Holiday Deadlines

Our holiday elves are hard at work, ready to add your silhouette, or that of a loved one, to any of our  products.  In order to ensure delivery in time for holiday gift giving, our deadline is Thursday, December 1st for all personalized plates, trays, ornaments and custom pillows. All other products should be ordered by Monday, December 5th.  If you're not quite sure which product to choose, a gift certificate is the perfect option.

Elf on the Shelf

Look what our Elf on the Shelf made last night while we were sleeping:

Thanksgiving Photo Props

Photo booth props seem to be all the rage these days, so we took a brief diversion this holiday season and designed a collection for Thanksgiving.

Included in this DIY Printable set is:

Pilgrim hat and bonnet
Pilgrim collars (2)
Indian headdress
Turkey wattle
Turkey leg
Pumpkin Pie
Wishbone
Thankful fill-in-the-blank sign
Thanksgiving garland



This collection is formatted to be printed on 8.5 x 11 heavy cardstock. Just print, cut, stick on a stick and have fun!

Get yours for just $9.95 in our Etsy Holiday Shop here.

Free Printables Are My Favorite!

With 2 sick kids at home, we've spent a lot of time snuggled up on the couch for the past few days watching Christmas movies. We were inspired by one of our favorites to create this:

 There are two fun color combos for you to choose from:

It's available as a free 8x10 printable from Scribd here. Just download it, print it and add it to your holiday decor. We hope you'll enjoy it!

Seen here on Skip to My Lou:

Happy Halloween!

Wishing you all a very Happy Halloween.

To get you in the holiday spirit, here are a few of our favorite

Halloween silhouette finds from Pinterest:

image 1 via Better Homes & Gardens

image 2 via Country Home

image 3 via Woman's Day

image 4 via Better Homes & Gardens

image 5 via William Bezek

image 6 via Martha Stewart

image 7 via blue eyed yonder

image 8 via Country Living

image 9 via our Etsy Shop

Free Printable Boo Sign for Halloween

It's that time of year again. Can you believe it's less than two weeks until Halloween? Have you seen any "We've been Boo-ed" signs popping up in your neighborhood. We can help you get started in your own neighborhood. Just click the link to download your free printable Boo sign and print 2 copies of it.

Then include it with a delicious treat that you've bought or made and secretly leave it on your neighbors' doorsteps. It will be fun to watch how quickly it spreads through your neighborhood.

If you'd like to make a yummy treat yourself, try these Halloween S'mores in a Jar.

Here's what you need:



1 quart jar
1 sleeve graham crackers
1 package holiday Peeps
1 bag of holiday M&Ms candies (regular not peanut)
1/3 cup brown sugar

1. Crush the graham crackers to crumbs.

2. Layer 2/3 of the crumbs in the jar and pack them down.

3. Place about 1/4 cup of M&Ms candies on top of the graham crackers.

4. Arrange the Peeps standing up, facing out around the
inside of the jar. 

5. Carefully spoon remaining cracker crumbs in the center of the jar to support the
peeps, pressing down to keep it snug.

6. On top of this pour 1-1/4 cup M&M's.

7. Spoon 1/3 cup brown sugar into center of M&M's, gently pressing with a spoon. If
you have any room left over, then fill the jar to the top with M&Ms.

Then print out our tag with directions and attach it to the jar.

Have fun and Happy Halloween!. 

I LOVE Pinterest

Have your discovered Pinterest yet? I joined immediately upon first hearing about it and very quickly became addicted to it. If you're on it, please come follow me here and if you're on, please leave a message in the comments and I'll follow you too.

I am a huge Google reader fan, so I'm grateful for Pinterest because it allows me to manage it all in an organized, visual way (if only I could find a way to do that with my piles of magazine tear sheets.) I like being able to store everything on one site. I can also peruse the great finds of others, who have amazing taste, and discover things I never would have known about.

At this point, Pinterest is still invitation only, so if you'd like an invite, just email me at angela (at) simplysilhouettes.com.  Happy Pinning! (and don't say I didn't warn you.)

