You've probably noticed the flood of pink this month. Not only is October the month of costumes and candy, it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to promote education, detection, early diagnosis and support to survivors of breast cancer. I have all to many a personal connection to those battling cancer, not just breast cancer, that I felt moved to design a special set of notecards for the occasion. Whether you give the set as a gift, or mail handwritten notes to a loved one battling cancer, and even a survivor, these notes of hope and love are sure to make the battle just a little easier. You'll find that the quotes I chose are not cancer specific, so don't feel limited, there are lots of others just in need of some encouraging words!

Choose from a mixed box of 5 quotes, or 10 of one quote. Each set of 10 is packaged in a clear gift box with matching pink envelopes. The Speckled Duck will donate $3 from each set sold to The National Breast Cancer Foundation. I hope you'll help us make a generous donation to this cause, and just as importantly, send an encouraging note to someone who needs it. See our Featured page for all of our available cards for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You'll find these under our Featured tab and in our Etsy Shop.

Links to Breast Cancer Awareness Organizations:
The National Breast Cancer Foundation
Susan G. Komen for the Cure
The American Cancer Society

Last Friday, my husband and I attended Dave Ramsey's one-day EntreLeadership summit in Dallas. (It was his idea to sport Speckled Duck Pink!) We've been big Dave fans for almost 4 years. Without his program, Financial Peace University, I'd still be working for someone else and undoubtedly we'd have furniture on credit and probably another car loan. Thanks to his program, we're nearly debt free, have an emergency fund and big plans for our future with much brighter heads on our shoulders. We're such believers in his program that we volunteer to coordinate a Financial Peace class once a year at our church to help others turn their lives around too.
     We attended EntreLeadership, his one day crash course on being a strong leader and taking your business to the next level. I left there very inspired with an even better sense of "I can do this!" I got to meet him, after standing in line for nearly two hours to get my book signed, and I'd do it again. I'm not one to be a follower of fashion trends, labels and celebrities, but I have a deep respect and appreciation for Dave Ramsey and the knowledge that he has given me to change things for myself and my family–and now my business. As I sat and listened to him that day, all I could think was "That is the kind of leader I want to be and the kind of company I want to have." 

Yes, I had to be the ultimate nerd and get my picture by the bus too!

I know better than to leave paparazzi moments to my hubby... but I love him anyway!

There's no lack of fun to be had around the holidays. Halloween is just the beginning of the fun-filled months ahead. But for me, December is when the real fun starts, and one of my very favorite things to do in December is host a Cookie Exchange. And if you've known me very long, you've probably attended one or two! For me, these parties came about after what I would call my "Cookie Bake-A-Thon," one full weekend with absolutely nothing on the agenda except to bake as many different types of cookies as humanly possible in one weekend to give as gifts.... and it wore me out!! 

One day I came across the idea of a cookie exchange, which has been around for ages - how on earth did I not know about this?! The idea behind the cookie exchange is to invite a few friends who each bake a specified amount of the same cookie, bring it to the party and swap with the other guests. Now you have a multitude of cookies to give on your holiday platters and you only had to bake one kind! Genius. My guests are asked to bring 6 dozen cookies (no whining, for most recipes that is just two batches!) and each guest takes as many as they brought. Okay, minus a few for tasting, but who's counting? 

This year will be my fifth annual cookie exchange, complete with the Speckled Duck's new collection Hollie Jollie Cookie Partie to make it that much more fabulous. (Sorry friends, the surprise is spoiled!) The collection comes with everything you need to make your exchange a success. Fill-in invitations, place cards, recipe cards and even four cookie awards for the Most Creative Cookie, the Best Decorated Cookie, the Best Tasting Cookie and the All Around Best Cookie! It's even available as a handy package ready for twelve guests! 

So what are you waiting for? Order up some invitations and get your party on the calendar. Here's a few things I've learned over the years:
1. Beware of sandwich cookies, they're yummy, but remember they require twice the cookies! 
2. Have your party on a Sunday afternoon in early December. Weekends are packed with company and social parties in the evenings, give your guests time to relax and come to a mid-afternoon party. The cookies will usually keep for a couple of weeks, but if you want to save some for Christmas day, just pop a tray in the freezer and thaw the day before you're ready to eat them. 
3. Entertain the men. Last year my lady-guests brought their guys for a "Beer Exchange" in the back yard. Each guy brought a dozen beers and took (or drank) a dozen beers. It's a great way for guys to socialize and meet new friends. 
4. Play some holiday music. You may just be hosting the first holiday party of the season, so get in the spirit. 
5. Provide a few snacks and drinks.. other than cookies. A fruit and veggie tray is all you need to make sure your guests have plenty to choose from. 
6. Start the cookie tasting as soon as most of your guests have arrived. There will be lots to sample and this takes time! Consider having a few knives available to cut large cookies into pieces so everyone can have a taste. 
7. Remind everyone to bring a box or tin to take their cookies home in. It's a good idea to have a few gallon-size zipper bags handy too!
8. Ask your guests to bring copies of their recipe for everyone to take home. 

