Good Tuesday morning everyone...
I'm spreading a little SUMMER LOVE today by sharing the latest Live-Inspired products I received from Compendium...





I received "Two" and "With Love"...
two gorgeous books...
perfect for that wedding gift you may be shopping for...
or the anniversary gift you're stumped over.
You know by now Compendium is my all-time favorite company for inspirational gifts...
I'm always so excited to see what new things they have available.
Keep reading for a few peeks at what's on the inside of both of these books...
and don't miss out on the 20% discount they're generously offering Pen N' Paperflowers readers and fans....

quotes | right on time

Something to think about today...

quoted by asha tyson

I had a short conversation with someone yesterday who expressed frustration

and even embarrassment for a goal she has secretly embarked on...

A goal she feels she should've achieved many years ago.

I personally expressed my admiration to her for having taken on the goal...

something many of us often write off as a "too-late" or a "should-have". 

I also mentioned it's never too late to do the things you are inspired to do.

Later in the evening I came across this quote posted on Live-Inspired 

and immediately shared it with her.

I was so inspired...
I decided to create a visual of the quote and share it with all of you.

I think so many of us...

including myself...

need to be reminded that we are where we are supposed to be in our lives...

Despite the questions we may have...

Despite the trials...

And especially despite the frustration and doubt.

The "Now" for all of us is "Right on Time"...

even though we may have had or still have a different plan in mind. *wink*

Enjoy your Tuesday!

inspiration | SHE paperie

I've said it before...

One of my very favorite things about blogging is...
meeting fabulous people along the way.

I'm SO beyond excited to introduce you to Suzanne of SHE paperie!!

I met Suzanne when she reached out to me back in December 2010.
She was in the middle of preparations for an ultimately amazing "Beatles-themed" birthday party she later hosted...

It was a first birthday party for her TWiN babies...Elle & Liam...

Yes...
I said twin babies...
And Yes...

"THEE" Beatles-themed party recently featured on HWTM

(See all of the wonderful details here and here)

(photo via HWTM)

(photo via HWTM)

Suzanne was merely reaching out to me via email with a simple inquiry...

a simple question about the frosting used on some cupcakes I'd recently showcased in a baby shower.

It was through our correspondence I happened upon Suzanne's fabulousness!

You may recall seeing these GORGEOUS images featured on Amy Atlas Events here and here...

COMPLETELY head-over-heels with the design and details of this photo shoot she was part of.

Seriously beautiful...

and SO my style!

She's been featured other places too...
and has been mentioned on these sites as well.
With her talent and keen eye for design...
I anticipate her continuing to pop up in places all over the web!

Suzanne and I have been keeping in touch and I was thrilled, yet again...

with another email she recently sent announcing the launch of her LOVELY new blog!!

I absolutely love her design style...

her amazing creativity...

her individuality...

and especially the energy I feel when I'm reading her emails...

or now...

reading her blog posts!

Check out the beautiful new business cards she designed and posted about HERE!

If you aren't already a blog follower of hers...you certainly should be.
"SHE" is a fabulous mom to two gorgeous little twins...
and "SHE" still manages to find the time to get creative!
Wow!!

Thanks for the inspiration Suzanne!
I'm SO glad you initiated the friendship/connection neither one of us really expected...
all through a simple email!


KEEPiNG iT REAL
Suzanne has no idea I'm posting this today...
nor does she know I woke up at 3:30 a.m. rehearsing this post in my mind...
that's how excited I am to share her talents with you!

On a completely different note...
Please take a second to vote for me today...VOTE right here!
I keep teetering between 6th & 9th place...
So thank you so very much for your ongoing daily votes!!!

12 days of SIMPLE holiday gift giving • day 7

Cold...

Wet...

Overcast...

and dreary...

It couldn't be a more perfect "winter" day to coordinate with today's daily gift of holiday inspiration:

Day 7

Hot Chocolate.

Not only does it warm your hands and belly...

it'll warm your spirits too!

I encourage you to carve out some time today to sip on a cup of hot chocolate.

