2010 April

Moving Announcement Wording

April 29, 2010 Leave a Comment

Moving to a new address is equal parts excitement, anticipation, and stress. It’s exciting to wonder what is in store for you as you pack up and move to a new place. But then there’s the packing, and organizing, and donating stuff to charity/throwing away…if you are selling your house and moving into a new one, then you’ve got closing costs and down payments and home inspections on your mind too! Talk about information overload!

I was just talking to a friend last night about moving. She has two toddlers and two dogs. Her husband works long hours as a surgeon and they are moving across the country next month for his job. They finally have an offer on their house and I was asking her how she handled being in “Open House Mode”, basically having to vacate the premises at any given moment for showings and keeping the house in tip top shape for potential buyers. As we were cracking up over her tricks and tips and here are a few

- the good table cloth stays folded up on the table and is only put all the way down after the kids eat,

-she swaps out soaps in the bathroom and has fancy “open house soaps” that never are to be actually used

-and she keeps a ridiculous amount of vases with fresh flowers around the house to be strategically placed for showings but kept in really random places otherwise because the kids or dogs will get to them.

Those of you going through a move need all the help you can get! Here’s a listing of different moving announcement wording that you can use once you’re all settled in to your new address:

Traditional Moving Announcement Wording:

For a classy, elegant moving announcement, keep it simple! Simply use one of these phrases before listing your new address:

-We’ve moved

-We’ve moved to (name of new city)

-Our New Address

-Mr. and Mrs. Smith are pleased to announce our new address

Contemporary Moving Announcement Wording:

For a more modern, playful approach to your moving cards, try something a little less formal, but just as special:

-Our New Nest

-Same Fish, New Pond

-Home Sweet Home

-Our New Pad

-The Smiths are on the Move!

-Please visit us at our new home!

Offbeat and Funny Moving Announcement Wording:

If you want to have a little fun with your moving announcement card, choose moving announcement wording that is different from the norm. And why not? Moving annoucements are going to your closest family and friends, and they would appreciate the humor.

-We’re not ignoring you, we just moved

-We never knew we had so much stuff!

-Digging out from all these boxes to let you know we moved.

-Beep Beep! New Home, here we come!

-Yeah, we did it! We just took on 30 years of debt! Come visit us at our new home.

-Finally out of mom and dad’s basement and into my new pad.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: design talk, moving announcements, products

Product Spotlight: “State of Mind” Moving Announcements

April 26, 2010 Leave a Comment

Moving Announcement State of Mind by Sweet Cricket

Moving Announcements are fun. It’s exciting to work with people who are moving, because 99% of the time, the move is a move up. Whether they are moving to a better neighborhood, a better house, or buying their first house or condo, or even moving into an apartment and out of their parent’s basement, it’s exciting!

No matter how stressful the actual logistics of a move can be, the anticipation of a new home, a fresh start, can give your spirit a little lift and make you feel like many new doors have opened. People are generally proud and excited to share the details of their new address in a moving announcement to family and friends.

I created this moving announcement for a family that was moving to Massachusetts from Indiana (family name and address changed here of course):

This announcement is available for all 50 states – we will design your new state with a red and white herringbone pattern just like good old Massachusetts shown above. This moving announcement is ideal for those who are moving to a brand new state, quite possibly in a brand new region of the United States. This family let the kids pick out the little trivia snippets on the left, or you can leave the fact finding to us and we will find a few quirky factoids about your new state to include.

The red-white-and blue color scheme is indeed very patriotic, a subtle reminder to all of your family and friends that no matter how far away you are moving, we’re all still connected by virtue of being Americans. That is, when this midwestern family was receiving jokes, and a little mild teasing about becoming “Yankees”, this moving announcement was a perfect way to give a few details about their new state and gently reinforce the idea that we are all Americans, no matter which region we live in!

Available at Sweetcricket.com for as low as $1.29 per card.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: design talk, products

How I Find Instant Work Happiness!

