enclosure cards & holiday sanity.

christmas enclosure cards are great to have on hand during this time of year. avoid time running back and forth to the store picking up cards for each of our friends.

i like keeping a closet stocked with items-on-hand that can be given as gifts to christmas visitors. i hate being empty handed. a few items i try to always have? a few nice bottles of wine that i can quickly pull out -- i try to have these already wrapped up in a pretty cellophane or wine bag. lotions and specialty soap baskets. a super comfy robe or lush blanket. little silver bracelets. just odds and ends that could quickly be wrapped up and given as a gift of appreciation for friends. when i have enclosure cards on hand as well, it makes the process super easy.

i also recommend keeping a wrapping station stocked and handy during the season. make sure to have several rolls of wrapping paper, scissors, tape, ribbon, and tissue paper. if you know someone is on their way, you can quickly wrap up a gift without having to rush around the house frantically looking for all the things you need.

pink limeade on a hot summer day.

I love entertaining, which works out well for me since it goes hand in hand with my passion for paper. A popular color palette {and a favorite of mine in the spring and summer} includes a delicious lime green and shades of pink. I used this color combo for a bridal shower for my sister-in-law, Lindsay.

The event kicked off with the invitation {because what event doesn't ... especially in my world}. I started on the invitation and arrived at the color palette shown above. I'm not an over-the-top, lace-y kind of girl, but I like the eyelet lace pattern along the bottom of this invite.

Isn't it fun for spring and summer? We spruced up the envelopes as well, adding a bit of intrigue before ever getting to the actual invitation.

After the invitation was all taken care of, I contacted the bakery. What's a party without a fabulous cake? My go-to place in Tulsa at the time was Mallory's Mud Pies. As of December 2009, however, MMP no longer exists. {I still don't know the details behind the closing, but was in shock when I heard they had shut their doors}. They were delicious. It just so happened that Justin and Lindsay were also getting their wedding cake and cake balls from there as well so Tracey was more than happy to work on another fun cake for the bride. I always loved working with MMP because they did such a great job of matching cakes to invitations, if you so requested. Here's the cake they created for the bridal shower:

Isn't it perfect? Just posting the pictures makes me hungry ...

We wanted to keep the shower small and intimate. I didn't want to overwhelm our space with added decorations and "stuff" so I relied on our cake and other food to double as focal points. I loved the pedestal decanter with spigot {filled with a pink limeade, of course!} It was beautiful and so easy for everyone to serve themselves without a mess. The floral vases filled with limes were another favorite of mine. So simple, but very pretty.

Aside from the cake, all the food we served was finger-friendly. =)

Tarts . Bagel sandwiches . Croissants and chicken salad . Fresh veggies & fruit .

I don't know how I managed this, but I didn't get any pictures of the setup in the living room where the gifts were opened. We used a lot of tea lights and the now-Leaches' engagement photos displayed in black frames. Again, simple, but oh so pretty. I loved watching the subtle candlelight flicker off their beautiful photos.

The final paper touch was this card with adhesive on the back. Anytime I'm at a shower, the hostess is always frantically writing as each gift is opened, making a list of gifts and the giver. The person writing doesn't get to enjoy the gift-opening and often doesn't even realize all the wonderful things they've written down. This card can be placed right on the gift box, bag, or other packaging so the receiver can quickly identify the giver and write their note cards with ease, while at the same time freeing the hostess to enjoy the party as well. Unlike a greeting card, the adhesive keeps the tag in place on each particular gift.

{Sigh}. Now I'm ready for another celebration!!

What are your favorite color palettes? Any color combos you're just loving right now?

Trunk Shows.

We are gearing up for our next round of Trunk Shows and I personally cannot wait! I've added a few images below from one of the Trunk Shows we had before Christmas. Some of you may not be familiar with Trunk Shows. Take it from me, they're terrific. We set up a night for Notably Noted to come into your home and showcase the latest and greatest designs. You and your guests get to meet face-to-face with the designer to discuss your ideas. It's a fun girls' night in (guys are certainly allowed, but it's most often a girls' night) with fun drinks, finger foods, catching up, and sharing. Girls have fun sharing their ideas and brainstorming with one another for upcoming baby & bridal showers, birthday parties, and the numerous other events we all find ourselves hosting and attending.

At this particular Trunk Show, young mom's loved our playdate & children's calling cards. The personalized enclosure cards for gifts were also a huge hit! I'll see if I can find pictures and post those as well.

Our large wrapped candle

Front and center you see our filigris metal works calendar. perfect for remembering doctor's appointments, salon appointments, and more

Above is a sampling of several of our products: solid maple holiday sign, personalized christmas enclosure cards,large wrapped candle, small wrapped candle, oversized mug filled with cocoa, chocolates, and personalized note cards, a sample of one of our note cards.

Pictured above is another sampling our of gift baskets, invitations, candles, note cards, enclosure cards, and note pads

This last picture shows off our solid maple serving tray, and a coordinating set of candles, note pad, and note card.