New Party Pack Options and a Facelift for InkberryCards.com!

It's been quite a while since my last blog post, mainly because I've been super duper busy filling orders and working on some very exciting NEW projects! Over the next few weeks I will be sharing some info on the new projects, so stay tuned...but first I thought I'd debut a little website and shop update.

Over the weekend, some new updates went into effect on the Inkberry Cards site. Our new website format has some cool new features for ordering invites and oodles of matching items to go with our most popular invitations and themes. Below is a quick peek at the new look but feel free to click and check out the new site yourself! I've outlined the main changes below and would love to hear how you like the new site when you check it out!

So what's new on the site? A LOT! Here's a quick list and some helpful information for getting around:

1 - All designs are presented and sold as DIY, printable designs. While I had this feature before, in the past you also had printing options directly on the same page, showing different papers, quantities and address options. It could be confusing at times and after over a year's worth of research on our order trends, DIY won out as the more popular option amongst shoppers. It was a close race though - almost half of my customers DO purchase our professionally printed invitations, so do not worry - you can still add printing services, it's just in a new place on the site now. See #2, below.

2 - Printing can now be added for invitations and large stickers in a new section called Printing Services. Professional cardstock printing is still available for all of our cards, but now it will be added in a separate section where you can choose your quantity and paper. You will receive the same premium quality, professional grade cardstock as before, along with white envelopes for all printed orders. Cardstock paper choices available include Standard Smooth, Fine Linen, Metallic Pearl and 100% Recycled Cardstock. You will simply choose your invitation or card design first ($18) and add it to your cart, then go to the Printing Services tab to add your paper choices and quantity.

3 - Oodles of new matching items and new DIY party packages are now on the site! This is probably the biggest change in the shop and one that I am really excited about. There are now 34 new party packages currently to choose from with even more going up in the next month. I had to call it somewhere if I ever wanted to release the new site and I thought 34 should be a good number to start with, don't you think? :) The 34 you see on the site are my most popular designs so I think it's a great start!

4 - New Matching Party Printables section is where you can find our new and improved DIY Complete Printable Party Packs. You will also find categories in this section for cupcake toppers, favor tags, water bottle labels, banners and pattern papers for any of these items that are not included in the current party packs.

5 - New pricing for the complete party packages and a change to what's included in them. Our new printable party packages are $29 and come with new and improved printable items such as: coordinating cupcake toppers, decor stickers, favor tags, water bottle labels, thank you notes, food buffet cards, a happy birthday pennant banner and a circle alphabet banner that allows you to create any custom worded banner that you may need! You will receive your PDF print file for your selected printables within 24 hours of purchase (if not much sooner).

6 - Invitations are sold separately from the party packages. The new party package pricing of $29 does not include the invitation. I did this for a few reasons - mainly because we have multiple invitations that could go with certain party packages - for example a photo version or non-photo version. This way, you can pick the invite you need and we personalize it for you, separately from the party pack. This also allows customers who may have purchased an invitation at an earlier time, to still order the matching party pack whenever they are ready! Also, most of our party package items are available only in DIY printable format, whereas the invitations may have printing services added to them. (You can also add printing for any of the 3" round circle stickers).

7 - A la carte options for party printables - This is also a huge, exciting change for our party packs. You no longer have to buy the whole party pack - you can choose a la carte items out of every available party pack and simply purchase what you need! You just select what you want and "Add To Cart" and you are done! In the past, I have always set up special orders or mini party packs to accommodate this, but I know going forward this will be a much easier way of ordering just what you need, when you need it! Check out the party packs and a la carte feature here.

Just select the items you want from the drop down boxes and "Add to cart"

8 - Banners are now included! While I have always designed banners for customers for special orders, they were not part of our previous party packs. I'm happy to say that now all of our party packs include a 5x8 Happy Birthday pennant flag banner, as well as a 3" circle alphabet banner, which can be used to spell out any words you need for your celebration and decor! 

