Christmas Cheer - it's about that time...

Christmas Day is only 13 weeks away! I know we haven't handed out the Halloween candy yet or enjoyed the pumpkin pie around moms' dining room table. However, it's that time to start thinking about your Christmas list...who's been nice?? SO...Trendy Ink is here to make your holiday a little easier this year. Here’s what we’re offering:

Custom Designed Christmas Cards – provide your favorite family photo (1-3 print quality images) and I’ll custom design your card giving you something unique and ‘fridge worthy’ for all your family and friends to display. ;)

Cost: prices vary due to different quantity request. If interested send me an msg and I’ll get you a price quote quickly.

Christmas Stamps – self-inking round Christmas address stamps. Three designs to choose from and your choice of red or green ink.

Cost: $34 ($40 for stamp and shipping)

Christmas Tags – Liven up your gift-giving, party favor or hostess gift for the holidays with these designed gift tags. I like to tie them to my holiday baked goods and hostess gifts for my Christmas parties. They look great under the tree! Christmas tags are printed on cardstock. Tags measure approx. 3.5"x 2.5" with design on front, blank backs for a note. See something you like but want to add your own text? No problem!

(Tags come with a small punched hole ready for string and tied together with a beautiful ribbon. They are ready for gift giving if you so choose! Additional $3 for shipping.)

Cost: Set of 12 = $8, Set of 18 = $12, Set of 24 = $15

Gift Ideas – order something they're bound to love!

Envelope Love: Address Stamp – our most popular item! Self-inking round address stamp. Choose from 10 different designs and your choice of blue or black ink.

Cost: $34 ($40 for stamp and shipping)

Embossers – this makes a great gift!

Embosser $55: Black and Silver desk embosser with round or square embossing plate of your choice.

Embosser Plates $35: Great for adding a design to your embosser. Round or rectangle (1x2") embossing plate of your choice.

Embosser set deluxe $80: Black and Silver desk embosser with TWO round (or rectangle) embossing plates of your choice. This option allows you to go ahead and get that extra monogram or address plate when you can’t decide! ($10 savings!)

Custom embossed stationery – a great gift for the person who has everything…they may have it all but will love a set of embossed stationery that they can use for anything (quick notes, thank yous, thinking of you, etc). White paneled 3.5x5 scored to fold card, embossed with a monogram, name or letter of your choice (ex: bBe, Brooke Elizabeth, B) and come with white envelopes to match.

Cost:

Custom Embossed stationery $48-$55: QTY 25 white folded panel note cards with Initial/letter (ex: B) ($48); monogram or name (ex: bBe or Brooke Elizabeth) ($55), envelopes included.

Letter Embossed stationery $32: QTY 15 white folded panel note cards with Initial/letter of your choice, envelopes included.

Embossed stationery set $85: Embosser with your name or monogram of choice AND a set (qty 25) of embossed stationery with same imprint. ($100 value!)

All orders must be placed by December 1 to ensure you have in time for Christmas. I’m working on a tighter deadline this year since baby Bird is due just a couple weeks after Christmas. :)

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. trendyinkdesigns {at} yahoo {dot} com

Happy Shopping!

Merry Christmas {from the Birds}

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas! We will be enjoying my traditional Christmas Eve spread I put out and a candlelight Christmas Eve Service tonight at our church. I'm taking a little time off to enjoy family, friends and relax!

Don't forget to take a moment to remember why we celebrate Christmas.  

Luke 2:11-14

For there is born to you this day in the city of David

a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be the sign to you:

You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths,

lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel

a multitude of the heavenly host

praising God and saying:
“Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Give Thanks

I'm Thankful...

Thankful for having a relationship with my heavenly father, Jesus.

Thankful for Billy because he’s the kindest, funniest, most loving, gentle spirit I know and I’m thankful he chose to spend his life with me.

Thankful for my Pop because he is a wonderful Dad, hardest worker and so funny – always a joy to be around.

Thankful for my Mom because she’s the heartbeat of our family. She works countless hours to make each holiday and event special and is so generous. The most generous person I know. Thankful she is so wise and a good listener when I need advice.

Thankful for my brother, Jordan. I’m thankful that God made him so unique in spirit. I’m glad he is my brother and I didn’t have to share him growing up {Selfish but true!}Thankful for his brotherly love and pep talks when needed.

