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Posts tagged ‘greeting cards’

Oct 6

zwim0405-catfight
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Zelda Wisdom, this Dog Blogger says “Lick or Treat”!

When I was invited to become a guest blogger for Cardstore I was honored and doggone happy about being selected to write their first Dog Blog.

As a little background, I’m a 60 lb. English bulldog who appears on Cardstore.com’s greeting cards. You can also find my image on Zelda Wisdom books, calendars, and a bevy of other products on my website, www.zeldawisdom.com.   You may have seen me on Oprah, Martha Stewart, Good Morning America, or the Today Show.

Since it’s October and time to start thinking about my favorite holiday, Howl-o-ween, I decided to blog about  what it’s like to be a dog who loves dressing up in bone chilling outfits in order to produce ghoulishly funny greeting cards, creepy-but-cute canine costumes, and devilishly delicious Halloween cookies.

To be honest, most dogs enjoy dressing up for Howl-o-ween.  After all, what canine wouldn’t like to go Lick or Treating?  If your dog is looking for the perfect ‘wear and scare’ costume you can find Zelda costumes on my website or go to any Party City.

zwim0028 hell1; Zelda Wisdom, this Dog Blogger says “Lick or Treat”!

Something new for me this season will be the launch of my Howl-o-ween  cookies  www.CookiesByCartier.com.  These scrumptious shortbread treats are topped with a thin layer of vanilla frosting that is enhanced with my spellbinding images.  A dozen cookies are packaged in a beautiful black box and tied with an orange ribbon. Each cookie features a different design.  I’m dressed as a vampire, pumpkin, ghost, witch, mummy and more.  My favorite image, incidentally, is me masquerading as a black cat.  The line?  “Happy Halloween from the cat….Great costume, huh?”  The best part of my cookie caper was that I got to sample them first. Trust me, even though they are made for humans, this dog found them devilishly delicious.

zwim0405 catfight; Zelda Wisdom, this Dog Blogger says “Lick or Treat”!

So jeepers creepers I hope your Halloween will be filled with thrills, chills, fun… and a little Zelda Wisdom.

Happy Haunting,

Your friend Zelda

Oct 5

New Designing Mom Contributors!

Cardstore.com’s Amazing Artists

Cardstore is thrilled to introduce the magical, whimsical and completely captivating art of Masha D’Yans.  Masha’s cards are based on her original watercolor paintings whose inspirations come from nature, calligraphy, fashion design and Russian fairy tales.   Peruse her joyous new collection of holiday cards and greeting cards and prepare to be thoroughly enchanted!

masha 300x300; Cardstore.coms Amazing Artists

Greeting Card Designs from Masha D'yans now at Cardstore.com

We’ve also spotted an amazing blog post from february 13 creative at Designing Moms.  They’re the new ‘Make’ contributors for the blog and will be sharing lots of their incredibly creative DIY projects in future posts.  They’re all so talented, I can’t wait to see what they come up with for the holidays!

f13 300x300; Cardstore.coms Amazing Artists

New Designing Mom Contributors!

Sep 30

costume-safety

Halloween Costume Safety Tips

It’s official- Halloween season is here! Hay bails stacked with pumpkins are firmly planted outside the local grocery store, talk of costume ideas is on the rise, and ‘Halloween’ is a trending topic on Twitter going on three days now.

Halloween seems like a favorite holiday for many people –and why not? It’s a time for kids (and adults) to eat sweets and play dress up! But as we gear up for costume shopping, it’s important to consider safety when choosing (or making) Halloween costumes for kids.

Here are some Halloween costume tips on safety that we gathered from a handful of trusted websites:

  • Check the label of costumes, wigs, and accessories to make sure they’re flame resistant. Many walkways are lit by decorative candles and jack-o-lanterns, posing a potential fire hazard.
  • Costumes should be well-fitting and short enough to prevent children from tripping and falling.
  • Props are fun, but make sure they’re made out of a soft and flexible material. A child may be easily hurt by these accessories if they stumble or trip.
  • Choose masks carefully: make sure that it fits securely, and the eyeholes are large enough so that it doesn’t obscure vision. Consider non-toxic make-up as an alternative to masks.
  • Children should wear well-fitting and sturdy shoes to prevent tripping, as well as for comfort.
  • Bright and reflective costumers are a plus. Consider adding reflective tape or striping to costumes and Trick-or-Treat bags for greater night time visibility.
  • Flashlights loaded with new batteries are always a fashionable accessory, and a safety must!

