Archive for the ‘stickers’ Category

Birthday Planning

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

stkr_bakeryshopIt’s that time of year again. Lilly’s birthday. It’s a big one too. She reminded me earlier in the week “You know Mom, just five days until I become a teenager.” As if I need to be reminded. She’s a gentle soul, sweet and kind and… almost a teenager (does emotional fall into that definition)?

One of my favorite traditions for her birthday used to be to go Wildflour Bakery and pick out a fancy cake that she would share with friends to celebrate her special day. Talk about customer service, we’d get the royal treatment from Sue, the owner and baker at Wildflour. She’d sit down with us like Lilly was planning her wedding, year after year.

We’d pour over bridal magazines and fancy cake catalogs and Lilly would look at every last cake until the best jumped out at her. It was usually something to do with Barbie, fairies, or a special princess.

I always liked the small gatherings of girls and boys that would help us celebrate the magical day.

Shown below is a Sleeping Beauty cake from one of Lilly’s birthdays. img_0968corr_bakeryshop_text

Tomorrow we’re making sleepover cupcakes, in addition to a cake in the shape of a heart.

It will be a special day. Every day is special, but having my little girl turn into a teenager, magically overnight, will be…emotional and dramatic. I can be as emotional and dramatic as any teenager.

The bakery design is one of our newest designs.  One of our customers wanted a design on her stationery to include with her own baked goods. Do you want a particular design? Let us know. (After I recover from tomorrow).

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And I am going to…

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

… do all the things on my list this year. Are you going to skate through this year doing the same as you did last year or are you going to challenge yourself to do something new and different?note_iceskates_text

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Goals? Long shots? Do you know why we are always reaching farther, faster, higher?

Are you?

I am completely guilty of this, but I’m getting better. I say guilty because I used to stretch so hard that the process seemed almost painful.  However, I’m getting better because it’s been a goal of mine NOT to reach so darn hard for more. It has been my goal to be happy with the today of life and not always thinking about how I could do it better tomorrow. Don’t get me wrong, I have goals, but I don’t write a list of ten anymore. I only have three. Each year, I write down three.

One goal is for me physically, another goal is for my brain, and a third goal is for my business. That’s it. Just three.

Now you want to know what they are don’t you?

OK, I’ll share, but I hope once you read them, you’ll post a comment on what your goals are too. We’re all in this together, right?

The first goal, is for me physically. I’m a pretty athletic person. I exercise each day and stay in good basic shape. My balance isn’t great, taking time to stretch before or after a workout is… non-existent. Both are areas I could use improvement. So, I’m taking yoga. I tried it and I’m surprised to say, I like it. The most difficult thing for me about yoga is moving so slowly. I’m taking hot yoga. It’s in a room that’s 95+ degrees so if you feel like running when you get there, you soon forget about moving quickly. I don’t like heat so this forces me to slow down and I’m finding that I really enjoy it. I’m on week 2 so we’ll see how it goes.stkr_iceskates_text

The second goal is for my brain. This goal  has been consistent for more than a decade. To read at least one book a month that is a novel. I read a book that is recommended because it’s a good story, not because it will teach me something. I might read other books along the way to learn, but it is my goal to read a book I will enjoy for the pure entertainment of reading a novel. This sounds easy, but for  me, it’s not. I usually end up reading something about being a better parent or how to provide better service in business, but reading for enjoyment is something I need to make an effort to do. So that’s goal number two.

The third and final goal, is work. It is my goal to continue to build on the strong foundation that has been established over the years. I am going to continue to strive to meet the needs of you, our customers, in a variety of ways.

skatesSo don’t get bogged down with New Year’s resolutions. Just write down three goals that you really want to accomplish and just chip away at them for 12 months, you have time, enjoy the process, try something new. Remember, this isn’t a dress rehearsal.

Shown above is our skating design on a fold over note and a sticker used as a return address sticker. You can also order them just with the design.

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Gingerbread Houses are Lovely

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

spv_gingerbreadhousestkr_gingerbreadhouse_text

Gingerbread houses are a fun tradition to make with grown ups and kids alike to display in your home for Christmas.

There are a lot of options as far as making your own gingerbread house. You can make the dough, roll out the gingerbread, cut the walls and roof, bake them… OR  you can get the one ready and made for decorating.

Lilly and I like the decorating part the best, so I’ve opted for ready made. You can get a ready made house at many craft stores.

Once you have your house, go to the nearest candy store and stock up on your supply of colored hard candy, Necco wafers, candy canes, jelly beans and other colorful candies for decorating.

Make a big bowl of white frosting, divide it into smaller bowl and using food coloring, make red, green, pink, blue, purple and all the colors your heart desires for your gingerbread house. Don’t forget to keep a lot of it white for snow on the roof!

Now get to work! This is where the fun begins!

I don’t think anyone is too old to enjoy the creativity in decorating with candy.

Here’s a gingerbread village on display at The Cleveland Botanical Gardens. They have a beautiful display going on right now through the holidays.  If you go, don’t forget to see the outdoor skating rink!

Once you’ve had enough of the cold, go back inside and see the unbelievable exhibits thanks to Mrs. Smith.  The Eleanor Armstrong Smith Glasshouse is Cleveland Botanical Garden’s exciting conservatory featuring authentic recreations of two of the world’s most exotic ecosystems: the sun-baked, spiny desert of Madagascar and the misty rainforest of Costa Rica.

Truly one of Lilly’s cherished places on earth.

Share the warmth of your home with our gingerbread stationery. It doesn’t have to be a holiday card, just a note to spread good cheer this holiday season.

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hos-pi-tal-i-ty

Sunday, November 29th, 2009

Hospitality by definition means;stkr_pineapple_text

1.
the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers.
2.
the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.

