Stationery etiquette

In all correspondence, a woman's name precedes a man's, just like on a wedding invitation. It's a matter of politeness and also proper etiquette.

"Thank-you notes" written after the wedding, for example, may be signed, Susan and David Smith, or may also be signed by the bride, only.

we're so SQUARE

the usps has acknowledged that its ok to be square

in this press release, the United States Postal Service announces all the details {for those of us who love to be square in our correspondence} of the new stamps for special sized invitations & stationery...of the square kind

“These stamps take the guesswork out of how much postage to put on the square greeting card envelopes that are so popular with consumers.” – Stephen M. Kearney, senior vice president, Customer Relations, U.S. Postal Service

How exciting! and oh so very fashionable!

PINK TOMATO | r e b o r n

when christy & i first opened pink tomato, there was one common thread in our vision of what pink tomato should be. or rather what it shouldn't be.

as we toiled over what to merchandise our shop with, knowing what we wanted to be when we grew up, we did know how we needed to start with the basics to create the foot traffic we needed to put us on the map. but with every 12x12 piece of paper we put on the shelves, we kept telling ourselves: "...we are NOT a scrapbook store...we are NOT a scrapbook store..."

with clear vision and an ecclectic mix of unique papers, accessories, stationery, and gift items, we forged ahead carving our niche.

with christy's background in marketing & painting and my experience in both sides of retail & design & graphics, within a few fast months, we morphed our shop into a full design studio, wrapping our heads around the wedding industry. more specifically...custom designed and handcrafted wedding & event invitations and stationery.

it all began with with the gal that hated her internet purchased wedding invitations and needed our help to "fix them up". and then there was the local gal who wanted help making her own invitations...

it was our AH-HA moment. it was the moment that said, "...hey guys, you can actually pay your rent doing this for people!..."

the past 20+ years of my own experiences flashed before my eyes and fell down in front of me in this nicely wrapped package with a big pink bow: working with major retailers and resources around the world; designing packaging & logos for our own in-house brands; knowing illustrator & photoshop; knowing about vendors from my previous business experiences; my experience working on a design team for a major paper company and lastly creating invitations for friends & family over the years . the perfect recipe to build a successful business. it was all right there in front of us. right at our fingertips. literally.

after convincing christy this was our destiny, (lol, and sometimes she can be a tough cookie to crack) we decided in september of 08, to put ourselves OUT THERE. we signed up for and attended all the bridal shows we could find in our area. we signed on with

their products & designs and high quality standards were perfect for what we wanted to do.

we have been R E B O R N.

and we love what we have become. it was always there. we just needed to peel back the layers to find it. we've added product diversity, we've added wedding albums from several major companies, we merged with AROMA LAB, our in-studio DIY fragrance counter; and come May 22, we will be having our first ever open house with a grand prize give-away of 75 custom designed invitations.

many MANY brides later, pink tomato still has 12x12 scrapbook paper on the shelves, but our attitude screams - WE ARE MUCH MORE THAN THAT!

just press your noses to the windows and look inside. we'll wash them later...

it's aliiiive!

woah! its been nearly a year since i last posted and so i decided to make an effort to fire up the ol' blog again.

lots of stuff happening at the shop, lots of ideas, and what better place to work them all out than here...

hoping to post some recent photos and updates...

hearts & trees

New Years day isnt even through and I am already thinking about Valentines day and Next Christmas. I get it honestly through 20 years in the retail/import business. I have always lived my life in seasons---a year ahead of time.

I also have most of my holiday shopping done for next year thanks to the after christmas 75% off clearance sales...heehee. I hate that. It feels cheap, dirty & underhanded. But i feel good that all the "extra curricular" gifts are done, packed in a tote, and in storage.

This is a Valentine tree I made today.

I plan to change the tree decorations with each season, updating with new photos, colors & designs. Next christmas this will be THE gift for the grandma's in our family. Each holiday they will also get a new set of photo decorations to hang on their trees. Oh look...another christmas gift done - forever. I rock.

Supplies

Cascada/Salmon Cardstock

Elan Metallics/Bronze

Basic Grey Patterned Paper in 2x2 squares

Maya Road Wings Keychain chipboard

Melissa Frances Pink Glitter Heart Chipboard

Pearl Pigment ink

Pink Stickles

Darice Metal Heart Charms

Glitter Pens in Bronze/Copper

White Raffia

Rubber Coated Metal Tree from Ikea

Cricut with Doodle Charms & Accent Essentials Cartridges

stencil brush

Tim Holtz Tea Dye distress ink

Instructions

Gather six 1x1" closeup photos

1) Cut six 3.5" Doodle Charms Scalloped Hearts from the Elan Metallics Bronze cardstock

2) Cut six 4" Accent Essentials Bracketed Solid Frame (in Shift Mode)

3) ink edges of all pieces with tea dye distress ink

4) use pearl ink on the chipboard wings and add a coat of pink stickles with a paint brush

5) adhere hearts to the background frames

6) layer & collage patterned paper, photos, wings, hearts & charms

7) Punch hole in top and feed two ends of the raffia from the back of the frame thru to the front and tie a bow, leaving the loop to the back of the frame for hanging.

