ERIN GO BRAGH!

Illustration from Lilly Pulitzer (and don't you just love it?!)

Lots of shenanigans in store for today, I hope.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

OBSESSION.

Have you seen Mary Swenson lately? Magic.

A BEAUTIFUL WAY TO HELP

Here is a beautiful way to help the people of Japan devastated by the massive earthquake and tsunami last week. Purchase this beautiful Tokyo print from JHill Design's Places I've Never Been series and 100% of the profits will be donated to Doctors Without Borders.

A beautiful reminder that you cared enough to help and a lovely gift that will keep on giving.

NOSTALGIC

This beautiful photo from Martha Stewart's website makes me miss Blueprint magazine. At least some of the content lives on...

THIS IS HAPPINESS

I adore this print from Love Sugar.
Definitely at the very top of my wish list.

LOVE

I must have the LOVE art over this fireplace. MUST! Does anyone know where I can find it? Image from Better Homes & Gardens via twoellie.

PAPERLESS POST

I know this may sound strange coming from a designer of party invitations, but sometimes I like to use online invite services. It's quick, easy and the designs have come such a long way. I figure, if I save a tree on the front end, I can go really crazy with the party accessories! There are still many times when I feel that a beautiful invitation that you can touch and feel and open up in person is definitely in order, but for those other times, my new favorite service is definitely Paperless Post.

One of the reasons that I love Paperless Post is that they do such a great job of making you feel like you're receiving an actual invite through the mail. There's an envelope addressed to the recipient, it opens up and out comes this beautiful, personal invite that you feel like you can reach out and touch. The "texture" of the paper is lovely and it all just seems very personal, which is no small feat for an email invite!

You must register to view all available designs, which is a bit of an annoyance. But with a huge variety of designs and endless combinations of paper, graphics and typeface, it is more than worth the minute it takes to register. Check it out here. I think you'll love it!

P.S. This is a completely unsolicited review. I assure you, Paperless Post has no knowledge of my existence on the planet.

REMEMBER TO BE KIND

Katie Daisy Lombardo via Kind Over Matter

VALENTINE COOTIE CATCHERS - FREE DOWNLOAD!

ETA: Many are having trouble with scribd. To download directly from this page, simply click on the image and drag to your desktop. Then simply print and fold as instructed. So sorry for the inconvenience. It seems that scribd has changed their user policies.

Almost immediately after posting the Valentine Cootie Catcher free download yesterday, I realized that I really need a boy version as well. After all, boys love cootie catchers too and it really does make a fun and unique classroom Valentine, so we definitely do not want to exclude half the population! So without further delay, here is the "Boy" Valentine Cootie Catcher.

And just so everything is neat and organized, I've added the "Girl" Valentine Cootie Catcher here too. Better to keep them both in one place. Download the girl version here.

Download the boy version here. Then Print off as many copies as you need, trim on the solid line and start folding!

A note about printing: fortune tellers look and hold up best when printed on a crisp paper like parchment paper.

To see more of my free Valentine printables, go here!

THE BEST OF 2009

I hope you all are having a wonderful start to the new year! I am taking some time to regroup and get organized after a busy and fun holiday season. I promise I'll be back on Monday, kicking off with some great Valentine's Day ideas. Until then, I am thrilled to share with you some of my favorites from Holiday 2009.

Yes, you counted right - 11 kids!

Did you hear that yellow is the new chocolate brown? Actually, that's gray, but don't you just love this in yellow?

A red plaid with light blue - LOVE! And the children's eyes? Gorgeous!

Modern and playful, I think I'm ready for summer!

CHEERS!

THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN. EVER.

Courtesy of Not Martha.

COLOR INSPIRATION

I am itching to show you my favorite holiday card designs from this year, but cannot do so until I'm sure they've all been mailed and received. Can't ruin the surprise, after all! But until then (likely Christmas day or just after), I will share the inspiration for many of the custom designs I have been working on.

One glance at White Snow Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt and I was hooked. Originally published in 1947, this book has a warm, vintage feel with a fresh and beautiful color palette. The overall feel of the book is festive, without being overtly and traditionally Christmas. Well, I just fell in love.

CHRISTMAS COLLECTIONS

Just when I'm overwhelmed with boxes and ready to turn my scrooge on and grumble about the hassle of putting the house together for Christmas, I find these. My beautiful collection of vintage Santa mugs and sugar and creamers. Shown is just a sampling of my happy little collection...still unpacking. What do you collect for the holidays? I'd love to see! Link up in the comments and I'll share them all in a post next week.

