Goodbye 2014… It was a fun year! January 10, 2015

I can’t believe we are almost half way through January! Where does the time go? 2014 was a fabulous year and on a professional level, I was very happy to experience a few firsts. My first styled photo shoot for an e-magazine. A huge thank you Andressa of Twinkle Twinkle Little Party for your faith in me. I also planned and styled a party at a large church hall. That offered a new challenge in that I had a huge area to decorate on a fairly tight budget. I also planned a joint birthday party. I was also fortunate enough to collaborate with some incredible venders from all over the United States. It’s been a busy year but a lot of fun, too.

As always, I teamed up with the amazing Danielle of All Things Great and Small Photography for all my events. She’s a pleasure to work with. I thought to share some photos of the work we’ve done together in 2014. Enjoy!

    

If you are looking for a party stylist in the Pensacola area, then I am around till May 2015. In the summer, I will be moving to Washington D.C. for a year. But, you can still stay in touch via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!

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What does for Personal Use Only mean? July 14, 2014

 

When you purchase any file from me, somewhere on the PDF will be the following statement:

For Personal Use Only! Do not distribute in any way. All rights reserved by A Party Studio http://www.apartystudio.etsy.com

What does that actually mean? “For personal use” means that the person who purchased the file from me has the right to use it for their own needs but not as a business or for profit. I recently had a client run into difficulties printing a file at Office Depot because the employee there said that ‘for personal use only’ indicates that it can only be printed on a home computer. This is incorrect.  Personal use only has nothing to do with how you print- just how you control the files. The file/s can be printed where ever you’d like and once printed, can be used for your party, baby shower, bridal shower, wedding, etc.

Thankfully, I happened to be online and saw her message so I was able to call the Office Depot store and talk to the print/copy center to explain that she had every right to print out the PDF.

If you head to Office Depot, Staples, Kinkos or any other commercial printing place, to avoid the situation that my client faced, please print out a copy of your receipt to prove you are the owner of the file and entitled to print.

If you are concerned about your print job, then I recommend using an online service.

Kelli at Print and Cut Your Printables or Andrea at Paper + Pop

Their print work is fantastic and much better quality than what you would get through an office supply store. Plus, both these lovely ladies will cut out your files which will save you so much time.

I’m gonna go off on a little tangent here since it’s somewhat related… what does the “Do not distribute in any way” mean? It means you can’t pass on the PDF files to your friends to use for their events. It also means you can’t sell resell the files.

A couple examples…

So, is it ok to purchase a chocolate bar wrapper from me for $10 and then open your own store and offer the wrapper for sale as an assembled item? Absolutely not. This is stealing and a violation of my intellectual property. If you have to place text boxes or make screen shots of a PDF file that you have purchased then you are probably doing something unethical. Sadly, I have actually had this exact scenario happen.

Is it ok to buy a non-personalized item from my store- for example, a banner that simply reads “Happy Birthday” and then make that banner available for free via your blog? You may think that is fine to do because you are not profiting when the banner is downloaded but guess what? No, that is also not ok.

If you are a event stylist and purchase a set of printables from me, can you use them for you event? Sure, that’s fine but if you want to reuse the items for another event, you need to repurchase the personalized files. The files I send are not editable so you cannot make a screen shot and then insert them in to a program such as Word and add a text box over the personalization information in order to ‘update’ the file.  Plus, you are cheating yourself because by doing this, you are reducing the quality of the file and your prints will not look nice. And honestly, the length of time it takes to do that, you may as well pay me for my services.

If you are still not clear, please don’t hesitate to contact me via e-mail! apartystudio@gmail.com

 

 

Personalized Party Printables! April 19, 2014

New to the store: personalized labels for mini wine bottles April 9, 2014

 

 

I recently worked with a client to create some personalized printables for her daughter’s bachelorette weekend. She needed labels for mini wine bottles. What a cute idea! I was thrilled with how they turned out and am happy to now offer these in my Etsy store. I created the labels to specifically fit the Barefoot bottles; however, as you can see in the below photo these labels work just as well with the Sutter Home brand which I picked up at my local Target store. 

