Thanks and Blessings

for Thanksgiving

We all have so much to be thankful for. At times we may might not think so, however, if you have God in your heart, your health, a roof over your head, clothes on your back and food on your table, I believe there is much to be grateful for.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. No presents and no pressure, just the joy of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a great feast and no washer and dryer churning away.  Each year after our family says grace, we always share what we are thankful for and how we have been blessed.

Thanksgiving Love Notes are a wonderful way to express you gratitude this holiday season.  Many do not like to share verbally there thoughts and feelings. Some are too shy, others get embarrassed and there are those who are lost for words, especially if they have lost a loved one.  

These notes are perfect to write your thoughts and feelings down.  Place a 'Love Note' at each place setting for a family member or guest.  If you have a large family, place them in a beautiful bowl for family so they can write to one another how and why a certain family member is special to them. We all need to be told from time to time how grateful and thankful we are for one another.

Thank your loved one for all they do in your own special way.  A Love Note is a gift from the heart. By giving your loved one their own special Love Note, they can go back and read the sentiment over and over and over again.

For all the special people in my life,
family, friends and customers,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart ~
You mean the world to me,


Barbie

BOO.tiful Photo Journals

For Halloween Present and Halloween Past

I love Halloween and have fond and fun memories of years past.  I always hoped my children would have great memories of their Halloween adventures too.  Unfortunately, when you live in a rural section, and not in a housing development, Halloween can be a bit overlooked.

I was never a mom to pack the kids in the car and drive to a neighborhood to let my kids roam the streets and ask for candy from people they did not know, I always felt that was cheating. If you don't live in the neighborhood, you don't belong there, so we had to make new ways to enjoy Halloween.

We always had a countdown to October 31st by decorating the house a little each day.  Three days before Halloween we'd start to watch scary movies with a real horror movie toping the charts on Halloween night.  We are not a horror movie family so we have some really fun memories of pillows over our faces, faces placed in our knees or blankets over our heads while trying to get through our movie.

No matter how you celebrate, it's always fun to look back at all your photos and remember the costumes, the parties, the funny and scary faces, and the pillowcases full of candy.

New in the shop are Manila Envelope Photo Journals to keep all your wonderful memories.

Fangs for the Memories is a wonderful photo journal which holds (5) 4x6 photos and (6) 3x5 photos on wonderfully decorated pages.

Each book measures 9 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches where you can store more photos or other paper memorabilia in 3 different envelopes.

Our family and children are wonderful and are true treats each and every day, why not show them off in either one of these fantastic photo journals, made with love for you by me !  Stop in my shop to see more pages of these fun and fantastic books.

When you go out to Trick or Treat this year, stay safe and have loads of fun,

Barbie

Touchdown !

Go Wolves

Tonight is the start of NFL football. The Denver Broncos play the Baltimore Ravens. Fall is just around the corner and with the start of school, high school football will soon start.

A couple weeks ago, a potential customer contacted me about custom football tags. 

When I get a custom order, it's sometimes hard to figure out exactly what the customer is requesting.  I try to ask questions which will help me with style, color and quantity but sometimes vague answers don't help me out.  When in doubt, I become a bit bolder and ask more specific and personal questions without prying into someone's personal life. It's a fine line and I try to tread lightly.

After asking a few more questions, my potential customer opened up with me and told me her niece is a cheerleader at her high school and dates one of the football players.  Before each game, she gives her boyfriend a small gift for good luck.  My customer wanted to give these tags to her niece so she could write a small note to her boyfriend making her packages even more special.

She wanted each tag to say - Go Wolves ...... beat Durant -
She sent me all 10 opposing teams, along with their school colors so I could write each teams name in the appropriate color.

The above tags were samples I sent to my customer to see if these would meet her needs after explaining to me what she was looking for.  She loved them and couldn't wait to make the 10 tags she was looking for.

I've already bookmarked the high school her niece attends so I can follow the Wolves to see how many games they win this season.  People touch our lives in mysterious ways and I'm thankful that the customers I have had to date have enriched mine.  

I can only hope that down the road, my customers will send me photos of how my merchandise has been used and that they'll walk back into my shop so I can help them out with all their other special events and special days.


I'm grateful to you all ~
Barbie

First Day of School

The first day of school is so exciting, for most kids.  They have to put on the right outfit, their hair has to be styled just so and stomachs are filled with butterflies.  

Teachers gear up to for all the new students who will be walking through their classroom door.  They will hear new stories, some true and some not so true, they will see big smiles and will encounter a few tears.  Elementary school teachers create the foundation for our youth who will mature into fine young adults entering the middle and high school.

Mrs. McKenna is one of those special elementary, 2nd grade school teachers.  She truly cares about and for her students and helps them every step of the way during the school year.  Kim contacted me to help her put together a special first day of school package.  

She wanted a postcard for her students so she could write a special message to each boy and girl welcoming them to her classroom. These postcards measure 3 x 5 inches, the backside is stamped with the traditional 'postcard' emblem.

Being a huge reader and knowing how much 2nd graders read, I suggested bookmarks for each child. These were run through a printer, hand stamped and then laminated for protection of spilled milk, snotty sneezes, dirty fingers from the playground and chocolate from a Little Debbie cupcake !!

I think Mrs. McKenna's children had a wonderful first day of school. They are lucky to have her.







Barbie