Pear Tree Stationery Winner!

....Erika! Congratulations on winning $25 of Stationery from Pear Tree Greetings! Thank you to everyone who participated in this month's giveaway. :)

Have a great Monday!

Win a $20 Pear Tree Greetings gift card!

To begin the month of March, my lovely and longstanding sponsor, Pear Tree Greetings, is offering a $20 gift card to one lucky reader to select anything you like from their online store.

They offer a full range of stationery, address labels and photo cards for every occasion. I love their stylish and original designs. If you're looking for something that fits your personality and budget for your upcoming nuptials, their save-the-date cards and wedding invitations are worth checking out!

Some key essentials for every classy woman are a set of thank you cards, a custom stationery set and matching return address labels which add a polished and sophisticated touch.

{These} are the most recent address labels I ordered and I'm loving them, they're perfect because their round shape eliminates the need for an envelope seal, so it does double duty.

**THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED**

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

1. To enter, let me know you're a public follower and pop by the Pear Tree website then come back here to let me know what you would choose if you won!

2. For extra chances, share this giveaway via Facebook and/or Tweet about it! (each worth an extra entry)

*Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry and don't forget to leave your e-mail if you don't have a blog, so I can contact you if you win!

GIVEAWAY CLOSES: March.6, 2010 at 11pm EST

NUMBER OF WINNERS: One

PRIZE: $20 to spend at www.PearTreeGreetings.com

RULES: The winner will be selected using random.org and announced on 03/07

OPEN TO: U.S. addresses ONLY for this giveaway.

If you're interested in browsing or shopping the Pear Tree website now, Classy & Fabulous readers get special discounts. A big thank you to Pear Tree Greetings for always being such a generous supporter!

Good luck and have a delightful day!


* save-the-date image

Summer Stationery Giveaway

I've got a fun, little giveaway to start off your week! With social media, texting and e-mail taking over these days, it's no wonder that the written word has become a lost art. I miss the days of handwritten letters, postcards from a friend's exotic destination and even just little cards that say 'I was thinking of  you'. 

To help bring back the written word, Pear Tree Greetings has graciously offered up a set of personalized note cards (set of 12 or 16-depending on the design) to one of my lucky readers. :) They have so many fresh, modern and lovely designs to choose from! You can see the address labels and note card design that I use, which were gifts from my friends at PearTree a few months ago.

**THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED**

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

1. To enter, all you need to do is let me know that you're a follower and leave a comment letting me know the most memorable card/note you've received OR if you can't quite remember that far back, you can visit Pear Tree Greetings  then come back to let me know which design you'd choose if you won.

*Be sure to leave your e-mail address if you do not have a blog, leave a comment fore each entry point you fulfill.

2. For a second entry: Follow me on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway (link to this post url and provide your twitter ID in comment)

3. For a third entry: Blog about this give away or include a link in your sidebar.

GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Saturday, July.31st 11pm EST.

NUMBER OF WINNERS: One

PRIZE: One set of personalized note cards (12-16 QTY) including shipping.

RULES: The winners will be selected using random.org and announced on 08/02

OPEN TO: U.S. addresses ONLY for this giveaway.

Thank you again to the ever-generous Pear Tree Greetings for making this giveaway possible!

Also, if you need to order some address labels or send some party invitations, Pear Tree is offering my readers free shipping on ANY order over $29. Use code: PEARJUL10

Good Luck and I can't wait to read your comments!

Stationery Giveaway Reminder & Extra Entry

I just wanted to remind everyone that if you haven't entered our fabulous stationery giveaway with Pear Tree Greetings, you still have today and tomorrow to enter, ends 05/22 at 10pm EST.

Also, for those of you that have already entered as well as anyone that is new to it today, I'll be providing an extra entry for either today or tomorrow (depending on when you read this). All you need to do is leave a comment with the word 'FREEBIE' on the original giveaway post page HERE (please don't leave it on this post or it won't count). I will be drawing the lucky winner via random.org and announcing it on Monday!

The generous Pear Tree Greetings company sent me some little goodies in the mail this week that are simply gorgeous and of high quality. I can't wait to share them with you next week. :)

*THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED*

Here's to a great weekend ahead!

Stylish Stationery GIVEAWAY from Pear Tree!

In honor of Mother's Day this weekend and my love for personalized stationery, Pear Tree Greetings has generously offered to give 1 lucky Classy & Fabulous reader a $50 gift certificate to purchase whatever they like in their online stationery store!!

Pear Tree Greetings is a fun, fresh and affordable personalized stationery company that offers birth announcements, kid birthday invitations, note cards,  address labels, save the date cards and much more!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

*THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED*

HOW TO ENTER: Become a public follower of this blog and answer this question for your first entry:

What's the best piece of advice your mom gave you growing up?

