Pear Tree Greetings Blog

5 ways to use 1 note card

Pear Tree Greetings — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:00:55 +0000

We’re letting you in on a little secret. Our thank you notes aren’t just for thank you’s. You don’t have to be a grad or a bride to use the cards in our graduation or wedding collections. And our personalized note cards can be personalized with your name, a friend’s name, or left completely blank. It’s totally up to you!

Maybe you already knew that the text on most of Pear Tree’s note cards and invitations was editable. But just in case you didn’t, this little tip opens up hundreds of possibilities. Now that you know, if you see a design you like in our bridal shower collection, you can use it for a birthday party invitation. And the same note card can be used to say, “I’m sorry,” “I miss you,” “You’re awesome” or none of the above.

Have fun finding a design you like from any of our collections and coming up with stationery ideas that work for you. That’s the true meaning of personalized stationery.

Letters provide inspiration in Biggest Loser

Pear Tree Greetings — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:28:50 +0000

Did you happen to watch the Valentine’s Day episode of The Biggest Loser? We loved the way letters from home (and, later, letters from teammates) played a huge roll in this episode.

In the team challenge, letters from home were the reward for the winning team. Contestants had to dig their way through several obstacles in the sand, and the thought of getting to read those letters after being away from home for 6 weeks was a huge incentive to the teams. When the winning team members sat down on the beach to read their letters, they were visibly moved by the words of encouragement they held in their hands. Many cried. All said that the letters helped them tremendously and gave them the emotional boost they needed to continue.

Later in the same episode, two contestants who had been separated from their teams received encouraging letters from their teammates. Both received the letters at a particularly difficult time during the week, and both said the letters gave them the strength to keep going, and that they could feel the support from their team.

We’ve said it a thousand times, but this mega-hit television show proved it in front of 6.4 million viewers. Never underestimate the power of the pen!

Time to start planning that grad party

Pear Tree Greetings — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:00:59 +0000

It’s not too early to be thinking about graduation party ideas if you have a high school senior in the house. (No doubt it’s been looming in the back of your mind for months!) But now’s the time to make at least two decisions that will make the next few months go that much smoother: 1) How many people are you inviting? 2) Where will you have it?

Deciding how many people to invite is the most important question, because it will determine where you hold the party, how much you spend and what you serve. Will it be just family? Will your grad want to invite just a few friends, or the whole class? Will you be inviting your adult friends?

Once you have a rough number to work with, you’ll have a better handle on where to have the party. Your back yard may be the obvious choice, but if you are considering any other options you will need to decide soon, since the popular places are booked months in advance. There are pros and cons to each of these graduation party locations:

Your home. This is usually the most common and least expensive solution, but not if you need to have your whole back yard landscaped to make it presentable! While some families don’t mind the work, others don’t want the pressure of having to clean the house and do all the prep work themselves. Consider whether you have the space to prep, store, and serve food, and what you will do if it rains.

Somebody else’s home. It sounds funny, but it’s happening more and more. Many families decide to share the costs (and the fun) of planning a grad party with another family. If the other family has more space, you may end up hosting the party at their house. You will want to help, of course, but may want to compensate the other family in some way, by covering more of the costs, creating the invitations, or doing more of the cooking or prep work.

A local park. This has the advantage of having lots of space for big-kid activities such as volleyball or badminton, or to bring in activities such as inflatable bouncers/moon walks. You will have to transport food, but at the end of the day, the mess (and lingering guests) won’t be in your house. If the park doesn’t have a shelter, you may want to rent a tent in case of rain.

A rented party room or hall. Ask around for ideas. Most towns have at a local facility such as a golf course, hotel, church hall or VFW where you can hold a party. They may provide a caterer, or may allow you to bring in your own food and decorations. Renting an inside space means you won’t have to worry about rain.

A restaurant. The obvious advantage to this choice is not having to prep or serve any of the food yourself. If you have a small group, a big budget, or are splitting the costs with another family, it’s worth looking into. Most restaurants will work within your budget to provide a simple menu that will make both kids and adults happy, such as pizza, appetizers or desserts.

Once you have the two big questions answered, you can start thinking about graduation party invitations, your menu, decorations and other details. Be sure to involve your grad in the planning, and stay tuned to our blog for more graduation ideas.

Lucky You! Your St. Patrick’s Day party is all planned.