9 - Color variations and custom party pack designs can be requested to be added to the shop. While we continue to add to our line of DIY printable items, we have changed the process for requesting color variations on our party packs. We now ask that a request be made at least 2 weeks in advance of purchase and we will add your requested party pack design or color variation to the shop for you to place your order. This helps us maintain a standard practice for custom design requests and allows the new party packs or color options to be available for everyone as a brand new item offered in the shop. Requests can be made by email at jenn@inkberrycards.com. (NOTE: this does not apply to invitation designs needing color changes. Invitations needing custom colors can still be requested at time of order and invitations will still be received in the same turnaround time as indicated on the site which is currently 1-2 business days).

10 - Condensed categories for easier browsing and shopping! You may notice that our main categories have changed from the old site. We have the majority of our children's party invites in the Party Invitations section, and you can now choose to browse by Kids Invitations (this includes ALL children's invitations we carry), Twins Invitations, First Birthday Invitations and Milestone Invitations. If you are looking for Baby Shower invites, you will now find those under Baby, along with baby photo announcements and baptism/Christening invitations.

11 - A cute new website facelift and logo. Of course, I could not make all of these technical and product changes without making some cute new design changes as well. You will notice the new site design colors, fonts, backgrounds, buttons and logo!

12 - There is still more to come! While this is a TON of new items, improvements and enhancements that we have rolled out - there is actually still a lot left to do! My next phase of updates coming over the next month will include 10 more party package designs, plus all of my NEW 2012 Christmas and holiday photo cards. If you are already shopping for Christmas and the holidays now, my 2012 holiday photo cards are already up on Snapfish and you can check them all out here!

I really hope you like the new site and changes! I would love to hear your feedback or answer any questions you may have.

Have a great week!!
Jenn

Featured Customer Party: Rockstar Girl 1st Birthday!

I'm so happy to share these awesome birthday party photos with you today, which feature some fun party items that I designed for cute little Aria's first birthday! Aria's mom, Tara, contacted me about my Rockstar First Birthday invitation she found in my shop, which was at that time only available in blue or red color schemes. Aria's first birthday party was going to be a pink, black, white and silver rockstar theme, so she asked me to help her customize my current rockstar invite and create some fun, matching party items to go with it. I was really excited and more than happy to help. I just loved the idea of changing up this theme to be for girls - especially little ones turning one! All of the party designs featured a pink, black and white stripe, and silver star design. We mixed in some polka dots too and I think everything came together really well and made for such a fun first birthday party!  I hope you enjoy the photos and that they help inspire your next rockstar birthday bash!

Here is the new Rockstar Girl Invitation, inspired by Tara's party colors and theme:

The photo of Aria on the invitations, along with all of the fabulous party photos you will see below are by Shoots and Giggles Photography in Los Angeles. Visit their site and their own blog post on Aria's party here to see even more live action from the party and awesome photography!

The Details:

Tara had so many fun and creative ideas for Aria's rockstar birthday bash! The party was held in their home which welcomed guests to the rockstar bash with a Hollywood star sidewalk, red velvet rope and music marquee sign!

 

Tara's creative ideas to incorporate the rockstar and music theme throughout the party continued outside in the backyard where a lot of the party activities and entertainment took place. She set up a mini mosh pit (i.e., mini pool of balls), plus music and play areas for kids and adults. I loved the sign we made for the Guitar Hero Recording Studio too!

 

 

The Toddle Tunes entertained the children with music and fun during the party and you can see from the photos that Aria and all of the guests were having a great time!

 

Tara had a fantastic menu for lunch that was perfect for kids and adults alike, and I loved her names for some of the items that went with the Rockstar theme like her Rockin' Grilled Cheese and Drumsticks!

 

I created a sign for her "Backstage Bites" and worked with her to design her food buffet table cards and decor stickers used as napkin rings for silverware sets.

For the sweets, she had adorable music notes, stars and guitar cookies, along with cupcakes and a pink guitar cake!

