last minute holiday gift wrappers: you owe me

Well, actually, you owe Whisker Graphics: this amazing little store/blog/etc. that offers (among other things) the fabulous baker's twine that everyone is lusting after this year. (We use brown and white to finish off some of our stationery sets for a little added personality.) Whisker Graphics offers 12 different colors of Divine Twine. Each spool is 240 yards and for $15 it's a steal. And... you will try to use your baker's twine on EVERYTHING. (This is because it obviously makes everything better, of course).

But...back to the original topic. The fab folks at Whisker Graphics have offered up some fun little printable holiday gift tags! They're super cute and totally adorable when paired with some divine twine and your gift recipients will be so impressed (especially since last year you just used a sharpie to write the to/from right on the box.) Happy wrapping!

it's beginning to look a lot like people are getting ready for their weddings next summer...

While the end of the year tends to be a quiet time for weddings, it's a great time to get your Save the Dates out for your weddings next summer! Six months prior to your event date is a good rule of thumb to alert guests of your upcoming wedding, and if you're planning a destination event, you might look at sending Save the Dates even sooner, especially if attendees will need to book travel or if your event is over a holiday weekend.

Save the Dates can coordinate with your invitation suite and offer a glimpse into your vision for the wedding, or you can use engagement pictures for something fun and modern. We encourage brides to include a wedding website on the save the dates so you can update information as needed prior to the big day. The website can also serve as a tactful way to communicate registry information to your guests since those registry cards they GIVE you at the retailers are a serious etiquette no-no.
(Bed Bath and Beyond - what are you thinking?)

Looking to save some money on postage? You can print a small save the date and slip it in with your holiday cards! Contact us today to get started!

**Candy Dots letterpress Save the Date card in fuchsia and tangerine from Paper Mill Designs**

16 days until Christmas?

I just saw someone else's blog touting today as 16 days until Christmas, and ohmygoodness how it that even possible? I have exactly one gift purchased for my list and lot of great "ideas" that have to be altered now that it's so late. Classic Katrina!

I have been busy working on my stuff for a handmade ornament exchange organized by the cool blog freshlyblended and I'm really excited to start getting little gifts in the mail from my ornament swap group! I'll post some pictures later of all the goodies and after attaching my hangers to the ornaments this afternoon my packages will be shipping out!

I'm very excited to have one of our products featured as a stocking stuffer round-up on Kaboodle. These parking cards are my husband's brainchild and have been a popular seller in our etsy shop in addition to being picked up by a few retailers from when we attended NSS last May.

I'm off to work on my brand new toy - a Wacom Bamboo Fun Tablet I hope to use on some cool stationery designs for next year. (This is also the reason our holiday cards this year will probably arrive more in the "new year's day" timeframe vs. christmas.)

**Want your advent calendar like the one above? As a special treat, the image above can be downloaded for free to make your own advent calendar from olliebird.com.

Cyber Monday Free Shipping!

If you're doing some cyber monday shopping, hop on over to our etsy shop for free shipping on our letterpress stationery! You can enter coupon code CYBER also for an additional 15% off!

Also, I'll have more information coming up soon, but I've brought my sister in to help me launch an additional store--LucySue--stocked with more gift items and modern flat-printed stationery. We have mini cardboard suitcases, 2011 calendars, personalized placemats and fun personalized melamine plates, bowls and platters! You can use the same CYBER coupon code there for 15% off as well!

Happy Holiday and happy shopping!

Friday fun...

From the wonderful blog Oh So Beautiful Paper, this print from etsy seller Hello Jenuine made me giggle. (We were totally excited to have our parking cards featured on Nole's blog after the National Stationery Show in May along with the rest of our Ladies of Letterpress exhibitors.)

Have a great weekend!

New shop in town...Altar Bridal

Last week my sister Abigail and I had the opportunity to attend the sneak-preview fashion show at Altar Bridal, newly opened in the Waldo area of Kansas City. One of the extremely exciting features of the Altar store is that they're carrying an eclectic mix of gowns, bridesmaid dresses and accessories, from big names like Monique Lhuillier, Amy Kuschel and the adorable Carol Hannah (from Project Runway!) and local designers like Candida Allison (who made my bridesmaids' gowns five years ago and my dress for Abigail's wedding this June!).

Unfortunately my pics from the fashion show didn't turn out, but you can see from the pictures I swiped from the Altar website that the botique is gorgeous. The dressing rooms are huge and the wall of mirrors is perfect for twirling around once you've found "the one". Take a look at the loft above the store as well where there is a crowd of dresses on display as well-it's beautiful! Stop in and say hi to Alicia and Dede and check out their amazing new space. :)

Cool calligraphy Treasury on Etsy!

I sell some of our notecards and mini-suitcases on Etsy, along with some samples of our wedding invitations. A great way to check stats for an etsy store is to use Craftopolis, this great site where you can view your stats and see page views, etc. (We also use Google Analytics for all of our websites, but Craftopolis offers a quick snapshot view over a variety of time periods which is helpful in gauging interest in products.) Previously available on Craftopolis, Etsy has now incorporated a search for you to allow to see when you've been featured in a treasury--very cool! So, thanks to etsy seller Soyonsheureux (who has some
wonderful soaps and other treats) for featuring our Preppy lime green and navy calligraphy invitations (created with calligraphybyjennifer.net) in her recent treasury featuring all kinds of calligraphy.

wonderful wedding keepsakes...