April 23, 2010 Leave a Comment

I’m generally a very positive person. Glass half full, benefit of the doubt, belly-laugh regularly kind of person. But there are some times when I need a little push, a little motivation to remind myself how wonderful life really is. Maybe it’s raining and gray for the third day in a row, or I was up too early with my daughter and feeling sleepy, or I’m feeling sluggish after eating too much junk food.

I mean, I need to be feeling fabulous when I’m making fun things like this:

The best part of my job is that I get to design something for life’s biggest milestones – birthdays, birth announcements, graduation and engagement parties, and I want to be in the same state of mind that I would be if I was the guest of honor or new parent ordering stationery from me to commemorate their accomplishments in love and life. That is, excited, hopeful, and reminded of all the sweet moments that we collect as we live our lives.

So, no schlumpy stationery designer here. Pretty much never – if I have a mood I just can’t shake, I use that work time to do accounting and pay bills – and honestly, the thought of those two tasks are usually enough to get me to snap out of it so I don’t have to do it!

But here are some of my tried and true tricks to get the day going right (or back on track):

1. Music. It’s a no brainer, yes, but sometimes it’s easy to forget that I did have musical tastes before I ever knew that Kidz Bop and remixed nursery rhymes existed!

If I’m working on something that’s really pretty or lovey-dovey (like an engagement party invitation), it’s the Amelie Soundtrack all the way. In fact, I would love to know more about French music in general, but this album is simply sweet. You can’t help but see the world through rose colored glasses when listening (or get a strong craving for a glass of red wine and a baguette).

2. Take a 10 minute cleaning time-out. Yes, I know. Cleaning is not fun. But if you are surrounded by clutter and coffee cup rings and paperwork and dust and stamps and stationery proofs and a little dust and…well, you likely feel just as overwhelmed as you did while reading that sentence! Take 10 minutes and do a quick clean up. Clear your desk so you can actually see it again. Dust your computer monitor. Sort the paper into a few piles, with one of those piles going straight into the recycling bin. You’ll feel better. It may even inspire you to clean out your email inbox, which always feels good too! I find that whenever I am working in a bright, uncluttered area, I am much more productive.

3. Look through your Happy Folder. What’s a happy folder, you ask? Well, since I’ve been in the post-college working world, I’ve kept a folder with me containing notes of praise and thanks from bosses, colleagues, clients and (my favorite) kiddos from my teaching days. I usually pull this out after I’ve made a silly (errr, costly) mistake, crashed my computer, or any other time I need to be reminded that people appreciate what I do. I love looking back at over a decade of notes that I’ve saved as a little ego boost. We all need that sometimes! Don’t have your own happy folder? It’s never too late to start one!

So those are my top three foolproof “snap out of it” ways to find a happy zen at work. I would love to know what you do to find instant work happiness!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: design talk

2010 Birth Announcement Trends: Sibling Announcements

April 19, 2010 1 Comment

Sweet Love Birth Announcement by Sweet Cricket Stationery

Ok, so I admit it…out of all the different types of stationery I create for my clients, birth announcements are my favorite. (and holiday photo cards are a close second!) I don’t know, it’s the pretty colors, and the super cute photos of brand new babies, and knowing that I am making a special keepsake for a family.

The majority of the time, the birth announcement for a first child is very traditional – elegant, proper, simply beautiful. As it should be! A new, gorgeous little person has just arrived to this world and their proud parents want to announce it in style.

Case in point – the Sweet Love birth announcement in our store – so fabulous and elegant! Wouldn’t you just love to be announced this way the next time you arrived somewhere new?

But by the time the second (or third, or fourth) baby comes into being, these same sophisticated parents are still looking for a birth announcement that is modern, elegant, and beautiful – but they are willing to be a little more creative. Willing to let a little humor find it’s way into the perfect birth announcement:

Alas, the sibling birth announcement. This birth announcement is really unique and fun because it is essentially sent by the older sibling – in this case “Big Sister Katie”. The parents take a back seat in this one and let their oldest child tell all of their family and friends about her new baby brother, who incidentally, is “Cute – but Loud!”

