Mardi Gras & St. Pat's Day Dog Breed Stationery

I love switching things up for changing seasons and holidays. I shuffle plates in and out of my extensive collection of Fiesta®Ware so our kitchen is color-coordinated for Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, spring, summer, etc. So it's no surprise that I like my envelopes to reflect the season with holiday-themed dog breed address labels. Since I'm usually focused on the bigger holidays, this year I decided to have a little fun with two of our smaller celebrations—Mardi Gras and St. Patrick's Day. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Doggy-Inspired Valentine's Day Stationery

If you're looking for a unique and fun way to show friends and family how much you care, check out our new line of Valentine's Day doggy-inspired stationery on BestFriendsStudios.com. Send hugs and kisses with customized Valentines featuring a lovable photo of your best friend… Or say "I Love You" with a little bag of chocolates finished with a dog silhouette gift or hang tag…

Pressed for time? Check out our new dog-themed Valentines just for kids. Paired with a candy treat, they are sure to be a hit with your child's classmates!

And this year, don't forget heart-inspired address labels to celebrate Valentine's Day!

DAY TWENTY-FIVE: 25 Days of New Designs

DAY TWENTY-FIVE: Phew. I have to admit that 25 Days of New Designs really wore me out. It was tough coming up with new ideas in the midst of trying to produce orders for customers during the busy holiday season. While I didn't complete all of my designs in 25 consecutive days as planned, I did finish up the challenge with, not 25, but 50 new designs under my belt! I found that once I'd sit down and start working on one design, other ideas and concepts would start flowing, which is why I ended up with more than 25 new designs. In fact, the exercise was so successful that I may continue challenging myself on a weekly basis to get at least one new design out there.

And now I have a bit of sad news to start the new year. Yesterday, we lost a furry family member. My daughter's guinea pig, Teddy, finally succumbed to cancer. He leaves behind his brother, Rocky, who we hope will be OK without the companionship of his brother. Teddy was gentle little pig and we will miss hearing him squeak when the fridge door opens (parsley & carrot time). The above photo of Teddy and Elena was taken five years ago when Teddy was almost 2 years old. Rest in peace, Teddy. Ellen

DAY TWENTY-FOUR: 25 Days of New Designs

DAY TWENTY-FOUR: Since bookmarks are one of the most requested products I get at Best Friends Studios, I decided to see what I could come up with for the second to last day of my 25 Days of New Designs challenge. Though I'm still tweaking this design (I'd like to add a tassel or ribbon at the top), I do like how this multiple dog pattern turned out. I'm pretty rough on bookmarks so I decided to use an ultra-thick laminating pouch similar to our luggage tags. Look for this and other bookmarks on the site in upcoming weeks. One more day & design to go...

DAY TWENTY-THREE: 25 Days of New Designs

DAY TWENTY-THREE: Our dogs love a good romp in the snow, though according to my kids, the St. Louis region doesn't get near enough precipitation to make winter fun. In the hope (for my kids' sake!) that we get at least one decent snow day this winter, I've created a new category of address labels called Winter Fun. Check out the round Snow Day labels...and by all means, let it snow!

DAY TWENTY-TWO: 25 Days of New Designs

DAY TWENTY-TWO: I know we haven't even gotten through the Christmas holidays, but in this business, we have to think ahead. For Day 22 of 25 Days of New Designs, I put together the first of what I hope will be a fun collection of canine-inspired stationery for Valentine's Day. The Pawsitively Awesome photo card is one I did for my daughter last year to pass out to classmates. The response from the kids and parents was so positive that I decided to put it on the Best Friends Studios site this year along with coordinating labels. I think it would be cute for kids or adults so dig up the cutest photo of your dog or cat and consider sending your friends personalized Valentines this year. I'll be adding more stationery to our Valentine's Day Collection during the next few weeks...stay tuned!

DAY TWENTY-ONE: 25 Days of New Designs

DAY TWENTY-ONE: Three new flat note cards for Day 21 of 25 Days of New Designs, each available in eight colors: Lime, Blue, Orange, Fuchsia, Teal, Purple, Black and Red. Like most stationery items at Best Friends Studios, the Bold Blooms, Sunflower and Wildflower note cards can be personalized with your favorite dog silhouette and name/initials. Perfect for sending short thank-you notes, these designs are also available as eco-friendly foldover note cards.

