flattery

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But I was anything but flattered when I stumbled across this Etsy store. Anyone notice any similarities to our original product below?

Creativity and integrity are two characteristics that I place a high value on, and pour into my work. So it's really disheartening to see an absence of this within a creative community that I'm a part of.

Whether it is while re-branding a company or designing and printing original paper products that put a smile on people's faces, every ounce of me is passionate about what I do. I believe that no matter what kind of work you do, if you do it with integrity and with excellence, your hard work will pay off.

Imitations aside, allow me to once again share our most popular scratch-offs, which have gotten the attention of hundreds of Etsy shoppers (and a certain Etsy store owner). I hope that you'll take delight in the little details that have gone into creating these, down to the sweet packaging and premium materials where no corners were cut. Or dog-eared. Created with love. Kerned with care (that one's for my fellow designers out there). Packaged to perfection. By Inklings Paperie. In Michigan.

Now let's roll up our sleeves and get to work generating more original ideas. Who's in?

xox

All designs ©Inklings Paperie

New Baby Shower Scratch-offs!

We're so excited to introduce the newest member of our "scratch-offs" family... our Pacifier Scratch-offs in Apple Green. Fashioned after our popular Tiffany Blue Bridal Scratch-offs, these sweet scratch-offs are a fresh and fun game for baby showers!

Each set of 24 is printed on premium ultra-thick satin-coated paper and sweetly packaged in a frosted plastic pillow box, and comes with 3 winning cards! (although you can customize the number of "winners" during check-out)

Also included is a coordinating Baby Bingo sheet (printable file provided).
You can view them in our Etsy store here.

Enjoy!

Announcing the Inklings Etsy store!

As many of you know, I'm a designer by day and a paper nut by night. I love creating sweet, spunky little paper products that make life a little more delightful. I've been working on a few ideas for some time now, and in a nutshell they're paper products for life's little (and big) celebrations.

It's time to share the paper love, and to celebrate the listing of my first products on Etsy we're offering FREE shipping with the coupon code "FREESHIP0412" now through the end of April!

Tiffany Blue Scratch-Offs (above)

These sweet little scratch-off cards make a perfect game at any bridal shower or bachelorette party! They measure 2" x 3.5", and are available in sets of 24 with each set containing 3 winning cards (convo me if you'd like a different number of winning cards). Printed on our luxuriously thick 16pt paper and packaged in a sweet frosted pillow envelope. 

Find them here in our Etsy store.

Pink & Grey Baby Shower Scratch-Offs (below)

These scratch-offs have a sweet pink and grey zebra pattern on the back, and are printed on luxuriously thick 16pt paper with a smooth satin finish. Every scratch-off purchase comes with a matching printable Baby Bingo sheet.

Find them here in our Etsy store!

Vintags paper wine glass markers

Vintags glass markers slip easily on your stemware for a fun way to identify your glasses. Packaged with a gift card for your wine bottle, it's a great gift on the go! Also available in a 50-count tin size. 

Find them here in our Etsy store!

Thanks for sharing the paper love!

oh baby!

A dear friend of mine is having a baby girl this spring! My fellow shower planners and I had fun perusing Pinterest for ideas on the theme. Click here to see our board of inspiration for what we hope will be a fun and super-stylish shower.

Shown below are the invitations (we sent out 120!), smoke-colored envelopes from envelopes.com, and the scratch-and-win tickets for a unique shower game!

So what's with the scratch and win tickets? I've had this idea brewing ever since I worked on these fun scratch-off shower invitations. A shower with 120 guests seemed to be the perfect opportunity to try it out. We'll be playing "Baby Bingo" during the gift-opening. The idea is that every time someone calls "Bingo", they will receive a scratch-off ticket with a chance to win one of a handful of really large prizes. It's a fun way to give everyone a little "something" (because really, who DOESN'T love to scratch?) while building suspense to the end of the game. We'll still be giving favors to all of the guests, but trying to do prizes for a group of that size was a little daunting.

Aren't these the cutest? They're printed on super-thick paper, and are custom-designed to match the invitations. The scratch-off area works just like a regular scratch-and-win ticket, and can be revealed with a coin. Below, every package of twenty would come with two winning tickets (in their own separate envelope so the party planner can mix them in or use them as they see fit), and of course a lucky penny! All would be packaged in a sweet pillow box.

I'm thinking of creating some different designs for other purposes and trying them out in my (currently empty) Etsy store... kids' birthdays, bridal showers, bachelorettes, or other milestones where people might like something a little quirky to hand out.

What other occasions do you think these would be well-suited for?

Nutshell case study #1: Rebranding The Mrs

Just this past weekend, I had the pleasure of re-designing the popular blog, "The Mrs" where Suzy Homemaker meets Anne Taintor. Enjoy cheeky and well-written articles on housewifery, frugality, and much more. It's responsible for my daily smile.

Here is the "making of" for your enjoyment! Click on the image to see it larger.

And for those of you who love a good "before and after," here is how the blog looked previously:

Tangerine Tango: 2012 color of the year!

One of our favorite colors has just been announced as Pantone's 2012 color of the year! Tangerine Tango is energizing, yet sophisticated... the perfect marriage of orange and red.

“Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. Pantone is the world-renowned authority on color and color standards, from fashion and home to print and web. To see Pantone's official announcement, click here.

If you're looking for color pairings for Tangerine Tango, we love a pale blue-green (as shown below).

Above photo from Lonnymag.

Cream is also a great neutral to pair with it:

Above photo montage by the Washingtonian.


Enjoy your tangerine!

happy 2012!

Wishing you the best of years ahead! Happy 2012.