Silhouette Party Inspiration

We're loving all the silhouette inspiration popping up in parties lately, especially those inspired by children's literature. Here are a few of our favorites:

Mary Poppins Party

via Oh Dee Doh

Peter Pan Party

from The House that Lars Built via Oh Happy Day

Another great Peter Pan Party

from Swoon

And an adorable Goldilocks and the Three Bears Party

designed by Frog Prince Paperie via The Sweetest Occasion

What other children's stories do you think would work well as silhouettes?

Celebrate your Grad

  

Our oldest is finishing up elementary school this year, and while we won't be having a huge shindig, it's still a great reason to celebrate. If you've got a graduate in your family or if you're one yourself, you'll love our new collection of printable Custom Silhouette Announcements and Invites. You can find them here in our Etsy Shop. Just choose your design and customize the copy for either an announcement or party invitation and they're available in an array of colors.

 

And don't forget our FREE Graduation Cupcake Topper and Wrapper Printables.

Many thanks to Skip To My Lou, Tip Junkie, One Pretty Thing and Craftlinky for sharing them.

Pop Culture Cameos

I came across Olly Moss' silhouette exhibit "Pop Cameos" last night and would love to see it in person. Here's a sample of his work. See how many of the silhouette you can identify.

images via The Fox is Black

You can read more about it here.

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing a Happy Mother's Day to you all today. This has long been one of my favorite poems, since becoming a parent. One I often remember while looking at the pile of laundry that needs to be folded or the dishes that need to be washed. I was lucky enough to come across this version at Lay Baby Lay,  which graciously offers it as a free printable here.

Words to live by.

Announcing our New Silhouette Wedding Collection

We're so excited about the launch of our Wedding Collection. We've been working hard to develop a unique collection of completely customizable silhouette products for your special day.  Here's a sampling of what you'll find:

Cake topper photos by Barbara Hill Photography

Ring bearer pillow photo by Blue Wing Photos

We've got custom cake toppers, ring bearer pillows and certificates. You can find it all here in our Etsy Shop.  Please take a look around and let us know what you think. Also, if you have any product suggestions, we'd love to hear them.

Royal Wedding Silhouette Inspiration

Are any of you staying up all night to watch the Royal Wedding? I remember doing that years ago for the wedding of Charles and Diana (years later, I even married on the same date.) I know several people pulling all-nighters tonight and some having sleepovers. As for me, although I'm a night owl, I'm setting the DVR and plan to cozy up on the couch on Friday night with my daughter to watch it.

Of course, one of my favorite things surrounding the wedding has been all of the silhouettes. Here are some of my very favorites.

You can find them here: 

Silhouette Mug :: The House that Lars Built

Silhouette Hat :: Jardin De Fleur

Biscuit Tin :: Print and Pattern

Silhouette Plate :: Royal Stafford

Silhouette Plate: Wedgewood

Silhouette Clock :: Naked Decor

Silhouette Mug :: McLaggan Smith

Silhouette Cross-stitch :: Marie's Cross Stitch

If you're still looking for some more fun ways to celebrate, look here and here.  

Best wishes William and Kate. May you live happily ever after!

We Have a Winner!

And the winner of the Earth Day Totebag Giveaway is Aubrey Gideon.

Thanks so much to all who entered. More giveaways will be coming soon!

Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day! To celebrate, we're giving away a FREE Custom Silhouette Totebag. These bags are made of 100% cotton and they have plenty of room to carry everything you need when you are on the go. They're very durable and perfect for carrying groceries, library books, craft projects, and more. My daughter uses hers for her dance shoes. I've been using mine for years and it's still going strong.  

To enter, just leave a comment here with your favorite tip for going green. You can get extra entries by:

*Liking Simply Silhouettes on Facebook
*Leave a comment on our Facebook page with your tip
*Share this post on Twitter

You can use the Share buttons at the bottom of this post if you like.  Just remember to leave a comment for each.


Contest is open through midnight on Sunday, April 24th. Winner will be announced on Monday.

Vote for your Fave!

