Today, my social media feeds and inboxes (I have three of each) are inundated with offers to show me how to do stuff. Grow my Instagram following. Spruce up my online store. Master advertising on social media. Connect with more wholesale customers. Get my kid to stop being an ass. All of it. Sign me up! And the podcasts. I LOVE a good podcast. I really do. I enjoy listening so much that when I have to read it feels taxing. I know that’s sad, but I don’t care. It’s true. I especially love hearing from other people in my field who seem to have come through the dark tunnel of product creation and self doubt and emerged victorious on the other side. There’s proof! IT CAN BE DONE. Hallelujah!

I am presently 1/4 of the way through three different podcasts, which I really enjoy and really do aspire to catch up on. They are sitting in my app like the shows on my DVR–patiently waiting for me to play and delete. When? When can I do this? I can’t write while I’m listening so if I have anything on my agenda for the day that requires the least bit of concentration, then I have to work in silence. And I can’t listen any other time of day because then I’m Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom’d until I have paused so many times I don’t even remember the topic. No worries, kids. Pay no attention to the headphones attempting in vain to drown out the noise so I can hear this. Oh, you need a snack? Well, why didn’t you say so? I thought it was something that you could do for yourself.

My kids are growing up, and their school schedules are staggered by almost an hour, which means we are squeezing more crap into less time. The afternoons are not unreasonably full, but they are way more full than I would like–and that’s just with two activities each for my two kids. We are 75% home bodies here. If we never had to leave the house after 5pm, that would be OK. Add the homework, the extra credit, the reading fair assignments, the fundraisers. When is there time for me to learn? And I’m not talking about remembering how to divide mixed fractions for homework. “They” say to pencil it in, but I swear it doesn’t matter if it’s on my calendar or not. If something comes up, my carefully protected enrichment time is going out the window .

I’m on my phone when we’re on the run. Staying plugged in, checking my social media, my new Etsy shop, Facebook posts, stirring the pot, and trying not to die of boredom while waiting for lessons to be over. I have tennis elbow. Y’all. It’s from texting and holding my phone. It’s iPhone elbow. That’s pitiful. There’s not enough time, and I feel busier than a one-armed WAH graphic designer. How am I supposed to learn anything with all this crap going on? And why is everyone seeking me out wanting to teach me something? I could probably teach you a thing or two, but I won’t. Because I love you.

I’m an old dog. I just want to take a nap.

This has also opened my little business up to wholesale opportunities, and I love the flexibility to deliver items that customers of these shops are looking for as well as creating custom items just for those shops and for you! I’ve also opened up a shop on Etsy, which carries a selection of my tailgate items with more being added weekly.

I grew up in Alabama and am married to a Louisiana boy, but we live on neutral territory outside of Jackson, Mississippi. Down here, Fall and football go hand in hand. This is my second season to offer foam tailgate cups, and it’s been fun to expand my products to cover some of the favorite teams in my area.

For the first time this year, I also did a few cups at the request of one of my wholesale partners to support a growing high school tailgate culture in our area. Here are some cups I did for two of our local high school teams.

These frost flex reusable shatterproof cups are also fun. These are great for tailgate or perfect as a little light-weight happy to bring to a host or hostess at their tailgate tent or home game watching party.

These are top rack dishwasher safe, but I prefer to hand wash so they stay pristine and looking like new. I have some I have been using for over a year, and they still look GREAT! They are also fun with these beverage napkins, which I now carry in an assortment of team colors.

As a lifelong paper junkie, I have had big fun playing with various team-related and everyday life products, including some coffee mugs, foil prints, coasters, notepads and more.

Of course, I am still doing party invitations, stationery, gift enclosures and holiday cards.

When you have a minute, you can stop by the shop and see what’s new. You can browse my collections online at www.PinkPeppermintPaper.com or pop in and see what’s new in my Etsy shop.

And if you’re not already, you can follow along on Instagram or on Facebook for information on new items, awesome sales and what my sweet pooch, Buttercup, is up to. Hint: it’s napping.

