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    Happy Fridays Holiday Gift Guide: Part 1!

    December 2, 2011 | Posted by Kristen the designer

    December is upon us and the holiday countdown has officially begun! Over the next few weeks we will be running a few special Happy Friday posts to feature gifts for all the important people in your life. One for the hims, one for the hers, and one for the little ones too! Hopefully they will help make your holiday shopping for 2011 a total breeze :)

    1 – For the photographer, these super cool camera lens traveling mugs from photojojo.com
    2 – Very hip Beats by Dre headphones with advanced speaker design, powered amplification, and active noise canceling
    3 -  Modern yet vintage – have it both ways with these fun knit ties
    4 – A Swiss Army Flash Drive for the techy outdoors-man
    5 – Who needs a tiny Bluetooth headset when you can use one of these awesome POP Phones to answer your phone calls
    6 – For the musician, a handy punch to make guitar picks from old credit cards, gift cards, hotel keys, and more!
    7 – Help him keep track of his favorite concerts and sporting events with this handy Ticket Stub Diary
    8 – Trouble waking up in the morning? This ingenious alarm clock will run away if you hit the snooze button!

    Happy Friday everyone!

    Kristen the designerKristen the designer

    Happy Fridays: Back to School Goodies!

    August 19, 2011 | Posted by Kristen the designer

    In honor of the first week back to school we are sharing some fun finds if you are in need of last minute school supplies!

    1 – Adorable animal themed backpacks from Skip Hop!

    2 – Super fun eraser ring, that comes in several different colors from Generate!

    3 – Modern lunchboxes that can be customized with included stickers. Available from Goodbyn.

    4 – Colorful wrapping paper from Paper Source perfect for covering text books!

    5 – Beautiful pencil tins from Susy Jack!

    6 – A robot pencil sharpener that winds up as you sharpen and then will walk across your desk.  Available from Think Geek.

    7 – Funny animal shaped scissors from Fiskars.

    Happy Friday everyone!

    Kristen the designerKristen the designer

    Happy Fridays: Blogs We Love!

    April 8, 2011 | Posted by Kristen the designer

    If you are passionate about paper, love a good set of stationery, or simply like to be inspired, Oh So Beautiful Paper is a blog for you! Started in 2008 by editor and publisher Nole Garey, OSBP is a modern blog with a wealth of great paper finds. From wedding suites, to business cards, birth announcements to custom stamps, Oh So Beautiful has it all! Even if you aren’t a paper fanatic, just stop on by to soak in a little of the creative juices. So many unique ideas, crafty projects and all kinds of original work, I am sure everyone can find something they like :)

    Even if paper may not be your thing, the photography featured on OSBP is gorgeous! If you ever need inspiration for shoot styling or lighting definitely check it out. I am constantly fascinated by product photography, especially when it’s done really well. Perfect back drop, perfect product, perfect accessories…always makes me happy!

    Oh So Beautiful Paper is certainly worth a little looksy…I promise you won’t regret it! Happy Friday!

    Kristen the designerKristen the designer

    Happy Fridays: Baby Shower Themes!

    February 18, 2011 | Posted by Kristen the designer

    So I recently stumbled across an amazing party planning blog full of some really great ideas for every possible party and occasion. Celebrations at Home has a range of content from DIY projects, to themes and decor, even delicious treats to serve. I skimmed through some of the baby shower posts and just had to share a few of my favorites here.

    Theme: Bold and Bright

    I am a total sucker for bright colors! And these 2 showers had the perfect combination of hues and tones to help tie it all together. You always run the risk with bright colors that decorations may look over the top, but the above images showcase great examples of how to avoid this. They chose their base colors and stuck to those for every little detail to ensure a harmonious spread. I especially love the table spread in the top image :)

    Theme: Backyard Shower

    I love the attention to all of the tiny details at this shower. From plates and napkins, to invites and favors, everything has that extra little personal touch. I also like the southern feel of a backyard wedding :)

    Theme: Garden Shower

    Now the above images are actually a birthday party, but they were simply too gorgeous not to share. Plus I think it would be super easy to take a lot of the birthday ideas and apply them to a baby shower with the same feel and decor. This shower was held in an actual greenhouse, which may not be doable for everyone, but you can always find foliage (fake or real) and spruce up a friends house or backyard!