 

One of my favorite parts - her favors were displayed as Swag Bags, because what rockstar party is complete without swag bags for the guests? I loved this! She had fun microphone sippy cups for kids, plus polka dot favor boxes on the Swag Bag table!

 

I created the favor stickers for the boxes and signs, as well as the photo cards they displayed on the wall above some of the favors to feature their favorite photos of Aria's first year!

She also had "Born to Rock" and other music themed temporary tattoos for the guests!

Tara also used the decor stickers on bottles of milk and taped black and white straws to the side of them. I love this idea and it looks so cute - perfect for the little guests!

Last but not least, I have to share just a couple more fantastic and absolutely cute photos of the birthday girl enjoying her day with mom and dad!

After the party, I worked with Tara to design a few different styles of thank you notes for Aria to send to friends, family and guests. We did two different styles of photo thank you notes which featured adorable photos of Aria from her party!

I hope you enjoyed these party photos as much as I enjoyed working on these designs! Thanks so much to Tara for letting me help design her items for Aria's special day and help bring all of her creative ideas to life! Also, a big thanks to Shoots and Giggles for allowing us to share their awesome photos from the day.

Visit my shops to purchase many of the Rockstar Girl party items you see here!

Printed Invitations
DIY/Printable Invitations
DIY Matching Party Pack Items
Blank Thank You Notes
Folded, Photo Thank You Notes
Flat, Photo Thank You Note with Birthday Message

Credits:
Invitation, Stationery & Party Decor Design: Inkberry Creative /  www.inkberrycards.com
Photography: Shoots and Giggles Photography
Entertainment: Toddle Tunes
Cookies & Cake: Susie Cakes

Featured Customer Party: Camp Mudpies & Glitter!

I can't believe that Christmas is over....it's been a busy, busy year and my posts have definitely been lagging this year due to filling orders every day and the rush from the holidays! But... that's another post for another time!

I am so happy to finally share this adorable party that I was lucky enough to help make some super cute items for! Jennifer contacted me a while back and said she and her friend Amberly were planning a third birthday party for both of their children, whose birthdays are days apart. They decided on a camping theme and it needed to have a true camping feel, but some girly aspects incorporated for Jennifer's little birthday girl, Allie. They came up with the idea for Camp Mudpies and Glitter - the perfect combination of camping for boys and girls alike! Their colors were mainly brown and green, with some pink for Allie and Camp Glitter! They also planned to incorporate owls into the decorations and treats, one boy owl for Ty and one girl owl for Allie. I designed the invitation, which they also blew up as a poster for the party, plus some cute trail mix treat bag tags and s'mores owl favor tags! Jennifer and Amberly did the rest and I think they did a fabulous job - check out the pictures to see all of the adorable details and fun the kids had!

This is the invitation that I designed for Jennifer & Amberly. They took this adorable picture of Allie & Ty by the lake where the party was held. I think the photo could not be any cuter and more perfect for this invite!

I absolutely love their handmade camp signs and tents! They were such a great idea not only for play & decoration for the party, but also for gift opening and great photo backdrops. And the picture of Allie and Ty in the fishing frame was the perfect addition to the center of the food table display.  

I adore this Little Campers cake from Sugar Belles Cakery complete with mini fondant figures for Allie & Ty, and roasted marshmallows on a stick by the fire! The photo of the two of them with their cake is precious! 

What camping theme birthday party is complete without s'mores cupcakes? I love the creative use of the stand with the cupcakes. The owl decorations were handmade and the perfect way to bring in their owl elements they wanted to incorporate into the party.

The party food was perfect for young children - campfire flames (a.k.a. Cheese Puffs), mud pie desserts in mason jars topped with gummy worms (sweet, messy and fun!), marshmallow owl treats and teddy graham bears were cute snacks to go with the outdoor camping theme!
For the favors, Jennifer & Amberly gave out handmade lanterns, owl treat bags and trail mix in "I Survived Camp Mudpies & Glitter" labeled bags!

The activities for the day included bounce house jumping, fishing and of course roasting marshmallows! The location of their party had the perfect setting for all of the fun camping activities!