8) hang on tree branches

9) add extra decoration with ribbon, ribbon slides, rhinestones to the tree as desired

getting ready for holidays...

Recent Projects!

Holiday Goody Bag!
Designer: Jodi Kennedy, Worldwin Papers Design Team
Featured on
http://www.pinktomatos.blogspot.com/
http://www.scrapbook.com/galleries/143663.html

Supplies:
Worldwin Papers/Antique White/Treasures
Worldwin Papers/Ivory/Elan Metallics
Making Memories Glitter Alpha Stickers
Cricut Bag from Plantain Cartridge, cut on Cricut Expressions
Cricut Snowflakes from Accent Essentials Cartridge
Rope Ribbon
Crafters Companion
Kokoyu Dot n Roller

Instructions:
1) Place Antique White Treasures 12x12 cardstock on the Cricut Mat and cut bag shape set on "fit to page"
2) Place Ivory Elan Metallics on Cricut Mat and cut snowflakes & Scallop Border in sizes around 1"
3) Score bag folds using Crafter's Companion and assemble bag using Kokoyu Dot N Roller
4) Apply Snowflakes & Scallop Border to front of bag
5) Apply Making Memories Glitter stickers to spell "joy" or other holiday word
6) Tie the rope ribbon to handle
7) Fill with goodies!

Oh Christmas Tree
Designer: Jodi Kennedy, Worldwin Papers Design Team
Featured on
http://www.pinktomatos.blogspot.com/
http://www.scrapbook.com/galleries/143663.html


Who says a Christmas Tree needs to be a triangle! I was messing around with my favorite stamp in the whole world. The Growing In Unity Tree by Unity Stamp Company. I wondered how cute it would look with some garland and ornaments. Well, it looks fab!

Supplies:
Worldwin Papers/Cascada/Sky Blue
Worldwin Papers/Caribbean Colors/Passion Fruit
Elan Metallics/Warm Dust
Dye Ink Pad in Aqua
Unity Stamp Co/Growing in Unity Tree
Crafters Companion
Stickles in Platinum & Hot Pink or Burgundy
random word stamps such as wonder, believe, dream, inspire

Instructions:
1) Using the Crafters Companion score & fold 2 A2 sized cards from the Cascada & Caribbean Colors cardstocks
2) Stamp the Unity Tree on the front and embellish the limbs with Platinum Stickles and "dot" ornaments in burgundy or hot pink
3) Tear the Elan Metallics to create "snow drifts" and ink the torn edge with the Aqua ink pad.
4) Adhere the snowdrifts to the bottom of the card
5) stamp with word stamps


Loaves of Love * Holiday Bread Bag Toppers
Designer: Jodi Kennedy, Worldwin Papers Design Team
Featured on
http://www.pinktomatos.blogspot.com/
http://www.scrapbook.com/galleries/143663.html

Supplies
(Makes 9 Bag Toppers)
White/Treasures Cardstock x 3
Melissa Frances Glitter Chipboard Christmas Shapes x 9
Melissa Frances Christmas Rub-Ons x 9
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad in Tea Dye
Stencil Brush
Sheer Organza Ribbon in Green
Red Marker
Crafters Companion Score Board
Cricut Expressions Christmas Cheer Cartridge with Scalloped Card
Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive

Instructions:
1) Use Cricut to cut Scallop Shaped Cards approximately 5.25” when folded
2) Use Crafters Companion to Score Fold line and fold all cards
3) Use Stencil Brush to apply Tea Dye ink to edges of all cards & Glitter Chipboard Pieces
4) Tie Ribbon around front Flap of Topper card, positioning the knot toward the right side. Trim Ends
5) Use Red Marker to accent the Glitter Chipboard pieces as desired – such as in areas that represent berries.
6) Apply Chipboard to top of ribbon toward the left side of the card using Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive
7) Apply Rub-ons
8) Attach toppers to bags using a standard stapler.

november update~~~

November brought a lot of new projects and commitments. we had a lot of fun at the Glamour in the Slammer Bridal Show which was held at the old Ohio Reformatory. a fabulous old building that is creepy in a most gorgeous way. To think it was a jail and that it is "haunted" was a little unsettling--but all in all - a very cool place.