{Be sure to provide a way to be contacted via your blog or leave your e-mail address}

EXTRA ENTRIES: {Leave a separate comment for each of the following and an appropriate link where necessary}

1. (1) entry for adding me to your blogroll. (leave a comment if you already have)
2. (1) entry for adding my blog button to your blog (code found in my sidebar, leave comment if you already have)
3. (1) entry for tweeting about this giveaway (link to this post & provide your twitter ID in comment)
4. (3) entries for blogging about this giveaway with a link back to this post.

There you have it, 7 ways to win this awesome prize!

GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Saturday, May.22nd at 10pm EST.
NUMBER OF WINNERS: One
RULES: The winner will be selected using random.org and announced on 05/24.
OPEN TO: U.S. addresses ONLY for this giveaway.

If you missed my related Reader Request on Stationery Savvy or my post titled Cards are Classy, you can view them now by clicking on the links.

I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend & Good Luck!

Reader Request: Stationery Savvy

Image Sources: Betsy White; J Press Design;  Oblation;  Betsy White (clockwise)

Today’s request comes from a reader that would like to remain somewhat anonymous, given the uniqueness of her name. She has a couple of tricky dilemmas to tackle when it comes to stationery, monograms and which names to use as she has kept her maiden name and her husband is often referred to by his nickname versus his given name.

Here is what she e-mailed me:

I have a question about Stationary. I want to order some custom stationary, but am not sure what to put on it. If I order note cards, do I put my name on the front, or my monogram? If it has my name on it, can I use them for Thank You cards for things for myself AND my husband, or only myself?


Also, my husband and I have different last names so how do I create a monogram to use on things? This has bugged me since our wedding as I have always wanted personalized stationary, but none of the stationary companies I have contacted seems to have an answer.


My initials are MMB and my Husbands are DEC. To make it more complicated, my husband is known to almost everyone as a Nickname as he and his father share the same name. This nickname (Woody) does not share any of his official initials. We even had to put the nickname on our wedding invitations so people would know that I was marrying the SON not the Father.


HELP!!!  If you have ANY idea where I can find info on this, it would be great.


Thanks so much!!


M. Bourne


First of all, thank you for your question Ms. Bourne. I love custom stationery and it’s a fun way to send out correspondence, thank you cards and to keep in touch with friends while adding your own unique and personal touch.


To answer your first question about note cards, you can really use whatever you would like on the cards, but bear in mind that it will ultimately depend on who will be using these cards. If they'll be used exclusively by you, then you can use your first name only, your first and last (maiden) name or a monogram which is unique to your three initials which would include your maiden name. Tradition dictates that it is always appropriate for a woman to use or incorporate her maiden name, even after becoming married. So, one alternative that many women choose (as do those without a middle name) is to use their maiden name as their middle name. HERE is a whole site page dedicated to the very topic of using names within a monogram.


If you intend to share the note cards with your husband, you should probably use the initial of your married surname. For a joint monogram which would include both of your names, list your first initial, your married last name initial in the middle (which is larger than the other letters on either side) followed by his first (most commonly used) initial. This is very common now and many family and friends of a newly married couple often purchase stationery or other custom items like bed sheets with the couple’s combined names for a truly united monogram.


Any of these selections would allow you to use your note cards as thank you cards for a wedding, baby shower or for an occasion such as a housewarming party.


In terms of the monogram that you’d like to create for other uses, tradition calls for the use of a given name vs. a nickname. However, in these modern times, you could use his nickname since that is the name that he is really most known by. It’s really a matter of personal preference. For formal invitations or events, I would encourage him to be listed with "Jr." behind his first name or use the roman numerals “II”, so that he can be differentiated from his father. My husband has a similar situation as he shares his father’s name also. As such, he often uses the above additions to his name and frequently uses his middle initial as part of his name professionally, since Paul Davis II would just come across a bit 18th century.


Since you have already made the decision to keep your maiden name, you can continue to create personal cards or monogrammed items for yourself that involve all 3 of your original initials. For anything that you purchase together such as something monogrammed for your home, because you are now married and share the home it would be most appropriate to use his surname initial “C”.

I hope I was able to answer all of your questions and that you feel a bit more confident about proceeding with the purchase of your new custom stationery. Be sure to visit Pear Tree Greetings' website via my sidebar button, under 'sponsors' as they offer some gorgeous designs! Custom return address labels will really complete the overall polished look.


Your e-mail is also very timely because there will be a fun giveaway involving stationery in the coming weeks. Check back for your chance to win some gorgeous goodies!


Warmly,