My happy place & repurposed furniture

As I wandered up the driveway with the mail the other day, I noticed a piece of furniture sitting beside the garbage can...  The same furniture that was once our boys toy organization, then went on to become a drying rack for wet bathing suits and towels last summer, then a rack for hanging our cloth diapers out for sun "bleaching" this past winter, and finally back to the bathing suit rack again this summer.  Well, I finally replaced the drying rack with some real wall mounted hooks that could accommodate more than just a few towels.  So much better! 

But the storage/drying rack?  I hated to see it go, such a purposeful object that it is...  Not sure why I hadn't thought of it sooner, but it has now become the perfect storage system for my stationery supplies!  Now that my office is back down in the main living area of the house, and not tucked away in a spare room, I was in desperate need of better organization.

So alas, I give you a peak into my happy place!

Share the Love - IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!

I am so excited that my comprehensive Sarah Masci site is nearly complete!  To celebrate, I am hosting a stationery giveaway right here on this blog!!!  The purpose of this giveaway is obviously to create more awareness of my business & my new brand.  So, I am asking for your help...

One lovely "helper" will receive a $30 gift certificate to be used however you wish!  It can be used for personal stationery (2 sets of 12 or 1 set of 24), stationery "favors" for your next social affair, business stationery or business design services or even Lullaboards! The choice is completely yours!

To enter, simply re-post, tweet or blog about my business & this giveaway!  Send people here, and leave a comment & link below about how & where you shared the love!  Extra entries for anyone who signs up with my Google Follower button to the right!

Twins?

A close friend of our family is having twins!  After hearing the news, and especially after hearing that the twins names' were already public news, I couldn't wait to create some adorable personalized stationery for them.  These adorable note cards were made for boy/girl twins, Sophie & Grayson.  But I don't see why they couldn't work for boy/boy or girl/girl twins either, right?  Or, what about just turning the double pram into a single pram, for all the single babe's out there?

You can check out the listing for this item in my Etsy shop!

 Very excited to share the news that I have finally registered and listed with Etsy!  This should make a world of difference for me, as far as saving me time to set up invoices and orders manually, like I have been doing for over 2 years now!  Not sure what took me so long to get to this point, other than my hectic lifestyle...

Anyway, feel free to check out the few items that I have currently listed.  Convo me if you have a special request; you know I love those!  And while you're there, head over to the "profile" section for some little known trivia about me, my life & my loves...

Lastly, please pass this along to whomever you feel would be interested in my work - personally or professionally!  I need all the marketing & brand awareness help I can get.

Baby's 1st Report Card

In case you missed it, Lullaboards were featured on Project Nursery this week!  And I love the title of the review; I had never thought about it that way, but it's perfect.  Thanks Melisa for being so sweet as to write such a great review for me!

Friends, notice the 25% off coupon on the feature - this is a rarity, so enjoy it while it lasts!

For those of you who have yet to venture on over to Project Nursery, I say "run", don't walk!  The ladies of PN have done such a great job putting together a fabulous site, for all things Nursery!!!

Newly added to the line-up!

I spent all of last week on a very relaxing vacation, back home in NY, with family.  It was so nice not to have deadlines, drop-offs, appointments (personal + professional) and all the dirty work that comes with being a work at home mom of three kids, 5 and under.  What I did have time for, however, was some inspirational creativity.  Here are a few things that I worked on while I was away!


Inspired by my world-traveling cousin, I bring you my new "vintage suitcase" design.  Take a pack of these along with you on your next vacation & send a classic hand-written note to all your loved ones.  No need to worry about finding a post card from the gift shop!  As always, colors can be modified to suit your taste.



What is it with baby snails lately?  Hidden in the most discreet places, they seem to be the next "giraffe" of the baby world...  You know, the next "big thing"!





And lastly, here's that little bear I showed you a couple of weeks ago.  I turned him into a note card...  Does your little one have a special teddy bear?  If so, I would be glad to coordinate the colors of my little bear, to match yours.

Paperluxe Studio on Facebook

It took a little bit of time, but I have finally found the time to update my portfolio AND keep up to date with my Facebook page!  Won't you please come over, and "like" me?  I'll be offering discounts, giveaways and more over there.  Promise!  Paperluxe Studio on Facebook

The Desktop Calendar: Baby's First Year

After nearly 72 hours of non-stop designing, proofing, touching up & then finally printing, the Baby's First Year calendars are complete!  Really hard to imagine though, that we are just giving them away to 50 participants of the All About Baby show this weekend!  Those are some lucky girls, for sure....  But at the same time, I am excited for people to see them, to see how great they turned out. 