It was also fun hanging out with 40 or so women during a weekend scrapbook retreat at the Christian Childrens Home. PT was a vendor there and we met a bunch of great ladies. It was relaxing too, to get away, even though we were officially working.

Random Projects completed:

Worldwin Papers / Accu-Cut / October Afternoon / JustRite Stampers

Worldwin Papers / Jillibean Soup / Cricut

Worldwin Papers / Jillibean Soup / Cricut

Worldwin Papers / Jillibean Soup / Accu-Cut

Worldwin Papers / Unity Stamp / Stickles

This is a great example of our new Scriptology Designs - we have this one in the shop at a workspace. Our customized wall graphics are becoming more & more popular locally and hopefully soon we will have them available to order online through our website...

Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving. it was a stress-free one for me, no cooking - no cleaning. Can't ask for anything better than that!

PS3, Halloween, Paper

thom's birthday cake - he turned 10 on 9/30
i am HATING that.
and a few of his best bud's came over for a campout & a fire, which ended up all over the living room floor because it was too chilly out.





wooo hoo! just got meeself the latest in gaming enjoyment (well its not the latest, but i was late is getting one)- the PS3. Should have gotten this when we got the Wii. But the boys love that so i guess all is well. they are gunning for the PS3 in the WORST way though - too bad i have it hooked up in my bedroom. Ratchet & Clank is my favorite.

















its oct 14 and i cannot believe halloween is right around the corner...where the heck did summer go? i love the fall - its my absolute favorite. the leaves are changing here, it smells like autumn and its time to burn candles that waft apples & cinnamon & pumpkin. its a great time to be outside. I took matt to the pumpkin patch with my sister, jen and my niece, wren

A little project for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It's a Blessings Box made with Worldwin Papers & Melissa Frances Products. the mini deck of cards inside and reminders and inner peace-keepers.

this would be "jofus" doing his thing. which is climbing trees and skateboarding. oh and hopping onto a homecoming parade float, just because he can.

A handmade social stationery set made with worldwin papers and melissa frances products. Her I used the Pear Vintage Labels - love these things! - the rest is all WWP and the patterned paper is actually stamped with Paper Artsy.

the big oak doors

since moving into this old house, we've found the coolest "old" odds & ends which at one time or another were attached and detached from this awesome old home. they are scattered about in the equipment barn or the bank barn or in junk drawers around the house.

from old screws & nails, intricately molded metal hinges, metal & porcelain door knobs to massive old solid oak doors. 4 of those to be exact. found leaning up against the wood pole framing in the equipment barn.

they might be pretty cool looking backdrops for the shops window displays. we also found a couple old beat up chairs & tables complete with peeling paint. and a couple other things that havent made their way out yet - like old paned windows.

so sam & joe dragged the dusty dirty items from the barn, loaded them up in the expert t's van and hauled them up to Pink Tomato, where they hinged two sets together and set them up in the windows. christy & i scrubbed - 4 buckets each, 1 bucket of hot murphy's oil soapy water for each side of each door. gross. man were they dirty - but under all that nastiness are the most beautiful solid oak paneled doors - roughly 8 ft tall each.
they look beautiful in the windows embellished with our tables & chairs, papers, journals, tea cups and our samples of invitations & stationery.

it was just what PT needed...we also made a few other changes to upgrade the personality of the shop, including a small change-up in the wording of our window signs. we are excited about our diversification and about things to come.

it just serves as a bold reminder, never judge a book by its cover...it's what's inside that counts

catchin' UP

i am risking sitting here blogging at 7:00 am when my booty should be up getting ready for work and getting kids breakfast and off to school, but i am justifying that I am having my morning joe (in more ways than one) and as long as i am sitting enjoying that i might as well catch up on my blog.

just a few points to catch things up...

i found that i am using my new blackberry too much. i seem to be keyboarding on my computers like i do on the BB. the shortcuts arent the same.

i am still flip flopping on whether i should use this as a store blog or not - i mean, it is called pink tomato afterall. but for today, this is my personal blog.

kids are back in school now, for a few weeks. it was Fair week this week and the county gives all of the local schools in the county a day off school and a ticket to the fair - how awesome is that?

we officially are full time parents of 3 as of august when my step son, Joey, came to live with us permanently all the way from tallahassee. so far things have been great and we all are adjusting well. its his first yr of HS and he's trying to find his way in this new life. he's settled in and has made lots of friends, and is realizing its a totally different world here in rural ohio. he's also a young man. scary. his first official girlfriend is named lauren. uhm. we dont know her last name. and neither does joey. ugh.

