first day of school

I had a moment last night, as I was getting things ready for our son's first day of Jr. Kindergarten. A moment where I wondered how on earth my little guy was old enough to be going to school. A real, full-fledged elementary school, with hallways and drinking fountains and an office. Wasn't I just carrying him in my arms? 


About a month ago, I shipped several sets of lunchbox notes out into the world. So last night as was in the kitchen making a little scratch-off love note to stow away in my son's pocket (he is in Jr. Kindergarten, so they don't stay for lunch) and I wondered how many other kiddos out there would be scratching off a little love note from mom or dad on their first day of school as well, and would feel a warm smile creep from their heart up to their face. I couldn't help but feel connected with so many other parents out there who might be packing a lunch or laying out an outfit (or in our case, new Spider Man underpants... yeah!) for the next morning. Parents who shared the same worries and concerns and hopes for their little one(s). 

I love to think that each little item that we create in some way connects us to others, and brings a little more joy to their day. A first day of school. A baby shower. A special announcement. So whether this is your first day of school, or just an ordinary day, warm wishes from my heart and home to yours!

20 + 20 (Mark's 40th Birthday Bash!)

My husband Mark turns 40 this year, and when I asked him how he'd like to celebrate it, he responded, "A day at the cottage with friends." So this weekend, we did just that.

Naturally, there was some paper prettiness that went down. He is married to me, after all. I joke with friends that my creativity ends when I get in the kitchen, so I tried to line up as much catering as I could so that I was able to focus on my forté: cute decorations, and good wine. Hehe.

For the theme, I started with a black & white chalkboard motif... but then I worried that it might seem too depressing (mostly black), so I threw some mint green in there. Where does the "20+20" come from? Well, he's as fun as two twenty year olds (I wish I knew where I read that...) so I thought I'd spin off of that for fun. I cut long runners (12" wide) out of chalk cloth that I found here, and then at the last minute I drew some fun swirls and numbers on the runners. It was an easy way to dress up our simple white tablecloths!

Our food was catered by the phenomenal chef Dino Grossi, a client and friend of mine from Volare Ristorante in Wixom. And together with the help of some friends and family, we pulled off a perfect evening and the funnest weekend filled with laughter, conversation, and good food to celebrate my hubby.

Looking forward to many more birthday celebrations to come!

Happy Birthday Mark!

 

 

Lunchbox Notes

School's coming (shudder), and I've got a four-year-old who goes to Jr. Kindergarten this fall. That's right folks... five mornings a week at a brand new school. I love my little skoober, and am always looking for ways to tell him... but as a mom with a toddler and a newborn, sometimes it takes a miracle just to get out the door. And while I'm blessed to be able to work from my home studio most days, on the days when I go in to clients' offices, I found myself whipping out a piece of construction paper and some markers from the craft drawer and making one of these:

While these are all well and good, this beautiful artistry (note sarcasm) takes time. And I found myself being tempted to re-use the signs. Because let's be honest... there are only so many ways to draw kissing hands.

But it won't be long before my little guy (who still adores finding these notes) will be embarrassed if one of these shows up in his lunch box.

That's when I decided that something had to be done. There had to be a cute, easy way for parents to create little love notes for their special little people, even while on the run. Something that was small enough to slip in a lunch box, without being a Post-it note (not that there's anything wrong with Post-its...). And best of all, something that was easy to give, and fun for a toddler to receive.

I knew that I had the fun factor down pat. My little man can't HELP but scratch off a card. Every time he finds a stray scratch-off card in our house, he comes to me and asks if he can scratch it. I call him our quality control manager. So imagine his surprise when he scratches a card and finds a funny cartoon, or a short little love note in mommy's handwriting, written especially for him! And thus, Lunchbox Notes were born.

The shot at the very top of this post is my little guy with the very first card.
Here it is again:

Disclaimer: I paid him $0.26 for the shot. I offered him a quarter if he would pose for the camera after scratching, and then I let him keep his scratching penny. Before you judge me for paying my son to pose for the camera, consider the shots below which represent our last attempts at a family photo during cottage week this summer. My son hates. having. his. picture. taken.

It's my own fault, I realize. After all, I did do THIS to him as an infant (see below). I'm not sure what finally broke him. It could have been the antique bonnet (which he clearly was embarrassed of, even at just 5 mos), the bear rug experience, the leg warmers, or the Anne Geddes-style "Baby-in-Distress" photo shoot attempt (lower left) which yielded shots that never made the birth announcement. Either way, getting a picture of my son is always a challenge. Thankfully, it didn't take much coaxing to get my son to smile with the lunchbox notes... and if you were there with me this morning during the shoot, you'd know that behind the card, that little stinker was sticking out his tongue.

But I digress. Back to the Lunchbox Notes. Here's a step-by-step look at how they work:

Each set comes with 20 cards printed on our premium, ultra-thick card stock, 20 scratch-off stickers, and a cute hand-stamped muslin bag that's perfect for stashing in your junk drawer until that moment when you need them most. 

Inklings Lunchbox Notes are available for purchase here. To my awesome blog readers, please feel free to use the coupon code "BACKTOSCHOOL201310" for 10% off your set!