Thankful for my sister, Oana. I’m so thankful God gave her to our family and picked her to love my brother. She’s such a free spirit, fun loving and caring soul. I’m thankful we have Carlo and thankful he was such a light in her day when Jordan was away at war.

Thankful for my in-laws, Mom and Dad Bird. I’m thankful for their love and support. Thankful they raised such a wonderful son. Thankful they instilled the importance of loving God in their children. I see Christ in Billy today because of their teachings years ago.

Thankful for all my brother & sister-in-laws. There are a lot of us Birds and I’m thankful to God for giving me such a big family to love.

Thankful for my extended family. I’m a better woman today for knowing my grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. I love each and everyone for the unique qualities they posses.

Thankful for my Oliver boy – what a fun addition to our home. Oliver is a great warm-up for future little Birds. Thankful he is a fast learner and always has a happy face when I walk in the door from work.

Thankful for my health, praise God for giving me a clean bill of health. I don’t take my movement, eye-sight, hearing, sense of smell or anything at all for granted.

Thankful for my house. I’m thankful for a warm place to sleep, a place with Billy that we can call home.

Thankful for Jordan coming home from war safely (twice). I do not take that blessing for granted and praise God for it. I’m thankful for his service in the Army and very proud of his purple heart. His sacrifice at war was big however, small in the scheme of things; he was able to walk home to his wife.

Thankful for friends who keep me laughing. Laughter truly is the medicine of the soul.

And I have sooo much more to be thankful for, too many to name.  I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving and don’t forget to Praise the Lord for the blessings bestowed upon you and yours!

Psalm 106:1

Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD,

for he is good; his love endures forever.

Lesson Learned {Halloween Recap}

Billy, Oliver and I had the best time with our trick-or-treaters this past weekend. The kids were just too cute in their costumes. My favorite was a baby dressed in his Mickey Mouse costume. What a doll! We actually ran out of candy and had to hide just past 8:00! Last year we ran out of candy too - I've finally learned my lesson. MUST BUY MORE CANDY. :)  I thought 3 large bags of candy was plenty, guess not.

We ended up not "torturing" Oliver as much as I had hoped. Oliver sported his Army tee given to him from his Aunt Oana. He "said" he wanted to be Uncle Jordan for Halloween, ha! He had lots of fun hanging out barking at all the trick-or-treaters. He wanted to come out and play soo badly. Can you imagine the looks mommies would have given me if my baby was jumping on theirs!? Not good. 

I'm in Christmas preparation full swing.  Already have gifts purchased and keeping my eye out for my hot items to go on sale - maybe black Friday will have a few goodies for us this year? I enjoy the hunt. Anyway, don't forget about the Christmas tags. I filled lots of orders last night and have ordered many stamps. Let me know if you need one of these items for your holiday preparation!

Torture the pup or not...that is the real question

There is a bit of debate on our pups Halloween costume. To dress Oliver up, or not is the question. We cannot agree. I've never dressed up a dog or any animal before so I’m definitely a rookie. We have been to Target, Wal-mart, Petco; you name it looking at costumes. At some point I thought this would be a fun idea (obviously, not for Oliver) to have him dressed up greeting the kiddos when we hand out candy. Wouldn't he be adorable as a pumpkin or bumble bee!? Here are a few I really like. Billy says, there is no way our boy is going to wear a Bee costume...

Meanwhile, the Halloween candy in a big ol' basket by the door is dwindling. I have NO idea who is eating all the kiddos’ candy!? (Uhmm, Mr. Bird)

In other news, the weeks continue to fly by! I cannot believe that next week is November. I realized today that I don't have time to slow down until next year! I appreciate keeping busy though as I enjoy counting down to something fun during the busy times.

In a matter of weeks Billy and I will again be in NYC but this time with friends. I cannot wait! NYC is beautiful at Christmas time and I'm really looking forward to experiencing it with Billy. I have so many wonderful memories with family in the city on holidays and am looking forward to sharing this with my wonderful hubby and making new memories.

Hope you all have a fun Halloween weekend!

It's that time!

It's that time of year again. Liven up your gift-giving, party favor or hostess gift for the holidays with these designed gift tags. I like to tie them to my holiday baked goods and hostess gifts for my Christmas parties. They look great under the tree!