My client, Angie, said that the ladies loved the wine bottles- they were a huge hit- and this was her response when I initially sent her the PDF files: 

Tali, I LOVEEEEEEEEE the labels!! It’s almost like you read my mind on what I was thinking!  Gosh girl you are good at this!  You are DEF my FAVORITE etsy seller to date! 🙂

Can’t wait to do them!  Think I’ll have to go out and buy some more wine bottles just so I can label them! HA HA

Thank you SOOOO much for this last minute order!!

It makes me incredibly happy when I get such positive feedback. 

 

When I create new items I like to get a test print done at my local Office Depot to check for color, size, etc. I usually print everything on 110 lb card stock (and I mean everything- invites, banners, water bottle wrappers, etc) but for the test print, the lovely bloke at Office Depot used copy paper. And guess what? The labels worked perfectly using the copy paper. I peeled the existing label off the mini wine bottles and the residual glue was enough to adhere the labels. Also, since I’d brought a blush wine, I refrigerated the bottles and the condensation didn’t spoil the labels at all. If you are not comfortable using copy paper then I’d suggest a medium weight card stock (65 lb) and you’d probably need some glue dots to help adhere the heavier paper. As always, do a test print first. 

 

 

I added a cute fake barcode to the labels and the numbers represent the couple’s wedding date. In this case, they are getting married on May 3, 2014. Of course, you can opt for the date of the bachelorette party instead of the wedding date. 

If you’d like mini wine bottle labels for an upcoming event but these colors don’t work for you, then you can simply purchase the custom color change fee listing in my store. Yep folks, for only $5 I will adjust the color to suit you needs on any of my printables. I have a large selection of color swatches or you can send me your color inspiration and I’ll do my best to match the shades and colors. There is always a little discrepancy with regards to color as each monitor is calibrated differently but I can usually get pretty close 🙂 

 

I hope this gives you some ideas if you having a bachelorette party. I think the mini wine labels would be cute for a 21st birthday party, too. As always, you can follow me on Twitter, like my Facebook page or check out my super awesome Etsy store 🙂 If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I’ll get back to you or e-mail me: apartystudio@gmail.com  

Ideas for Hotel Welcome Bags March 26, 2014

My poor blog has been so neglected. I have so many parties that I want to share with you guys, including photos and details from my children’s birthday parties last year. First things first though… today, I am sharing with you photos that will hopefully give you some ideas for a hotel welcome bag. What’s a hotel welcome bag? When you are hosting an event and have guests from out of town, it’s nice to have the hotel leave a welcome bag or basket in the guest’s room. These can be elaborate or a simple note with a bottle of water and snacks. It is a way for you to acknowledge that they’ve travelled aways to be at your event and you appreciate this.

A couple years ago, we hosted an event in Warner Robins, Georgia and had guests traveling from Florida, Illinois, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Mississippi to be with us for the weekend. We hosted a dinner in the evening and enjoyed the second night in the hotel’s beautiful gardens with an impromptu Champagne and appetizers gathering. 

When we first arrived, I gave the hotel receptionist bags to place in each guest rooms, including a couple extra bags for the children, a thirteen year old boy and his five year old sister.

 

Generic welcome bags…

I used plain white bags that I found at my local Target in their party department. I added a 3 inch square sticker to the front and a coordinating hang tags which I attached to the bag with some black tulle. I decided to with a classy teal blue, white and black color scheme and because I felt it was elegant and not too feminine. If you’ve followed my work for any length of time, you’ll know that I love mixing patterns so I used some damask and stripes.

These bags contained a couple bottles of water and a glassine bag filled with Hershey kisses. I put personalized labels on the water bottles that read “Welcome to Warner Robins” and personalized stickers on the chocolates, too. All these labels are available via my Etsy store. Inside, I placed some snacks… a couple bags of potato chips and a box of imported cookies.

Depending on your event and the location, you can tailor your bags more. For example, if your event is in Las Vegas for a bachelorette party, how about including small bottles of wine, Gatorade and granola bars (energy for the morning after a hard night of partying), a pack of playing cards and some poker chips? Maybe even an information sheet with rules for various card games. 

