So much to blog...so little time!

Oh my goodness! No words to explain how much fun we're having designing and proofing everyone's Christmas cards the past few weeks. I have SO many things to share with the blog followers, but alas, gotta get back to setting up these proofs :(  Instead, I'll just share one of the cutest cards that's come through the office this week! Photos were taken by the AMAZING Carson Studios in Auburn, AL.

This is our CC100 design, shown with the front and the back. What a precious angel!

7 week Holiday Planner from iMom

I came across this fabulous tool from iMom. Since Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and then Christmas right after that, this will help you stay focused and not ever feel overwhelmed ;)

 

http://www.imom.com/idea/tools-and-resources/7-week-holiday-planner

Thanksgiving cards

We have had a few Thanksgiving cards come through our office this week and I just had to share how creative our clients are! And how wonderful of them to manage their time so well. Instead of letting having to get your Christmas cards in the mail be yet another stress during December, these ladies decided to celebrate Thanksgiving....and allowing their friends to have their card out on the mantle for a few extra weeks!

As you probably know ordering our photo cards includes photos on the front and back, but color changes are also included if you desire, so in a snap you can have a precious photo greeting card for any holiday, not just Christmas!

Mrs. Ezelle loved our Lovely Band 5x7 Folded Photo Card and had this unbelievably precious photo of her kids in their Thanksgiving PJs. So we changed up the colors and just look at the amazing results:

Mrs. H loved our flat Cheery Swirls Photo Holiday Card and had us change up the colors. Look how wonderful it turned out:  

Pears!

The pear is in peak season from late summer until January, so now is the perfect time to celebrate this delicious fruit!

This is my favorite sandwich! Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwich with pears from Martha Stewart.

Cool woven pear from Ballard Designs.

My favorite of our enclosure cards: the elegant floral with the same colors as the pear.

Auburn Christmas Card!

Ok, I'm gonna say it really loud WAAAAAAARRRRRRRR EAGLE!!!!!!!  That is the battle cry of my NUMBER ONE ranked Auburn Tigers! Maybe not such a big deal to people at that certain other school in our state, but this is the 1st time my alma mater has been ranked #1 since the BCS rankings began 12 years ago.
I just had to post this unbelievably precious Christmas card we've just had come through our office. It is a 5x7 folded card. The photos were taken by the FABULOUS Brooke Dilworth Photography in Opelika.
WAR EAGLE!

Halloween Wreath

This is a super easy and precious way to decorate your front door for Halloween.  With the week ahead of our family, I am afraid we may not get to carve pumpkins this year, but at least our neighbors will tremble with fear when they get to our front door ;)

STEP 1: We started out with a grapevine wreath, florist wire, scissors, matte black spray paint, red glitter paint, and plastic creatures (snakes, worms, and spiders).

STEP 2: Next, we used the florist wire to tie the creatures to the wreath.

  

 STEP 3: After everything was attached, we headed outside to spray paint it

(before a baseball game...obviously!)

STEP 4: We used the red glitter paint to paint super spooky eyes onto each creature's head

STEP 5: After it dried, we hung it on a wreath hanger!  So quick and easy...and SUPER SCARY!

Halloween and Martha

Hard to believe Halloween is just about 6 weeks away. My Little Lambs are in the process of deciding what they want to be...and it changes daily. I am blessed that they are at such fun ages and really get into the dressing up and trick-or-treating.  We always have fun trick-or-treating in a huge group in our neighborhood. Maybe it's time for you to start thinking about your Halloween get-together. Shown here is a spectacular costume by Martha Stewart and an even more spectacular matching way to invite your friends over on the big day.

    

The Little Lamb Hydrangea

Collier's Nursery is just down the road from our office. They carry some really beautiful plants and have such helpful people working there. Although I'd rather pull out my own teeth than do yardwork ;)  I have visited them several times throughout the years.  I drove by there today and saw on the marquee that they now carry "Little Lamb Hydrangeas." WHAT!?!?!  Of course I just HAD to check that out. Not only are hydrangeas my very favorite flower EVER, this one has the same nickname as my boys (oh yea, and a certain stationery company you might have heard of ;)
The crazy thing is, I actually have 2 huge Little Lamb Hydrangeas in my back yard and had NO idea until today. I planted these 2 small bushes in our backyard when we moved into our house 7-1/2 years ago...2 years before the stationery company or the 1st Little Lamb were even born...and every year, when they bloom, they produces hundreds of these huge, amazing white blossoms.  Here is a picture:

So in honor of the Little Lamb Hydrangea, here is a hydrangea invitation from our Invitations album:

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/purple-bouquet-invitation.html
And some matching hydrangeas stationery:

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/purple-bouquet-folded-notecard.html

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/purple-bouquet-rectangle-return-address-label-set.html

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/purple-bouquet-enclosure-card-set.html

The Beach!