HOLIDAY GIFTING: FREE PRINTABLE NOTECARDS

I love having giveaways. Love it! The thrill of pulling a person's name and making their day is a total rush. But then, like any rush, there's the let down. In giveaways, the let down is that once you choose the winner, you've just made everyone else who entered a loser. Well, not a loser, but you know what I mean. So in the spirit of holiday gift giving, today, everyone's a winner here at Pumpkin Petunia! And the best part about this gift is that you can regift it! That's right, go ahead and give it away, I won't mind. Honest.

My gift to all of you is a free download of these beautiful Floral Cheers Notecards! Simply download the file and print on letter sized cardstock. Cut on the solid line, fold on the dotted line (use a bone folder for best results) and you're done! Package a set of these up with A2 sized envelopes and a pretty pen and you have yourself a lovely little gift!

But before you get started, I have to give props to the source for the amazing floral pattern used in this design. Thanks so much to the Inspired Bride for sharing this lovely pattern. Please remember that the notecards (and the design elements at Inspired Bride) are for personal use only. You are free to print as many notecards as you like; use them and give them away to your heart's content, but please do not sell or represent these designs as your own.

Download the Floral Cheer Notecards Here.

MITETEES FAMILY {CHRISTMAS} TREE GIVEAWAY!

Next up for Holiday Gift Giveaway Week is a fantastic prize from Mitetees! Mitetees is a wonderful little company that adds another dimension to personalized gift giving by offering cute, smart designs that celebrate family and this Family Christmas Tree Tee is no exception! Simply supply Mitetees with your family names, and they will create adorable, customized Family Tree shirts for your littles available in sizes from newborn to 6T.

You can win one of these adorable Family Christmas Tree shirts right here, right now! Simply go to the Mitetees website and browse their awesome selection of unique and personalized products. Be sure to check out the production onesies, which are the brainchild of Mitetees creator Cindy Hoeppner and a product exclusive to Mitetees. Then come back here and leave a comment letting us know your favorite Mitetees product!

Earn additional entries by becoming (or being!) a Facebook fan of Pumpkin Petunia, posting about this giveaway on Twitter or posting about this giveaway on your blog. Please leave a separate comment for each additional entry and include a link to your blog post or tweet. Giveaway ends on Monday, December 7th at midnight EST.

Oh, and don't forget to enter our Personalized Silhouette Print giveaway that runs through tonight at midnight EST and our Melissa and Doug giveaway that runs through Friday! All a part of Holiday Gift Giveaway Week at Pumpkin Petunia!

SILHOUETTE PRINT GIVEAWAY!

The next prize featured for our first ever Holiday Shopping Giveaway Week is a personalized silhouette print from our shoppe! The winner will receive TWO personalized silhouette prints. Choose from our huge selection of design and color options to customize a print that suits your gift-giving needs perfectly!

And just to make sure that everyone wins during giveaway week, I am extending our Cyber Monday special on these prints through today as well. Until midnight tonight PST, all personalized silhouette prints are only $10 each - that's a discount of $6!! From toddlers to teens, these prints are a truly personal and unique gift. If you place an order and then win the giveaway, not to worry, the purchase price and shipping charge for two prints will be will be refunded!

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post letting me know which print design is your favorite. You can earn additional entries by becoming (or being!) a Facebook fan of Pumpkin Petunia, posting about this giveaway on Twitter or posting about this giveaway on your blog. Please leave a separate comment for each additional entry and include a link to your blog post or tweet. Giveaway ends on Wednesday, December 2nd at midnight EST.

Oh, and don't forget to enter our Melissa and Doug giveaway that runs through Friday!

CYBER MONDAY SALE!! $10 SILHOUETTE PRINTS

Thought I'd have some fun and join in the Cyber Monday frenzy! So for today only, until midnight PST, all Personalized Silhouette Prints are just $10!!! (that's a savings of $6 per print!)

These prints make great gifts for the teen who loves sports...

...or music. Or Guitar Hero!

Or the budding little artist in your life.

Tons of designs to choose from to suit any personality and interest. Each print is personalized with a name and is available in your choice of many colors. Don't miss out on this great deal!

HOLIDAY CARD TRENDS FOR 2009

Sending out a big thank you to strollerTRAFFIC for checking in with me on this year's Holiday Card trends! Go here to see what's hot for 2009!

PETIT PRESENT

chara*coco via mary ruffle

Inspired by this lovely photo, my petit present to you? Ten percent off your entire order for today only. Simply enter code PETIT at checkout to redeem your discount, through midnight EST.

{Hint: This may be a good time to order your personalized water bottles.}