Here they are - sorry for the lack of decent photos...

What do they consist of?  Twelve adorable months of gender-neutral, hand designed, blank calendar pages, for the parents to fill in with their little one's "first months".  A space for making notes of important dates on the front, and on the back, a space for recording milestones, adventures, facts, figures & favorites!  All packaged together in a practical CD case, which doubles as a desktop calendar easel.

Prop it up on your desk or in the nursery to keep track of all the first year special moments, on this quaint little calendar!  Then when the year is over, simply tuck the pages back inside the case, close it up & stash it away with the rest of the first year keepsakes.   This is a keepsake you & your child will cherish forever!


Yearning for more, stay tuned for the Toddler Series, which I'll be designing this year, for a boy or a girl!

A few of my favorite things

I am newly addicted to Chai Tea Latte's...  It's true, I make at least one a day, sometimes more.  I love how they taste, I love how they make me feel & I love that I don't have coffee breath in the mornings now.  So I am wondering if this lip balm will make me feel just as nice?

$3.95
bath life (etsy)

Fabric junkies inspire me, to no end!  I am always amazed and intrigued by crafters who can take a piece of gorgeous fabric & turn it into something even more gorgeous & usually practical as well (practicality is something I'll get into another day).

$18.50
Pretty N Preppy (etsy)

I am in love with all of the new silk fabric-adorned necklaces, t-shirts & accessories...  I am lusting over this awesome necklace tonight.  These styles scream femininity & have the power, in my opinion, to romanticize any outfit; even cut-off jeans.

$32.00
Studio Elenus Shop (etsy)

Creative Weekend Fun

I guess you could consider it a pretty lazy weekend around our house.  Besides a t-ball game & a family dinner at On The Border (which turned out to be nightmarish anyway), I spent a good deal of time doing creative stuff.  All computer-generated creativeness of course...  You'll learn that I don't do so well with paint, glitter & glue...

So I thought I'd show you what I spent my weekend working on!

In preparation for the All About Baby event which is this coming weekend, May 2nd, we had to come up with a "freebie" for the goodie bags that all registered participants will receive.  Although we had nice goodies to give away at the last two events (mini sets of baby stationery at the first one & a set of 50 waterproof baby labels at the 2nd one), we wanted to come up with a "WOW" product this time around.  I think, I hope, we've done that with our super cute "Baby's First Year" Keepsake Calendars.  I'll post a photo of the finished product once they're assembled, but here's a sneak peak.

Next up, I spent a good deal of time trying to figure out how to consolidate all of my business ventures & re-launch ONE new web site that will encompass everything.  I have literally spent the better part of the past 12 months trying to figure out the best way to do this...  The hold up always seems to be "the name".  Everyone says to just use my own name, but that's just not working for me.  Just not feeling it.  I wanted something creative, catchy & fresh.  Something that people will remember.   Something that could be considered an actual brand someday in the (hopefully) near future.  So, with a fun & personal meaning behind it, here's the name that I think I am going with...

Pronounced "New-Bow (as in bow & arrow) -Chee".  Stick around to find out the awesome meaning behind the name & to see my fresh new web site, which I have also spent hours upon hours working on this weekend!

Lastly, I had the pleasure of working on a bridal shower invitation design for a girlfriend this weekend.  That was fun!  I think I'll add this design to my growing portfolio...

Oh, and I can't forget the fun new illustration I did for one of the Baby's First Calendar months; a teddy bear!  Of all the children's illustrations I've done over the years, it never occurred to me to do a teddy bear, until today.  Isn't he just adorable?  He's found his first home on month 10 of the calendar, but will surely land himself on some stationery, invitations & announcements in the near future.  I think we should call him The Noobochi Bear.

 Of course, I did a few other fun new creations this weekend, but you'll just have to stay tuned for what they might be...

Happy Monday everyone!

Only 5 months...

You know the old cliche about the 3rd child...  The one that says you'll never pay as much attention to the little details & milestones your third child has, compared with your first two.  Did I for one second think that poor little Harrison would fall victim to the cliche?  Absolutely not!  That was, until he was born.