DAY TWENTY: 25 Days of New Designs

DAY TWENTY: For Day 20 of 25 Days of New Designs, I added two new cards to our single greeting card series. The new Dog Years Birthday Card has a fun diagonal border and comes in nine color variations with coordinating envelopes. The Sweet Girl with Puppy card features an adorable vintage photo image of a young girl with her puppy. Like our other vintage photo greeting cards, it can be customized with your choice of greetings on the front (Happy Birthday, Thinking of You, Thanks) and an optional message inside.

DAY NINETEEN: 25 Days of New Designs

DAY NINETEEN: Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, surrounded by both human and animal loved ones! Here in St. Louis we experienced a beautiful white Christmas...the first I can recall in years. Now that the flurry of shopping, baking and entertaining has come to an end, I'm back at the drawing board to finish 25 Days of New Designs. After today's design, I'll have just six more to complete by New Year's Day...yippee! I had so much fun with the first design of "Cats in Play" that I decided to do another one in the same vein. Bordered with a scalloped edge, this design features two mischievous kittens stalking a praying mantis and, like A Cat & Mouse Game note cards/note pads, is available in six colors: Coal Black, Bright Berry, Tangerine, Baby Blue, Pink Whisper or Citron Lime. "Kittens Playing with Bug" NOTE CARDS or NOTE PADS.

DAY EIGHTEEN: 25 Days of New Designs

DAY EIGHTEEN: Yesterday, Mary Ann dropped off a custom dog breed ornament that she had created especially for my son's saxophone teacher. Needless to say, we had to put this musical canine in the spotlight for Day 18 of 25 Days of New Designs. Too cute and Alex's teacher loved it! Mary Ann has nearly 80 dog breed ornaments on Best Friends Studios (this design will be available after the holidays) so check them out!

DAY SEVENTEEN: 25 Days of New Designs

DAY SEVENTEEN: Despite my best intentions, I've missed several days 25 Days of New Designs. But as Mary Ann wisely and very kindly pointed out, most days I've created more than one design so I'm actually ahead of the game. An appealing line of reasoning I can latch onto, especially as I scramble to finish up my Christmas shopping! On this 17th Day of my crazy creative pilgrimage, I designed our family's holiday greeting card. The photo is courtesy of Mary Ann and was taken this summer in my garden when things were lush and green! I played a little with the back of the card, adding a paw print above our company name & a tiny photo of our cat (who did not care to participate in our photo shoot last summer). Now if I can just round up everyone's address, I just might get these in the mail before Christmas Eve!

DAY SIXTEEN: 25 Days of New Designs

DAY SIXTEEN: One of my hobbies (and Mary Ann's) is collecting vintage paper items. Together, we both have boxes of postcards, old magazines, ephemera and vintage photographs. Of course our favorite images are those that include dogs! For our 16th Day of  25 Days of New Designs, I sorted through my stash of dog photographs for images that would make nice greeting cards. After scanning them at nearly triple their original size, I set to work in Adobe Photoshop, correcting the chips, scratches and imperfections that occur most often with older photos (these I estimate to be at least 60 years old). Restoring old photos takes time but the results are worth it. A little color correction and the addition of a sepia tint and I had two charming greeting cards: Boy & Foxhound and Wire Fox Terrier With Boy. Both cards can be customized with your choice of greeting on the front (Happy Birthday, Thinking of You, Etc.) and an optional message inside.

DEAL OF THE DAY: Purchase any single greeting card now through December 31, 2010, and receive an additional card FREE! No coupon code necessary.

DAY FIFTEEN: 25 Days of New Designs

DAY FIFTEEN: Once again, I'm a little late for this holiday season with the project for Day 15 of 25 Days of New Designs. Up until now, our gift tags have been square or rectangle at Best Friends Studios. so I thought it was time for a little variety. Using the new punch "toy" that I bought last week at our local craft store, I created two hang tags (Merry Christmas and Colorful Silhouettes) that can be personalized with your favorite dog silhouette and message. Each tag is hole punched and includes coordinating hemp cord.

DAY FOURTEEN: 25 Days of New Designs

DAY FOURTEEN: For Day 14 of 25 Days of New Designs, I tackled a project for Best Friends Studios that I've been procrastinating about for weeks, maybe even months! Though I realize it's a little late for this holiday season, I designed a Christmas ornament using my dog silhouettes. This large glass tile ornament incorporates vintage Christmas sheet music with your favorite dog or cat silhouette. Measuring almost 2 x 2 inches, it is strung with a slim black and red velvet ribbon. Look for more glass tile pendant projects soon…this was a fun project and I can't wait to try other designs!