Your kids/grandkids will LOVE you...

and you owe it to yourself to have a bit of down time to just savor the season!

These gourmet holiday varieties from www.ourbestbites.com will SURELY inspire you to make up a batch...or two.

(Click here for the recipes/details)

How delightful are those!?

I haven't tried any of them yet myself...

I'm planning on surprising the girls later!

My "holiday spirit" barometer has already been taken to an entirely new level just from the anticipation of it all!

And if you didn't have the opportunity to participate in yesterday's post: holidaymovie...

you could combine Day 6 and Day 7 together for an evening of pure holiday magic!!

HOLIDAY GIFT GIVING IDEA:

How about making some "snowman soup"?

With just a few ingredients you can have a thoughtful gift that'll keep holiday spirits feeling warm and cozy.

Here's some creative packaging from theessentialpackagingstoreblog.com

(Click here for the instructions and how-to)

There are a variety of ways to package it up but the basic ingredients are all the same.

hot chocolate

chocolate chips

mini marshmallows

one candy cane (for the stir stick)

Try googling "snowman soup...you'll be amazed at all you'll find.

{real parties} Tea Party inspired by Ava's Tea Party

Remember the Ava's Tea party post from a little while back?

I had a reader, Cupkate's Designs & Events, who was so inspired & touched by the story behind Ava's Tea Party...

she decided to participate.

And boy did she ever.

You won't believe the beautiful outcome of it all...

But first, here's what she had to say:

"When I read about Ava's Tea Party after finding the link via Pen N Paper Flowers, I knew it would be the perfect event to help launch CupKate's Event Design. A meaningful, happy day to celebrate the little spirits that we love so dearly. Using the artwork from the Ava's Tea Party website and many of the fabulous details from Pen N Paper Flowers' "Sunshine and Lemonade" as my inspiration, below is my take on a beautiful tea at the park."

Ok...are you ready?

Here are some of my favorite elements from the party...

Everything turned out simply darling...

• the tutu covered bench

• the ribbon printed "pinkies out" straw tags

• the cupcakes in teacups

• the use of the oversized wrought iron chair

• the kids with frosting all over their faces...LOVE it!

Thanks so much Cupkate's Events & Designs for sending me these photos!

What a beautiful and memorable way to launch the start of your new business endeavor!!

Be sure to check out her site for more details!

Did anyone else have their own Ava's Tea Party?

I'd love to hear all about it if you did. (even if it was a simple gathering with no pictures) *wink*

Happy Tuesday!

{inspiration} back-to-school treat tags

i'm always inspired when someone else is inspired to do something good/nice for someone else.

i was approached with a design request last week from a reader named Athienna.

here's what she said:

I was so inspired by an old post of yours where you made cookie trays for the office of your children's school, I have been inspired to take it a step further. I will be making individual cookie bags for 100 staff and teachers by Aug 30 (Our first teacher work day). I was wondering if you could make me a custom tag to place on the bag. Maybe one I can type in the type of cookie or a space to write the type of cookie. Thank you for your help. Athienna Calixto P.S. I am in love with your blog!! i was touched by Athienna's generosity and excitement to do something sweet for others. so, i decided to create a cute custom tag for her at no charge and this is what we came up with: pretty adorable...right? well... because of Athienna's generosity... i felt inspired to share the tag with ALL of YOU too... go HERE to download the .pdf file maybe this little freebie will help motivate the rest of us to surprise a few teachers, staff members, school bus drivers or crossing guards with a little something special on the first day back to school. to keep things simple, you could even cut these out... sign the tag with a special note or just with your family name... and insert them into doughnuts or cupcakes. Thanks again for the inspiration Athienna...i look forward to the pictures of all of your delicious treats... KEEPING IT REAL honestly, i wasn't planning on doing any sort of "welcome back" treat... but now that i have these adorable tags, i can't let them go to waste! *wink* my girls are older so it's not really "cool" for me to bring teacher treats to middle school or high school. but that's not going to stop me from dropping something off to the staff of both schools - (without the girls knowing, of course)... (i'm rubbing my hands together with a cackling witch's laugh)...