You see, this business is actually my 3rd baby.  Yes it's true, Alex and Paperluxe Studio are just 9 months apart. So in addition to two active older brothers, Harrison is also competing for attention, with my work.  He is actually my 4th child.  Lucky for him, he's an easy going little guy & doesn't mind waiting around for a diaper change, a feeding, a nap.

So it's only natural that sending out his birth announcements took 5 months to do, right?  I mean, doesn't that sort of just go with the territory?  What's really funny about this situation though is that I designed them myself (that was the fun part) & they were printed and ready to go back in, oh January...  Right about when you would have expected them to go out, when he was just under 2 months old.  Yes, they literally sat on a shelf here in my office, sealed & addressed, for nearly 3 months.  Why?  Stamps, people.  They needed stamps & it took me that long to get to the PO to buy them!  So at 5 months old, Harrison's birth announcements finally went out, with his 10 day old portrait photos...  At least the recipients still got a glimpse of the precious newborn that he was.

Yes, I sent both of these.  Half the list received the first photo, and the other half received the 2nd photo.  I couldn't decide on just one...

I would love to design birth announcements for your little one! Just don't ask me to mail them for you... Email me if you're interested.

Reducing my Carbon Footprint

Last night, during our ritual "cuddle time", Colin & I took a few minutes to reflect on what he'd learned so far in school this week.  Of course for a preschooler, the hot topic of the week has been the celebration of Earth Day (or Earth Week, as it has turned into).  So our conversation shifted to the infamous 3 R's; Reduce, Reuse & Recycle!  As we got into the discussion, I was forced to ponder what exactly "I" am doing or "We, this household" are doing to take better care of our earth...

Recycling is something that (I hope) everyone has already been doing for a long time now.  Yes, we recycle our plastic & glass bottles, and we diligently break down our pizza, food & toy packaging boxes so they can be placed in the recycle bin.  Magazines & newspapers too.

We also reuse many things, and I especially do for my business. First & foremost, I try to reuse nearly all of the cardboard boxes which I receive BabyElan review products in, for my stationery client's orders.  Second, I only use 20% recycled post consumer fiber card stock for my stationery printing.  As a family of boys, we reuse tons of clothes, as you can imagine.  We reuse gift bags, baby gear & shopping bags (on the rare occasion that bring them home).  Instead of buying new appliances & household necessities we shop craigslist for used treasures.  We gladly accept hand me down furniture from family & friends.

Reduce? I'll be the first to admit I have struggled with reducing waste, for pretty much all my life...  That said, thanks to a few minor lifestyle changes & new outlook, I feel so much "improved" upon in the past year.  A few things that I have done which I feel are making a big impact...  Cloth diapers!  Although I am teetering on whether to be on/off the train right now, Harrison's been in cloth for most of his 5 months.  We've recently outgrown our stash & now the question is what to do next.  As much as I really WANT to continue using cloth, the realist in me says that I am already a very busy lady & cloth does take "time".  More time to change diapers, more time doing laundry & restocking the diaper shelf...  Time I just don't really have these days.  I do, in fact, have time for cloth wipes though!  We've recently started using two different brands of cloth wipes & we love them both - Bottom's Up Cloth Wipes kit is fabulous & BabyKicks round organic cloth wipes are so luxurious & soft!  We have also cut our paper towel usage nearly in half this year & hope to continue to reduce that number.  Sure, we still have sticky hands and messy faces, but nothing that a little washcloth and hot water can't take care of.  I found these great People Towels today in my EarthDay-filled inbox!

I also clean with cloth wipes now, as opposed to paper towels.  I picked up a microfiber cleaning cloth 4-pack at Target the other day & all of a sudden, cleaning is FUN & rewarding!  Another way we reduce waste - Colin takes his daily snack to school in a fantastic little "Snack Taxi"!  I asked him how he feels about this, and if he likes his little airplane pouch.  His response, "I like it better than the clear plastic bags the other kids bring!"  I went on to explain to him that it's not just about airplanes...  It's about saving our earth, one little snack bag at a time.  Enter EDAY2010 for 20% off in honor of Earth Day!

