Good Things Coming!

{Image from 29BlackStreet}

Dearest Blog,

You have been so much fun and a great place to come to to post about work, design, and life! I enjoyed the time we spent, but it’s time to move on…there are things coming…really good things coming!

For one thing, I felt it was time to clear things up and simplify life. My freelance design company is Kori Clark Designs, which owns Paper & Pigtails. Kori Clark Designs works with a few select corporations on a regular basis, where as Paper & Pigtails is a stationary side of the business that creates party designs. This said, Kori Clark Designs simply doesn’t have the need for a blog to showcase my corporate work as those are a case by case basis, but Paper & Pigtails does need a blog to showcase designs and new products, so I have developed a new blog…that eventually will grow into a portfolio as well, so everything will be in one place. This will still be mainly a product blog, though I do like to share personal things from time to time. You can also still find all posts here on the new blog as well!

I made the choice to leave you now sweet blog, as there are A LOT of good things coming with the new year and I wanted to be prepared! I have new party designs lining up to get added to the shop, new photos to share, and a whole new product line to announce very soon!

Check out my new blog, www.paperandpigtailsparty.com and let me know what you think!! If you are subscribed to this blog, your subscription will be valid on the new blog. If you aren’t yet, you should be!!

I hope good things are coming to each and every one of you!!

Holiday Candy Bar Wrappers

{Photo courtesy of Sandra Downie – The White Library}

{Photo courtesy of Sandra Downie – The White Library}

These sweet printable Holiday Candy Bar wrappers were just added to the Paper & Pigtails SHOP for only $5! You can jazz up your regular candy bar to make them a beautiful addition to a Christmas party, a party favor, or even to dress up and give a little “Holiday Cheer” to friends or co workers {in chocolate form of course}.
The wrappers were originally designed for Sandra Downie, The White Library for this stunning Red And White Peppermint Table, which was also featured on Celebrations at Home HERE. Be sure to check out both places for party inspiration!!

As for me, Lots of things are going on around here and you will be seeing them all soon!!!

Paper & Pigtails SHOP

This, That, and Thanksgiving

This year, I have a lot to be thankful for, like these loves of my life –

I had our family photos done a few weeks ago, and I wanted to share a few of them with you for several reasons

1) Um, what mom doesn’t want to whip out the wallet full of photos at every chance? Well…this is kinda my wallet!

2) My daughter’s dress and jacket, and my son’s tie were made by the AMAZING Georgia Grace Designs and YOU still have time to win a $50 credit to her shop for a few more hours…the cuteness is overwhelming! Go to this POST to enter…. Winner will be announced later today around 4:30pm EST!

3) I LOVE every opportunity to showcase the work of my dear friend and amazing artist – Courtney Vickers {Photography} We had so much fun spending the morning with her, and the photos prove it! What do you think??

Of course, my princess {3} is a fan of making the cheese face for photos! I love the “faces of C”

You may have also noticed that Thanksgiving is next week….and I don’t have Thanksgiving printables in the shop….. There are a few reasons for this as well….

1) I thought about it, and though it is my FAVORITE HOLIDAY, there are quite a few beautiful sets available, both free and for sale! There are several BEAUTIFUL sets free through Operation Shower that you can use for your holiday festivities and raise a few dollars to help a mom have an amazing baby shower!!!

2) If you all don’t know this about me, I do still work in freelance graphic design as well. I work for a number of Large hotels around the states and I have been busy working on holiday items for them, working on some branding packages for clients, as well as some TOP SECRET and AMAZING Paper & Pigtails projects!

So, something had to give, and it was the Thanksgiving set I planned. I am OK with it, I figure no one will go without printables just because of me {GASP}!! Now, I can move on to being Thankful… And I am so Thankful….for so much…and I am so thankful for all of the support I have received from all of you!

I hope you all have an amazing Friday and don’t forget to check back later today to see if you won!!

{HOLIDAY GIVE AWAY}

You know…You are NEVER fulled dressed without a smile {and a perfectly matched party outfit}

Well, now you can host a holiday party with invitations &  printables from Paper & Pigtails and a perfect party outfit from Georgia Grace!

Did you download the Free Printables I created as a thank you? If not, you should HERE! Now, you can have a really really sweet holiday party! This set was inspired by the Holly Jolly Christmas clothing line from Georgia Grace.

and I now have the Holly Jolly Invitation available!

