!!

Make sure to take advantage of this great sale. Hurry, sale ends November 30th.

Happy Shopping!

Happy Holidays from The Drakes

Holiday Card for Jennifer/Owner

A stunning design in blue and brown by one of our featured designers, Heather from PeaPod Announcements.

Trendy Stationery for Teens & Tweens

Letter Writing for Teens & Tweens

From e-mail to cell phones to text messaging, kids today have myriads of communication forms at their fingertips! Yet, have you noticed that teens (ages 13-19) and tweens (ages 8-12) are losing the art of written communication through letter writing?

Why Write Letters?

Teens and tweens form friendships now that may or may not last, but they are also developing communications skills that will last a lifetime. With all the ways to keep in touch today, why write letters?

No form of communication is quite as personal or exciting as a letter written in a loved one's own handwriting. Cherished letters can be reread and even saved as keepsakes. Written letters can also keep long distance friendships alive when other forms of communication are not available or practical.

• Telephone calls and cell phone calls are personal and convenient, but are often forgotten or not remembered accurately.
• While emails are quick and convenient, computer crashes run the risk of losing addresses and cherished emails, unless they are first printed out. E-mails also lack personal touch.
• While text messaging is fun and easily accessible, the messages are very short and often cannot be saved for very long.

Introducing your teen or tween to the lost art of letter writing can fine tune their communication skills in all areas of life, including deeper friendships, dating relationships, and even marriage.

How to Write Letters

Writing letters does not have to be a huge undertaking and will vary with each letter. One of the most important tips in letter writing is to always ask questions that the recipient can answer in a return letter.

Writing to a family member might include

• Memorable events from times past
• Updates on what is happening in the family now
• Questions about what is happening in his or her life

Writing to a friend might include

• Anecdotes or stories from the week or month
• Answers to questions from other letters
• Questions about what is happening to him or her
• Questions about the actual friend
• What do you like to do the most when school's out?
• What books are you reading? What TV shows are you into?
• Have you figured out what you want to do when you graduate?

Part of what makes letter writing so much fun is writing on stationery that fits your personal tastes and interest. If the stationery is personalized, it takes on a whole new level of excitement!

Imagine the difference for your teen or tween... Writing letters on plain white lined paper... or writing letters on one of the cool & trendy designs from Fun & Sassy Designs.

This online stationery company that is not only dedicated to customer service and quality products, but completely in vogue with all the fashions and trends of today's generation.

Fun & Sassy's Tween & Teen Stationery Collection combines vivid colors with trendy designs for personalized note cards that will get your teen or tween excited about letter writing!

Who knew that such a fun and trendy purchase could actually encourage a skill that will help them become mature adults?