Here are the entrants in our photo contest.  Each photo is identified by name. To cast your vote, just leave a comment with the name of your favorite photo (one vote per person, please.) Voting will be open through 12:00 a.m. PST on April 11th. On April 12th, the top 10 vote-getters will be reviewed by our panel of judges and the winner of the 16" x 20" gallery wrapped canvas will be announced on April 13th.

 

Easter Silhouette

Here's a cute little silhouette-inspired DIY project for Easter if you've got a little girl in your life. Taylor from Mary Janes and Galoshes created this darling Chocolate Bunny headband.

Detailed instructions can be found here.

Celebrate Mom

It's time once again to celebrate the wonderful women in our lives. We've put together a gift guide full of great ideas for your moms and grandmas - from the mama-to-be to the most sentimental grandma. You can find it here.  

Given the handmade nature of our products, some things require a bit more lead time than others. Here are our holiday deadlines:

Monday, April 11th is our deadline for most Custom Silhouette Products, in order to guarantee delivery in time for Mother's Day gift giving. 

Monday, April 25th

There is a bit more time for our always popular Silhouette Prints featuring modern silhouettes with vintage charm. They are completely customizable and printed with premium archival ink and paper.

Print prices start at $25 for 5" x 7" prints, and additional copies are available for just $10 each, so buy one for the grandparents and treat yourself to your own copy too. Digital silhouettes are also available.  You can place your order for prints here.

If you can't meet those deadlines,  we have a few options for you:

 
A Coming Soon Certificate
This is the perfect solution to let your gift recipient know that their special gift is in the works and will soon be on its way. Just go ahead and place your order and we'll get to work on it. We'll also provide you with a certificate showing a picture of the final product along with an estimated ship date, so your recipient will know when they should expect to receive this custom gift made just for them. There is no cost for this option, just let us know you'd like a "Coming Soon Certificate" when you place your order.

Gift Certificate

Not sure which item to purchase? Buy a Simply Silhouettes Gift Certificate instead! You can order a gift certificate for $5 to $500 towards any Simply Silhouettes product and instantly print out the gift certificate or have it emailed to your recipient. Then they can visit SimplySilhouettes.com, redeem their gift certificate  and purchase just the item they're looking for!

 

Really BIG Photo Contest

 

We’re having a BIG contest, but we can’t do it without YOU.  From now through Sunday, April 3rd, we will be accepting photos of whatever you think would make the perfect silhouette. This can be you, your kids, the family pet, your wedding photo, etc. It can be a classic profile or a full body shot - just use your imagination. We can't wait to see what you come up with. 

To enter, just email your photos to contest@simplysilhouettes.com by Sunday, April 3rd and we will post them all on our Facebook page on Monday, April 4th. Judging will then be open through Monday, April 11th, so you'll need to get as many “likes” as you can that week. Tell your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. to come “like” your photo (they will need to “like” Simply Silhouettes first.) Post it on your Facebook page, Tweet about it, blog about it, shout it from your rooftop.

On April 12th, the top 10 vote-getters will be reviewed by our judges and their winner will receive a 

FREE Custom 16x20 Gallery Wrapped Canvas

(a $200 value) 

Here’s our panel of judges:

Anna Peterson of Blue Wing Photos

Barbara Hill of Barbara Hill Photography

Lisa Komer of Fancy That Custom Party Goods and Gift Boutique

Jasmine Phillipe of JPhillipe Designs 

and Emily Horak of Potter and Butler handmade goods for celebrations 

Once again, here's how it works:

*Email your photo to contest@simplysilhouettes by Sunday, April 3rd to enter the contest.

*We'll post all the photos on our Facebook page by noon on Monday, April 4th. 

*You will have until Monday, April 11th at 11:59 pm PST to get as many likes for your photo as you can.

*Our judges will review the top 10 most popular photos on Tuesday, April 12th. 

*We will announce the Big Winner on Wednesday, April 13th. 

Contest Rules:

One photo per person

Open to all US and Canadian residents.

If you've got any questions, feel free to ask us at info@simplysilhouettes.com.

Good luck!