Monday, October 4, 2010

New Holiday Card Designs!

It still feels like summer in my neck of the woods but that hasn't stopped me from preparing eight new designs for the holiday card gallery at Addie Kate Creations. I am really excited about how they turned out this year. I tried to include several options for multiple photos as well as cards that feature one large photo. Here is what I came up with...









I seem to be a little hooked on the black and green combo this year. I really like the modern feel that color combination gives to more classic designs.

I hope you like this years new holiday card choices! As always we can customize any card with your choice of colors and text. If you need a Hanukkah card or a New Years card any of our designs can be easily adapted. We can also customize our holiday designs as a holiday birth announcement. Make sure to check out all of our holiday card designs here!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Party Time Tuesday - Lady Bug Picnic!

This week I am excited to feature one of the cutest party ideas I have seen! Miss Kennedy turned one this spring and celebrated with a ladybug picnic! Kennedy's mom put some adorable twists on the popular ladybug theme.

First was the perfectly coordinated set-up...



Next, a fun and unique idea for a child's birthday party, a peanut butter and jelly station!



Little guests (and big ones too)! Could assemble their own PB&J and cut it with provided cookie cutters. How fun! Looks like the birthday girl enjoyed hers!



Continuing with the ladybug theme were these adorable lady bug cupcakes...



When it was time for the fun to end, the guest went home with these sweet favor bags...




...and these cute bug jars filled with m&m's!





To thank all her guests Kennedy's mom ordered these custom thank you notes .



(photos by Canyon photography)


I hope you enjoyed a peek into Kennedy's perfect lady bug picnic! To check out my selection of ladybug photo invitations visit AddieKate.com.


If you would like to see your party featured on party time Tuesday please send an e-mail to meredith@addiekate.com.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Fresh Fridays- New Halloween Card Designs!

It is still hot and toasty in most parts of the country still, but that doesn't stop me from thinking about Halloween! I decided to add a few new designs to our Halloween photo card gallery this year. I created this cute owl graphic last year and he showed up on a few of the new designs.



I also created this design featuring a simple black cat and a funky color scheme. I love the purple, white, green and black combo for Halloween and may have to come up with more designs in this color scheme.
The last new design I added is a simple design meant to show off two big photos. Perfect if you have two little ones!

I hope you like this years new designs. You can check out all of our Halloween photo cards at AddieKate.com!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Work at home Wednesday - Starting a home based business - part two

This week for work at home Wednesday I will continue to talk about starting a home based business. Specifically I will discuss putting together a business plan.

It is a common when starting a home based business to want to jump right in and start selling your product and offering your service. I think many small business owners overlook the key step of writing a business plan. Don't make this error and take the time to organize your ideas on paper.

There are 7 key elements of a business plan. I will discuss each and how they can be tailored for a home based business plan.

Step 1 - Executive Summary

This section should be a short summary of what your company is about, your goals and how the goals will be accomplished. This section should be short and specific. The rest of your plan will detail these goals.

Step 2- Company Information

This section should include your basic information such as address, phone number etc. You can also include any plans for expansion or for employing others.

Step 3-Products and Services

In this section you should spend time detailing all of your products and services offered. When righting this section think about any future ideas you would like to incorporate and include them here.

Writing this section can be a great exercise in fine tuning the products of your company. Be specific and as your business grows return to this section and update often.

Step 4- Industry and market

This section is very important and is one that should be examined and revisited often. With online business there are new competitors surfacing frequently and industry changes faster than ever before.

When discussing your industry take a broad view and include facts that paint a picture of the current climate. The research for this section can really be an exercise in learning about where your company will fit in.

Once you have examined the industry focus on some specific companies within your industry. Look at their product offerings, pricing and anything that sets them apart from the competition. This will allow you to really think about your companies place in the industry.

Step 5 - Management and Organization

This section will outline who the stakeholders are of the organization. If you are planning on owning and operating the business as a sole proprietor this section will be short. If not make sure to include clear guidelines of the positions within your company.

Step 6- Marketing

This is the point in which you should discuss exactly how you plan to reach your customers. Write down your basic outline and than include specific action items for each marketing step. It can also be helpful to include time lines and an expected advertising budget.

Step 7 - Operations

Writing this section will help you think through the basic operations of your business. Think about what will need to be accomplished every day and create some processes to ensure daily goals are met.

For a start up business this section should be revisited often. As time goes on you will probably learn from trial and error and discover new ways to become more efficient.

Step 8- Financial projections

This section may be difficult as a start up but will help in goal setting. You can use this section to think about how many customers it will take to achieve financial goals. After a few months in business you may need to re-examine this portion.

Once your plan is complete it is important to keep a copy close by and review it often. Make it a working document in which you jot down ideas and revise when needed.



Writing a business plan can be a valuable way for a small business owner to organize ideas and inspire new ones. Take some time to develop your business plan no matter what the size of your venture!



I hope this was helpful and would love to hear from other WAHP parents on this topic!


Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Party Time Tuesday - Fun Flower Party

One of my favorite party themes for spring/summer birthdays is the flower/garden party. There are so many possibilities and it is just so girly and cute. This week features a colorful, modern spin on the flower themed party.


The birthday girl's mama was inspired by a cute dress she had purchased for her daughter and asked me to create a coordinating invitation. This is how it turned out...


The party itself was full of fun details and decorations. My favorite were these large flowers made of tissue paper


She had them in the several places and they were very vibrant and fun. You can use this tutorial if you are interested in making similar decorations.


The flower theme was also reflected in the adorable cake and favors.



So cute and delicious!

Everything for the colorful flower party came together beautifully. We have several flower invitations featured in our card gallery if you are interested in throwing a similar celebration.

If you would like your child's party being featured on posh parties and products please e-mail photos to meredith@addiekate.com .

Friday, July 30, 2010

Fresh Fridays- New Fire Truck Invitation!

What little boy wouldn't love a fire truck themed birthday party? When a customer asked me to create an invitation matching this theme I was excited to give it a try. This customer had used our popular cupcake invitation for her daughter's 1st birthday so she requested a similar format for the fire truck invitation.

Here is how it turned out

I hope you like it! I am hoping to have our 2010 Halloween card gallery complete for next weeks Fresh Friday. Can't wait to show you what I've been working on!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

New print at home pricing!

Work at Home Wednesdays will be back next week, as this week we have an exciting announcement instead. We are pleased to let our customers know that we have discounted our print at home design option from $30 for gallery designs to $20 . Custom designs will be $25. Custom design pricing only applies to brand new designs. If you are changing colors or wording those changes can be made at the gallery design price.

For those that are new to addiekate.com our print at home option allows you to purchase the rights to your card and have it printed as many times as you like. Some customers print on their home computer and others choose to print the design just like you would print a photograph at a processing lab. This can be an economical option for those that need a large quantity of cards. It is also a great choice if you are on a strict timeline to have your invitations sent. Some customers choose to go green and e-mail their card. The print at home option provides lots of choices!

We know that times are tough for many and are hoping this pricing change will allow our loyal customers to continue enjoying our invitation, announcement and holiday card designs.