Last chance for Halloween invitations

How about this lovely black, white and orange chevron invitation? I think it's perfect for a Halloween dinner party!

Don't be SCARED....

Halloween planning doesn't need to be FRIGHTENING!

Check out these simple ideas to be the "ghoulest" person on your block...

Tombstone Taco Dip from Better Homes & Gardens

"Ghouls Night Out" from Country Living Magazine

The Floating Ghost from Every Day is Crafting Day blog

Invitation by PaperCourt Press

Check back next week for school Halloween party tricks and treats!

3...2...1...Blast off!

For your aspiring astronaut's next birthday celebration!

Prepare for Blast off....

3....2....1.....

It's Party Time!

Check out Space Party inspiration from Family Fun, Frost Me, and Martha Stewart.

CYBER MONDAY 40% off holiday cards

No time to chat...I'm busy making cards! Don't miss this opportunity to take advantage of our biggest sale yet!

Thanksgiving Sale!

25% off holiday cards!

Supper Club

A couple of weeks ago, we hosted our Supper Club for a North Caroline BBQ party. Eastern NC BBQ was shipped in from my husband's hometown of Kinston. We provided the BBQ, cole slaw, Shrimp Shooters, Crudite and "Upsy-Daisy lemonade" and our guests brought side dishes to share.

You will rarely see a picture of me but here I am serving Shrimp Shooters

"Upsy Daisy Lemonade"

from Southern Cocktails book

PaperCourt Press straw flags

"go hog wild"

Crudite display inspired by Martha Stewart

I didn't have a metal planter so I improvised

Come hang out!

How cute is this invitation for your little one's next gymnastics party? Colors can be customized to match your party! Invitation found here at PaperCourt Press.

Celebrate Mom!

Come on over to PaperCourt Press!

FREE Earth Day stickers download

Tomorrow, little kid's preschool is having an Earth Day fair. There will be four stations of Earth- friendly crafts, planting, etc. Thanks to an Earth loving mom to put this all together. Don't worry, I've done my part too. I made the stickers below for the take home bags. Click here to download the free stickers and print them on Avery 2"x4"(5163) labels! Happy Earth Day!

Preppy shower invitation

And this is what I came up with when asked to create a preppy baby shower invitation for a Florida Gator fan who is having a girl....

Partying like P-Diddy

My Pilates partner is turning 40 and has planned a P-Diddy style "White Party" for her theme. The venue is a cool loft space in a trendy part of Seattle that fits the theme perfectly.

Photo courtesy Sole Repair Shop

And the official "White Party" invitation by PaperCourt Press....

Guitar party

Friday's guitar cake baking extravaganza was a success. It only took about 4 hours to create the fondant covered masterpiece. Enjoy the photos....

Sources:

Invitations and cup labels by PaperCourt Press

Cake made by moi with yummy prepared fondant from Home Cake Decoration Supply Co.

Blue and red garland tutorial found on Purl Bee

Bunting made by moi with leftover Ikea fabric

Coordinating guitar shirt designed by PaperCourt Press and printed at Zazzle

Hosting a dinner party?

Let the cooking begin

Do you have a child who loves to cook? How about planning an "Iron Chef" party for their next birthday? This is an invitation for a very lucky almost 9-year-old's upcoming birthday complete with coordinating aprons for each of the two cooking teams.

(folded piles of aprons - 7 of each design)

In a sea of holiday madness!

Business is booming at PaperCourt Press and I'm literally in a sea of holiday cards (and other holiday madness). I've had so little time for life that I have to jump over piles of clean, unfolded laundry to get to my printer and work station. C'est la vie! I'm thrilled to be this busy!

BTW, I'm still taking orders! Contact me personally if you need to order after the 13th and we'll work out an action plan to get your cards in time! courtney (at) papercourtpress (dot) com

Teaching kids manners

But more specifically, teaching them about Thank You notes. Several posts ago, I mentioned my son's 6th birthday party. Sadly, it's taken us until today to get all of the thank you notes written. I felt that since he knows how to write and needs the practice, he should write the notes himself. That's quite a task considering he just started kindergarten and is exhausted at the end of the day. According to Emily Post, I should've waited a year on that (oops). To make them easier to write, I added ruled lines when designing the stationery (which can be done with any PaperCourt Press order - just let me know).

Emily Post offers the following tips to parents and kids regarding thank you notes:

• Explain that receiving thank-you notes makes people feel good. And it lets them know that the gift arrived safely and is appreciated.
• The sooner the better! Get those notes written as soon as possible. But don’t be embarrassed by a note sent a bit late, even a month after the gift was received. It’s far better to send a late note than no note at all.
• Spend a few minutes talking about the gift and what made it special: It’s a book you loved reading. You’ve already made three projects with the art kit. The toy is so much fun to play with you haven’t wanted to do anything else. You had a great time shopping with your friends and found the perfect sweater with the gift card.
• Have fun, age appropriate materials on hand to get your child interested in the project: colorful notepaper, markers, fun pens, stickers and stamps.
• If you have a camera, take a picture of your child and the gift. Include the photo with the thank-you note.
• Again, remember to keep it fun! If you view this as drudgery, so will the kids.

And the winner is.....

Charity!

Congratulations! Let me know your favorite and I'll start printing

Thanks for entering everyone!

Two more days to enter the giveaway...

Don't forget that you'll have TONS of thank you notes to send after the holidays! Enter now by leaving a comment here!

Blue Angels birthday party

My oldest is turning six next week and he was very specific about wanting a "Blue Angel" birthday party after seeing them perform this summer. Mr. Almost Six was also very sure he wanted the party to be at our house. That would be our teeny tiny house. I wasn't so sure I wanted a house full of kindergarten boys but it worked out thanks to Mother Nature giving us clear skies.

I started the theme with these invitations from yours truly, PaperCourt Press. Next, we rented a yellow and blue bouncy house for the yard. I made a sign for the light post that said "Last Name Field - Air Station Magnolia" (Magnolia is our neighborhood). I made a badge for each child and I bought Blue Angel airplanes and pencils for party favors from Airshow.com. The cake was from Whole Foods. I also had a Blue Angels DVD showing on the tv in our playroom.

A good time was had by all and I'm so thankful that it didn't rain!