Pingg.com - Elegant Online Invitations

I love throwing a good party. In my pre-mommy days, New Year’s Eve was our designated event and we never disappointed our guests. For me, planning the party was just as much fun than the party itself.   I love diving into a special theme, with decorations, food and any other creative touches to make it a memorable occasion. Now that I’m a mom, New Year’s Eve is a thing of the past and you could say I’m having party-planning withdrawals.

Our daughter’s third birthday is fast approaching and it’s the perfect reason to revive my bash-throwing skills.  For me to pull this off, it would require stellar organizational skills - something I seem to be lacking these days. With kids, moms, dads, grandparents and lots of goodie bags to prep, I needed an exact head count of who’s coming. And since I have an artistic side, I was also in search of a customizable program that allowed me to design my own invitation. One that was classy, ad free and user friendly for both myself and my guests. I wanted something that felt special because this party is special. And then I found Pingg.com.

Pingg has everything I could hope for in an invitation site and much more. It allowed me to upload my own artwork or choose from thousands of other beautifully designed invitations. Pingg also gives you loads of choices for total customization for your event’s needs. Their free version contains unobtrusive advertising and all of the organizational bells and whistles. For an extra touch of class, a $10 upgrade to Pingg Plus will deliver your beautiful event invitation in an online envelope and your website is kept completely ad free.

In addition to online, Pingg Pluss allows you to send actual hard copies of your invitations through the regular mail system as well. You have the choice of sending to every guest or to only a select few. While this can get a bit pricey ($1.50 per invite), it is the perfect solution for those rare folks who are not digitally connected (like the grandparents) or for elegant soirees such as weddings or bar mitzvahs. I also mailed myself a hard copy for a keepsake item. The quality is beautiful and each invite comes with an online RSVP code.

Pingg’s total customization is incredible for both small get-togethers or large gatherings. They are linked to Facebook, Twitter and Flickr so if you are planning a public event you can easily broadcast your party through social media outlets. You also have the option to make your event searchable on the web. You can opt to use their included SEO service or you can select to keep your party information completely private. You may also include donations if you are hosting a charity, organize pot luck items, include a gift registry and fund collections.

Through your designated event web page, Pingg allows you to interact with your guests and organize your event in several ways. Visit here for some of the many helpful hosting tools and features.

Pingg has really have thought of everything - including downloadable charts of who’s attending and party planning articles by Martha Stewart.  In addition to party events, Pingg offers free ecards, save-the-date, thank yous, get well and sympathy cards as a beautiful online alternative to traditional mailers.

The decorations, food and cake are all up to me, but thanks to Pingg I have an organized, beautifully designed party planning tool that is fun to use and memorable for my guests. I’m so excited about this discovery that 2010 might be the year we break out the champagne and ring in the new year the way we used to in our pre-parenting days. Now, if they could only help me stay up past midnight...

Vampin' It Up

I have always loved the vampires. I was a fan of Anne Rice long before Brad Pitt ever assumed the role of the beautiful, tortured Louis. And Catherine Denueve couldn't have been more elegant as one of my favorite blood suckers in The Hunger. I used to swoon and sway to the sounds of The Sisters of Mercy, Joy Division and of course, Bauhaus.  I have always loved the mystery of the vampire long before Hot Topic made it trendy and long before they ever *gasp* sparkled. Heck, I remember when Hot Topic first opened in the mall. And we weren't happy about it either.

Flash forward to present day. I've traded in my patent leather stilettos for a cute pair of sensible wedges. My living room is my new dance floor and the sounds of Mickey Mouse and his friends are the DJs. My three-year-old is my dance partner and while my favorite color will always be blood red, I'm forced into a pastel world colored in pinks and purples. Don't get me wrong, I love this bright and cheery life of mine, but every now and then I like to revisit the dark side. Lucky for me vampires have made a comeback in full force.

I have fallen for Vampire Bill on True Blood and I have been pleasantly surprised at how addicted I am to the Vampire Diaries. I was actually sad after the season finale last week. What?? I have to wait months for more Salvatore brothers?  Sigh... And this is what prompted my latest Etsy treasury, He Whispered. So while I wait for Sookie Stackhouse and her band of handsome vamps to return for the summer, this is a little something to tide us all over.

Enjoy, sucker!

By George I'm in a Treasury!

It's always a wonderful feeling to get an email about being featured in a treasury. Today was my lucky day and my vintage stamp pendant shop, OnceTraveled, was featured in a treasury dedicated to our first President, George Washington.  The curator, SweetMellyJane, creates adorable little finger puppets, sweet knitted baby booties and other heart-warming goodies to make your home a bit happier. My pendant is in fine company of vintage valuables, upcycled items and kitschy creations. I love this unique tee featuring the Declaration of Independence by a shop called NonFictionTees.  So here it is, "By George!" A creative, patriotic treasury. Enjoy!

L.A. Made on the Front Page

The tumbleweeds have been rolling through my blogs, Etsy shops and pretty much every other area of my life that doesn't involve a nearly three-year old little girl, some form of cartoon characters and cold medicine. I thought the older my daughter became the more time I would have to work on all of my fun projects. Nope. Instead my very talkative, demanding, creative child keeps my days filled with play dates, gym classes, ballet and Disney characters. Oh, and did I mention germs? It seems lately I have become a germ magnet picking up every nasty virus - including pneumonia - from every snotty kid that we come in contact with. It's been a real blast.

The last few months my treasury making days came to a complete standstill until yesterday when I just so happened to check in on Craftopolis and it just so happened to be within six minutes of a treasury opening up. Sweet. I used to plan out my treasury ideas in advance, painstakingly selecting each item for its design and theme. Not yesterday. Yesterday I went over to the local listings and quickly browsed through artists from Los Angeles.

There were so many incredible shops that this treasury was actually really easy to put together. It's like the puzzle pieces were shouting at me and within a matter of minutes L.A. Made was created.  I used to email all of the artists included in my design, but again between the haze of Dayquil and the energy of my kiddo, I didn't bother. I didn't have time to bother. In fact, I nearly forgot to check in on the treasury itself.

Thanks to Twitter and to Atomique47 who tweeted about her beautiful clutch being included in my treasury, I checked in. In fact, I just so happened to check in as it made the front page of Etsy! So, not only did I happen to snag a treasury at just the right moment, I also happened to be online to actually view my front page in real time - in the middle of a Saturday afternoon. Sweet!!

I'm taking it all of this "just so happened" luck as a sign that I need to make a little more time for my projects again. They are good for me and my soul. I miss them and this blog. Here's L.A. Made - this one's for you, Los Angeles!

Tick, Tock...

I don't know where time is going these days. The hours fly by and before I can blink, another page on the calendar has turned. It's almost time for turkey yet I am in disbelief that the year is almost over. Where did it go? Specifically where did the last month go and why haven't I updated this blog or snagged more treasuries lately? Oh yeah. It's that thing called time. That thing that I seem to be losing more and more of lately. With all of time honored clichés that I could spout off right now, I found it only fitting to create a treasury dedicated to this crazy thing that we never seem to have enough of.

So here it is… Tick Tock. If you can't stop time, you might as well watch it slip by in one of these whimsical clocks created by these incredible time keeping artists: 1byliz, IMOTIME, bethberg, finkgifts, zulasurfing, MantaWave, StarlingInk. DecibelProductions, thestapeliacompany, YOUgNeek, StJoshua, QuiteRightSlick