On the other hand, if your event is a destination wedding on a tropical island, you could include sunscreen, lip balm with SPF, bug spray, postcards, bottle of local beer, dried fruit and cookies from a local bakery and maybe a beach towel embroidered with the guest’s name or monogram. 

Whatever you choose to put inside, don’t forget a note. I decided to print out an itinerary to make sure everyone know what was happening, when and where. Include full addresses if people have access to a car. I also made sure cell phone numbers were on the welcome note so that any guest could get hold of me if they had questions. 

 

 

For the teenage boy… 

I included a bag of potato chips, an organic juice box, a bottle of water (with personalized label, of course), a puzzle book and a trade paperback novel. What book do you get a teenage boy who loves to read and has probably read all the latest best sellers? Well, I ordered a copy of Sue Townsend’s The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, aged 13 3/4 from my favourite book store, Barnes and Noble. This was a book that was highly popular when I was a kid and I remember it being laugh out loud funny so I was pretty sure this teenager would have never read it. If you are stuck with what book to get, you can always ask the parents for a few suggestions. 

 

For the five year old girl…

I decided to go with a fun Disney theme and added a touch of sass by utilizing a fun zebra print and hot pink. Of course, her welcome bag had a hang tag with her name on it and inside I include a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse coloring and activity book with stickers, a pack of crayons, a cute little Minnie Mouse handbag, a Minnie Mouse t-shirt (both of which were inexpensive finds at my local Walmart store) and of course, the necessary snacks- a bag of potato chips, organic juice box, and a bottle of Junior size water with personalized label. 

Again, you can let your destination dictate what you place inside your welcome bag. If you are doing a beach wedding, then something along the lines of sand toys, oversized sunglasses and baseball cap would go over really well. Or if the hotel has a beautiful pool, then perhaps some pool toys such as dive sticks or a blow up beach ball? 

 

Hope this gives you some ideas. Don’t be afraid to be creative and if you are on a tight budget, remember that even a simple note would be appreciated by your out of town guests. As always, you can follow me on Twitter, like my Facebook page or check out my super awesome Etsy store. 

 

 

 

 

How to Leave Feedback on Etsy- it’s quick and easy (and much appreciated) January 17, 2014

So, you’ve purchased your party printables, loved how they turned out and are thrilled with the quick turnaround. Show some love and leave positive feedback on Etsy. Believe it or not, shoppers really do look at this and having a 5 star rating not only reflects great on my store but makes me very happy too! I really enjoy my job, working closely with clients and provide excellent customer service. If you’ve never left feedback on Etsy, it’s a very quick and easy process. Here’s how…

 

1. Make sure you are signed in

2. On the top right hand corner, hover over “Your Account” and you’ll see a drop menu.

3. Click on “Purchases & Reviews”

4. You’ll see all items you’ve purchased on Etsy. You can select stars (5 of course!!!) and afterwards the pop up screen will allow you to leave a comment 🙂

 

 

 

 

So, you see it is very easy and quick to leave feedback. Believe me, your Etsy seller will appreciate it. 

Crawfish Boil Party Printables March 26, 2013

 

How are you all doing? Enjoying the first days of spring? The weather here in the Florida panhandle is chilly but I can’t complain since my family in Illinois is dealing with 12 inches of snow.

If you are starting to plan your late spring and summer festivities, you should consider throwing a crawfish boil! These outdoor get togethers are a ton of fun… think lots of beer, delicious seafood, hot sauce, corn on the cob, dirty rice, and Cajun music. I have a board on Pinterest where I’ve pinned loads of great ideas for you and I also have printables now available in my Etsy store to make your crawfish boil fabulous. 

Check out the invites (with free response/details cards), tent style food labels and favor tags:

 

 

Valentine’s Day February 20, 2013

Remember the free Valentine’s Day printables I posted a few weeks ago? I uploaded printables for a chocolate bar wrapper, a water bottle label and an oversized hang tag on Scribd and made them available for FREE download. I created two versions- a chocolate bar for the Sweetest Teacher as well as one for the Sweetest Bus Driver. Well, I know at least one person made good use of them! Here is an e-mail (and the attached photographs) that I received yesterday… 

 

Here is how we used your V-day freebies !! Thank You sooooo much!! The cycle with balloons was made by my son for daddy and a favorite neighbor.