You can tell the kids and the parents had a great time at this party! I think Jennifer and Amberly did such a great job in planning their fun camping theme and making it the perfect mix for boys and girls! This is a great idea for siblings with close birthdays, twins or anyone looking to double up and throw a party with a friend. I'm so happy to have been able to help make some of the items for Allie & Ty's special day!  

Check out my Etsy shop for this complete matching DIY printable party set for this camping theme party. I had a lot of fun creating this for Jennifer & Amberly and am happy to be able to offer the complete set now as well. 

Vendor Credits:
Invitation: Jenn Scholes, Inkberry Creative, Inc.
Favor Tags & Treat Bag Tags: Jenn Scholes, Inkberry Creative, Inc.
Cake - Sugar Belles Cakery
Photography - Jennifer Melda
Everything Else - Amberly Fallecker and Jennifer Melda

DIY Invitation can be found here, printed invitations here and the matching DIY party pack can be found here!

I hope this gives you some camping party inspiration! Thanks Jennifer & Amberly for sharing your photos!

Jenn

Free Download: Spread Some Kindness & Cheer with Christmas CAREoling!

So just what is Christmas CAREoling? Christmas CAREoling is a sweet, new version of a classic tradition. Instead of singing Christmas Carols, you surprise friends, family, and STRANGERS with sweet surprises and leave a CAREoling Card for them!

Still confused? Jennifer Melda, the super creative, kind and talented girl behind this idea explains, “An example would be to give warm treats and a CAREoling Card with an appreciative little note to the person who collects your trash on a cold, winter day. How amazing would the Holidays be if everyone was surprising each other with kind words and fun surprises? This is a great way to introduce our children to the goodness of GIVING too!”

I could not agree with Jennifer more! I think this is just awesome and I am so happy to be a part of it, not only with my printable cards, but doing this with my children & family too!

Click any of the links below to download your FREE Christmas or Holiday CAREoling card, so that you can share this with others! There are three versions to choose from: Christmas Swirls (using Christmas wording and a classic red swirl design), Festive Polka Dots (using Christmas wording and a fun polka dot design great for kids!) and Blue Holiday Swirl (using Holiday wording in lovely blue & silver design). Print them out and include them with each surprise!

To read more about Christmas CAREoling, visit Jennifer’s blog: http://www.christmascareoling.blogspot.com/ for a TON of ideas to get you started. You can also visit Christmas CAREoling on Facebook to share your ideas, stories, photos and more!

You can turn this into a project for ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’, The 25 Days until Christmas, or just one sweet act of kindness this holiday season!

Click below to go to InkberryCreative.com to download your FREE Christmas CAREoling Printables!
 
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE “CHRISTMAS SWIRLS” VERSION!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE “FESTIVE POLKA DOTS” VERSION!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE “BLUE HOLIDAY SWIRL” VERSION!

ENJOY!!
Jenn

My feature as "Doer of the Week" on MarthaStewart.com - Dreamers Into Doers!

So, many of my blog readers are also my wonderful Facebook fans, so many of you know this news already, but I had to share on my blog too! This week has been so very exciting, as I was chosen as the MarthaStewart.com's "Doer of the Week" from their Dreamers Into Doers community! When I received an email from Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia a while back asking me to answer their interview questions for a feature on their site, I was THRILLED to say the least, but also did not want to get too excited too soon, just in case schedules changed or anything like that. SO... to my surprise and excitement this week, I received the link and post on Martha's site and facebook page that I was featured and I have been overwhelmed, ecstatic and just extremely thankful ever since! I think the word that best describes the experience so far since the article went live on the site is...whirlwind?! Past Doers of the Week can relate I am sure - site traffic goes crazy, emails, inquiries and questions increase and there are tons of sweet people offering congratulations and well wishes! It has been such a great experience!

