get a head start!

Are you looking for some Christmas goodies for next year? All holiday treats at Cute Buttons Gift and Paper Boutique are on sale at 40% off for a limited time. Come on in (or call us at 919.462.9618 ~ we are taking phone orders too) for some great holiday cards, Hanukkah cards, Christmas cards, holiday photo cards, holiday party invitations, and holiday decor.

I'm dreaming . . .

of a GREEN Christmas! These tips come from Meredith College Sustainability Coordinator Laura Fieselman.

From shopping, traveling and decorating, it is easy to get carried away during the holidays, but there are many environmentally friendly ways to celebrate the holiday season. Gift-Giving •Focus on family and friends rather than gift buying. Have gift-free gatherings, or draw names for Secret Santa exchanges rather than buying gifts for everyone. •Consider giving presents that are handmade, organic or from second-hand shops. Some options to explore include buying from Craigslist or searching the Green Pages for green merchants. •Buy from local merchants, which reduces travel and supports the local economy. In Raleigh, visit for examples of locally owned businesses (how about Cute Buttons Gift & Paper Boutique???). •Buy from fair trade merchants. Locally, these include One World Market and Ten Thousand Villages. •Wrap your gifts in reusable items, such as tea towels, canvas bags or baskets. Decorating •Decorate with greenery from your yard. •Get a live tree in a pot and plant it after the holidays are over. •Make centerpieces with fruit or nuts. •Reuse old greeting cards as ornaments or other holiday decorations. •Make your own origami decorations. There are several holiday designs at varying levels of difficulty. Visit www.origami-resource-center.com/christmas-ornaments.html and www.origami-club.com/en/xmas/index.html for ideas. Celebrations •Use reusable plates, napkins and utensils rather than disposables for holiday parties. •Plan your holiday party menu around seasonal, local foods. Visit www.sustainabletable.org/shop/eatseasonal/ to find out what’s in season in your state. •Plan activities in which everyone can participate, such as a potluck dinner with the neighbors, or a tree planting with family. Winter is a great time to plant trees. Travel •Carpool or take a train to your destination rather than driving alone. •Buy carbon offsets for your holiday travel. Visit NCGreenPower , or TerraPass for options. For more suggestions, explore the New American Dream’s Simplify the Holidays Guide at www.newdream.org/holiday.

perfect gifts

Still searching for the perfect gift for your co-workers, boss, friends, neighbors, sisters, aunts, and yourself (you know you deserve it!)?

We have the answer!

You're invited to the Jane Marvel Trunk Show at our boutique! Come view Jane Marvel's complete line of "life-style" bags for women include handbags, hobos, wallets, travel bags, luggage, computer bags, etc. Tailored, sophisticated styling in printed and solid laminated canvas. We promise you won't be able to buy just one! These bags are super cute and trendy, and they're actually practical!!!

This event is planned to start at 11:00 am on Dec 12, 2009 at 312 West Chatham Street, Suite 203, downtown Cary, NC.

Visit www.janemarvel.com for a sneak peek of the goodies! See you there!

Black Friday Specials at Cute Buttons!

Friday and Saturday Special...

To get 15% off your purchases:

Just say "jingle" at the cash register! This excludes custom stationery, custom invitations and designer stamps.

To get 20% off your purchases:

Bring unopened cat and dog food on Friday and Saturday. We'll donate them to the 2Paws Up NC Shelter Rescue.

Happy shopping...and be safe!

Turkey Time!

As if you weren't fully aware, Thanksgiving is right around the corner!

As you prepare for Thursday's festivities and the retail circus that is Black Friday, try to take a moment and be thankful for the important things in life like family, friends and the Turkey hotline.

A few fun links to prepare you for this week:

1. "You Can't Stuff This" video by MC Turkey

2. Crack everyone up at your table by framing a small version of the oil painting by J.L.G. Ferris of the First Thanksgiving. I'm not sure why, but I think it's hilarious. I love that one of the guys is wearing armor...sounds like Thanksgiving at my house....

3. Create some adorable holiday pictures with these pilgrim hats from Max and Ruby. Just print them, cut them out and put them on mom, dad, grandma, pets, children, lamps, etc.

4. This is a simple game, but fun to bet on. Not that we condone gambling or anything...

5. If you don't feel like cooking a turkey (or can't), this is my personal suggestion: TURKEY CAKE from Baskin Robbins. Brilliant.

Reminder: Cute Buttons is collecting unopened cat and dog food during the entire month of November for 2Paws Up NC Shelter Rescue.

Tis The Season!

There's nothing like being featured on a top 25 list to inspire us to share some holiday specials and events.

