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!

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.

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!

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!

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 .

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!

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.

Party Time Tuesday - Lovely Luau!

This week for Party Time Tuesday I am featuring baby Katelyn's first birthday luau. Katelyn's creative mommy found some adorable fabric that she used as an inspiration for the entire party. I worked with her to create a custom version of our "A year in pictures" invitation design . I have done several different versions of this invitation to incorporate various themes and I always love seeing the progression from birth to one year.

The flowers were also incorporated in this cute banner...

and in the cake too!

Finally, here is the birthday girl in her adorable hand made outfit.
I love the idea of picking a single pattern or fabric swatch and using it as inspiration for the rest of the party. I think Katelyn's mom did a great job of adding a unique twist to a luau party theme.

Have you had a fun birthday party that you want to show off? Send your photos to me at meredith@addiekate.com and we will feature you soon!

Fresh Friday - New Apple themed invitation

One of my favorite custom invitations from last year was this adorable apple themed invitation.




I love the green, red and white color combo and the little girly touches. The beautiful photo by canyon photography really completes the look of this invitation. I hope you agree that this apple invitation is a great addition to our photo card gallery!

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

Throughout the three and half years I have been running Addie Kate Creations I have encountered many moms both online and in real life that would like to find a way to work from home. In my opinion one of the best ways to accomplish this is to find a way to turn an interest or hobby into a service or product you can sell online.


I have learned quite a bit through the years about getting a business off the ground and thought I might be able to share some advice with others hoping to do the same. Today I will cover one of the first steps in getting started with an online business.


Choosing what it is you will be selling or offering.


When choosing what type of product or service you will be selling consider these important questions.


If you are making a product what is the time involved to produce it?


When considering this question think about the time involved in gathering needed materials, producing the actual product, packaging the product and shipping the finished goods. It is a good idea to go through all the steps for a prototype to get an accurate timeline. Many aspiring business owners are overwhelmed when they receive their first order and realize the entire process is more involved than originally expected.


What are the cost of materials?


Research the costs of your supplies as extensively as possible. See if any of the supplies you need can be acquired with a wholesale discount once you have your business license. Order sample materials to ensure they are of a quality you are happy with. Don't forget to consider packaging and shipping supplies when calculating your costs.


What are similar products selling for?


Spend time creating a list of competitors and finding the range of prices of your product. Consider whether you want to be at the high end, low end or somewhere in the middle. Pricing is a complicated process and I will create a more specific post about pricing in the future. To start though ,seeing the range of prices in your market is a good first step.


When will I have time to produce the product?


When deciding on what to sell think about your time constraints. Are you hoping to work form home with your kids present? Will you continue to work while building your business? These questions can help you choose a realistic venture when first starting out.


Asking yourself these questions can help you narrow the scope of your business venture to include items that can be produced in the time you have available. It will also help you determine if your item has a profit margin that will generate a decent income for you.



Hope this tip helps! I look forward to sharing more next week!

Party Time Tuesday!

I really enjoy seeing the creative ideas my customers incorporate into their children's birthday celebrations so I decided to showcase one party each week. I am hoping this can help inspire others when planning their children's parties.


This weeks party is an adorable animal themed bash for little Nicholas (who is also my Godson). Back when his mom was awaiting his arrival we worked together to create animal themed wall art designs to match her nursery bedding. She decided to incorporate the same patterns and graphics in Nicholas' party, and if I do say so the result was adorable!


First we worked together on a custom double sided invitation..

Next my friend incorporated the graphics into this adorable banner and decorations






Finally the cake (that was to die for by the way)...
It was a great party and everything came together wonderfully! There is nothing better than celebrating a babies first year of life.


I hope you enjoyed these fun ideas! If you would like your own party pictures and invitation showcased on posh parties and products please e-mail me your photos at meredith@addiekate.com . Happy celebrating!

Introducing Fresh Fridays!

What better way to end the work work week than by showcasing our newest work! Custom design is a huge part of Addie Kate Creations and one of my favorite things to do. I love creating new photo card designs as well as t-shirt designs for our cafe press shop. I can't wait to share what's new with you every week!



This week's feature is our new giraffe big brother/sister shirts . I have been obsessed with giraffes lately as evidenced by the theme of my baby girls birthday party and all the giraffe designs I have been creating for AddieKate.com . That obsession naturally lead to new t-shirt designs.


Both the big brother/ big sister and little brother/ little sister shirts can also be customized with your child's name. Just send me an e-mail with the name at meredith@addiekate.com and I will add it to the shop. Have any design ideas you would like to see added to our shop? Let me know in the comments below!

My baby girl's sweet safari party!

It has been a wild year with our newest addition Emilia so I thought a safari themed party was a fitting way to celebrate.

I wanted the party to be fun, girly and modern so I decided on a hot pink and lime green color scheme. With that in mind I created this double sided photo invitation

I love the versatility of a double sided invitation as you can make a statement with one large photo on the front but also include more photos on the back.

Once the tone was set with the invitation I set to work on the decorations. My favorite (and most time consuming project was creating these party hats.

I love how they looked on the cake table. We all know that pretty scene didn't last long though, once the little ones started to arrive.

I made the hats out of scrap book paper and curling ribbon. I also added a sticker I designed for the final touch. I was actually really surprised how many of the kids kept the hats on for the party. Here is my oldest modeling hers.

Another decoration that I loved making was the banner I created using the photos I took of my daughter each month. It was very simple to make.

I also designed a sign for the door so that our guests would know they were at the right house.

No party would be complete without goody bags, so I enlisted the help of my older daughter and put together these brightly colored bags for our littlest guests. We included sunglasses, Slinky's, bubbles, a kazoo and safari stickers. I again used the stickers I had designed to seal the bags.

We had a blast celebrating Emilia's birthday. It was wonderful having all our friends and family together in honor of our sweet girl turning one. I'll end this post with a couple of pictures of the guest of honor. Happy birthday baby girl!

Recent Etsy Banner and Avatar Design

I recently was asked by a friend and fellow work at home mom to design some graphics for her Etsy shop. Her business name is Heartfully Handmade so naturally she wanted to incorporate hearts into her design. First I started with her Etsy banner. This is what we settled on. I love how it turned out so girly and cute.

We also created this business card. We wanted to be able to showcase her work as well as convey the vital information about her business and I think we accomplished that with this card.

Finally we created a few avatars for her Etsy shop.

I really had fun with this project and am hoping to do more similar work soon. Designing without photos is always a fun way for me to leave my comfort zone.

I am hoping to add some logo and business identity packages to Sweet Rosie Studios in the very near future. In the meantime if you are interested in a business identity package feel free to contact me through my etsy shop or through my online store Addie Kate Creations.