We hope you keep these safety tips in mind when you’re shopping for your Halloween costumes. We also encourage you to pick out something a little silly… stay tuned for our Silliest Halloween Costume contest- coming up next week!  And don’t forget to check out our new 2009 Collection of spooky Halloween invitations and greeting cards!

Sources:
US Consumer Product Safety
Los Angeles Fire Deparment
Center for Disease Control and Prevention

This list brought to you by Cardstore.com, where you can customize all your Halloween cards, photo cards, and holiday cards.

Sep 11

peace-zlda
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Celebrate Patriot Day

Just a reminder that today is Patriot Day.  During our Week of Hope, it was inspiring to see how many people sent their Hope cards to friends and loved ones serving in the military.  Even though the Week of Hope is over, you can still personalize and send any of our greeting cards like this Zelda Wisdom card to troops anywhere in the world using our direct mail option.

We found a few other great ways to help out our troops on this special day:

  • Donate your airline miles to enable troops to come home during their leave through Operation Hero Miles
  • Put old mobile phones to good use by giving them to Cell Phones for Soldiers, a program that converts old phones into prepaid minutes for soldiers
  • Get connected to a solider and send him/her letters of encouragement through the Adopt a US Soldier program
  • Contribute fabric or sewing skills to help create adapted clothing for wounded soldiers through the Sew Much Comfort organization

Happy Patriot Day from Cardstore.com!

Sep 3

The Hope Collection - O+D's Bees Knees Card

Sending Hope to a Best Friend

My free Hope greeting card recipient will, no doubt, be my friend Jennifer.  We have been buddies since high school and have weathered many ebbs and flows in our friendship throughout the years.  We hold differing political and religious views.  I love dogs, she loves cats.  She’s a jogger,  I’m a, well… not a jogger.   Despite our differences, we get along very well and I count her among my best friends.  Recently, she’s had some heartbreak – the death of a beloved family member.  It’s been, understandably, a very sad time for Jen and I hope that my Hope card will let her know that I am thinking about her and also remind her that I will always be there through all of life’s ups and downs.

bees knees 201x300; Sending Hope to a Best Friend

The Hope Collection - O+D's Bees Knees Card

Aug 27

m_press1

Artist Guest Blogger: Motormouth Press

Cardstore.com is pleased to feature Artist Guest Blogger, Laurie Coughlin of Motormouthpress.  To see Laurie’s Cardstore.com collection, click here.

When my eyes gaze upon sweet treats, I can’t help but smile in delight. My love is the same whether it is a store bought ice cream sandwich or a warm donut right out of the deep fryer. And two days ago, it was a chocolate covered cream puff from a new store specializing in what else? Cream puffs. So, it is no surprise that sweet treats are conspicuously my stationery theme of choice.

When asked why sweet treats are my inspiration, I usually say because I like them so much.  It is a short concise answer, and our graphic design professor once told us that you can’t argue with “I like it.” When someone asks why something taste so good, a lot of times you hear, “It’s just good” or “I don’t know, I just like it.”

But when asked to guest write a blog entry, I thought I should let you know that I correlate my sweet stationery subject matter with some of my early childhood experiences. Growing up, my siblings and I were not allowed to go crazy swallowing up spoonfuls of sugary cereals and eat candy whenever we pleased.

It was given to us as a reward for good behavior, like when I transitioned to the big potty during toilet training. Of course, our reward of 3 Plain M&Ms was taken away when my brother realized we could steal them whenever we wanted. We received them in times of celebration such as my 5th birthday, when I ate my first ice cream cake from Carvel. It also helped that I reminded my mom everyday. “I really want this cake, please?” We received candy on Halloween, Christmas and Easter holidays. Need I say more?!

