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I fear this post will be a bit boring, but considering I havn’t had the chance to update in over 2 weeks, boring is better than nothing. In any case, it has come to my attention that not everyone is familiar with this thing called Google Checkout. I’m not too surprised, as it was launched around mid 2006, and unless you buy a ton of stuff online, you may have never had a reason to use it. Personally, I myself have never been on the consumer end, and my experience has always been from the merchant side of things. However, I’ve done a bit of reading and feel that I can give you a good idea of what to expect when using Google Checkout.

First of all, why Google Checkout? If you have dealt with us before, you know it is our preferred method of payment. Yes, we can take checks, but then you have to allow for the check to arrive to us and then wait for the check to clear. A process that can take just minutes with Checkout. So yes, it is a time saver, and when a last minute order is placed, we can certainly use all the extra time we can get.

Most importantly though is the issue of security. Along with other security checks that Google has set-up to prevent fraud, we will never see your credit card number. We can simply tell if the payment was made and cancel it if need be. So, when you call us and ask if we can take your order over the phone. Well, the answer is no, not really. Meaning, we won’t take your credit card information over the phone. We can however take down your e-mail address, and then send you an invoice via Google Checkout. (But wait!? I have no affiliations with Google - how does this work? umm… I’m getting to that. Promise.)

This brings me to my next point. Google Checkout is convenient. (Here’s the part where I have no experience to speak from, but I’ve done some reading, so bare with me. ) Once you have used Google Checkout once, you can keep using your account at any site that offers it. So instead of filling out your personal information at every place you shop, you can just use your Google Checkout account as long as it is an available option. Simply sign in with your e-mail address and password.

So how does it work exactly? Well, for us, unless you are purchasing a sample, we will send you an invoice for the total amount due via e-mail. Once you open the e-mail, you will find a link labeled “Pay now through Google Checkout…”. Once you click on the link, you will be asked to either sign in to Google Checkout, or if it is your first time, sign up for Checkout. If you need to sign up, you will be asked to provide the standard information - name, e-mail address, and credit card information. Once you are logged in you can confirm your order and hit the box that states “place your order now” to make your purchase. At this time, an e-mail confirmation will be sent to us alerting us that an invoice has been paid. If you are purchasing a sample packet, the process is very similar. Except that instead of receiving an invoice, you just click the little blue “buy now” button on the website.

So, while we know it may be new and different to some of you, and new and different can equal strange and scary, we really don’t think there is anything to be worried about. Here are a few other things you might be interested in knowing:

- No, you don’t need to have a g-mail account to use it.

- No, you don’t even need to know what g-mail is for that matter.

- You can store as many credit cards as you would like in your account.

- You can choose to keep your e-mail address confidential. So, if we need to contact you, we will just send a message to an address that looks pretty much like jumbled letters followed by @checkout.google.com.

- It allows you to rate merchants.

- It allows you to track your orders from wherever you make purchases.

- And lastly, no, you will not be giving Google complete control over the world by using their services. (at least, I don’t think so…)

Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is in no way affiliated with or promoted by Google or Google Checkout.

As mentioned in the last post, I will try and upload several sneak peek images of the new designs that are on their way. Above you see a sample utilizing a combination of spring green and chocolate inks, maple wood, and crisp white cotton paper. The selected typefaces are Bolivar and Trajan - a combination I find elegant with  just a touch of attitude.

I would like to mention that this motif was created at the request of a bride. We felt it would be a perfect addition to our catalog, so we are keeping it around.

Enjoy!

As mentioned in previous posts, we have some new designs on the way. For the most part, all the details are finalized. Now begins the next step: producing samples and getting the photos ready for the website. Yes, we know we could just plop some renderings up and call it a day, but well, we just don’t find this acceptable. We must have photos! And apparently, we like making more work for ourselves.

So now begins the brain storming process… we get to select colors and wood species for each design that we feel will make them look that much better. This is exciting to me, as I have spent quite a bit of time staring at, for the most part, black and white illustrations on my monitor. Truth be told, I always visualize color combinations as I work on something, but this is no comparison to seeing the finished product.

Selecting the ink colors always involves flipping through the handy Pantone formula guide. I love it when the color I have been visualizing is there in front of me. Other times, sadly, it is nowhere to be found. In any case, decisions have to be made and the show must go on. We’ll keep you updated and hopefully update the blog with a sneak peek or two in the next couple of weeks.

Speaking of colors, I do want to remind everyone that custom blended ink colors are always an option. If you don’t see the right color listed on our process page, please let us know what you are looking for! Whether you send us a fabric sample to work with, or you send me to the grocery store in search of strawberry Mentos pink (yum), we will always do our best to accommodate your wishes.