Jane Marvel Trunk Show:
Mark your calendars! Saturday, December 12th, Cute Buttons is hosting a Jane Marvel Trunk Show from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. In case you haven't already fallen in love with Jane Marvel's line of "life-style" bags for women, she offers a ton of styles and patterns in print and solid laminated canvas. For those with kids, you'll be happy to know that they are spill-proof and almost indestructible... but still oh-so-cute! The styles include:

- handbags

- hobo bags

- wallets

- travel bags

- luggage

- computer bags, and more!

Ladies, remember... the first week in December is your last chance to be really bad; after that, you should be focusing on your holiday lists and the spirit of giving (at least publicly). Take this opportunity to bring your friends to the event so you can find out which ones they like. It's the right thing to do....

Checkerboard Cheer:

Cute Buttons is offering FREE printed return addresses on all holiday orders through December 6th from Checkerboard designs. Look at how cute these printed returns are:

Pre-Holiday checklist

The shopping centers have been playing "White Christmas" for two weeks now, so we might as well hop on the obscenely-early-holiday-preparation bandwagon. I still think Christmas should be off the radar until Black Friday...

Ladies, with the holiday season approaching, a few things to remember:

1. You're going to OD on the turkey and sweets anyway, so don't gain more weight by stressing about it. My tip? Wrap the dreaded scale (Public Enemy #1) in festive holiday paper as a reminder that everyone gets a little "festively plump" during the holidays. If you haven't gained weight, Santa hates you.

2. It is the man's job to put up the tangled Christmas lights.

3. Get your holiday cards NOW. You know how hard it is to get the family together with soccer practice, work and yoga already, right? Throw in holiday parties, exams and those pesky Christmas birthdays and you've got a mission impossible. Sweet Pea Designs has to be my personal favorite**. Check out the online store here...WARNING: This can get addicting and may cause an inordinate amount of jealousy and compliments from friends and neighbors. Whoops...

4. If you take your kids to see Santa at the Mall, make sure beforehand that Santa isn't a scary, tears-and-wailing-inducing monster in their eyes. Then take yourself out for a cocktail after dealing with the line.

5. No one has to know that your table settings came from Target. Their dish designs are fresh to death and super cheap! Spend the money where it counts... invitations that will go on your invitee's fridges for all to see. Think about it.

**Disagree? Click here for a list of vendors...be sure to consider the in-house designs!

Open house

You're invited to join us to celebrate the season and to thank our customers + friends at our second annual open house.

Check off your holiday list and enjoy sweets, giveaways & merriment!

Who: YOU!!!

What: Open House

When: Wednesday, Nov. 4 from 5-8 p.m.

Where: Cute Buttons, of course :)

See you there!

Trunk Show this Wednesday!

“Welcome Stacey M Design to North Carolina" Trunk Show at Cute Buttons

This Chicago-based designer creates great, multi-cultural contemporary greeting cards, invitations, note cards, stationery products for children, adults and business (www.staceymdesign.com).

Cute Buttons is pleased to invite you to come out and preview Stacey M Design and meet a representative from her company!

Wednesday, October 28
5 o’clock – 8 o’clock in the Evening
Cute Buttons Gift and Paper Boutique
312 West Chatham Street
Downtown Cary

Animal lovers--you'll love this one!

Tiki and Alison are excited to be hosting an "Arts and Animals" event with Marley's Cat Tales at the complex (312 West Chatham Street, downtown Cary) on Oct 24 from 10-2.

There will be low cost vaccines by Purr and Bark, great vendors, seminars on pet behavior and the cutest pets ever for adoption!

There will also be an ongoing craft table where kids can have their faces painted and make a cat or dog toy or bed. Marley's will have some of our "spookiest" kitties in their Halloween finery. Other rescue groups coming include Alley Cats & Angels, The Goathouse Sanctuary and Palisades Animal Rescue.

Come on out next Saturday for a spooktacular and fun time!

It's not too early . . .

to start getting ready for the holidays!!!

We have lots of great holiday/Christmas designs for social, corporate, and photo cards.

Some of our vendors are even offering special deals to early birds for planning ahead. Hey, having your cards finished early means one fewer stress when the holidays arrive!

Check out these links for some of the lines we offer. Let us know if you are interested in any styles or designs--we'd love to work with you!

http://www.whitneyenglish.com/

http://cutebuttons.myspstore.com/
http://www.checkernet.com/dept/Holiday/?Cobrand=CB&Site=Checkernet&vk=1777211146

Kitties!

In honor of Tiki, our very own Cute Buttons kitty, this post is dedicated to those adorable, cuddly, sweet companions we call cats!

If you were able to come to our first birthday party on Sept. 4, you probably saw Mr. Tiki slink

in and out of the boutique (between naps, of course). He had a grand 'ol time with those balloons, didn't he?