 

Set of 12, 18 or 24 Christmas tags are printed on cardstock. Tags measure approx. 3.5"x 2.5" with design on front, blank backs for a note. See something you like but want to add your own text? No problem! 

Set of 12 = $8

Set of 18 = $12

Set of 24 = $15

Tags come with a small punched hole ready for string and tied together with a beautiful ribbon. They are ready for gift giving if you so choose! Additional $2 for shipping.  Email me at trendyinkdesigns@yahoo.com if you'd like a set - or comment below.

PS – Don’t forget about the address stamps for your Christmas cards! They come in handy this time of year!! :)

Easter

(Our little bunny)

Celebrating the resurrection was so special. It was such a reminder of how thankful I am and need to be on a regular basis for what Jesus did for all of us. Yesterday, church was really good and reminded me of what is important. My Pastor does not preach to impress the masses but preaches God's word from his heart and each time he preaches I learn something new. I'm so thankful the Lord led Billy and I to Celebration. The best part, it's only a few miles from our home.

After church we went to have Easter dinner with my parents. While we missed Jordan, Oana and Carlo terribly...the dinner was fantastic! My mom can cook with the best of them. Nothing beats a good Sunday dinner at her house. I told her to watch out…when my brother and his family are finally home living here in FL, she's on dinner duty after church every Sunday! Mom has a gift of making each holiday really special. Here are a few pictures of our dinner with them. Afterwards, Billy and I headed home to see our boy, Oliver, and play in the sun. It was beautiful day!

Easter Bunny (mom) gave me this gorgeous Waterford vase from Ireland filled with flowers.

Christmas recap

Early Christmas morning Billy and I enjoyed our own Christmas unwrapping gifts from each other (Santa) and had a blast! We like to open one at a time and drag out the process with Oooos and Ahhhhs to each gift.  

It was a 'Tiffany' Christmas

We loved all of our Christmas cards!

We LOVE Mario ... Thank You Jordan & Oana ;)

After the morning at home, we drove to GA to have Christmas with my parents. Since I was a kid, mom and pop usually like to send us on a hunt for our “big” gift. This year was no different with reading a clue that lead to another…after 10 clues and lots of time figuring out each rhyme (and lots of laughing) we were lead outside to a beautiful patio set. We were so surprised! I just wanted to brag a little and show off the beautiful patio furniture we received on Christmas from my parents. Mom found this vintage patio set ... restored it, painted it and adorned it with new cushions…just for us! Isn’t it great? I was so excited! Now I get to decorate my patio and give it pizzazz!

I am so excited for spring now so we can enjoy this patio even more!

Christmas at Mom and Pops

Santa brought Pop a bike!

Even Sophie unwrapped a couple of gifts!

We missed Jordan, Oana and Carlo but had a very blessed Christmas celebrating Jesus' Birthday and taking time to remember the reason we celebrate at all. 

Christmas parties are in full swing

There's nothing more cozy than an intimate Christmas party by the fire with some of your closest friends.  Saturday night we had a little gathering and had the best time!  Unfortunately, Billy had to work but he was off yesterday to make it out with me to another Christmas party with friends. We've had a great time and I cannot believe Christmas is this week! I feel like summer just ended. Christmas morning will be extra fun this year as we celebrate for the first time in our home. I'm looking forward to it!! Here's a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend...

Christmas Cookie Tradition

Christmas traditions are so much fun and everyone looks forward to them because…it’s just what you do. Well, decorating Christmas cookies is on the top of my tradition list. My mom bakes the best sugar cookies and makes homemade icing and then everyone gathers around the table to make them all pretty. I enjoy the endless sugar cookies to decorate, my Pop decorating two and eating one – decorating two and eating (repeat), Mom telling everyone to be sure they look “pretty”, me getting “out” of decorating when I get bored because I claim we must document the process with pictures, Billy decorating one each year that says, “I love Brooke” – how sweet is he!? For all these reasons, this is my all time favorite tradition. Another reason it’s my favorite Christmas tradition is because my parents started it when they were newlyweds. Through the years we’ve had friends and family join us; numerous close friends and family have at one point shared in this tradition. Such great memories!! This past weekend, my parents along with Sophie came over to the “Bird House” for the cookie fun. We all had a great time! We did miss Jordan, Oana and Carlo though and are hoping next year everyone is around the table…Mom will have a lot more baking to do next year!