Since the occasion itself is solemn, it was important to us to let our daughter’s personality show through at the after-party. Leave to my kiddo to fall in love with the color black just before this big event.

Here’s the invitation I designed, complete with a double-rounded edge and a fitting Bible verse on the back.

My friend and neighbor, Gina, created some beautiful fresh flowers with white and peach including arrangements for our doors, centerpieces for the tables, a piece for our Caroline’s hair, and fresh flowers for the cake.

Here’s a close-up photo. I loved the little pop of color with all the white!

After the service, we had family and a few friends from church back to our house to celebrate.

I used black and white stripes to work in the honoree’s favorite color.  They were perfect with the peach for Spring.

Here’s a closer look at the flowers. The little peach berries were my favorite!

Each place was set with white and gold with peach, black and white accents. We had the food catered from a delicious local Italian restaurant.

Here’s a look at the kids table (read: the one set with wipe-clean seating). I used small porcelain churches as the centerpiece.

Caroline taste-tested several fizzy drinks and selected this sparkling clementine variety of Izze, which we tied up with a striped straw and simple gold cross.

  We worked in a few verses, including the one on the back of the invitation as well on either side of this footed sign on the buffet table.

After we ate, it was time to cut the cake–a simple two-tiered white cake with white buttercream and a ruffled detail on the edge. So yummy!

Here’s a detail of the flowers we added.

When guests left, they each took home a little something. Each box included white gumballs with small gold and white pocket rosaries on top.

We enjoyed spending time with friends and family and celebrating our baby girl’s turn to have her own big day celebrating her First Communion.

Here is the front and back of the invitation I designed. We went with blue (her fave) and red and a Polar Bear Plunge theme–you know like the crazy folks who jump in the freezing water and swim for cause-based fundraising during the winter? Brrrr.  It was a balmy 84 degrees inside by the pool though.

I ordered this awesome furry polar bear, and my mother knitted her a bikini so we could use her as a table centerpiece.

Seriously, look at this. It’s a bear. In a bikini. Can you stand it?

 The seating was simple with blue tablecloths and faux snowballs sprinkled around. These were readily available in stores around Christmastime, and the girls all wanted to take them home.

Because it was mid-afternoon, we served small bites–ham and turkey sandwiches, sprinkle-rimmed cones filled with fresh fruit and white cheddar cheese balls.

The drinks were blue Hawaiian punch to look like icy water, and we dialed up the cuteness with these fun thermometer stir sticks. These were made with red-tipped appetizer picks from Pick on Us inserted into a coffee stirring straw. I printed the scale on labels and wrapped the straws to look like thermometers. During a test run, we realized these floated, so we weighted them on the other end with maraschino cherries. Yum!

The birthday girl made a special request for a cookie cake, so I sent a photo of my invitation, and the place did a great job of matching the artwork. I made plates  to match on Zazzle.com.

The kids had a great time splashing around and parted with these mugs filled with hot chocolate mix, marshmallows, chocolate spoons and peppermint sticks. I used blank white mugs from Dollar Tree and designed these cute vinyl labels to make them a souvenir for “surviving” Polar Bear Plunge 2016.

This was a fun gender-neutral, cold weather theme. If you’d like to throw your own Polar Bear Plunge, I offer the invitations, thank you notes, favor tags and stickers in my online store–www.PinkPeppermintPaper.com.

Thanks for visiting!

The girls arrived and it was time to get their paint on.

The birthday girl had already selected the art she wanted to paint, so when each girl arrived, they picked out a set number of colors based on their preference.

They painted first, all so diligent in their efforts to create a masterpiece.

While they waited for their art to dry, the girls headed on over to the food table for a little snack.

Guests were invited to make their mark on this custom keepsake “7” artwork, which was made up of words that perfectly described the birthday girl at that age. They signed their names on the mat.

We had “painted” Chex mix, fruit and cake.  The table was covered with an oversized white drop cloth and splotched with paint.