This birth announcement still is gorgeous, with a great color palette and interesting font – but the parents (and big sister) have chosen to add a little of their personality into it. This one is going to make the fridge of just about everyone it’s sent to and will give the recipients a good chuckle and also a chance to ooh and ahhh over how cute the new addition to the family is.

Another way to embrace the sibling birth announcement trend is to choose a birth announcement with a multi-photo layout to show your new baby all alone and also with the big brother or sister. Many times, the headline, or main text of the birth announcement will declare, ” [older sibling ] has a new baby brother/sister/both!” as the Luxe Baby Birth Announcement, shown at the right does.

This is a wonderful way to get your oldest child (or children) involved in announcing your new baby to family and friends. Imagine the pride the older sister had in this example to be included in her little sister’s birth announcement as the “Big Sister”! And while this style of birth announcement does mean that the new baby has to share the spotlight a bit with her sibling(s), I think it’s a great way to get the whole family involved – especially at a time when older siblings may be feeling a little (or a lot) left out.

All in all, the birth announcement trend toward sibling announcements is so positive! I love the humor and creativity seasoned parents put in toward the announcement of their expanded brood. Attention to design detail is still of premium importance with sibling birth announcements, but funny photos, hilarious wording, and the inclusion of other siblings just makes for such a fun, well-rounded family experience and I enjoy creating these types of birth announcements so much.

So keep ‘em coming!

Here are some related links you might enjoy if you have babies on the brain!

The Dear Dr.MOZ Baby Blog » Dadanana Baby and Toddler Backpack Carrier – Baby news, baby blogs, baby gear, and baby shower gifts!
$100 Million Valuation For Geni – Sacks describes Geni as a social network for the family. It provides an easy to use (and easy on the eyes) Flash based family tree. As you add family members, they are optionally emailed to register as well and help fill out the tree.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: birth announcement, design talk, stationery trends

Product Spotlight : Hipster Hive Party Invitations

April 15, 2010 2 Comments

I’m loving this new party invitation that is brand new in our store. It’s got a killer color scheme that’s modern and trendy yet elegant, and a cool geometric vibe with the honeycomb across the top and in the bottom corner.

I usually have the most difficult time coming up with cute, catchy names for my products, but this one was a no brainer. I chose the honeycomb pattern because designing party invitations got me thinking of social creatures, and bees came to mind. Bees live in a hive, and if I ever saw a beehive that was purple with the perfect green accents scattered randomly throughout, well, that would be pretty hip. In fact, I would probably think Hipster Bees lived inside. Then I started wondering what exactly a bee in skinny jeans would look like, and whether they would wear Ray-Bans or decide that’s so 2009, and what footwear – Converse or Vans? And….

….Hence the name Hipster Hive. Crazy how my brain works sometimes!

Anyways, if you are planning an upcoming soiree for all the cool kids (aka your friends, family, or coworkers!) at your hive sometime soon, check out this party invite to set the tone and let your invitees know this is one party not to be missed.

We’re happy to customize this invitation with your wording and will even change the color scheme if you so desire!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: products

Lots of new at Sweetcricket.com!

April 14, 2010 Leave a Comment

Citrus Serenity Invitation by Sweet Cricket Stationery

Oh man, have we been busy. Busy courting possible new printers, (or shall we say they were courting us?), testing new paper weights and types for our stationery, and totally revamping our pricing structure so that they more you buy, the more you save.

When searching for a new printer our main consideration (besides print quality, of course) was to find a printer who was eco-friendly and environmentally responsible – both in printing methods and printing supplies. We are happy to announce that our entire line of stationery – that’s everything from birth announcements to thank you cards – is now printed on Environmental Pro paper (30% post-consumer product). Additionally, our new printer offsets the majority of their electricity use with wind power. How cool is that?

We’ve also made the switch on all stationery from 100 pound cardstock to an extra heavy 110 pound matte cardstock. I know that extra 10 pounds may not seem like a lot, but it really does make the difference between good and great.