    Theme: Pretty in Pink Shower

    I about died when I saw this one…definitely my favorite! How lucky was this mom to be? This is definitely a very detail oriented shower…lot’s of personalized tags, display cards, desserts, and favors! I imagine this was no easy feat to tackle. But, the overall theme is probably the simplest. Pick one color, maybe pink for a girl and blue for a boy, but really any color will do and stick with that one color for everything. Makes it much easier to pick out accessories and not have to make sure it is the exact right shade for each one. I actually really like the mixing of the different tones of pink. So gorgeous!

    Well I hope this provided everyone with some lovely baby shower inspiration! Make sure to check out Celebrations at Home for so many other wonderful ideas. Happy Friday!

    Kristen the designerKristen the designer

    Happy Fridays: 5 Eco-Friendly tips from Oprah!

    September 17, 2010 | Posted by Kristen the designer

    So this week’s post is all about ways to be environmentally friendly in your own home, and it’s from one of our favorites: Oprah! Oprah did a segment on her show featuring these tips and how easy it is to implement them in your day to day life. Of course everyone wants to be eco-friendly, but sometimes it’s hard to find practical ways to feel like you are making a difference. Not anymore! With these tips you’ll save energy, save money, and make your life a little bit greener.

    Oprah’s 5 Eco-Friendly Green Living Tips

    Eco-Friendly Tip #1: Eco-friendly Canvas Bags
    When you’re deciding between paper and plastic at the grocery store, choose neither. Plastic takes 1,000 years to decompose and paper bags use 14 million trees a year. Instead, an easy eco-friendly tip is to use cloth grocery bags. Any cloth bag will do, but Oprah said that her website is selling organic cotton canvas bags made without pesticides.

    Another easy eco-friendly tip is to use an organic mesh bag for organic produce. One eco-friendly expert urged consumers to look at the amount of packaging in the grocery store. Since petroleum-based packaging isn’t good for the environment, buy items that use minimal packaging.

    This easy eco-friendly tip may cost you a little more money: organic produce. It’s a green tip because it takes less energy to harvest and doesn’t use pesticides, so it’s healthier for the planet. But, organic produce isn’t necessarily a green money saving tip – though it could make you physically healthier.

    Eco-Friendly Tip #2: Eco-Friendly Eating
    Elizabeth Rogers wrote The Green Book, which contains dozens of easy eco-friendly tips that Oprah loved. In writing The Green Book she wanted to answer the question, “What are the easiest things we can do that make the biggest difference?”

    One of Rogers’ green tips is using one less napkin a day because paper napkins make a huge difference. Give up one paper napkin a day, and you’ll save a billion pounds of paper waste in landfills a year. Using cloth napkins is one easy eco-friendly tip on Oprah that makes a huge difference.

    Eco-Friendly Tip #3: Natural Cleaning Products
    “Clean doesn’t have a smell,” says one environmentally friendly family. When your bathroom is clean, it shouldn’t smell like pine or lemon. Switch from toxic to non-toxic, natural cleaning products. Seventh Generation sells non-toxic products, which improve your family’s health by being less likely to cause asthma attacks. Or try Green Works!

    Eco-Friendly Tip #4: Change Your Lightbulbs
    Most of the energy comes from coal-fired plants. A compact fluorescent light bulb is more energy-efficient and will save your money in the long run. CFL lightbulbs are energy smart; they’re more expensive, but they’ll last longer.

    Eco-Friendly Tip #5 on Oprah: Daily Green Tips for Every Family
    These easy eco-friendly tips are things you can do every day. The green tips come from the Squire family (a green family featured on the eco-friendly Oprah show).

    - Use the same cups over and over.
    - Don’t run the dishwasher unless it’s absolutely full.
    - Don’t throw clothing or shoes away, especially leather shoes.
    - Buy clothes at secondhand, consignment, or resale shops.
    - Put power strips on your tv to turn everything off when you go to bed or leave for the day.
    Vampire or standby power drains energy.

    Finally, one last eco-friendly tip on Oprah is to go to a landfill and see where your garbage goes. It doesn’t just disappear! When you see a landfill in person, you’ll think twice about what you throw in the garbage and what you recycle. Recycle as much as you can. Make sure you check what types of plastic are recyclable in your city, through the Public Works or Sanitation Department.

    Hope these tips will help everyone be a little greener! Happy Friday everyone!


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