Gift and Craft Blog | Name Maker Notes

Thank You Thursday

2010-03-04T11:42:00.000-08:00

This week's Thank You Thursday shout-out goes to our friends at No-Fuss Fabulous.

If you haven't already, be sure you visit their site for so many great ideas!

I love this one for spring...a mini muffin bouquet. Such a cute centerpiece for a shower or luncheon.

Loralee and Annie are all about creative, fun, and easy crafts that are realistic and do-able, yet look (or taste) incredible. They have used our personalized ribbon for holiday giving, but their projects and ideas are endless.

Thank You, No-Fuss Fabulous!

Wedding Favors: Italian Favor Boxes

2010-02-18T08:11:00.000-08:00

It's wedding season...and we are so excited to add new favor packaging to our lineup.

Take a look at our Italian Favor Boxes...available in both 2-piece boxes and purses. These favor boxes are the perfect way to tie in the colors of your wedding or other special occasion.

Feel free to mix and match the tops and bottoms. These perfect little squares have a rich linen or quilted texture and are easy to assemble.

They are just the right size to hold a truffle, jordan almonds, or other treats or tokens you'd like to share with your guests.When paired with our personalized ribbon, the color combinations are endless. Ribbon is somewhat like the accessory to the outfit...it's the way you can dress it up or down. Add a gingham ribbon with a breezy saying for a country wedding ("down home with jessica and jake"), or for a baby shower.

For a modern event, try clean, sophisticated monograms or fonts on crisp textured or satin ribbon (km + jp or catherine + christopher).

The favor purses are wonderful for weddings -but also think baby shower, Sweet 16 (or 30, 40, or 65!), Quinceanera, Bat Mitzvah, bridesmaid luncheon, special anniversary, or even princess parties. They too have the same pretty linen texture.

Do yourself a favor (yes, you may roll your eyes at that one) and try our new favor boxes at your next special occasion.

DIY Favor Kits (new!)

2010-02-17T12:15:00.000-08:00

DIY Favor Kits

Maybe we should have called these KIS (Keep It Simple) instead of DIY (Do It Yourself)!

Whatever you call it, our new favor kits are really easy and fun. Since everything you need comes to you in one package, it makes creating adorable personalized favors a breeze.

Perfect for birthday parties, wedding or baby showers, holidays, or any time you want to give a little treat or a thank you, in fabulous packaging.

We have 2 ready-to-assemble options for you...all you have to add is a color-or theme-coordinated treat or trinket and you are good to go.

Our DIY favor kits come with 24 personalized gift stickers (you choose wording, font, etc), 24 polybags, and a roll of polka dot or striped ribbon. All you have to do is fill the bags, wrap the ribbon, and stick the sticker- and you have great-looking party favors.

Some fun treat ideas are:

-Gumballs

-Candies/Chocolates/Gummis

-Sillybandz (those stretchy animal bracelets that are the rage, or in my house, the mess)

-Cute erasers

-Bouncy Balls

We also have Transparent Tube Favor Kits-

Each kit comes with 20 transparent tubes and 10 yards of personalized satin or gingham ribbon. Customize your message on the ribbon and coordinate with treats for an elegant yet super-simple favor. Beautiful for weddings, showers, or any other occasion.

We Heart Valentine's Day

2010-01-29T13:41:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is a great time for fun and easy projects.

Everyone is pretty much over the holiday craziness, and ready to think about giving a little "happy" to friends, family and loved ones.

Whether you enjoy baking and creating tasty treats, buying fun little toys and trinkets, or going all out, we have plenty of personalized packaging options to help give your presents some pop.

Personalized stickers dress up a plain gift bag (filled with candy hearts or any treat) and come in several Valentine's Day designs.

We have lots of adorable personalized ribbon to tie around polybags or boxes of cookies or chocolates, in every shade of pink and red, plus fun choices like gingham and polka dots.

Of course our signature Personalized Letterpress Gift Wrap is great for larger boxes and is sure to wow your valentine.

Be creative and have fun this Valentine's Day- and please send me some photos of your creations!

We're a Good Thing

2009-12-28T13:44:00.000-08:00

We feel so fortunate to have our personalized ribbon chosen as a "Good Thing" in Martha Stewart Weddings' 15 Years of Good Things.

We have had the privilege of working with Darcy Miller, Alex Peruzzi, and many other talented people at Martha Stewart for the last 15 years.

Their creativity and vision for all things wedding has a been a source of inspiration for us and our customers.

We would like to congratulate you on 15 fantastic years and wish you many, many more!