If you are not familiar with the Dreamers Into Doers community on marthastewart.com, it's a community portion of Martha Stewart's website created for everyone out there "dedicated to making their business dreams come true". It's not just for present business owners, but also for anyone dreaming of starting their own business and looking for inspiration, tips, networking, support and advice. Members create profiles where they can share blog posts, photos, links and talk with other members. There are also groups that members join that suit their interests such as "Mompreneurs" for the moms balancing kids, jobs and new businesses, "Shop Girls" for anyone with their own retail sites and stores, and "Party People" for party planners and designers. I am a member of all three of these groups and just the support, inspiration and positive spirit seen throughout the site and within these groups in particular is really great!  If you have your own business or are thinking of starting one, it is a must see & join!

So each week, the team at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia & marthastewart.com chooses one member of the DID community to feature as their Doer of the Week. They share their story of how they started their business, their obstacles, their achievements, and what they have learned along the way. I was so honored to be chosen and asked to share my story - I am a huge fan of Martha's and love her businesses, her website and the awesome DID community. To be chosen and featured is such an honor for me. One of the best parts of it all has been how many people have reached out to me to say that my interview has inspired them since they too are juggling being a mom, and still working at their full time job while trying to grow their dream business that they hope to also one day make their full time career. It means so much to me that they liked my story and that it has helped them to continue to stay positive and focused during this difficult part of growing their business.

Here's the link to the complete interview and article if you'd like to read more! :)

Have a great (and SAFE!) weekend!

Sweet & Girly Barnyard Birthday Party Inspiration

Here's a little barnyard bash party inspiration for anyone looking to throw a traditional farm party with a sweet, girly twist. I had a lot of fun searching for a perfect mix of colorful, youthful and fun, but still dainty, mostly pastels & pink and totally girly farm party accents! I have quite a while before my daughter's birthday rolls around again, but after creating this board I'm secretly hoping she tells me she wants a farm party so I can create a party like this! Pink is a primary color for this style of party, but I love how you can mix it with so many accent colors like aqua, light blue, greens and oranges.  You can also go crazy with patterns for this - bandanna prints, polka dots, stripes, and of course - cow prints and lots of gingham check!

OK, so here's what I found in my search that I loved the most:

Our Barnyard Bash invitation is a perfectly adorable way to set the tone for your pretty in pink farm party. With lots of accent colors and cute farm animal illustrations, it really leaves for a lot of room in your color and decorating theme for your party. A photo of your little one outside, with green grass or a blue sky in the background makes for the perfect photo for the invite! 

I always look for a cute, coordinating outfit although it's not a must have for a great party, it can be fun to have the birthday girl dressed for the occasion! The perfect party dress I found for this is by My Sweet Emma who has an Etsy shop with tons of cute dresses for little ones. You can find the dress I featured here. 

The chocolate chip cookie mix favors inspired by Bakerella's would be such a cute favor to the kids or adults. I love any type of baking mix favors since they are cute and fun to make, and these are at the top of my list for some of the cutest I have seen! I also love all of the old fashioned milk bottle party themes and displays lately, and thought that these strawberry milk bottles in wood crates are so cute for this theme! As for the sweets, I adore the pink pig cookies I found at TSCookies on Etsy, plus the AMAZING farm cupcakes from Whipped Bakeshop! They were the cutest farm cupcakes I found using sweet pastel colors! So very cute! For something a little more involved but super adorable, the mini apple pies are a must have for the dessert or favor table! 

For decor, I have always loved Martha Stewart's Bandanna Party and I thought it would be perfect for a girly farm party. The party blower wreath I came across on Silly Pearl's blog was so unique and the mix of patterns also fits well for this. At the end of the party, the little ones can take a blower with them - how easy is that? 

Last but not least, the crafts and activities... I always love a cute party hat, and the adorable farm hats on Better Homes & Gardens' website were perfect! Pinwheels are always adorable and are very popular party accents right now, so they would be perfect as a craft for older children, or to make yourself to give out as favors. I loved the ones I found in Scrapafrass' Etsy shop. And I cannot explain how much I love the post on Oh Happy Day's blog for the Confetti Filled Eggs! This is such a cute idea and tons of fun for everyone! You must view the post on Oh Happy Day to see the amazing photos of how to make the confetti filled eggs, and the action shots of the game! Absolutely stunning photos and an adorable craft & game for everyone! 