Have a few minutes to spare this week? Why don't you come on in and take a look at our kitty notecards and other products which are graced with the sweet shape of a cat or two? They're perfect for feline aficionados! Surely Tiki will be around; he'd love to lend a paw and help you pick out something purrfect for yourself or a friend :)

In the meantime, here are some videos which might just make you smile!

They certainly have their own language, don't they?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3U0udLH974&feature=related

Just a little obsessed . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WofFb_eOxxA

Squeaky clean!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW_-oyAldfo

Not unlike Tiki, my kitty loves to nap. Speck especially enjoys warm afternoons on the screened-in porch!

Maria's 40th Birthday Party Invitation

We had a great time working with Maria and finding some pizzazz-y invitations for her very special birthday celebration--the big 4-0!

These letterpress invitations are full of spice--perfect for a sassy and festive event like Maria's upcoming birthday party. The girls at Louella Press did a fabulous job on them, and Maria soooo loved them!

Check out these pictures (wow, what incredible detail), and be sure to visit the Louella website at www.louellapress.com We’d love to help you create personalized, one-of-a-kind invitations!

It's our birthday!!

Come help us celebrate our first birthday before First Friday activities on September 4! You can't say no to a 1-year-old, can you?

Everyone is invited to the party on Friday, September 4. Details:

Who: Everyone

What: Our 1st birthday party!

When: 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Where: At the boutique (duh) @ 312 West Chatham Street in Cary

Why: Because we couldn't have made it to the tender age of ONE without our loyal, wonderful customers.

15% off of all items (except for personalized stationery and custom stamps). Yay!

More info on the festivities to come. Be sure to bring friends and take advantage of the good discount and cute stuff.

Also, in the Wedding spirit...

I know everyone's seen this one, but here it is, in case you haven't. It's a pretty funny wedding entrance by a nonconventional couple.

Here is a new spoof I just discovered, with much more choreography and even some Rockette-inspired kicks.

Whether your friends are getting married or divorced, Cute Buttons has a card for it. Well, not specifically divorce cards, but definitely nice blue ones with high heels on them that would cheer someone up.

Sweet Pea "Twice as Nice" Sale...Sweet!

Twice as Nice details: Order 25 or more notes, folded notes, enclosures, luggage tags or bookmarks from Sweet Pea Designs at Cute Buttons and receive double the quantity of your order for Free!

Examples:

Order 25 enclosures. Get 50 enclosures. Pay for 25 enclosures.

Order 50 notes. Get 100 notes. Pay for 50 notes.

Order 25 luggage tags. Get 50 luggage tags. Pay for 25 luggage tags. Ask yourself why you need that many luggage tags.

They have all of the standard Lily-esque pink and green polka dot deals, but one thing I really like about Sweet Pea is their inclusion of professional looking, boy-safe, androgynous and clean-lined designs. They have cards that your husband/son/boyfriend wouldn't

mind giving out, like this precious sailboat one. I have a sailboat thing, though.

I recommend: Make a box for every person in your family (not too big, easily stored). Stock up on the notes and folded notes to suit each persons age/gender/preferences. Go ahead and buy a book of 20 stamps for each person as well. Include two pens in each box. Stuff the rest of the room with envelopes. Keep the "TY kits" on hand for Thank you notes (always a good idea, ALWAYS) and other letter-writing occasions. It will encourage and enable you to write timely TYNs and some just-for-fun letters, since all of the hassle is taken care of. A kit like this should last a while, too!

Weekend Pick: NC Museum of Art

Hey, something to put in your new planner! Yay!

For those of you (like me) who get antsy at closings, here's a good one: the NC Museum of Art is closing for seven months on September 6 (say that 10x fast).

Why? They are gearing up and moving a ton of art into the new building, which currently looks like an airport hangar, but will soon be this lovely deal. The new building is really promising for event space, in my opinion. Look at slides three and four in that last link. Agree? There will also be a cool installation by Patrick Dougherty, Chapel Hill artist who did the facade of the Max Azria boutique in LA. Funky.

In the meantime, there will still be outdoor events, events around Raleigh, bla bla bla, etc.

Before they pack up to move the 150 feet though, I recommend going in and checking out the galleries one last time in their original elements. The Highlights of the American Collection is a sweet exhibition, and manageable in a short amount of time. Their cafe, Blue Ridge, is also super delicious...perfect for girls' brunch or a business meeting.

Planner Bliss

Ah, the bliss that is organization.

Cute Buttons just got in a fresh batch of such bliss with the momAgenda and myAgenda planners.

I'm ridiculously picky about planners

and I can honestly endorse these. Most planners lack a good "month-at-a-glance" section, or have useless time tables (who plans down to the :30 and only needs a 7'' x 9'' planner?). This one has simple, elegant lines with fun, quality binding and materials.

There's room to plan, plenty of room to take notes, like jot down phone numbers of babysitters or license plates of fender bender victims, etc.