Thank You Thursday

2009-12-18T12:39:00.000-08:00

Thank You Thursday

At Name Maker, we are lucky to have a huge range of fantastic customers, many of whom use our products in different creative ways. Some of the time, we don't know what becomes of our ribbon or labels, or how they are used.

We have a long-standing ribbon customer called Picking Daisies...they have always ordered lots of our personalized satin dot ribbon, and I wondered who they are and what they do with it.

I (mistakenly) assumed they were in the floral business given their name and the fact that so many florists use ribbon in their designs. A quick google search revealed they in fact make beautiful cloth napkins! When I say beautiful, I mean fabulous, up-to-the minute stylish fabrics, classic fabrics, and everything in between; the selection is incredible. The napkins come in dinner and cocktail size, and there are placemats and other gifts available as well. Not only do I want these for my own home, but I can't wait to give them as gifts...perfect for newlyweds, anniversaries, housewarming, hostess, holidays, or any occasion that calls for stylish and practical gifting. They come tied in their signature dot ribbon for really lovely presentation.

A perfect way to rationalize buying many of these (as I plan to do) is to realize how much better cloth napkins are for the environment. Save trees, buy colorful cotton napkins!

Thank you, Picking Daisies, for using Name Maker's personalized ribbon as part of your pretty packaging.

Holiday Gift Idea: Knitting & Crafting Labels

2009-12-03T12:17:00.000-08:00

Handcrafted...handmade...it's funny how the importance of these words has evolved over time.

In simpler days, everything was hand-crafted or handmade; there was no other choice. Later in time, it became more fashionable to give gifts which were anything but. Now we see a premium on goods which were made with a particular recipient in mind, and were thus made with thought and care. So many people have rediscovered the fun and satisfaction of crafting, be it knitting, crochet, quilting, felting, or sewing. Check out sites like Ravelry, Knitty, Etsy, and Poppycock to see huge gatherings of crafters sharing ideas.

You probably have a friend, family member, teacher, or associate who enjoys making handmade goods. Personalized labels make a great holiday gift for those who love to make things. We have a wide variety of labels in terms of both style and price point. Add a name to personalize the fun designs of our pre-woven labels.

Or make a completely custom label as shown here.

Everyone loves receiving a personalized gift. What a nice combination: a personalized gift to use in the making of gifts for others!

Wine not?

2009-11-24T15:25:00.000-08:00

It's the time of year when I wish I had a hostess-gift closet.

Between going to Thanksgiving, visiting various friends and family, and making the rounds of holiday parties, I am finding myself in need of a constant supply of "thank you for having us" gifts. My go-to gift this season is our personalized wine bottle tags on my favorite bottle of wine. The fresh, fun designs range from festive to year-round.(click here to view designs.)

Ours are among the most reasonably-priced wine tags available, and when paired with a nice bottle of wine make a lovely hostess gift. I chose Red Truck California Red Wine, a surprisingly tasty wine for the affordable pricepoint.

The wording you choose for your tags can reflect a holiday sentiment or a more general, year-round thank-you. A few popular choices: Cheers!, Holiday Cheer!, Celebrate!, Merry! Merry!, With Thanks and Love, Merry & Bright Wishes, Peace, Love & Joy.

These wine tags are also an out-of-the-ordinary present to give the person who has everything, and are sold in sets of 6, 12, & up.

Keep it short and sweet.

2009-11-05T11:48:00.000-08:00

Fact #1: Kids love getting presents.

Fact #2: Kids hate writing thank-you notes.

Fact #3: No child can complain about filling in a few lines on a fun postcard. (especially when you compliment them on their beautiful handwriting that you are SO PROUD of)

We have adorable new postcard thank-you notes to help make this easy...

These 4" x 6" heavyweight cards are $8.95 for a set of 8 cards. They also make a cute little stocking stuffer or hanukkah "happy".

Thank you!

HAPPY NOVEMBER!!

2009-10-31T21:16:00.000-07:00

Bakerella. If you don't already know her, do yourself a favor. Pour a big mug of something warm, pull up a chair to her blog, and settle in for an hour or two. (of course I would never do this on company time...)

I love her creations - they are beyond clever and transcend cute. Cake pops, cake balls, in adorabe animal shapes for every season and occasion (like these Thanksgiving Turkeys shown here)- cookies, cupcakes-please go to bakerella.com and see for yourself as my words do them no justice.

Bakerella is also nice enough to give how-to's for just about everything she makes...she seems like a normal, approachable person you'd be friends with. I was prepared to post about how cute her cake pops look in pastel colors (my sister just made some for a friend's baby shower -of course with personalized ribbon, which I'll show a photo of once I get it.)

