Happy November! Need to Send a Last Minute Card? Use Paperless Post! And a Giveaway!

This is a sponsored post in conjunction with Anagram Interactive. I was provided access and funding but opinions are 100% mine. 

My readers know that my first love is card making. But sometimes there are times when I need to get a card to someone faster than snail mail and I have been unsatisfied with the electronic options I've found...until now! Enter Paperless Post.

Paperless Post is a website that allows you to send invitations, cards or personalized stationery in a way that other "ecard" sites that I've seen don't.  In their own words: 

"Paperless Post is a digital events platform that helps you create online and paper invitations and stationery that reflect your individual aesthetic. Our distinctive, customizable designs and powerful online tools make it easy to communicate and connect expressively on any occasion—from everyday correspondence to milestone life events. Paperless Post collaborates with leading fashion and lifestyle designers, including kate spade new york, Oscar de la Renta, Rifle Paper Co., and John Derian. To date, Paperless Post users have sent over 85 million cards. To browse designs and send invitations, please visit www.paperlesspost.com." 

The team from Paperless Post contacted me about their site and offered me coins to use so I could try it out. Each card has a coin cost. You can load a set amount of coins that you draw down from as you make your creations. 

The experience for the creator and the recipient is interactive and you get to customize as much or as little as you want. Being a frequent snail mail user, one feature I love is that your recipients get the whole experience of receiving a piece of mail including a customizable envelope, complete with liner.  For invitations or holiday cards, you can also upload your own pictures so keeping friends and family up to date is a cinch. For me, it's so much warmer than the typical e-card you can send. 

There are selections for kids parties to adult parties and events and they have a wide range of seasonal options. 

Here's the official overview on how it works: 

Here's an example of a  Halloween card I sent . You can customize each of the options as much or as little as you like (each customization increases the amount of coins you use) , and you can preview what your recipient will see before you send. 

The basic card for this option starts at "4 coins" and customization and the number of recipients you choose to send to increases the coin cost. You can even add a customized stamp to your envelope! 

Here's the best part! The team at Paperless Post has offered one of my readers the opportunity to win 1100 coins of your own to use! This is perfect for the busy holiday season with lots of parties and events to host, family and friends to keep updated etc. 

Giveaway will run through 11/8 and winner will be announced on 11/9. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Haunted Halloween Mantle and Halloween Spooktacular Giveaway from Oriental Trading Company

Surprise! It’s been a while since I’ve posted any projects but I’m excited to share my Haunted Mantle with you. (Disclosure, products for this post were provided to me by Oriental Trading Company) .

I’m sharing the overall mantle and in the coming days will share some tutorials of projects in this post.

I’ve been moving to a more gothic spooky look and when I saw these DIY ceramic skulls from OTC. I painted, crackled and gold leafed these for an elegant but spooky look.

To enhance the spookiness, I turned a large vase upside down and placed one of the skulls under it like a specimen in a lab.

I fell in love with this silver glitter fabric the minute I saw it and it was the perfect thing to simulate a magical spider web. I covered the mirror on my mantle with it and I wove more  of it on a side table.

I covered plain DIY wood photo blocks with paint, gold duct tape and scrapbook paper from a Poison Paper Pack  to make holders for signs to go with my spooky vignette.

Now here’s the best part of this post. Oriental Trading Company is having a weekly giveaway through October 17 with a chance to win $250 in Halloween products! They're also giving away a $25 gift card DAILY! Between craft and party supplies and Halloween decorations, think what kind of a party you could throw! Here's how to enter:

Visit www.spooktaculargiveaway.com today and enter to win their weekly prize -- $250 in Halloween products of your choice from Oriental Trading. Plus, they’re giving away a $25 Oriental Trading gift card every day! Contest ends October 17, 2015.

Why I Relate to nrelate...Great Plug In Tool for Blogger or Word Press

I love blogging tools that are easy to use and really become part of the fabric of my blog. nrelate is one of those tools and it is one of the easiest plug ins I’ve installed on my blog.

Well what is it you ask? nrelate is a related content plugin for your blog.  If you look at the bottom of each of my posts, you’ll see thumbnails of other related, posts. This is a great way for your readers to see other projects you’ve done that are similar to the one they may be viewing.  And for me as a busy and sometimes forgetful blogger, I confess I've forgotten some of my previous projects and  get a little surprise reminder “oh yeah, forgot about that one” when I see the thumbnail come up on a new post.

Why would you want to do this you ask? You have a lot of blog content beyond what may be visible on your front page at any moment that may otherwise go unseen. Sure you probably have your posts on your sidebar by month but this is another super simple way for your readers to navigate and explore your blog.


How do I install it you ask? Easy Peasy!

For Blogger: http://nrelate.com/install-products/install-related-content/install-for-blogger/

For Word Press: http://nrelate.com/install-products/install-related-content/install-for-wordpress/

My experience has been that you get very relevant post results linked within your post and you can decide what thumbail style, size etc you want. The one time I had to contact nrelate for support they were SO responsive. If you are looking for a tool to help manage your blog this is one worth checking out. And did I mention it's free?


I am being compensated for this post but the opinions are mine. I was an nrelate user for months prior to this post.