Eventually, we learn that giving them can be just as fun as receiving them. I think my mom was really happy that I did indeed use my Easy Bake Oven until she became the sole recipient of all my frosted mini cake creations. Sweet treats are also fun to eat with others. Sitting on the front steps with my brother while licking our popsicles was one of the few times we would hold an automatic and very temporary truce.

Sometimes you can’t go to your local drive-inn where the car hops bring your order to the car window. You just aren’t able catch up and sip on homemade root beer floats that come in frosted glass mugs and nibble on beer-battered fried cheese curds with a friend. But you want to share this moment in time, and it is my hope that my food-themed greeting cards and stationery help bridge this gap and satisfy your stationery sweet tooth.

m press1; Artist Guest Blogger: Motormouth Press

Aug 26

feb13-collage

The Hope Collection – A Sneak Peek!

To support the Hope Is In The Cards movement, Cardstore.com is unveiling their Hope Collection Tuesday, September 1st.  This collection features photo cards, encouragement cards, friendship cards, and notecards from some of our favorite artists.  Be sure to visit Cardstore.com during September 1st-7th to personalize your free Hope card and have it printed and sent to anyone you choose at no charge to you!

To get you excited about spreading hope, here’s a sneak peek of just a few of the cards and artists included in our Hope Collection:

ga collage2 300x300; The Hope Collection A Sneak Peek!

mam collage 300x300; The Hope Collection A Sneak Peek!

feb13 collage 300x300; The Hope Collection A Sneak Peek!

To preview the entire collection, visit us on Facebook.

Aug 21

bday_collage1

The Birthday Card’s In The Mail

I recently spent 3 years living in Shanghai, and to make sure the birthday cards I sent back to the US arrived in time, I set up quite a detailed process.  First,  I’d have to start my birthday card search a month in advance.  It’s probably no surprise that the Shanghai english greeting card selection was quite paltry, and it usually consisted of designs straight out of the 70′s partnered with an interesting use of the english language.  Once I found a semi-decent card, I’d then trek out to the post office 3 weeks early just to make sure it had a chance of arriving within a week of the actual birthday.  If this schedule was ever off, even by a day or two, I’d end up sending a birthday email letting people know their card was literally on a slow boat from China.  That’s why one of the coolest things about Cardstore.com is you can actually direct mail cards internationally, no matter where you are.  If I had known I could have just gone online, personalized one of their greeting cards or photo cards, and then had it sent directly to my recipient, I could have saved a bunch of time and hassle.

Aug 20

mysterious-letters2

Pass On Neighborly Love Through Cards

One of our favorite blogs, design*sponge, recently blogged about the Mysterious Letters project, which tracked 2 residents of Cushendall, Ireland as they sent personal, handwritten notes to the 467 people in their village. The purpose of the notes (to ‘prompt neighbourly discussion’ and ‘promote community curiousity’) immediately reminded me of the Hope Is In The Cards movement, since both promote the idea of spreading positive thoughts by sending unexpected greeting cards to family, friends and neighbors.  The best part is you don’t have to be a resident of Cushendall to spread hope through personalized cards or letters.  Just visit Cardstore.com during the ‘Week of Hope’ (September 1-7, 2009) to personalize your own free card from our Hope Collection and we’ll send anywhere (even Cushendall) at no charge to you. What better way to spread neighborly love or brighten someone’s day than by sending them a personalized greeting card from out of the blue!

Jul 30

bees-knees-small

Don’t Forget National Friendship Day!

National Friendship Day is August 2nd (this Sunday), so  I’ve decided to spend the day with my friend Molly, who was the first official college friend I made in the dorms my freshman year.  I can’t wait to customize this O+D friendship card for her with one of our many classic freshman year photos.  Here are a few other ideas to show your friends how much you care:

  • Stop by a local farmer’s market and pick up a big bunch of flowers or basket of fresh fruit and drop it on your friend’s doorstep
  • Call that out-of-town friend you’ve been meaning to catch up with but never seem to find the time to do so
  • Email an old friend one or two of your favorite memories together
  • Treat a friend to a picnic lunch or mani/pedis!

Whatever you do, be sure to acknowledge at least one of your friends that day, for as  Ralph Waldo Emerson said, ‘ The only way to have a friend is to be one.”

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