BUT...I just went on Bakerella.com and saw this....the cutest thing I have ever seen-not just cake pops, but wedding cake pops. Not just wedding cake pops but wedding cake pops which help a guy propose to his girlfriend (she is an avid reader of the blog) Just read here so you too can say THAT IS THE SWEETEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN!

Do something pink.

2009-10-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Whether a relative or friend has been afflicted with breast cancer and beaten it, or unfortunately succumbed to it, its ripple effect is felt throughout families worldwide.

Show your support in the fight against this disease with our personalized pink ribbons, available in a variety of sizes and textures. Add any customized message you choose.

We also have personalized woven labels which read "For The Cure" to add to your knitted, crocheted, and crafted goods. A portion of the proceeds from this label will go to the "Gal to Gal" Foundation, which helps women with Stage IV breast cancer. Gal-to Gal offers an innovative virtual walk - check out their site to learn more.

Now is a great time to help any of the wonderful organizations who are working toward a cure. Whether you Race for the Cure, participate in the Virtual Walk, or do your own thing, let's all do something pink!

Be a Ghostess with the Mostess

2009-10-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

Spooky and Sweet Halloween Treats

Want to make really cute and super-simple party favors for your little ghosts and goblins? (and Hannah Montanas...)

Take a plastic test tube and stopper (found at local craft stores, or many sites online) and fill it with the treat of your choice. Some good options are Candy Corn, Reese's Pieces, Black & Orange Jelly Beans, or M & M's.

Feel free to use tricks too; Pop-Rocks, little toy crawlies or eyeballs-whatever works best with your Halloween celebration. Some people focus on tricks, others on treats, or some do a little of each! Either way, your party-goers take home an adorable favor that was easy for you to make.

Tie a personalized ribbon with a clever saying around the test tube.

A few examples:

-Treats from Lillie (as shown)

-Best Witches from The Davis Family

-Boo! from your friend Drew

-Tricks & Treats from the Millers

-Eat, Drink, and Be Scary!

-From the Boo Crew: Jackson, Zoe, and Luke

-Ghoulish Goodies from The Taylors

We used 5/8" satin ribbon here in both orange and black. Our textured ribbon would also work well.

Witching you all a Happy Halloween!

Thank You Thursday

2009-10-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

Thank-You Thursday...a little thank-you note to our creative customers

Fall has fallen!

Thank you to Sharon Ballay, owner of Eloquence and Eloquenceonline.com (and dealer of Name Maker's products) for sharing this festive fall arrangement with us.

It's on the door to her shop and is a wonderful way to welcome both autumn and holiday shoppers. It's warm russet tones impart a rich fall feel, while the personalized satin ribbon Sharon added lets shoppers know they can find great goodies as soon as they enter.

The ribbon's message (Happy Halloween from The Ballays) is perfect for the wreath, and also for the treats Sharon will tie it around.

Thanks, Sharon for showing this clever, muti-tasking use for personalized ribbon!

Thank You Thursday

2009-09-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

Thank You Thursday...a little thank-you note to our creative customers

This Thursday's thank-you goes to Erin Harris of
House on Hill Road.

Erin uses our 100% woven labels on her many creations. Take a look at these camera straps-such cool fabrics in her patchwork!

Please check out her blog and website to be blown away by her creativity. Not only does she knit, crochet, sew, quilt, cook,and bake, she is a truly talented photographer. Her photos are artfully composed snaps of everyday life...she just sees the world in color, and color in the world.

Thanks, Erin, for choosing Name Maker to be a part of your inspired designs!

Birthday Party Favors- Out of the Box

2009-09-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

My daughter Caroline just turned 6, and after 5 years of trying to come up with the most fabulous, creative, never-been-done before party favors, I decided to finally be wise enough to make it look like I did.

Caroline loves to bake, so we had her party at a children's cooking school. For the favors, I filled gift bags with some cute and colorful mixing spoons, measuring cups, pot holders, and candy. There were not ponies in the bag. There were not Viking ovens, Cuisinarts, or Martha Stewart in the bags.

Believe it or not, these bags were still adorable, and both the kids and the moms went crazy over them. It just goes to show that creativity goes a long way...not every project is a re-invention of the wheel. We dress up and accessorize ourselves, why should the things we give be any different?

