We're Seeing Pink and Red!

Valentine's Day seems to be one holiday that people either look forward to or dread. I used to be in the latter category but now I just see it as another opportunity to plan a fun party for friends to get together and celebrate each other, with lots of champagne and chocolate! Here are some fun Valentine's ideas for your party, your house or your kid's classroom. Read below for fun ideas, crafts for the kiddos, and some sweet treats you must try! 

Invite your girlfriends, couple-friends, or kids-friends with one of our many fun Valentine's themed invitations. 

Display your sweet spread on these beautiful Juliska Berry and Thread platters. We also have a wide variety of William Bounds Acrylic that is great for displaying cakes and cookies or serving beverages and ice. 

rectangle $34, oval $48

We have lots of great patterns of plates and napkins that would fit with any Valentine's theme - go wild with our leopard and hot pink plates and napkins or keep it sweet with our polka dot or paisley pattern. 

leopard plate $5.25,  polka dot napkin $5.50 large leopard napkin $6.50

Decorate your house:

Start at your front door with the oh-so-cute Heart Burlee, $42

These Crayon Hearts are so stinking cute! We might just keep them up all year! Display them in the window for the light to shine through and make your kitchen and array of colors.

How to here.

Make a fun heart garland! How to here. This garland brightens up any wall, window, or banister! 

Now for the treats: 

The perfect Valentine's cupcake: brownie, strawberry cake and vanilla frosting!

Modify this recipe by using strawberry cake and making vanilla icing. 

Heart Rice Krispies! 

recipe here

Other Ideas: Make your own Valentine's cards with your kids, these are super cute, easy and you won't have to go buy boxes of cartoon Valentines. (unless you want to)

Lollipop Flowers, use whatever sucker you choose and attach it to a construction paper heart. 

Roll up Rolos, Sweet-tarts, tootsie rolls and attach a message! Instant Valentine! 

Give Your Resolutions a Boost!

January is already flying past us! So, it's about this time every year that my shiny New Year's Resolutions start to loose a little bit of their shiny, and depending on how ambitious I was when making said resolutions, they may have already blown away in the wind! 

Here are some ways that you and I both can boost some life back into our resolutions: 

Resolution 1: Inspiration

These wooden inspiration boards are not only great for home decor but they are incredibly, well, inspiring! Just like putting our 'bikini inspiration' on the fridge, these can dress up a wall or a bookshelf and give you that extra oomph every time you pass by. (and let's be honest, these are much better than having a super model stare at you from your fridge!) 

Boards are a range between $33.95 and $44.95

Resolution 2: Entertain More

Nothing beats a night filled with good friends, good wine and some good food! William Yeoward's Entertaining book is full of beautiful photos and great ideas for all things entertaining. The GoVino wine glasses are still a favorite among the staff at Fresh Ink, they're plastic but they act just like your crystal would when filled with wine. They're BPA free, have a handy notch for your thumb and they won't shatter when they take a tumble.

Initial Cutting Board: $34

Juliska Ramekins: $14

Juliska Tray: $36

Set of 4 GoVino glasses: $13.95

Book: $44

Bamboo Ice Scoop: $24

Bamboo Bottle Opener / Knife: $13.95

 Resolution 3: Travel 

Maybe this year you're ready to break free and feel the wind in your hair. Whether you're traveling to Oxford, Starkville or somewhere exotic these Amy Butler bags are the perfect sidekick. We LOVE the bright colors (who's ready for spring/summer?) and the fabulous patterns will have you right on trend with any fashionista you're traveling with this year. 

Large: $242

Medium: $50

Small: $23

Traditional Invitations and Save the Dates (with a twist)

Traditional or with a twist? What to do, what to do? There are so many decisions to make when planning your wedding and in my opinion the invitations and save-the-dates are that the top of decision making pile (right after the dress of course!) They are often the first thing that people see, for your big day, and you can capitalize on that opportunity to set the mood for the event. 

Whether you want a very traditional wedding or want something completely different or you are still trying to decide, our staff at Fresh Ink can help you get your ideas literally onto paper. Here are some of the invitations we created this past year that can hopefully give you some ideas about the invitations you are hoping to create...

Save these dates:

A beautiful and traditional save-the-date. This is one of my very favorites because it is classic yet eye catching. The flourish around the initials and the beautiful script add just the right touch. 

Adding photos to save-the-dates isn't really anything new but using shimmery card stock and the photo as the backdrop for your text, you get a very unique take on a photo-driven save-the-date. 

Love, love, love these modern save-the-dates. Using the initials as the main feature with a simple font and a fun pop of color you have a winning design that your friends will gladly display on their fridge!  

This save-the-date is a type-lovers delight! Using old fashioned western typefaces make this gray and white save-the-date very eye catching! 

Invite your creativity: 

Classically beautiful! If your budget allows, letterpress is such a wonderful touch to any invitation, that, combined with elegant script and a muted color make these invitations simple and gorgeous. 

Calligraphy isn't just for envelopes! Using a calligraphy typeface or having a calligrapher pen your invitation is a wonderful way to make even a black and white design grab your attention. 

Initials and script draw the eye to couple's names on this pretty one color invitation. 

Like the previous invitation this is another example of an invitation that puts calligraphy/script together with a very simple sans-serif font to make an eye-catching invitation. The flower illustration at the top adds a unique finishing touch.

Another simple yet stunning invitation. Letterpress with a simple illustration on square card-stock and just two colors are all this invite needs to hold its own in the pile. 

These invites are one of my very favorite designs from this past year. A combination of a few beautiful typefaces with a fun layout and simple border make this invitation stand out from the crowd. 

Dinners, parties and bocce; oh my! 

A bright color paired with a muted one give this invitation a playful and summery feel. Its elegant and fun at the same time! 

A non-traditional invitation for a non-traditional party. The colors and design of these invitations make it just as fun as the party itself! Let your unique ideas go from your even to the paper just like these invites. 

Hopefully we've given you some ideas to get your wheels turning about what you want for your big day! Remember if you come and order your invitations, save the dates, programs etc this week you will get 10% off your order because it's still WEDDING WEEK at Fresh Ink! We also have lots of great deals on Jon Hart, William Bounds Acrylicware, Wedding Albums and other accessories during Wedding Week. (it all ends Saturday!)