I can not say enough how amazing Jordon from Georgia Grace is and how beautifully made her clothes are….simply stunning! We decided to do a give away of our combined items to help you have the cutest party on the block. Here is what you can win :

A Customized Holly Jolly Invitation Set of 25, professionally press printed on pearl card stock for a stunning look! {$60 total value}

&

$50 Gift Card to Georgia Grace

Download the freebies and you have the cutest party around!

Here is how to enter….It’s EASY!

Become a Fan Of Georgia Grace on Facebook HERE

http://www.facebook.com/georgiagracedesigns

and

Become a Fan of Paper & Pigtails on Facebook HERE

http://www.facebook.com/PaperandPigtails

Then leave a comment with your name and email address, and letting us know you are a fan of both pages. Next Friday, Nov. 19th we will choose a winner randomly!

* I am sorry,this giveaway is only open to US residents

http://georgiagracedesigns.com/

Operation Give Thanks {Reminders and Ideas}

I am so thrilled to see the downloads and support for Operation Give Thanks! It is such a beautiful cause. Being able to support women who spend so much time away from loved ones, as their loved ones defend every one of us (and the moms who spend time away to defend us too)…well, it’s pretty amazing what all of these ladies do. If there is a good time to show support, it’s now, and it’s with Operation Give Thanks – Operation Shower.

Danielle Smith of Extraordinary Mommy joined up with LeAnn of Operation Shower to shoot this short video of the Operation Give Thanks printables in action.

I love their idea of using my printables for a spa party!!! Seriously cute! You can check it out on the operation shower site – HERE.

If you aren’t able to host a party, there are other ways I have seen to use these printables to raise money, such as:

– Use the water bottle label to wrap on a jar, with a tag tied on a ribbon around the top. Bring the jar to work or anywhere you think people may donate, and collect money!

– Use the circles as cupcake toppers and thank you tags to wrap baggies and offer to host a charity bake sale at your child’s school.

– Use the table Tent cards as placecards at a dinner and ask each guest to leave something small underneath.

– Decorate little Holiday bags for friends and family using the tags, and simply write the website on the back of the tags, and ask them to look into the cause.

If you haven’t downloaded my FREE PRINTABLES yet, get them HERE !!

If you have any other ideas, you can share them here, or join in the Operation Give Thanks Network to share!

Thank you for the continued support for Operation Shower!

Carousel {Real First Birthday Party}

How fabulous are these cupcake toppings? I love the swirl!

The SUPER adorable Family

I had the pleasure of working with Bree over the last few months on details for her son’s first birthday, and she made sure every detail was perfect! The party was at the Semaphore Carousel in Australia {I mean, is that alone not the COOLEST thing???} She took the vintage Carousel vibe and used the carnival printables from the shop, customizing the colors to coordinate.
The party was photographed by Carla Micucci (and how beautiful are her PHOTOS?). You can read her blog post here with more amazing photos here, or visit her on Facebook here.

Thank you so much Bree and Carla for allowing me to share your party all the way from Australia!

Nesting in Damask – {New} Printables Set

Recently, I had the pleasure of designing a custom set for a friend and incredibly sweet friend. When the shower hosts told me they wanted to do a nesting shower and use damask, I was so happy to oblige. We worked together to come up with a bird that had a vintage vibe and sweet look. I love to create patterns, especially damask, so that was fun of course!

This set is so perfect for both baby showers and wedding showers as both require a time to “nest”!  This would also be a sweet design for a get together with friends!

Check out the Nesting In Damask Set NOW AVAILABLE in the shop!

Cirque De Hutts {Real Party}

When Robyn of Chocolate Polka Dots contacted me to help with her husband’s 40th birthday 40’s style Carnival, I knew it would be fantastic…I had no idea however just how FANTASTIC! Even more amazing, she did it all herself!

Robyn made the popcorn cupcakes and check out those popcorn bag cake pops!! Robyn ran out of time to make the cakes herself {seriously…the thought that she was planning on that too blows me away!}. She enlisted her talented sister Krista of Sweet and Blissful Designs to create the cakes.

I have to tell you, she organized for her husband and his friends to DRESS UP and go out for a while, then come back when the party was ready to start. She said he was a little uncertain about the “Dressing Up” and while out, they were asked if they were a band or group on several occasions. HERE is her post about that. After, he told her it was the best birthday yet!! How fun is that!!!??

What a party!! There are a lot more photos and WONDERFUL inspirations from this party in Robyn’s Blog Post. Check out the photos of the photo booth, barbershop quartet, and great 40s details! You can also see the SUPER crafty Robyn’s Etsy Shop Here.