Something many of us are hopefully already doing, is using reusable shopping bags at the grocery store.  We are no exception in this house, only we do it stylishly, with Neela Bags!  I carry my market pack with me everywhere I go, so that I always have a bag on hand when I need one.  In honor of Earth Day, Neela is offering 50% off all of their collection!  Check it out (and take a guess at who designed their new fabric patterns, while you're there...)!

Business wise, what am I doing for our earth?  If you haven't seen them yet, please check out Lullaboards!  These are my eco-friendly invention.  Dry-erase boards for reporting baby's day!  If you are sick of wasting paper, then you will like these.  In honor of Earth Day, take 25% off your purchase, with code "EARTHDAY10" now through tomorrow night (4/23 midnight).

Mom's, Dad's, Teacher's & Grad's...

This is always a favorite time of year for me.  Lots of fun stuff to celebrate, in anticipation of a fulfilling summer vacation with my beautiful little family!  So why not celebrate & "gift" with style & class!

First up, is it me, or does Mother's Day seem early this year?  It is May 9th; just two and a half weeks away!  Don't know what to get your mom, grandma or "like a mom"?    I would love to whip up some pretty stationery for her!  I am taking Mother's Day orders until Monday, April 26th, so get your orders in now to guarantee delivery!

Ok, so maybe most dad's wouldn't appreciate stationery as much as the mom's would, but I needed to include Dad's to make the title rhyme!  :)  However, if you think your dad or another man in your life would like some stationery, I'd be happy to come up with something sophisticated & masculine for him!  Email me.

Yes, we all know that the school year is coming to an end very quickly this year!  Have you thought about what to get all of the teacher's on your list, as a "thank you"?  After all, you have them to thank for your peaceful mornings at home or getting errands run!  You also have them to thank for your little genius child's ever-expanding mind!  You know they would love some pretty paper to write on, right?

Lastly, we don't want to forget about our Grads!  With all of the parties and gifts they'll be receiving, don't you think that they could use some nice note cards for the abundance of thank you's that will ensue?  How about something feisty & fun, like this?

Although not shown here, I have also added a TON of new kid's designs, wall art & photo cards & freelance work to my portfolio, which I'll be posting later this week.

"Luxe" Invitation & matching "favors"!

I am just beginning to offer a "Luxe" line of professionally lab-printed Invitations and Announcements. Here is one of my first shower invitations.

Announcing Hayley!

Mother's Day Giveaway!

In honor of Mother's Day, I will be giving away {winner's choice} of a set of 24 personalized recipe cards or a set of 24 personalized note cards, with envelopes! Simply comment here with what you'd prefer & I'll select one winner in one week!

For a look at all of the recipe cards, see here.



For personalized note cards, you can check out most of my designs on my web site, and throughout this blog!

Coming Soon: Lullaboards!!!

Thanks to Deborah Justine Photography, I am able to give you a beautiful snapshot of what is coming down my pipeline in the next few weeks. Announcing Lullaboards, a unique & socially responsible way to report baby's day! Simply write, read, wipe & repeat. No paper to throw away at the end of the day! How great is that?

Perfect for nannies & caregivers, there is no better way to get a complete run-down on what your child ate, when he slept, when he pee'd and poo'd & what he did all day long!

For new mommies out there, this is SO much easier than trying to remember all those little details your pediatrician wants to hear at those first few appointments. How many wet diapers? How long did she nurse & on what side? How are her sleeping habits? This way, you can just toss the Lullaboard into your diaper bag, and SHOW your pediatrician just how organized of a new mommy you are {even if you're really a walking zombie, she won't notice}!


While not quite available for purchase yet, I promise you, they are just a week or two away! Please check out our welcome site, and sign up so you get the news when we're officially open for business!

www.lullaboards.com

Alex's Penguin Party !

Though I was too lazy to create invites for Alex's 2nd birthday, aka Penguin Party, this year, I did whip up some cute little goodie bag labels, cupcakes & thank you notes!

Live Photo's from the Elmo Party

Thanks to Stephanie, mom and party planner extrodinaire (Couture Parties), for sending in these awesome pictures from little Ella's Elmo party! Don't the note cards look fabulous as goodies for the kids? I hope the mom's were impressed!

Recipe Cards Now Available!

Be sure to check out the amazing new site, Goods for Goodness Sake! They have an amazing assortment of goodies, and proceeds from ALL purchases go towards charity! GFGS is also the ONLY place where you can purchase these awesome new monogrammed recipe cards that I am doing!