So, the recipe for a great favor bag is:

-Take one brightly-colored gift bag
-Add an adorable photo sticker of the birthday girl (or boy)-coming soon to namemaker.com
-Tie on personalized ribbon (mine said "Thanks for Cooking With Caroline")
-Mix in some appropriate, inexpensive but practical goodies that kids will actually use

Voila! Easy. Adorable. Done!

To make it even easier, check out our gift bag Party Packs (12 gift bags with 12 personalized stickers or personalized ribbon).

Thank You Thursday

2009-09-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

We thought we'd add a "Thank You Thursday" segment on our blog...a little thank you note to our customers for using Name Maker's products as part of their business or giving. It's a great way to get or give ideas for your business or organizations.
If you'd like to share your creative uses of our products in your business, please reply to this post or email me at stephanie@namemaker.com.

Today's Thursday Thank You (TTY) goes to Sandra Bradshaw of The Cupcake Cottage in Fort Worth, TX.

Cupcakes are the "it" dessert now for every occasion imaginable. Sandra's cupcakes are baked from scratch daily, using only the best
ingredients like unbleached flour, pure extracts, fresh fruits and unsalted butter. You'll find no additives or preservatives in their tiny treats!

You may get them in any quantity, but how cute are these individual cupcake boxes...a perfect-size "happy"! Love the cute sayings on the personalized ri bbon, and she has them for a variety of occasions like "Happy Birthday To My Favorite Cupcake" or "Love, Hugs, and Cupcakes". Such great presentation...who wouldn't love getting their very own cupcake wrapped up with a personalized saying?

Thanks, Sandra, for letting us be a part of your sweet success!

ribbons are stored in our antique ribbon storage drawer

2009-08-17T10:44:00.001-07:00

Back to school. (ahhh...)

If you haven't gotten labels for your kids' stuff, it's not too late.

Let's face it...last-minute, writing-with-a-sharpie labeling is no fun, and it really just doesn't last.

We have iron-on labels for clothes and waterproof stickers (dishwasher safe) for just about everything else. (We've made our iron-on labels for 70 years, and they STAY ON!)

Let your kids help choose from our great designs...we have something for all ages.

Check this list to be sure you have enough labels for:

Clothes: shirts, pants, shorts, skirts,uniforms, socks, tights

Winter Wear: hats, coats, mittens, scarves

After-school/gym: dance, cheer, and sports uniforms, plus the bags they go in. Musical instruments, cases and accessories,too.

Lunch/Snacks: lunch boxes/bags, thermoses, plastic containers, water bottles
Backpacks, tote bags

School supplies: folders, notebooks, pencil cases, marker/crayon packs

Day Care/Little Ones: Bottles, sippy cups, nap mats, diaper bags, wipes containers, blankies & lovies
Allergies: the more teachers and coaches who see that your child has allergies, the better.

If you have any other creative uses for stickers or labels, send them to us with a photo. We will choose a winner who will receive 20% off your next order.

Ok, start labeling!

It's so easy being green

2009-08-13T18:37:00.000-07:00

At Name Maker, we love seeing the interesting ways our customers use our products.
(Send us photos...we may post them!)

Teresa Van Hatten-Granath, better known as The Green Bag Lady, is committed to saving the planet, one reusable bag at a time.

With the promise you'll use fabric bags instead of plastic or paper, you may receive one of her stylish and practical totes for free. Teresa and her many volunteers (called Bagettes) make the bags from adorable fabrics and label them with Name Maker labels. The bags are then numbered to keep track of how many have been put to use; so far they have given away more than 6000-all over the world!

Check out her site at http://greenbaglady.org. for information about her bags and some helpful tips for going green.

Sweet.

2009-08-02T21:04:00.000-07:00

I am still happy that it's summertime.

(This may have something to do with the fact that I am out of the southern heat and posting this from Telluride, CO; wearing a sweater while doing so.)
Honestly though, I'm not quite ready to be through with lemonade, flipflops, and watching my kids have hose fights.

Summer. Yellow, Orange. Sweet. We have seen lots of color trending in the yellow family this year, whether in summer weddings, birthday parties, or just about every occasion that is sunny, warm, and happy. This trend will continue into fall; paired with grays and jewel tones like purple.

We are offering a great chance to save on our award-winning personalized letterpress gift wrap, in a collection of cheerful citrus tones. See http://www.namemaker.com/ under Sweet Selections to view the collection and details.

When giving a gift to your bridesmaids, friends, or family, the extra added touch of personalized gift wrap makes the packaging as impressive as the present.
This wrap also makes a very thoughtful gift...especially for the person who has everything.

Pricing begins at only $10.95 for a 6-foot roll. Now that's sweet!