DAY THIRTEEN: 25 Days of New Designs

DAY THIRTEEN: For Day 13 of  25 Days of New Designs, we're bringing back our single greeting card section along with the humorous Dog Years Birthday Card. Providing new perspective on "getting old," this card features your favorite dog breed giving a birthday greeting in dog years. That will certainly age you quick! Our retired Dog Years card, while cute, was designed in a square format which meant extra postage. The new and improved card is available in two postage-friendly sizes on eco-friendly cardstock and comes in three colors. As an added bonus, our single cards will ship FREE!

DEAL OF THE DAY: Purchase any personalized stationery item now through December 20, 2010, and receive a free set of Beach Stripes Gift Tags in red & white with your favorite breed. No coupon code necessary.

DAY TWELVE: 25 Days of New Designs

DAY TWELVE: I'm excited to share Best Friends Studios' newest product...pet themed calling cards. Though they date back to the 19th century when ladies and gents used to leave one behind when they went visiting, calling cards today are more like personal business cards that include non-work-related contact information such as your email, cell number or even Facebook address. For Day 12 of 25 Days of New Designs, I designed three calling cards that can be customized with your best friend's silhouette: Paw Prints, Preppy Pups and Cherry Blossoms. Each is available in quantities of 25, 50 or 75. These are great for kids, moms and anyone who is tired of scrawling an email address on the back of a receipt!

DAY ELEVEN: 25 Days of New Designs

DAY ELEVEN: Whether they're batting a balled up piece of paper around the room or leaping gracefully over the puppy gate á la The Great Escape, cats are amazing to watch in action. My newest creation, debuting for Day 11 of  25 Days of New Designs, is the first in a series of designs showing cats at play. Starring a fluffy cat with paw extended for a quick swipe at a curious mouse, A Cat & Mouse Game can be personalized as a flat note card or mini note pad. Available in six colors: Coal Black, Bright Berry, Tangerine, Baby Blue, Pink Whisper or Citron Lime. More "Cats in Play" to come next week!

DEAL OF THE DAY: It's all about cats…receive 15% OFF any feline-related stationery product through December 15, 2010. Enter DECEMBERCATS at checkout.

DAY TEN: 25 Days of New Designs

 DAY TEN: Thanks to Mary Ann for stepping in yesterday when I ran out of time for 25 Days of New Designs. We've had a number of family commitments this weekend and have been literally running since Friday afternoon. But today I managed to squeeze in a small block of time to work on flat note cards based on our Floral Vines Dog Breed ECO Note Cards. Not exactly a new design, but it's been on my "to-do" list for a while. Like the eco-friendly cards, this new design is available in eight colors and can be personalized with your favorite Dog Silhouette. Ellen

DAY EIGHT: 25 Days of New Designs

DAY EIGHT: We've been neglecting our equine best friends lately so for Day 8 of 25 Days of New Designs, I finished up several horse themed bookplates: Prancing Horse & Collie, Friendly Horses and Horse Portrait. Each is created from a vintage postcard image and carefully restored digitally. Bookplates date back to 15th century Germany and were often pasted into the inside cover of a book in order to identify its owner. Today, I'm happy to say bookplates are making a comeback. Check out our entire collection bookplate labels...they make a great accompaniment to gifts of books.

DAY SEVEN: 25 Days of New Designs

DAY SEVEN: I often get requests from customers who want to put more than one silhouette on one of our stationery designs. It's a reasonable request considering most pet lovers have more than one furry child in their family! For those of us who regard our pets as children (I know I certainly fall into that category), I'm unveiling a just-for-fun note pad for Day 7 of my 25 Days of New Designs. The Dog & Cat Family Silhouette Note Pads feature silhouettes of up to four of your furry "children" and their names. These large pads are printed on recycled pastel pink paper and are available in black or chocolate ink. A fun treat for anyone who is a "mom" to dogs and cats!

DEAL OF THE DAY: If you're starting to panic about this year's Christmas cards, maybe today's deal will help. Purchase any photo or silhouette holiday card through December 13, 2010, and receive 15% OFF. Enter LASTMINUTE2010 at checkout. HOLIDAY COLLECTION