The new year will be upon us before you know it. Thinking back on my childhood experiences I remember staying up late (or at least trying to), eating junk food, and then at midnight my parents would bring out pots, pans and wooden spoons and out to the porch we would trot. We would bang on them as loud as we possibly could. They were homemade noise makers in place of paper horns and blow outs. As an adult, I still ring in the new year with family. Now it’s staying up late, eating junk food and playing games. I’m sure there are others of you out there who have a similar type of casual gathering for New Year’s Eve. In my family, game night is a pretty regular occurrence. If there’s a holiday, there’s a game. If everyone is bored on a Friday night, there’s a game night. That got me to thinking… for a family of game lovers we haven’t embraced the "personal" touch a stationery supplier might offer. So, I decided to check out my options. I have come up with a variety of game related items that would be great as Christmas gifts as well as...Read More
Writing thank you notes should be common practice in an American home. The sense of gratitude and thankfulness for even a small gift that these timeless little cards represent is essential to the fabric of our society. As many reasons as we could list for why you should start or continue the practice of writing thank you notes, by far the most important one, is to teach the next generation about gratitude. If children get a thank you note from a loved one, you may well start the tradition in their family to send them as well. If the adults in the lives of children allow email, text messaging, and instant messaging to replace the art of sitting down to compose the feelings of gratitude into a very personal, hand-written note, then they will not carry on this tradition, and the lack of thankfulness in our society will only worsen. Writing thank you notes is not difficult. After all, you are not writing a novel or poem. No sense of plot or prose is required. A small, folded thank you card provides plenty of space to write an adequate note of thanks. Generally, 3 or 4 sentences is enough to...Read More
In many ways, taking the time to write letters is both sensible and memorable. Think back to your last birthday…how many generic birthday birthday cards did you receive? Do you remember what any of them said? Instead of sticking to the standard store-bought cards, you can start sending the types of cards everyone will remember. If you have a stash of beautiful stationery on hand, you can create special, personalized cards for any occasion that may come up. Believe it or not, your personalized stationery or note cards can stand in the place of any type of card. There is a logical, sensible side to stationery as well. The national average for the cost of a greeting card is $4. The average U.S. family purchases an average of 30 cards per year, or $120. Don’t wait until you get to the checkout counter to buy your greeting, birthday, anniversary, holiday and thank you cards. Choose instead of stock up once a year on beautiful, personalized stationery. Purchasing a beautiful set of versatile stationery will ensure you are always ready for any occasion…and will save you some serious cash in the long run. << Prev
Movies, dinners out, amusement parks, ball games, exciting vacations…these are just a few things that usually come to mind when we think of "family fun." All these fun things, however, come at significant costs to today’s families. Most of us are more concerned with keeping the car filled with gas than with our next extravagant vacation. When budgets get tightened, the first thing to go is generally entertainment, and during tough economic times, most families need to find creative (read: cheap) solutions for having fun together without breaking the bank. Ambitious ideas include creating a campground in the backyard, turning your living room into a "movie theater," or putting on plays and talent shows with things you already have in the house. Of course there are plenty of less time-intensive ideas, as well. Here’s one in particular that we love: One sweet and sentimental idea to try is writing letters to your "future selves." Along the same lines as a personal time capsule, "letters to ourselves" can be a fun, lighthearted, and imaginative activity for kids. For parents and teens, the activity is often nostalgic and even inspirational. Put on some mellow music, gather everyone in the same room, and arm...Read More
With gas and airplane costs soaring higher than ever before, it’s not feasible for most families to visit loved ones as frequently as they would like. Even if you can’t travel to see your favorite family and friends, you definitely don’t have to lose touch. If you sit down and take the time to write letters as a family, we guarantee that your loved ones will not be disappointed. Nine out of ten Americans say they look forward to receiving personal letters and greeting cards on special occasions, so imagine the joy they will feel upon receiving a random note of love for no reason in particular. With any luck, your friends will respond via traditional mail and you will have rekindled a whole "new" tradition of communication and love. Even if distance, finances and other factors keep you and your loved ones apart, you will remain close in spirit. Do you usually look forward to spending Thanksgiving with Grandma, but the prospect of getting across the country to see her would mean breaking the bank this year? Instead of reserving plane flights, "reserve" a night for family time instead. Set out plenty of colorful stationery, pens and pictures from...Read More