Pear Tree Greetings — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:00:05 +0000

We’ve got the invitations, food and decorations all picked out. All you have to do is make it happen! Our Feelin’ Lucky St. Patrick’s Day invitations were the starting point for this party theme–along with everything green! The invite’s charming argyle pattern and multiple font sizes inspired us to find more patterns and fonts to use in our decorations.

We created a St. Patrick’s Day Party Ideas Pinterest board to gather our ideas, and quickly filled it with green drinks, green cupcakes and green snacks! Now we just have to pick our favorites and find some yummy recipes. It will be easy to decorate the cupcakes using these ideas for inspiration. Lucky Charms for party favors? Why not!

We love the striped green tablecloth and background patterns that add so much color to the room. Shamrocks are easy to find or make yourself, and cute green picture frames can showcase our favorite Irish sayings–there’s certainly plenty of blarney to choose from! These frames make perfect little props for the food table or to sprinkle throughout the house. With luck on our side and a song in our heart, we’re sure to have a grand time!

Like these party ideas? Follow all of our Pinterest boards for photo ideas, party planning, holiday decorating ideas and more!

Party for Moms, Packages for Kids

Pear Tree Greetings — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:00:26 +0000

When my son went off to college, I didn’t really think about the effect it would have on my social life. Turns out, it had a pretty huge effect. Our son’s activities in high school had put him in a close-knit group of guys whose parents all attended events together, and with whom we socialized regularly. Once the guys went off to college, we were suddenly party-less!

One of the moms had a great idea for a get-together. She invited us all to her house to assemble care packages for our boys. There were eleven women attending, so she asked us to think of something our boys would like to get, and bring eleven of them. She would supply the boxes, along with wine and appetizers.

When we arrived, we shared wine and appetizers while catching up with each other. We had a blast hearing the stories about each of the boys at school–and there were some good ones! Then we set to work packing the boxes. It was fun to see what each mom had brought. Care package ideas included: energy bars, snacks, microwave meals, drink mixes, toiletries, socks, room freshener, highlighters and school supplies. We then filled a sheet of stationery with messages from each of us, and made eleven copies to enclose in the boxes. The next day we brought them all to the post office.

Was the party a success? I can speak for the moms when I say we all had a wonderful time. It was especially fun packing the boxes and imagining the boys’ faces when they opened them. As for the boys, my son was surprised and very appreciative. He said his favorite thing in the box was the argyle socks. That was a surprise to me!

Thinking-of-you gift ideas

Pear Tree Greetings — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:10:46 +0000

One of our team members recently experienced a scare. His sister was seriously injured in a car accident and hospitalized for several weeks. His family spent hours at her bedside, while friends and relatives sent flowers, gifts, good wishes, and offered their support in many ways.

During one of those many hours of vigil, it occurred to him that his family would probably want to send thank you notes to many of the people who had helped them. “If this hadn’t happened to us,” he said, “it would never have occurred to me to give note cards as a gift to a family struggling with illness or injury. But that would have been an incredibly thoughtful and useful gift.” Not only could they have used them, but it would have given them something to do, other than worry, while waiting in the hospital!

We all struggle with finding the right gift or the right thing to say when a friend needs our support. That’s why this has become one of our favorite thinking-of-you gift ideas. If the thought of giving thank you notes seems too presumptuous, blank note cards will be just as appreciated and are more versatile. (Most of Pear Tree’s thank you notes, or personalized note cards can be ordered blank, without any message on the front, if that’s the way you’d like them.) As this family’s story taught us, you never know when you might need them.

10 ways to make Valentine’s Day special

Pear Tree Greetings — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:00:31 +0000

We all know what to do on Valentine’s Day for our spouses or significant others. But moms love to make the day special for our kids, too, just to let them know they’re loved. We’ve come up with ten Valentine’s Day ideas for kids that say, “Be my Valentine,” in a creative way!

10. Heart-shaped breakfast
Start the day right with heart-shaped pancakes, toast, or waffles. Make first, then use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut them into a heart shape. (Or pack their lunch with a heart-shaped sandwich!)

9. Make it pink
Use red food coloring to make any light-colored food or drink pink. Whether it’s pink milk, oatmeal, or cream cheese on their bagels, making it pink makes it fun!

8. Strawberry smoothie
You don’t need red food coloring to make a pink drink if you have strawberries in the house. Who wouldn’t love a strawberry smoothie for breakfast or an after-school snack?