So what will you write on yours?

rainbow babies

We've been working on a special project this week. Parents celebrating a pregnancy after the loss of a child may refer to their little one as a "Rainbow Baby" ~ something beautiful that comes after a storm or loss. I had a mom-to-be reach out to me with this special request for gender announcement scratch-offs that she could mail to some close friends. After the loss of their son, they are pregnant again! Her only request was that the cards incorporate a rainbow and clouds.

Here's her story:

"(Our son) should be 3 months old. But instead he's been in heaven for almost 8 months. No one should ever have to go through the pain of losing a baby... it has been an experience that has taken us to hell and back, but brought us closer to God. And now we have what seems to be a perfectly healthy rainbow baby on the way. God is good. (Our son) is healthy, whole, & happy in heaven. And we are beginning to feel peace with his death and our future.

We have a 2-year-old daughter and we didn't find out her gender until she was born. I was 1000% sure she was a boy, and was totally shocked and surprised to see a baby girl! With our son who we lost, we had them put the gender in an envelope and we waited a while to open it. I knew he was a boy. Sweet buddy. And this time, I'm so sure it's a girl!! I just love the surprise – I typically hate surprises but this is the last real surprise left in the world & I couldn't imagine doing it any other way. I thought I'd mix things up this time and send the gender to the ladies who have been the most supportive through losing our son and shockingly learning I'm pregnant again. And since they don't live near me, it's (hopefully) going to be a piece of cake!"

She plans on having the ultrasound technician mail them out to her closest friends who were a support to her during that storm... so they will find out months before her delivery, but she and her husband won't be finding out the baby's gender until the day that baby "rainbow" is born! Talk about self control!

Because these cards are so special, we're doing something different. With every set purchased, $1 be donated to the March of Dimes. We wanted to use this opportunity to give to an organization that supports parents who are grieving, and is proactive about sharing best practices in perinatal health through education, research and support.

I was amazed to read that about 33% of pregnancies end in miscarriage, and each year in the United States alone more than 2,200 infants die from SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) through causes that cannot be explained.

A number of dear friends and family members I know have experienced the grief of miscarriage. I too have experienced sudden loss of a different kind in my own life. I also know that despite what you believe in the midst of that grief, you can still experience joy again in time. It may sound like a cliché, but rainbows can still be seen after the storm... just as God used one as a promise to Noah and his family thousands of years ago that never again would they experience such devastation.

It's been such an honor working on these cards, and I hope that they will be a treasure to those who receive them.

For those of you who are interested in the technical specs of our paper good, these are printed on an ultra-thick satiny stock with rounded corners, and a special spot varnish to create shiny raindrops!

Wishing you rainbows after your storms!

cuteness, freshly minted

What could possibly be sweeter than our new mint green bridal scratch-offs, you ask? Nothing. Except, of course, an animated gif of a smiling baby holding them. It's all about cuteness today, my friends. It's all about cuteness.

erica's bee shower!

My dear friends Erica and Earny having their first baby! What better reason to celebrate? Together with friends, we hosted a shower at our church. We chose "What will it bee?" as the theme, as they are waiting to find out what they're having. I envy their self control. ;)

Favor toppers by Paper and Pip were perfect for lemon drops, cute hand-made paper poms made by my friend Melissa decorated the space and tables, and guests enjoyed our baby bee scratch-offs and bingo cards during the gift-opening!

I had ordered some cute paper straws from Etsy, however they didn't arrive in time... which sent me on a wild goose chase the night before the shower looking for straws for our flags. We ended up hand-picking the yellow straws from a basic multi-pack of straws from CVS.

It was a fun celebration, and the mom-to-be was radiant. So happy for them, and excited for their little bundle to arrive!

 Photo above courtesy of Inner Circle Photography.

And then there were four!

We're bursting with joy these days over the safe arrival of our little guy! We announced that we were expecting back in January with these wayward balloons. It's hard to believe that five months have passed, and that a new little family member has now joined us! We feel so, so blessed.

One of the best things about my job is being able to share in so many special events in people's lives, and make them a little more joyful, whether it be the celebration of an upcoming baby or wedding, a special announcement, or a milestone celebrated with friends over a bottle of wine. It's fun to be able to share our family's milestones with you as well through this blog.

I've been pretty reflective and sentimental these days. A few years ago, Inklings Paperie was nothing more than, well... an inkling of an idea. I had been a graphic designer and brand consultant for just over ten years, but couldn't keep myself from creating paper products that inspired me. I started designing paper products for friends' showers, and realized that there was a real need for fresh, sweet paper goodies for life's little (and big) occasions. Soon, we were receiving orders for bridal showers in NYC, baby sprinkles in Australia, birth announcements in Saudi Arabia, and even a Jerseylicious baby shower.

We decided to take a step of faith when my husband and best bud Mark left his office job in November of 2011 so we could devote more time towards our small-but-growing business, to our church, and to our little family. It's been an incredible adventure, and I still have to pinch myself some days. I get to create products that inspire me, and together we get to share them with all of you. So thank-you for making that possible!

Below are a few snapshots to share... my "bowling ball" belly, baby's nursery, and a shot of our sleepy little guy.

My cup overflows,