We are now in full swing of the holidays, like it or not. Even though the Thanksgiving turkey leftovers linger on, it’s time to think red & green, holly & ivy, silver & gold.

With this comes a bit of anxiety, I know. Thanksgiving is like the warm up for all of us. It’s the practice run of having family and friends into our homes while dealing with the stress of planning the perfect meal and smiling all the while. So now you can ask yourself, how hospitable were you through it all?

I’ve been watching people all day long during the scurry of Thanksgiving prep time. There was the lady at the grocery store, on her cell phone, at the checkout. When the teenager gave her the receipt and said “Happy Thanksgiving” she answered with a grunt and moved on.  Ouch. Might that be me some days when I have so much going on that I can’t see straight? I think so. And we wonder why the younger generation grunts. They learn it somewhere.

So I’m unplugging for the next 30 days (maybe more if all works out). I’m taking my walks on the ocean without an iPod. I’m driving without my phone turned on. I’m turning my phone off at 6 pm before I sit down to dinner with my family.note_pineapple_text

I’m plugging in to what is happening around me. I’m going to look at the teenager handing me the receipt and be the first to say “Happy Holidays to you,” I’m going to look out the car window and actually see things I’m passing by, and I’m going to be listening to what my family and friends say, full sentence, without the interuption of a phone ring, text buzz or email bing.

In this particular line of work, I find people who are so hospitable and kind and those who… who must be under some unknown stress that keeps them from seeing the bigger picture. Let’s all try to be hospitable during this time that can be stressful. I think if we all smile a little bit more, reach out to one another a little more often, and just come out of the bubble a bit, we could all set a better example for those around us.

I chose the pineapple for this blog posting because it’s a sign of hospitality. You can often see wreaths made from pineapples in the southeast exhibiting a symbol of welcoming friendship. This wreath is available by order, click on the photo to go to their site. They have all kinds of pineapple items, even a nightlight!

So be hospitable. Be a good example to others. Send a note to a friend today, just because.

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One last Slip of Summer

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

stkr_adirondackchairs_textI know that technically, summer has ended. I’m not talking about when “they” say summer has ended. You know who they are, the ones who measure the sun, earth, ocean, wind and get all technical about when OUR summer ends. I say summer ends when school starts and the schedule makes us live by the clock. That’s when I get a little grumpy about summer being over. I don’t like to turn Lilly to the wolves of algebra, geography and Medieval times. The days get shorter, the nights supposedly get longer but I’m more tired when it isn’t summer so how does that work? Only “they” know, I guess.

I remember the days and nights of September on the east coast as being some of the best. The nights finally cool down, enough to put on an extra blanket, but warm enough to keep the windows open all night long. I remember the lawn is plush green, the smell of fall in the air, and being able to relax a little bit in my favorite Adirondack chair.

Enjoy these last few weeks of warm weather. I’m lucky that I don’t have to see it go since I’m not on the east coast any longer, but I still see a slight change in our weather, our plants, and our ocean. In either case, go out on the lawn, sit in your Adirondack chair, drink a warm cup of … whatever suits your fancy and enjoy the remaining warm days.note_adirondackchairs_text

If you don’t have an Adirondack chair, watch this video to learn how to build one or just order some of our stationery products with the Adirondack chairs. Either one will do.

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On the Move

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

stkr_monkeybananas_textThis is the time of year to move.  People all over the country are packing up their things to relocate.  There are kids getting ready to start the second session of camp, others have almost completed their summer and are off to start sports at boarding school or college. Families are packing up their homes to move and get settled before the fall school year begins.

The Public Utilities Commission in Ohio (my old stomping grounds for college and the next sixteen years) puts out a really nice check list of things to do when preparing to move. Of course notifying your family and friends is on the ‘official’ list. This is a great place for me to remind you that this monkey would make a really adorable moving announcement. So if you are moving and want the list, here’s the link.

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Whatever the reason for your move, get moving on announcements with our monkey with bananas design. I actually use this design for my own stationery because we are all moving in some way each day… hopefully forward with our projects.

This  monkey is just one of our family of monkeys. To see the others, go to Letters from Lilly.

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National Ice Cream Month - July

Monday, July 13th, 2009

Absolutely nothing could be better to me than National Ice Cream Month. stkr_icecreamcone_textIs there a better food than ice cream? Honestly, I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and maybe even for some snacks inbetween meals.

The idea of National Ice Cream Month didn’t come about until the mid 80’s when it was said that 90% of Americans enjoy this food.  I love that it’s referred to as food, first of all, and who are those 10% who don’t like ice cream?

The other shocking piece of news is that mint chocolate chip, my own personal favorite, is loved by only 3.2% of ice cream lovers.  How can that be so? Number 1; vanilla (boring), 2; chocolate (predictable), 3; butter pecan (makes me too thirsty), 4; strawberry (for real? Isn’t that the flavor that always got thrown away when parents brought home that tri-flavored box of ice cream…) and then finally mint chocolate chip at number 5. 

Fine, leaves more for me.

The happiest piece of information I dug up is that there is more ice cream made in California than any other state in the country.  Finally, good news.

I’m not even going to look up information about fat content, heart disease, and sugar.  When I’m eating ice cream, that’s not my focus and it shouldn’t be yours either.  Just enjoy ice cream this month, it’s National Ice Cream Month.  Heck, enjoy it all 12 months, unless you are one of the 10% out there. Go figure.

Over 100 designs are available on Letters from Lilly stickers.  They are clear, one inch round stickers that can be used as return address labels, gift tags or just to stick all over your notebooks. Stick them all over, you get 63 per sheet.

You don’t even have to lick them.  Save that for the ice cream.

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