I think you're ready... better get started looking through those cook books! 

I have hosted a number of showers in the past few years. The one thing that I do for each of these that gets the biggest "thanks for thinking of this" is to provide the mother-to-be and bride-to-be with thank you cards as part of the shower gifts. 

As each guest arrives and signs the guestbook they also fill out an envelope addressed to themselves. At the end of the shower the guest of honor receives the addressed envelopes and a set of thank you cards to put in them. Brides and moms are busy ladies, and saving them the trouble of digging out their address book one more time is a life-saver. 

So, the next time you are planning a shower (or any type of party, really), think one step ahead and prepare to have some thank you notes at the event. This will give the guest of honor more time to write the personal thank you notes, and a little less stress.

Back in June, my dear friends from Inviting Letterpress Boutique and I spent a fun-filled Saturday afternoon at Paper Source (along with quite a few more ladies) at their Handmade Weddings workshop. We made fun things like favor boxes and program fans, and experimented with other cool supplies like baker's twine! Yes, I bought a spool that weighs half a pound, which is probably one-hundred-million yards of twine... You'll be seeing that a few times this holiday season!  The best part about these kinds of workshops is to see all of the different versions of the projects that all start the same materials. Keep in mind even when you buy a printed card that you can add your own small touches to give it a personalized feel. 

We celebrated my son's fourth birthday with a fire truck themed party. Pulling together all the elements is my favorite part, I love to see it come together, but most importantly the kids had an awesome time!

We had fun, food and cake at home then loaded everyone up and headed to the fire station for a tour. The fire fighters went out of their way to show the kids an amazing time. They got to climb in the truck, see the lights flash and tour the station. 

I started with the invitation and went from there! Polkadots are of course, my favorite, and they fit in just fine! I found polkadot napkins and streamers as well as wrapped polkadot ribbon around pails used for chips and snacks. I made his cute firetruck cake out of a 9x13in pan, lots of red icing and some gum balls. Dollar stores and D-I-Y projects kept this party on a budget, but if you ask me, you would never know!! My rule of thumb is to splurge on a few must-have items, then fill in with coordinating items like solid plates and simple streamers to tie the look together. 

Find this party on Catch My Party! 

Since I am rather new to blogging, I thought I would come up with some themes to help me get into the swing of writing weekly. One thing I am pretty passionate about is sending thank you notes, so why not have a Thank You Thursday? What do you think?

One of my absolute favorite things to give and receive are thank you notes; real hand-written sent by snail mail thank you notes. To me, these tiny little notes speak volumes, even when they are only a few words. Taking a couple of minutes to wAlthough they are nice, no email or phone call quite measures up to how I feel about receiving a thank you note, and I save every single one. 

I use to feel daunted by a stack of thank you's to write, but I found a great little Hallmark book called On a Personal Note A Guide to Writing Notes with Style that breaks down the different kinds of notes you may need to send and gives you a guideline for writing. If you want to brush up on your note writing, I suggest picking up a copy of this book! Check back here too on Thursdays for tips and ideas for writing your notes. 

Start simple, make sure you have a stash of note cards and stamps at all times, you never know when you'll need one! When I buy stamps, I usually tear of 4 or 8 to leave on my desk and add the same amount to my wallet, that way I always have one when I need it. Note cards are fairly easy to come by, and you'll find that we offer quite a selection of thank you notes as well as personalized note cards that are perfect to have around for when you want to say thanks or thinking of you!

It may just be a Texas thing, but I grew up in a barbecue house. It was pretty common for us to have some kind of grilled food five (and probably seven) times a week! We're not just talking meat here, my dad cooked everything on the grill from potatoes to pineapple... this was normal for me. When I went to college, I started to miss Dad's BBQ and always looked forward to it when I went home. Now I am lucky enough to be married to a converted Texan who's become quite the griller and smoker of meats. Thanks to his new talent, we love to have friends over for summer meals in the back yard. Our latest brought on this design, as part of our June feature you can get it on sale as a custom design as well as a fill-in version, and I suspect there will be many more BBQ invites to come!

Summer time is all about barbecue, pool parties, trips to the beach and fun in the sun with family and friends. For the month of July, we're rolling out the fun and featuring some of our newest designs to get you ready for those summertime festivities! We've got some great party ideas lined up, so stay tuned!