Here’s the cake, a masterpiece all on it’s own.

I wrapped green and blue Hawaiian Punch with “Creative Juice” labels that were also covered with paint splotches made from puffy paint.

I uploaded this custom artwork to the Create UR Plate site, and they sent me these awesome reusable adhesive decals to decorate our plates with.

When it was time for the fun to end, the girls each left with their painted canvas, and these handmade art displays to hang their other artwork at home.

Many of these custom paper pieces are available in our online store.

Here are this year’s updated signs for your photo taking needs. There are First Day/Last Day signs–both the original and a white background version which uses less ink. Everything before 6th grade has the apple design, and everything after is just text or has a no. 2 pencil design. I mean, they’re going to give you the stink eye anyway, but maybe if you swear not to post it in a public forum, you’ll at least get the pic, right? The links to download are above each sample picture below.

There are also updated Seniors Class of … for each class grade K-12–Class of 2028 through 2016. Sigh. Here’s a cheat sheet for you.

2015-2016 School Year

• Kindergarten – Class of 2028
• 1st Grade – Class of 2027
• 2nd Grade – Class of 2026
• 3rd Grade – Class of 2025
• 4th Grade – Class of 2024
• 5th Grade – Class of 2023
• 6th Grade – Class of 2022
• 7th Grade – Class of 2021
• 8th Grade – Class of 2020
• 9th Grade – Class of 2019
• 10th Grade – Class of 2018
• 11th Grade – Class of 2017
• 12th Grade – Class of 2016

Back To School Photo Signs

Ink Miser (White) Back to School Signs

Seniors Class of 20–

Enjoy! Happy picture taking and I hope everyone has a fab school year!

I designed this invitation to spread the word to the birthday boy’s crew. When guests arrived, they each got a construction vest with instructions to tour the trucks and meet back at the “break room” at a later time.

The party was mid-morning, so inside the Break Room, there were doughnuts and coffee for the parents. I love how they used tool boxes for all the condiments. Clever, clever.

The kids got brown bag specials complete with chicken minis from “The Sloppy Jalopy,” a fictional food truck we invented for the occasion.

 How much do I love these centerpieces holding the big No. 3s? A lot. The answer is a lot. Each crew member got a construction hat too, including a special version for the birthday boy.There was lots of fun construction-themed signage and these awesome utensil rolls that were finished off with giant lock washers. Swoon.

Before we knew it, it was time to blow out the candles!

It was one of the cutest cakes. Ever.When it was time to call it a day, guests took home these coffee-themed favor cups each holding a matchbox car and a small travel play mat to drive it on. Super fun! And great for a restaurant.

There are so many ways to have fun with this theme!

I am excited to be offering some new items that coordinate with those seen here through a design partnership with Zazzle.com. You can shop PinkPeppermintPaper.com for invitations, favor tags, stickers and matching thank you notes and shop my Zazzle storefront for coordinating paper plates, napkins, and more.

So I’ve got several girlie options. several more outdoorsy camp-themed ones and a couple that work well for boys or girls.  On a few of them I offer a custom color option, which I think could extend their use to suit your kiddo’s wishes.

Each postcard is printed on a 6×4 flat card with a designated area for writing, addressing and stamping printed on the back. You might even go ahead and address and stamp them to increase the likelihood that you’ll get an update from them in the mail. You know it’s true.

I still remember what a big deal going to summer camp was for me, and how awesome it was to hear my name called out when the counselors did mail call at the canteen! I may work on some fill-in-the-blank or check box options next. That’s about my kiddo’s speed–gets the job done with a minimum amount of writing effort. Ha.

While I would love to do a version for your favorite, PopPop, Pappaw, Grandpa or Poppy, the reality is that there simply aren’t enough hours in the day. No customization requests, please. Otherwise, enjoy!

You can download the free Father’s Day Questionnaire here or the Father’s Day Questionnaire for Granddad here.

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Thanks for your cooperation.