Vintage Name Maker Ad (gotta love old-school!)

2009-07-22T13:22:00.000-07:00

Everything old is new again, or so the cliche goes. An old college buddy of ours, Kevin Pake found this vintage Name Maker ad from 1968...how cool is that! The graphics look so today, something you'd see in a really hip catalog or classically cool store.
The funny thing is, these designs are still part of our lineup of sewing, crafting, and knitting labels...these versatile labels have been tweaked a bit over the years (40 years since this ad, 70 since we began!), but the vintage, hand-made feeling is still there.
Check out all of our labels, whether you prefer to keep it old-school or try out one of our newer designs.
Thanks, Kevin, for the great find!

"Made by Caroline"

2009-07-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

As a self-proclaimed (somewhat) perfectionist, I am extremely picky about the quality of Name Maker products, especially when it involves any of our fabric iron-on name labels. When we manufactured the newest iron-on children's labels, I found myself in the plant, with my trusty scissors, cutting off sample after sample for testing purposes.

Used to this routine by now, my two boys, Jake & Alex, often find themselves wearing items belonging to various others, with names such as Matthew, Myron & even Mohammed. They are fantastic sports when it comes to subjecting their clothing to "guinea pig" status. Not the case, I would soon find out, with my five-year-old daughter, Caroline.

The combination of one high maintenance five-year-old, one school play, one required white t-shirt, & a tester iron-on label equaled an utter disaster. "But mommy, my name is not Riley Whatever-That-Last-Name-Is-I-Can-Not-Pronounce, that is not my shirt and I am not wearing it!" After 3 hours, 2 promises, which included "I will never iron-on another person's name label into your clothes again" and 1 bribe involving Hannah Montana, I had won the battle.

Needless to say, I had a fantastic laugh last week when once again my scissors and I ventured into the plant to cut samples for testing. When the printer stopped the press, I bent down to cut off a swatch of the label, which ironically said "Made by Caroline".

It's all about the packaging...

2009-07-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

Am I the only person who hates baking? Seems like everyone I know can whip up a cake or a batch of cookies at a moment's notice. (They even seem to enjoy it.) Ugh.

I love to cook. I hate to bake.

Give me a chicken, every kind of vegetable, any appetizer, and I feel right at home, adding a pinch of this and a bit of that. I enjoy trying new recipes and coming up with my own.

Give me flour, sugar, or anything that involves sifting or folding, and I panic. (ex: the recipe says "mix". How long? With what?) I have absolutely no intuition about it (my sister always says, "you'll know, it will LOOK right"- it never looks "right" to me) - plus, the whole endeavor is too precise and it just stresses me out.

Unfortunately, there are times when baking is expected from you, (since most normal people don't freak out when asked to bring dessert to someone's house) and I have to break out the mixmaster. My stuff is usually edible (-ish), but not very pretty.

My solution? Take the lumpy cookies, uneven brownies, or too-brown cake and wrap them in pretty personalized ribbon. Suddenly, they look delicious! Let's just hope there's lots of milk on hand to wash them down with.

Great Bridesmaid and Groomsmen's Gifts

2009-07-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

It's often tricky to come up with really great bridesmaids and groomsmen's gifts...we want to give something to remind our dear friends that they were part of our special celebration, yet be practical enough to actually be used.

Consider giving the gift of something wearable; a shawl in a neutral color not only goes with any color of bridesmaid dress, but will be worn again and again in both casual and formal settings. A great-looking necktie can work the same double-duty for the men in the wedding party.

By adding a small woven label with your names or wedding date (or even just "thank you"), your friends and family will always have a little reminder of your meaningful day.

courtesy: Martha Stewart Weddings

Welcome to Name Maker Notes

2009-04-27T11:07:00.001-07:00

Welcome to our new blog, Name Maker Notes!

We have such a wonderful yet diverse group of customers and followers...so a blog seemed like a natural way to give a little something to everyone.

Our "Name Maker Notes" blog is a place you go to get or give ideas...whether you are a bride looking for beautiful personalized ribbon or favor boxes, a knitter, sewer, or crafter who wants to add personalized woven labels to their creations, a lover of all things paper (our award-winning personalized letterpress gift wrap and gift stickers), a mom with kids going to camp who needs iron-on camp labels, we hope you'll stop by our blog for inspiration, how-to's, and fantastic ideas from some special guest bloggers, or sometimes just for a good laugh!

We also want to feature your creativity...so send us photos of your projects, weddings, holidays, and other occasions in which you've used Name Maker's products to make them personalized