I'm leaving soon to be taking a "walk on the Wilder side" with an annual beach trip with our friends The Wilders. In honor of this special occasion, here are some of my favorite beach invitations. I hope you are enjoying your summer...it is almost over :(

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/invitations/surfboard-invitation.html

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/invitations/surfboard-invitation-1.html

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/invitations/fish-invitation.html

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/invitations/sailboat-invitation.html

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/invitations/mermaid-invitation.html

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/invitations/pool-party-invitation.html

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/invitations/shark-invitation.html

 

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/invitations/summer-invitation.html

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/invitations/speedboat-invitation.html

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/invitations/tropical-luau-invitation.html

National Lasagna Day

Did you know today is National Lasagna Day? I have heard it is, though a quick search online doesn't tell me how this "holiday" began, and I guess we need to celebrate!
Here are some recipe ideas:
Green Lasgana http://bit.ly/gVpFL
Crockpot lasagna http://bit.ly/906L0g
Fruity Dessert Lasagna http://bit.ly/cACgSB

and although I don't really have any lasagna invitations, here are a couple of Italian-ish ones ;)

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/pizza-invitation.html

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/tuscan-vineyard-invitation.html

Airplanes!!!

In honor of my oldest Little Lamb's first time on an airplane tomorrow (we're having a special mommy/son trip before he heads off to 1st grade...sniff, sniff!), here are some of my favorite airplane invitations and stationery. Fly on over and get some on order!

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/boy-photo-birth-announcement-8.html

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/airplane-invitation.html

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/dinomite-valentine-cards-1.html

http://www.littlelambdesign.com/index.php/cute-airplane-folded-notecard-1.html

10 Ways to Make Your Stationery Store Obsolete

I came across this awesome article for gift shop and stationery store owners. VERY good advice from Holly Bretschneider who owns Salutations.   http://bit.ly/a98w95

Introducing Etipedia: Online Etiquette Encyclopedia by Emily Post Institute

Since I am supposed to be a stationery "expert" because of the line of work I do, I get asked lots and lots of questions about etiquette, especially about invitation wording, time frame of when you mail an invitation, etc.  I was SO excited when I received a notice from The Emily Post Institute^® introducing the world's first and only online etiquette encyclopedia.  If you ever have a question in this department, this is your go-to! It is amazing! You can type in anything and the folks at Emily's will give you the proper answer.
I have been a huge fan of Emily Post, et.al. for as long as I can remember. I am such a dork that I asked for and received Emily Post's Etiquette, a HUGE book that I kept on my coffee table for years and years (until one of my Little Lambs drew in it, it is now put away for a while!) Check out this link to receive your day's dose of properness.http://www.emilypost.com/etipedia

Hello! We're back!

Oh my goodness, how can it be that I have not posted to this blog in 2 months!?! SO sorry to all my legions of followers ;) Hahaha! You will notice the last post was from the National Stationery Show. My, my what a world wind it has been since we returned from the show. We added so many new dealers who now have our albums in their store or our products on their website.  What a blessing the show was to us and we are so excited to be working with our new dealers as well as the ones we've had since the beginning.  Ok, I am going to promise to try to update this blog way more often that I have been (although we are right in the middle of summer which is a busy time in my house! Forgive me if I don't keep my word as I unsuccessfully attempt to herd my Little Lambs).

In the mean time...please enjoy looking at some of our new holiday and wedding designs. 

We're here at the National Stationery Show!

We have arrived at the National Stationery Show! We have spent the past 2 days setting up our booth. It has been an exciting time, but we are anxious for the show to actually begin tomorrow.  We'll keep you posted!

BEFORE

END OF DAY 1

AFTER!!!!!

 

 

Here we go!

I know this doesn't look like much at all, but you have NO idea! This is basically the culmination of way too many hours of work over the past 2-5 years spread out among 4 people (and their very supportive families). We are heading to the National Stationery Show in New York City next week and this is our booth.  LOL! Hard to believe this kinda gross group of boxes will magically transform into an incredibly beautiful (if we do say so ourselves) trade show booth.  We'll call this picture "Before". We'll keep you posted. SO blessed to be debuting our line at the industry's largest tradeshow. Come see us in Booth 1206 if you are headed there. If you are not heading there, PRAY FOR US ;)