Now, if only we can hurry this process up a bit…

A big thank you to Kristen over at Paper Crave for featuring us on her blog last week. I was happily surprised to spot us on a blog I regularly check! For tons of papery goodness, make sure to visit Paper Crave on a regular basis.

I would also like to mention that you can find us in the Spring 2008 issue of InStyle Weddings. You’ll find us on page 305 within the celebrity weddings feature. Included is another great way to incorporate wood into your wedding - a sweet note engraved in wood for all of your guests to take home and keep! I think the only thing that could top that on my list would be chocolate. But who says you can’t have both?

We have had quite a bit of rainy weather around here for the last few days, and while we oh so desperately need it, I never find myself enjoying it. You see, for me, rain usually leads to nasty headaches and of course bad hair days and just the overall urge to climb back into bed and hide under the covers. Fortunately, I was able to combat this gloomy mood a bit with a few pick-me-ups:

1. Crepes - for lunch! We discovered a small shop that sells coffee and crepes in the area and decided to give it a try yesterday. While Glenwood had a healthier option of eggs and veggies, I just wanted yummy and dived into a strawberry and Nutella-filled crepe. I highly recommend this as a rainy day treat. It also got me thinking about wedding food. How delicious would crepes be at a wedding? Maybe a late night snack after a long evening of dancing? One word: yum.

2. Enjoying the fact that all this rain would hopefully give my car the much needed bath I have been unable to give it myself. Recently, everything outside has been coated in a nice shade of yellow-green due to all of the pollen - my car included. Thanks to the severe water shortage our area has been going through, car washing is out of the question. (Oh - and to that neighbor I spotted washing his car not so long ago - don’t think I didn’t see you. I think I snarled a bit as I walked past your house. Shame on you!)

3. Listening to a few select songs by Beirut. Over. And over.

4. Last but not least, finally getting my hands on a certain typeface by the name of Futura. Futura Small Caps that is. Around here, this is our idea of hot:

Sometimes, it really is the little things…

I figured it was about time to revisit the options you have for wording your invitations. Below you will find several sample methods of wording for when you wish to acknowledge that the wedding is being hosted by parents. As always, these are just some basic ideas and wording can be mixed and matched - or replaced with just about anything you please. The level of formality is easily altered by the words you choose. This will be a topic I cover at another time. Today I will just give you an idea of how to handle the names.

Bride’s parents are hosting:

In this case it is up to you whether or not to include the groom’s family in the wording.

Mr. and Mrs. Johnathan Smith
invite you to join them
in a celebration of love
as their daughter, Mary Ellen
is united in marriage to
Mr. Michael Anderson
son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Anderson…

Or

Please share our joy
at the wedding of
Mary Ellen
daughter of Lisa and Johnathan Smith and
Michael Lee
son of Joy and Robert Anderson

Or the name of the host can follow at the end:

With joyful hearts
we ask you to be present
at the wedding ceremony of
Mary Ellen
and
Michael Lee
Date
Year
Time
Venue
Location

Lisa and Johnathan Smith

Both sets of parents are hosting:

Mr. and Mrs. Johnathan Smith
and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Anderson
request the honour of your presence
at the wedding ceremony of
Mary Ellen Smith
and
Michael Lee Anderson…

For parents with different last names:

Mrs. Lisa Johnson
and Mr. Johnathan Smith
invite you to join them in a celebration of love
as their daughter, Mary Ellen
is united in marriage to
Mr. Michael Anderson…

Divorced and remarried parents:

Mr. and Mrs. Gordan Matterson
and Mr. and Mrs. Johnathan Smith
invite you to join them in a celebration of love as
Mary Ellen
is united in marriage to
Mr. Michael Anderson…

When a parent is deceased:

In this case, the deceased parent can not be considered a host, so you can either use the name of the surviving parent only or you can word it such as this:

Mary Ellen
daughter of Lisa Smith and the late Johnathan Smith
and
Michael Lee
son of Joy and Robert Anderson
request the honour of your presence
at their marriage…

I considered posting an informative entry about invitation wording or something of that nature. But upon second thought, I decided to save the useful stuff for next week. I’m a bit tired right now and need to save some energy for getting my studio better organized this weekend. It has been a few months since the move to the new location and there is still a lot of work to be done! We’ll see how my plan goes…

In the mean time, I leave you with this little message:

We are finally adding some new fonts to the list on the website. It may go through several changes throughout the process - so please forgive us if it looks funny! Upon completion, the list should be better organized and provide you with a better example of each font.

Please don’t forget that you are always welcome to request a font that you do not see listed on the website. It would be impossible to list everything we have access to, so we have to pick and choose. This means our favorites, as well as the most popular fonts, make it to the website.

If at any time this process causes you frustration, just stare at this image for a few seconds:

There, now don’t you feel better?