We all know the old adage that says "birds of a feather stick together." While it may sound a bit cliche, research shows that there is in fact value in surrounding yourself with positive, successful, happy people. When you surround yourself with people and things that inspire you and make you happy, you will be more likely to find strategies to help you live the life you want to live. When you spend time with people who you don’t aspire to be like, who you don’t respect, or who make you feel bad about yourself, you will likely feel less empowered, and not at all inspired, to make good things happen for yourself. Think about it…reaching out to people that you admire just might provide you with a better job opportunity, some solid advice, or even just a new network of positive friends. Sounds good…but where do you go from here? It can be a bit intimidating to randomly reach out to a casual acquaintance just to say "hello," and it’s definitely tough to blatantly ask for help or advice. Writing a friendly, hand-written note can be much less daunting than picking up the phone. A hand-written note also displays...Read More
According to a recent survey conducted by Consumer Affairs, fifty-two percent of Americans are not saving enough money, with many saving no money at all. If you and your family are "just getting by," you are certainly not alone. Why not take matters into your own hands and make a change for the better? Even small changes, like switching to a company with better benefits or one with a great retirement plan can make a huge difference for you and your family in the long run. Think about it…you owe it to yourself, and to your future, to see what is out there and weigh your options. A great way to uncover your options is to get out there and just start interviewing. Even with all the hype about layoffs and hiring slumps, you never know who might be on the lookout for your specific skill set and singular background experience. Is there a local company you have always been interested in? Have you heard that a friend’s company is looking to hire? Update your resume ASAP, print it on a high quality paper, and drop it in the mail along with a professional, personalized cover letter introducing yourself to...Read More
For many Americans, the rising costs of living can be overwhelming to say the least. A possible recession, soaring gas and food prices, and a poor real estate market among other things have most American families re-thinking their budgets and cutting back on anything not considered a necessity. "Scaling back" does not necessarily have to mean doom and gloom. When money is tight and it tough to make ends meet, we are all challenged to look for creative ways to live the lives we want to live. Over the next two weeks, we are going to launch a blog series devoted to a few ways that something as simple as a set of stationery can help you and your family cope during tough economic times, and have some fun along the way. Read the following 5 articles on ways we think letter writing can help you through tough economic times: 1.  Landing a Great Job and Looking to the Future 2.  Creating a Personal Network 3.  Staying in Touch While Staying Home 4.  Finding Creative Forms of Entertainment 5.  Being Resourceful…Being Yourself Stay tuned over the next couple weeks to read these articles and see how personalized stationery and the art of letter...Read More
In the professional world, exchanging business cards is as common as shaking hands. You would never let a new contact or potential client walk away without first trading contact information. In this age of networking and multitasking, why should your personal life be any different? The next time you bump elbows with someone interesting, be prepared to be unforgettable! You won’t have to search for a pen and paper, simply hand them your name and phone number in an amusing and memorable way with your one-of-a-kind calling card. All-in-one correspondence cards bear your name and contact information on the front. Printed on white or ivory cardstock in your choice of ink color, these timeless cards send a crisp, classy message and leave plenty of room for a short, hand-written note of your own. This set comes with matching envelopes, so your new custom calling cards can double as a complete set of stationery. With envelopes able to be printed and/or lined in your choice of black, hunter green, navy or wine…these cards are the perfect one-stop stationery purchase. All-in-one embossed cards are a more understated way to share your name and contact information with your new acquaintances. Both elegant and...Read More
Have you ever met a child (or an adult for that matter) who likes to write thank you notes? It is an unwritten rule, a valuable tradition, to acknowledge a gift promptly. A handwritten note is really a gesture of appreciation for the item and thoughtfulness behind it. Thank you notes make the giver feel good and reinforce the importance of gratitude in today’s society. Letter writing is not only a tradition, but a skill that will serve children well into their adult lives. You may be thinking that all of that makes sense, but how do you get your child or teen to actually write a note, without it turning a source of a battle. Here are some age appropriate tips to make the process go from a chore to a pleasant experience. First and foremost, as an adult, you must set the example. If your children see you writing thank you notes, they will come to realize that this is the right thing to do.   During the early years, of course, you will do the corresponding on the behalf of your infant and toddler.   3 to 5 year olds need to be involved in the process...Read More