Hope you enjoy this post and inspiration board as much as I enjoyed creating it!  Happy party planning!

 

Photo/Designer/Site Credits (Top Left to Right)

Invitation: Inkberry Cards - Barnyard Bash Photo Invitation
Cowgirl Cookie Mix in Jar: Bakerella  
Strawberry Milk Bottles: Spotted on Beau's Barnyard Party Animals
Pig Cookies: Truly Scrumptious Cookies (TS Cookies) on Etsy
Dress: My Sweet Emma on Etsy
Pinwheels: Scrapafrass on Etsy
Bandanna Decor: Martha Stewart
Mini Apple Pies: Style Me Pretty via One Stylish Bride
Party Blower Wreath: The Silly Pearl
Farm Cupcakes: Whipped Bakeshop
Farm Animal Hats: Better Homes & Gardens
Confetti Egg Craft & Game: Oh Happy Day
Inspiration Board Design: Jenn from Inkberry Creative, Inc. & www.inkberrycards.com

A Pancake Party Invitation in Every Color + Another Breakfast Theme Must-See Party

I posted Sherry's adorable Pancakes & PJs party last week, which she did in the bright primary colors for her boys Atticus & Nash! Her request for my design in primary colors was a custom design request that I was happy to design for her. My pancakes & pajamas party invitation has long been a favorite of both mine and customers alike and by now, I've done this design is so many fun color schemes for special requests. I thought I'd share my full line of color options with you, just so you can see all the variations that have come to life from this fun invitation I created over a year ago!

It all started with this design, specially created for a customer of mine. I loved having an excuse to sit down and design from scratch, these homemade pancakes with sprinkles on top! Her color scheme was for her twin boy and girl, so it needed to work for both of them! The aqua, red and lime green was fun & festive and a perfectly unique color combo.

Pajamas & Pancakes Original Invitation by InkberryCards.com

A "girlier" version was soon a popular request so it was my next version I soon offered in my shop. It's also a great way to show this design for a single child instead of twins:

Pancakes and Pajamas Party Invitation - Pink Green Aqua by InkberryCards.com

A photo version soon followed, in another softer, pink, purple and green color scheme:

Pancakes and Pajamas Party Invitation - Pink Photo Version

I can honestly say from these versions, I have since created a version in any color scheme you can think of! I love mixing it up and making this for any style requested. I do not sell every color scheme I've made, instead, I wait to see if a certain color palette seems to be requested frequently. I recently went through and picked some of my most popular color combos to be rolled out with tons of my newest invitation designs, so you now have these other fun colors and styles of Pancakes & Pajamas Party invitations to choose from!

Pancakes & Pajamas Party Invitation - Light Purple & Aqua by InkberryCards.com

Pancakes & Pajamas - Bold & Bright - Photo Invitation by InkberryCards.com

Pancakes & Pajamas - Hot Pink, Aqua and Black - Photo Invitation by InkberryCards.com

Pancakes & Pajamas First Birthday Photo Invitation - Blue by InkberryCards.com

UPDATE - NEW FOR 2013: Rainbow Chevron Pancakes and Pajamas Party Invitation (Photo and Non-Photo Version)

I have to wrap up this post with a link to another adorable breakfast theme first birthday party that I feel anyone who enjoys this theme MUST check out. The Sweetest Occasion featured this on their site earlier this year and I love the vintage feel and the unique ideas for this party! Think red velvet pancakes and a full cereal bar! I love it!

Below are a couple of fantastic images of this party, via http://www.thesweetestoccasion.com/2011/02/first-birthday-ideas/, photographed by Christian Cruz.

See what I mean? Get all the party details and a lovely review of this unique party on The Sweetest Occasion's site right here. Happy pancake party planning!