And what tradition would that be? The one that involves saving the top tier of your wedding cake and pulling it out of the freezer to eat on your first anniversary. Alright, so I’ve read many mixed opinions on this - and yes, maybe it is questionable, and yes, it may end up tasting horrible, but I wasn’t going to let this stop me.

Unfortunately though, our first anniversary has already come and gone and we found ourselves estranged from our cake. My mom however arrived last week for a visit and with her she brought the cake. The cake is officially a little over a year old, and still frozen, but seriously - it’s chocolate. I really don’t think I can pass it up.

On that note I will describe the cake experience at our wedding. I love chocolate, so there was never any doubt that this would be the flavor. I also had visions of a simple cake covered in fondant icing. I was soon turned away from fondant, and am I ever grateful. We actually stumbled upon our cake when planning our rehearsal dinner with the owner of Withers Hardware Restaurant. It was dessert selection time and when a flourless chocolate cake was mentioned I was all “pretty please, oh could I please try some?” One bite later and it was determined that no, this could not be served at the rehearsal dinner for it had to be the wedding cake. I quickly realized that fondant is nothing compared to a chocolate frosting and ganache. I do realize that not everyone loves chocolate as much as I do, and some people are unfortunately allergic to it. For this reason we had two cakes. We also included an Italian Cream Cake which was just as awesome as the chocolate, just in a different way. So, on our wedding day we had two cakes - identical in shape and size except that one was brown and one was white. Both, in my opinion, were delicious.

We still have yet to thaw the cake out and try a bite… but I’ll keep you posted when we do. Either way, I’m dying to get back to that restaurant and order some fresh cake!

Below you will find a bit of advice on how best to freeze your cake if you choose to do so:

- don’t forget to remove any large ornaments, flowers, etc. (hey, you never know!)

- place the cake in the freezer or refrigerator just long enough for the icing to firm up

- if it is sitting on cardboard, do not wrap this with the cake unless you first wrap it separately in plastic wrap or foil

- tightly wrap the entire piece of cake in plastic wrap (the more the better)

- you can then use foil over the plastic wrap if you wish

- place the wrapped cake in a container and completely wrap the container in plastic wrap making sure to seal all the edges

- it is best to complete this process as soon after the wedding as possible

- when you are ready to thaw it, first remove the plastic

- thaw slowly - a couple of hours in the refrigerator first, then let it rest for a couple more hours at room temperature

- dig in - and hope it still tastes good!

In case you have not already heard, the price of stamps will be increasing on May 12, 2008. It will now cost 42 cents to mail a First-class 1 oz. letter and 59 cents for a 2 oz. letter. For those of you that rely solely on the computer or telephone to pay bills or say “happy birthday,” that is only a 1 cent increase in price. This is however something to keep in mind when preparing your invitations - especially your reply envelopes. Yes, it is proper etiquette to include stamps on the reply envelopes or postcards. So, please plan ahead and keep in mind when your reply cards will be hitting the mailboxes. Also, don’t forget about the “Forever” stamps. I’m sure you have seen them - the stamp with the liberty bell that I always try to avoid at the post office? As the name suggests, you will still be able to use them as long as you have them - no matter the cost of mailing a First-class 1 oz. letter. On the downside, if you are like me and try to stock up on your favorite stamps (see below), you may be stuck having to add those little 1 and 2 cent stamps to your envelopes.

Also, I recently made a visit to the post office in order to do a regular check on mailing our invitations. A while back, the USPS changed some of their regulations and consequently when mailing certain items, you may be hit with a surcharge. Now, I say “may” simply because each trip to the post office seems to be a bit different for me. I will share with you what I do know, but please be aware that before mailing your invitations, it is best to take one to the post office you will be mailing them from and find out how much they will cost. And here’s why… Over a year ago, we could drop our invitations in the mail for the cost of a 2 oz. stamp. Now however, there may be a surcharge for a “rigid” envelope. This is currently a 17 cent surcharge - the same as you would be charged for mailing a square envelope. However, you may instead be charged a parcel rate which is $1.30. The problem in my experience is a complete lack of consistency. Meaning, one employee at one post office will charge one rate, while you may be charged the other rate at another post office. Why? Well, I won’t even touch on my thoughts on the matter… for this really is not the place for that!

I will say however, that on this particular trip to the post office I had an armload of items and the line was almost out of the door. Not only that, but each one of those items needed to be dealt with a bit differently. (”Um, these need to be sent priority with a delivery confirmation, and this one here - could you please weigh it first, and oh yeah, I need a book of stamps as well please…”) This is an experience I normally dread since not only are other people waiting on you but the person behind the counter (at least in my experience) somehow always makes me feel bad for asking them to do their job. But this time, in a certain downtown post office, thanks to a particular employee, my experience was one that can best be described as pleasant. I think I actually walked out of there with a smile on my face. So for once, United States Postal Service, thank you for making my day.