 

 

You can download the teacher printable here and the bus driver one here.

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest! Or if you have any questions, you can leave a comment on this post or e-mail me directly- apartystudio@gmail.com  

Free Valentine’s Day Printable for your child’s teacher and bus driver February 6, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking for a cute Valentine’s day idea for your child’s teacher or bus driver? I have uploaded the printables for these cute chocolate bar wrappers, water bottle label and oversized hang tag on Scribd and they are available for FREE download. I have a chocolate bar for the Sweetest Teacher as well as one for the Sweetest Bus Driver. Have your child write on the hang tag (or do it for them if they are too young.)

 

 

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Hope you all have a lovely day with your loved ones. 

 

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest! Or if you have any questions, you can leave a comment on this post or e-mail me directly- apartystudio@gmail.com  

Jake’s 1st Birthday Party- A Superhero Party! February 4, 2013

My client Jodi ordered the whole Superhero collection. This is such a fun theme and the great thing about buying the entire collection is that you get a total of 9 items for a huge discounted price. Basically with this Superhero collection, you are $76.50 worth of printables for only $45. That’s an awesome deal and you have everything you could possibly need to throw a SUPER party! The collection includes the invitation, personalized notecards, water bottle labels, favor tags, hang tags, happy birthday banner, starburst tags, welcome sign and personalized cupcake toppers! 

I love that Jodi e-mailed me loads of photos from Jake’s special day! Plus, she shared with me the inspiration for choosing this theme:

I wanted to show you my original inspiration for the Super Hero theme!  At an art fair here in Chicago, I bought a Super Hero bath cape for Jake—it has a button tab in the front so he can wear it like a cape!   Also, on Amazon, I found a cute 1st birthday shirt that matched the theme….. the photos of the shirt attached aren’t great, but it has a big ONE! on it similar to your little tags.

 

I love the Superhero bath cape- that is awesome! It’s something my son and daughter would totally be in love with. 

 

 

 

I have a board on Pinterest specifically for the Superhero theme. I love sharing my ideas with my clients and I am always delighted when they actually utilize those ideas!!! So, one of the things I suggest in my Pinterest board is to use the cupcake toppers also as napkin rings. Here Jodi punched the cupcake toppers using a scalloped circle punch  and she hand cut the circle ones. She then tied grosgrain ribbon around the napkins and attached the cupcake toppers. How cute! 

 

 

Although I offer a package deal, I do have a couple other items that clients can purchase in this theme. One of those is the full size Hershey chocolate bar wrapper. Doesn’t it look great? I love these chocolate bar wrappers because you can truly use them as keepsakes. On the back, under the list of ingredients I like to include details showing your child’s likes or milestones reached. So, for example, since Jake is a year old, the ingredients includes things such as clapping, playing peek a boo and splashing in the tub. I also include the child’s weight under the serving size. These make awesome party favors! I also have tent style food labels available.

 

 

 

Jodi, thank you so much for sharing photos from Jake’s 1st birthday party. It looks like the birthday boy had an incredible day! Also, thank you for asking me for the one year banner labels. I am making it available FOR FREE via Scribd.com. Simply click on this link and you can download the tags.  Each tag has a month number on it so you can make a one year banner. These tags can be used to make a first year banner… simply use a photo from your child’s 1st month and stick it with the Month One; choose a photo from your child’s 2nd month and stick it with Month Two; etc, etc. This is a lovely way to decorate at your child’s first birthday party. Here’s how Jodi put together the one year banner… By the way, how classic is the photo of baby Jake screaming in Santa’s arms? I think we all have at least one photo like that!  

 

Please follow me on Twitter and Facebook! Also, if you love party ideas and awesome recipes then you should definitely follow me on Pinterest. If you have any questions, please leave a comment or you can contact me via e-mail. apartystudio@gmail.com