7. Note in lunch
Slip a valentine or love note in their lunch to keep the love flowing all day long.

6. Strawberry hearts
Cut the stems off fresh strawberries and slice them lengthwise to look like hearts. Or serve strawberries dipped in chocolate for a special treat.

5. Candy on the pillow
Put a chocolate heart or other valentine candy on your child’s pillow to find before going to bed.

4. Paper roses
Craft or tissue paper roses are a fun activity to do on Valentine’s Day. Create a whole bouquet to display or give away.

3. Surprise balloons
Order a bouquet of red and pink helium filled balloons and let them wake up to a fun surprise on Valentine’s Day.

2. Candy hearts trail
Leave a trail of candy hearts leading to a fun surprise at the end. Or hide candy hearts and let your kids look for them.

1. Candy hearts messages
Create a message they’ll see when they get home from school, or play a game and see who can come up with the silliest sentence using the words on the candy hearts.

Featured Favorite

Pear Tree Greetings — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:00:23 +0000

Andrea and Justin’s wonderful Save the Date cards started with the photo shoot. They had a good friend shoot their engagement photos, and they turned out fabulous! Though they hadn’t thought about a save the date card at that point, the photographer suggested using the framed chalkboard as a prop to incorporate their engagement and wedding dates into the photos–one of the all-time-great save the date ideas! (See our blog post on engagement photos for more ideas.)

When Andrea saw our Sweet Math Save the Date Cards, she thought they would be a great way to showcase our photos. “I was also drawn to the uniqueness of the card. It was so much more original than other save the dates I’ve received.” She had plenty of room to tell the story of how they met and their wedding plans, not to mention their wonderful photos.

Did the cards meet her expectations? “I was so excited! I thought they were perfect. A few people that have seen them already have actually teared up! I can’t wait for our parents to get them!”

As for the wedding, “we are having it in my hometown and are going for a relaxed BBQ style theme with a live band! There is a bonfire pit where we plan to have a s’mores and hot apple cider bar late night. I’m really looking forward to sharing our first day as husband and wife with all of our loved ones!” Congratulations on your engagement, Andrea and Justin!

Have fun with engagement photos

Pear Tree Greetings — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:00:44 +0000

We see lots of great engagement photos here at Pear Tree, happy couples filled with excitement, sharing their joy in very creative ways. But the pressure to be creative and stand out while staying true to your personalities can be daunting.

For those who may need a little help getting started, we’ve created a Pinterest board to share the Engagement Photo Ideas we love. Feel free to use our ideas, or create your own board of ideas you love.

Some of the recent trends we’ve noticed are:
-editorial style photos
-first date or favorite locations
-hand-held props (balloons, hearts, etc.)
-photos of feet or torsos
-words & props in the photo that create a rebus
-the classic ring shot
-vintage filters, textures, locations & props
-themes (movies, destinations, sports, time periods)

Engagement photos, while certainly not required, are being used in many ways, from save the date cards and save the date magnets, to decorating the tables and favors at your wedding. Brides may also use them to create blogs or websites, inviting family and friends to participate in the wedding planning. Have fun with them!

Top 5 Trends in Graduation Announcements

Pear Tree Greetings — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:00:14 +0000

Is it any surprise that today’s grads aren’t settling for the studio portraits and formal announcements that marked their parents’ graduations? Today’s grads are enjoying the freedom that digital photography and online customization offer, and are looking for graduation card ideas that let them stand out from the rest of the class.

Here are the top five trends in graduation announcements and invitations for the Class of 2012.

Photo is hero
Today’s grads are investing in senior portrait sessions that take them on location, involve props, and dramatize their style. Whether they choose one great photo or use multiple shots, the photos reveal their personalities in a big way.

Smells like school spirit
One way to add personality is with color, and with the many color choices available on today’s graduation invitations it’s easy to show your school spirit by incorporating high school or college colors.

Think outside the square
Grads who want their invitations to stand out can choose from many formats that set them apart. Unique folds, die-cut shapes and layered pieces accomplish this with style.

Be bold
Bold stripes are everywhere this year, in fashion, pop culture, home décor–even graduation announcements! If you want to make a bold statement, show your stripes.

Classic is king
Clean-cut designs, muted colors and traditional patterns are making a comeback. Don’t be afraid to make a quiet statement with a classic look–it’s chic to be preppy!