And if that wasn’t enough, we’ve reorganized our prices too! Instead of a flat rate for all cards and stationery, we now offer quantity discounts, so the more you buy, the more you save. Most stationery can be purchased in quantities divisible by 5, with a minimum order of 20 cards.

So swing by Sweet Cricket Stationery when you have a chance, and check out our newest product offerings and fantastic prices!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Sales and Promotions

Birth Announcement Trends: Death to Chocolate Brown?

April 7, 2010 9 Comments

Ahhhh, chocolate brown. So sophisticated, so modern, so 5 minutes ago? Whaaaat?

For the past few years, chocolate brown has been the “it” accent color for birth announcements, photo cards, stationery, and pretty much all things paper. And it’s easy to see why. I love the way that chocolate brown can impart its deep, velvety, rich vibe on other, shall we say, less swanky colors.

Like pastels – a prime choice of color for many birth announcements, in various pastel-y shades of blue and pink, sometimes green or yellow. Pastels are typically hopeful, cheerful colors that kind of make you smile in a “oooh! so cute” kinda way.

Check out the feel of pastel pink paired with another soft coordinating pastel in this birth announcement:

And how that same pastel pink looks totally different when paired with a rich chocolate brown in this birth announcement:

See what I mean? That’s why these types of color combos work so well with birth announcements – new parents want their card to reflect the newness, cuteness, pinch-your-cheeks-adorableness of their new baby, so they start with a pastel. But they also want to remind everyone that they are just as sophisticated and cool as they were pre-baby(if not more so!), so they add in a little brown to add a touch of elegance.

Crazy how that works, right? So with mojo like that, why are our clients starting to shy away from this color superhero? Don’t get me wrong, chocolate brown still is extremely popular and birth announcements and invitations with chocolate brown in them still make up our biggest portion of sales. I don’t see brown going away any time soon. But we’re starting to get a ton of requests to put chocolate brown on the sidelines and sub in a new player.

What color is this player, you ask? Well, meet slate gray.

Slate gray does all the wonderful same things that chocolate brown does with this birth announcement – gives the pastel an air of elegance, is dark enough to make the photos really pop, and acts to make this birth announcement more sophisticated. So what’s the difference? Well, simply put, slate gray is not chocolate brown.

That’s it!

For those customers looking to do something a little different, they are turning to this color as an accent in their birth announcements because it’s unique. Slate gray seems fresh and modern in this birth announcement design. It’s unexpected, yet similar enough to chocolate brown to be equally elegant and demure.

So, if you’re looking to try something a little different without veering too far from the norm, consider using a nice slate gray in your birth announcement design. And now that you know about this new color trend, you’ll start noticing it everywhere – from wedding color palettes to home decor.

Shop our entire collection of birth announcements here…and if you want to change the color of any design to incorporate this new trend, (or to chocolate brown, or to any other color for that matter), fear not – all the birth announcement designs are fully customizable.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: birth announcements, design talk

Easter is not just for pretty pastels

April 5, 2010 2 Comments

I’ve been on a major pastel kick lately when it comes to new stationery designs, and I thought our Easter eggs would be no different this year. However, in a departure from the lovely, soft, oh-so-demure stationery I’ve been creating lately, our family decided to make Monster Eggs this year – with crazy eyes and teeth and puffy hair and intense shots of color:

C’mon…they’re kinda cute, no? What with their uneven color and glued on appendages and toupees?

I have to say, making these eggs this weekend was a welcome contrast to the detail-oriented, precise, and perfectly color coordinated birth announcements and stationery I’ve been creating for Sweet Cricket Stationery lately.

I have to admit though, that getting back into stationery design now that it’s Monday felt very refreshing and, dare I say, calming after the chaotic creation of these funny little Easter Egg Monsters.

And the Monsters are still in the fridge, because noone has the heart to eat them quite yet. So when I need a little break from my design board of pastels, I can just sneak a peek at these little guys and be reminded how much I really do love the nuances of designing precise, pretty stationery.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: design talk, easter, fun

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