Thank you Robyn for sharing!

Little LadyBug {Real Party}

When Andrea from Pocket Full Of Parties first let me in on her design idea for her daughter’s second birthday, I knew it would be so sweet! She wanted to combine the pattern from the Spring Sing Collection with the Little Lady Bug Collection (from the Etsy Shop) with an array of colors and design style! She then pulled in details from all over to tie everything together in an amazing and adorable way!! Andrea is a friend of mine, so I was so thrilled I actually got to see this party in person!

How sweet and colorful was the kids table! She had loads of activities on hand, from decorating frames to a bounce house!

And could the birthday girl be any more adorable?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRA!

Andrea had some amazing vendors, here are her descriptions –

Our photographer was the renowned Gary Kaplan
(http://www.garykaplanphotography.com/home.html).  Gary brought
with him his assistant Natasha, as well as NYC photographer Javier
Gomez (http://www.javiergomezstudio.com/).

1.  Party Invites and Printables: Kori Clark of Paper and Pigtails on
Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaperandPigtails)
2.  Party Favors: Collen of Happy Little Art on Etsy
(http://www.etsy.com/shop/HappyLittleArt)
3.  Party Door Signs: Party Pops on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/PartyPops)
4.  Poms: Pom Love on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/PomLove)
5.  Candy Kabobs: Marie of Sweets Indeed
(http://www.etsy.com/shop/SweetsIndeed or
http://www.sweetsindeed.com/)
6.  Custom Sugar Cookies: Abigail’s Bake Shop (http://www.abigailsbakeshop.com/)

Great Job Andrea!! I know Kira loved it so much, as we all did!

Operation Give Thanks – {FREE DOWNLOAD}

Alright Party Lovers, It’s time to {PARTY} for a great cause!!! That’s right, you throw a party using these {FREE} Party Printables and raise money for Operation Give Thanks, A Star is Born. I can’t think of a better reason to celebrate! Whether you use these printables to host a Shower, a dinner party for friends, or even a playdate, (I have included invites for a shower, or just a party) you can be a part of this amazing fund-raising effort!

If you don’t have time to party, you can still donate on the Operation Shower Website!  Here is the description of Operation Give Thanks from the source!

What Is Operation Give Thanks?

Operation Give Thanks is a nation-wide fund-raising party to help Operation Shower continue our mission to throw amazing baby showers for military families to ease the burden of deployment.

We are often asked how to best help Operation Shower.   We decided that since Operation Shower gives back to our military families through parties, so can YOU !

We are asking people across the nation to host a party between now and the end of the year to raise money for Operation Shower.  What a wonderful way to express your gratitude and thanks at this special time of year.

Our long-term goal is to reach every military base in the nation. Our short-term goal is to raise $50,000 through Operation Give Thanks to enable us to shower over 200 more moms-to-be ! That’s right, if you
raise $250 for Operation Shower, that enables us to throw a full amazing baby shower with gifts for a military mom to be whose spouse is deployed!

If you decide to host a party, please email us at lena@operationshower.org or amy@operationshower.org and we will help guide you as well and provide more information!

AND NOW….The FREE “A STAR IS BORN” Party Set

Included :

Invitations – Baby Shower or General Party

Party Circles

Tented Labels and/or Placecards

Straw Flags

Bottle Labels

2 Patterned Bunting Banner Pages

(alternate to create bunting)

Candy Bar Wrapper

2 Tented Table Signs

(For the Favor Table and Sweets Table)

Here are a few of the files you will see :

We ask that if you download this set, that you contribute to Operation Give Thanks in one of two ways

1) THROW A PARTY!!! – use these for a party to host a fundraiser and contact  lena@operationshower.org or amy@operationshower.org for more info and resources OR

2) Donate to the cause!!! – Make a donation for Operation Give Thanks, to help ensure that a mommy-to-be has the shower she deserves while waiting for her spouse to return from deployment. ANY AMOUNT counts!

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE PRINTABLE SET HERE

Any attention we can raise for this cause is a benefit, so if you have any ideas or can share how you are using your printables, I would love to hear about it!

Now, go check out the other amazing FREE sets created to benefit Operation Shower from some incredibly talented designing women: The TomKat Studio, Paper & Cake, Parties by Hardie and Hostess With The Mostess! Once you are finished….GO JOIN the online network being set up by Operation Shower to exchange ideas, photos, and fun!