Obviously I've been gone for a while and have so much to write about...including being a first-time exhibitor at the National Stationery Show!

In the meantime, I stumbled across these lovely personalized vintage cake forks over on Cyd's blog The Sweetest Occasion. From the etsy shop Beach Home Living, these are another great way to personalize your wedding and have keepsake pieces for the future.

More to come soon...including the recap from my sister's June 19th wedding. We have had a VERY BUSY few months around here!

How cool is this?

I read a lot of design blogs and there's always tons of stuff I want to share--even if it's not specifically related to weddings and stationery. Hope you enjoy!

**Rainbow in your hand flipbook--by MASASHI KAWAMURA via Printeresting. Lots of cool stuff here to check out!**

Calligraphy Invitations now available!

{Isabelle Lynne Signature Designs invitations from L to R: Charmed, Majestic, Majestic detail, Chic, Modern, and Elegance.}

One of the many things we've been working on this winter is launching our new line of invitations with the lovely and talented Jennifer Gillespie of Calligraphy By Jennifer. Right now we offer five different designs under the Isabelle Lynne Signature Designs brand and we're excited to be adding more options in the future! Each style is available in letterpress or digital print and we have coordinating pieces to accompany the designs as well--everything from coasters, menus and programs to save the dates, place cards and everything else! Hand-calligraphy really enhances the invitations and looks beautiful and luxurious especially in letterpress. Contact us today about working on a package for your event!

We're going to the National Stationery Show!

We've been so busy recently (a very good thing) but our little blog has been sadly neglected. We've got a lot of big updates over the next few days but one exciting thing we're going to be working on this spring is getting our new line ready to exhibit at the National Stationery Show in NYC on May 16 -19! We're going to be working with a group of other letterpress companies including Dandylion Press, Flywheel Press, Fresh Heifers Artisan Letterpress, Hazel and Violet Ink, May Day Studio, Paisley Tree Press and Thomas Printers. We'll be in booths 2256 - 2258 so please stop by and see us if you're going to be there. We can't wait to all of the other companies we've swooned over and admired over the years!

**Boy have we got a lot of work to do over the next few months!!**

Anyone have any recommendations for lodging while we're there?

Holiday cards featured!

Would you believe when I stopped in to Target the day after Halloween they already had Merry Christmas decorations all over the store? True Story. I am not ready for everything Christmas on November 1st. After Thanksgiving, then I'm all for it.

So...our holiday cards are available for purchase and we're so excited to have them featured in today's House and Home section of the Kansas City Star Newspaper (page E5.) It's like we're famous(ish)! Everything is available for purchase through our etsy store and our Cyber Monday discount applies through midnight on 12/30. Happy Shopping!!

Black Friday - Cyber Monday Specials!!

Oh my goodness-how is it already Thanksgiving week? The past few months have really flown and I'm hoping that holiday shopping panic mode doesn't set in for a few more weeks! While I've never braved the crowds on Black Friday, I am a huge fan of Cyber Monday! So, we're very excited to participate in a Black Friday through Cyber Monday promotion with lots of other great retailers, especially other Kansas City etsy businesses!

We're offering 15% off all orders placed Friday through Monday, including personalized items. Our suitcases are already a big hit and great for holding doll clothes, craft items, new baby gifts or anything else and it's always great to keep stationery sets on hand for hostess gifts and emergency presents! Take a look here for other KC Etsy businesses's specials and great ideas for everyone on your shopping list. Some of my favorites are this coin pouch from ni-chern designs and of course this adorable button from shawnanonna. That's right, redheads rock! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and I hope everyone finds great shopping deals over the next few days!

New products at Haute Market!

We've been super busy the past few weeks getting our merchandise ready for the Haute Market event this Sunday, 12pm - 4pm at the Ritz Charles in Overland Park. Their website says it best: "Purchase the latest trends in women's clothing, fashionable handbags, gorgeous handcrafted jewelry, home decor, girlfriend gifts - and do it all while sipping tasty cocktails and enjoying a day out with your best girlfriends. Enjoy fashion, pampering, beauty and fun!"

We're super excited about our new mini suitcases and can't wait to see everything else that's going to be there from all of the other vendors like LOVER Cosmetics. I have been using their foundation for the past two years and LOVE it (pun intended. Sorry!) I'm also excited to check out the stuff Two Chick Blvd. will have there. Are you going? Stop by our booth to say hi!

Tickets are available $10 in advance or $15 at the door. We hope to see you there!

tea for two?

Look at these lovely single cupcake stands I saw on Bakerella's blog. (have you been over there?  swoon!)   Puts me in the mood to throw a wonderful tea party!  For one of my wedding showers we had afternoon-tea at the Fairmont Hotel Oak Room (now the InterContinental).  There were a variety of teas and multiple petit-fours and my mom and her friends all got to wear big fancy hats.  (Not a good look for me.)  

Anyway, for my next tea party I would order these fantastic tissue flowers from PartyPom's etsy shop and some of these fancy little cupcakes from Cake Girl (here in KC!)  My sister Abigail booked them for her upcoming wedding and the samples were delicious!  She also has a peanut butter buttercream frosted cupcake that we're dying to try!