christy is bummed. apparently in that long contract from stampin' UP, you cant be a store owner. so they gave her the boot. even though her sales have increased. go figure. curious though. I just hope there wasn't anyone being catty out there and turned her in. that would be really disappointing. but its OK if you are on a Design Team for another company or if you work at another store. Soooo - i think maybe we will do some sort of stamp club with one of the lines in the shop - perhaps UNITY STAMP CO. or ART DECLASSIFIED (coming soon!)

speaking of the store - we gots lots of new & unique product in and we are beginning our first phase of creating our clearance section, we have some things on sale and we are pulling more this week.

we are unrolling this week custom invitations for parties & weddings and will be showing at a local bridal show on sunday.

finally and in closing - it's 9/11. i remember that day vividly. i remember driving my 30 minutes to work from lake worth to boca raton. i remember distinctly turning OFF the morning radio so that I could get into my head and think about planning my day. I remember coming into the office shortly before 9:00 am and someone mentioning a plane crash in NY. i remember being concerned, but as i was making my way to my office, I was more interested in what was in my morning email. i remember sitting down, turning on the computer and letting it boot up. i remember my chat programs coming up, AIM & YAHOO, and going to get a cup of coffee. i remember sitting down and my mom, in ohio, popping on yahoo messenger typing me a message freaking out about another plane crash in NY. i remember several moments of confusion as to why this could be significant in a much bigger capacity than just a plane crash. as if a plane crash wasnt devastating enough. i remember a little hullaballoo starting to take place in the office and people pulling up msnbc.com or cnn.com to see if there were any stories. as the morning rolled on and two more plane crashes later, i remember everyone trying to figure out what the hell was happening and wondering if we were being attacked. i remember dropping everything i was doing and leaving to run to walmart to grab a TV so that we could plug it in and see the news. and it wasnt good. in the days and months to follow, i remember being glued to my television every morning causing me to be late to work and every night until i fell asleep. i remember every moment looking over my shoulder. afraid to leave the house. afraid to go to a mall. afraid to take my family to disney. because we were all targets. i remember crying. out loud. something i never do. and i remember the day President Bush announced we were going to Iraq. i remember wondering why we were going there, but at the same time feeling like if he said we needed to, then he must know more than me and that i should trust that it was the right thing to do. how naive i was. i remember the horrible pictures on tv of the two dead sons of Saddam Hussein in that tent. i remember jessica lynch and all the other horrible stories of death & destruction.

7 years later. i still choke up thinking about that day and the chain of events that followed.

olympics, aol radio and dominos pizza

i'll admit - i'm addicted. i always am during the olympics. the tv remains on at all hours - i'll fall asleep and wake up all night long to olympic games. love it. yay misty & kerri. yay phelps. yay womens soccer team! i just cant get behind the dive competition - its just weird. and the chick correspondant is really getting on my nerves - she talks way too much.

i know i have aol radio listed on my blog someplace else - but i'm loving it more today since i found that it streams assorted real radio stations from around the u.s. i found my old fav, 103.1 the buzz in West Palm Beach FL - same dudes and everything after 4 yrs. it was especially swell listening to local news and traffic reports.

dominos pizza. i did a bad today. i actually signed up for online ordering thru dominos website and fell for the online real time pizza monitor trick. i dont really like dominoes, but everyone else does. they even have an order save feature - where you can just reorder the "usual" with a click. they've made it way too easy. ugh.

see how i just picked up where i left off? now i'm off to go blog surf. havent done that in a month so i have a lot of catching up to do.

G*O* spells AWESOME

i dont think i can truly express how well GO went - I mean we had the fabulo-city (sorry blonde - had to borrow that one) of YVONNE & KIMBER; record sales - i'm talkin' double the sales of our record sales. a bunch of new friends coming thru the doors and we topped it off with a swanky cocktail party with our close friends & family.