The calendars run from August 09 to December 10. Sweet!

Personally, I'm going to have to recommend the myAgenda purely because I don't have children. Then again, I could see the benefit of having a time management system for le boyfriend. Hmm...

The Burnt Popcorn Debacle

Everyone's done it; I just did it worse.

I put the bag of popcorn in the microwave for 6 minutes, thinking I would take it out when, as the bag instructed, the pops were two seconds apart. In time, I got used to the popping noise and decided to take a shower.

When I got out of the shower, there was a steaming, black brick of what used to be popcorn in my microwave, making a faint high-pitched cry for me to set it free. I did, of course, and the ensuing odor took over my whole apartment. :(

My personal BPD (burnt popcorn debacle) led me to write this latest post, a pitch for the only thing that can remedy such disasters as BPDs: Open windows and Lollia fragrance candles.

Cute Buttons is usually where I go for cards (duh), invitations (duh), pajamas (surprising, but yes, duh) and even wine holders (duh...and because every modern woman needs more than one). Since the time I discovered Cute Buttons I haven't really needed candles, and actually I normally tend to get them at the grocery store (eww). However, this sitch called for some serious fragrance, and I knew Alison wouldn't let me down.

My pick: Lollia's "perfumed luminaries." They look gorgeous just sitting on the counter (some have a cute little charm) and they smell divine. Not too sweet, not too...lysol-y. Naturally, Cute Buttons has them in stock and floating around the store!

Emboss

On my first trip to meet Alison in the store, I fell in love.

Naturally I fell in love with Alison for being such a go-getter female and starting her own company, but that's not what I mean here.

I fell in love with an embosser and I cannot help but dedicate my first real post to the first item I purchased at Cute Buttons and the surprising ways I've found to use it.

The Embosser

The embosser is black and silver, from a company called Three Designing Women. How could I resist a line that evoked this kind of style? Note: I now have a personal vocation to bring that amount of sequins back in style. Mine has my initials surrounded by my full name and my email address. Being a 20something, I tend to move often. Email seems safe.

Let me count the ways...

1. Embossing envelopes and patterned cards. I had a few pieces of cheap stationery left over from past last-minute thank you note purchases and took them from cheap to chic with one simple press. Stamping the plain and patterned cards was nice enough, but the symmetry between the cards and the envelopes made them look really nice without my having to spend more!

2. Embossing tissue paper. Yes, I was haphazardly going around and embossing everything I saw; however, I came across the tissue paper phenomenon during this process and have no regrets. My suggestion: use several different colors of tissue paper (that don't clash, of course) and emboss them together at the top. In addition to saving you the trouble of making a gift tag, you have made the gift peek-proof since the paper is stuck together. If you leave a few pieces loose, it won't look too structured.

3. Embossing your library. I wish I had gotten a separate plate just for this occasion reading "From the library of Natalie Braswell," but it is too late now seeing that I have embossed everything from old textbooks to my coffee table books with the current one. Patience, Natalie, patience.

4. Emboss your seals and stickers. Alison can hook you up with some plain gold stickers to emboss, recalling a sense of old fashioned wax seals. Nothing beats a real wax seal for personalization and romance, but let's be honest, ladies...

Stop by Cute Buttons for a look at the embossing display. There are stamps available, stickers, pads to practice on and more. For an old fashioned treat that will impress your new beau's parents or just a little indulgence for your own collection, the embosser is a safe investment for yourself or a gift.

n.b.: Be sure to think about whether you'd like an embosser that embosses from the bottom or top. I chose bottom with envelope flaps in mind, but it does make embossing the books a bit awkward sometimes.

Welcome, Welcome!

You may not have the disposable income you’d like, but you know that having the right pieces can make or break your business or, heaven forbid, your social life, so you've prioritized accordingly to splurge.

So what’s the blog for? Have no fear my friends, I’m here for suggestions, tips and snarky comments about bridal trends to keep your mind where it should be around any special occasion—happy!

Keep checking for updates on the latest and greatest in everything from trend-setting decor to high-end paper products, all available from Cute Buttons, your neighborhood Tiffany’s of stationery.

Not only will I keep you updated on the latest in-stock and all of the hot new trends as they come in, I will provide tips and techniques from my unfortunate learned-it-the-hard-way repertoire of event planning and etiquette. Look for updates every Friday, and feel free to stop in the store and browse on your own!

Until next time—

About Cute Buttons

Cary's newest boutique for fanciful finds! Nestled in downtown Cary, we carry just the right gifts to help make your recipient's day.

We have everything you need for a beautiful wedding, unique birthday, funky party, and all special occasions. Cute Buttons is the hottest new store in the Triangle for wedding invitations, social stationery, great goodies for your home and office, and the most unique gifts that will wow that special someone in your life.

Don't take our word for it...come see for yourself!