Fab Finds for Expecting Mommies

As a new parent, it can be a little overwhelming deciding what items to arm yourselves with upon your little one's arrival. While I'm not yet a mother myself, I am "Auntie Heather" to 13 nieces and nephews. So to tackle this topic, I pooled my resources.  I posed the question "What were your fab finds before and after you had your little one?" to the best mommies I know…

1. A chic bag. Skip Hop City Chic Diaper Tote - Perfect for the chic mom on the go! (visit retailers website for store locations) 2. A battle of the sexes.  What Gender will your little one be? Find out with the Chinese Gender Chart (courtesy of thebump.com)  3. A good read. Great Expectations: Your All in One Resource for Pregnancy and Childbirth. One of my girlfriend's highly recommends this book to any expecting mother, available at amazon.com 4. A way to tell the world.  A chic, yet classic personalized birth announcement from Take Notice Card Company. (www.takenoticecards.com) 5. A personalized item.  Personalized Burp Cloths and Clothing from Etsy. A cute and creative way to accessorize your new addition. 6. A Natural Approach. Make your own baby food using a food processor, like the Magic Bullet Express (recipe ideas and tips) 7. Reusable diapers. BumGenuis - Reusable Cloth Diaper Set (available at Target).

May Retailer of the Month

Needle in a Haystack - Dallas, Texas

It is always an absolute pleasure working with Needle in a Haystack.  They handle each order with extra attention to detail to ensure that their customers get the best possible invitation or announcement.  Needle in a Haystack has been recognized on multiple occasions as "Order of the Week" and were featured  last month in our blog for a unique wedding menu.

Thank you to Yash, Bhavna, and all of their staff for their continued enthusiasm for the Take Notice line.

Take Notice in the Big Apple!

Just a few pics from our trip to 

New York City 

for the

National Stationery Show!

Creative ways to use Take Notice designs

Design inspiration from real orders:

Who says you can't use a save-the-date design as a birth announcement? Certainly not us! We say YES to creativity and encourage our retailers to think outside the box (or sample). Help your customers understand that just because a design is shown as an anniversary announcement, doesn't mean it can't be used as a birthday invite!

Almost all of our designs can be used for a variety of occasions, so go ahead, give your customers what they really want--more choices!

In April, I received 2 standout orders that demonstrated this idea by using existing designs in creative ways...

Inscriptions, Inc., in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado, created a high school graduation announcement using one of our most popular wedding save-the-dates, WD012.
Instead of using childhood photos of the bride and groom, they used a childhood photo, paired with a modern senior picture of the graduate. The text on the cover read "We used to imagine her future...Now we know what it is"
We thought this was a very creative spin on our "imagine the future" design! Happy Graduation Sarah and best wishes on your future endeavors!

Needle in a Haystack, in Dallas, created an elegant menu for a wedding

reception by tweaking a wedding announcement design.
They started with item WD017, then omitted the vellum band, satin tie ribbon and nixed the envelopes! (Removing these details saved them almost 50% retail!) Then they customized their text to display to their menu, added their personalized photograph, and Viola! A beautiful , personalized menu for their special day! Congratulations to Courtney & Evan! And thank you for choosing Take Notice for your special day!

A special thank you to
Hanna Shayer at Inscriptions, Inc. &
Lori and Yash at Needle in a Haystack

Take Notice Staff News

It has been an eventful week at Take Notice, to say the least!

On Monday, we welcomed Amy to the Take Notice team, as our new assembly artist! We decided to take it easy on her this week, but we promise to start the interrogations next week and report back with a "getting to know Amy" post!

John and our design crew have been working hard finalizing the new designs we'll be debuting at the 2009 National Stationery Show this month! This week he was working on perfecting our 2009 Holiday updates. Let me tell you, some VERY exciting new looks are on the way!

As for me, I was able to sneak away for a few days off to attend the TELUS World Ski & Snowboard Festival at Mt. Whistler, in B.C, Canada! The weather was beautiful, perfect for a day at the mountain! Unfortunately, my snowboard and I had a minor disagreement, that resulted with ski patrol escorting me to the emergency room! I had planned on bringing home a souvenir, but a fiberglass cast really wasn't my first choice!
A special thanks to all of my fellow employees for pitching in to help! I'm lucky to be part of such a great team!

Happy May Day!

- Heather
Customer Care & Design Consultant

p.s. don't forget that our 20% promotion has been extended through May 31st!!

Sneak Peek at another New Design...

A delicate birth announcement printed on warm, ivory textured paper with an elegant deckled edge.

It features a classic monogram on the cover and personalized photograph inside. The design is finished with a satin ribbon and matching monogram envelope liner.

Design will be released at the 2009 National Stationery Show.

Save the Date: National Stationery Show

Take Notice presents:

• NEW Papers

• NEW Printing

• NEW Product

National Stationery Show
May 17-20, 2009
New York City

Visit Booth #2937 to see what all the buzz is about!

Here's a sneak peak at one of our latest designs, a freestanding die-cut birth announcement.