AND my dear friend melissa & her daughter kelsey SHOWED UP AT 3:00am the night before driving from NY (i was zonked - this would be the night I slept with a michelob).

and CRAP - we didnt even get any canoli.

my other dear friend denise played photographer again, but she hasnt forked over the flash - so as soon as I get it - i will post pics.

it was sorta like planning a wedding - i mean i loved all the stress of planning it - but I'm glad its over and we can move forward with carving our niche.

i am pretty sure the folks who have visited us so far --- all "get it" --- which sends me a clear message that we are needed :-)

1 day

so here i am, sitting in bed - trying to unwind. watching the news. sipping on a michelob ultra pomegranate & raspberry beer. yum - i owe this new obsession to christy - thanks very much

i am NOT a lush!

my feet hurt

i'm trying counteract the caffeine from today

got a big day tomorrow

did i mention my feet hurt?

hit kohls sales this week - hit jackpot.

my cholesterol level is 214 - gotta stop eating ANIMAL FAT

got my hair cut - christy said it will make me look ---youthful--- heehee - so tara came over at like 7:30 yesterday morning and starting chopping - probably about 2-3 inches came off. i'm loving the idea of a mobile hair stylist - if i can find a good maid I'll be all set.

I cant wait to see yvonne & kimber - what a treat. I feel so priviledged to have them here - i really do. I even squeezed in my own workshop :-) woo hoo!

i couldnt wait to see mel too - did i mention mel's canoli hole needs choc chips? canoli? with chocolate chips? Yum - C & I had a piece today after dinner at Muddy Waters. as for mel - well she knows what I'm talking about ;-)

someone needs to open another restaurant here downtown - something ethnic...it would be perfect here. I'm thinking maybe something in island or cajun or southern slop. I'm missing some good spanish food too. ugh - does that mean I am missing florida - just a little? maybe tomorrow i'll make some black beans & rice

as for pink tomato - its going great so far. 3 classes sold out for tomorrow and we've added 2 more slots for kimber & yvonne.

Grand Opening! July 26th!

sign ups for the celebrity workshops are underway!
get your seats reserved NOW!!
call the store - 330-264-2327
visit the website www.thepinktomato.com - click on EVENTS

wow...

thats all we can say. we got the keys on the 1st and totally blitzed the store opening living strictly on diet pepsi max, mountain mudd coffees, and aleve.

we did it and we love it and we are grateful to everyone who showed their support and helping us get it done and for everyone who walked thru our doors on saturday. we are so looking forward to offering everyone a fun and new and uncommon crafting experience.

here are pics of the actual WORK being done! (to your right--->)

I will have pics of opening day and the final pics of the store how it looks later this evening - Denise took those and i'll have to grab her flash card at the baseball game tonight...

enjoy!

road trip

back in may, christy & i took a little road trip, thru corn fields & cattle and found a couple cool stores to visit and learn. We met two great ladies along the way and ate some yummy ribs.

here is susie kreais

she owns SCRAP HAPPY in New Riegel, Ohio.

Isnt this just the cutest building ever? Susie has the cutest store, jam packed full of the latest & greatest paper goodies and tools. She showed us her big accu-cut and while we drooled over the crown books she was making, she filled us in a lots of little tips and was generous with advice and even hooked us up with Debbie Zegarra...Debbie came to visit us a couple weeks ago all the way from Kentucky and helped us get some great product for the store.

Debbie knows Yvonne. Who is my Worldwin Papers Design Team Manager - what a small world!

This is where we ate ribs - the New Riegel Cafe - its right across the street from Susie. She's Lucky!

After lunch, we're off to Columbus...

but not before we passed thru SOUTH PARK---LOL

this is Tonya - and she owns RED LETTER JOURNALS. Tonya is a CRICUT expert and we may just have to have her visit for a workshop! Thanks Tonya, for sharing your awesome store with us! What an inspiring place to hang out.

Red Letter Journals is located in trendy GROVE CITY, OHIO.

And guess what Steph / Angela / Yvonne...THERE IS A TIM HORTONS THERE!

family photos

i'm the picture taker in house. i rarely ever jump in and try to be in the picture. i hate that i often dont photograph as well i used to. but it really sucks that down the road, in the future, my kids and their kids and their kids, are not going to have many pictures of me to look at.

I hate that thought.

that they wont know who i am.

pictures tell stories. everyday moments.

as i look through the pictures of my youth, my parents and my ancestors, even without any scrapbooks around, i am able to put myself inside the photograph and imagine what was happening at that single moment when the flash blub went off.

so - lesson for the day.

dont be a camera hog.

let someone else take the pictures. do it often. even if you arent at your best. even if you are feeling ugly.

thanks denise. for taking my camera away from me. for this picture. i love this.

well shut my mouth!

i go from saying N O T H I N G to saying all kinds of stuff...but let me tell you this week was interesting...here are some pics of it so far :-)


matt gets into his first scrap. with another kid. his age. who has a stick



yesterday & the day before. hail storms - wicked!


yesterday. at dusk. after hail storm move on.

visions for tomorrow

you all know i'm a sci-fi buff

sci-fi channel recently started airing commercial for http://www.visionsfortomorrow.net/

so i clicked.