The folks over at Martha Stewart Weddings are never short on creative ways to add fun, colorful details to any wedding. Like clockwork I look forward to seeing their daily emails on wedding inspiration waiting for me. This week I particularly loved the idea of surprising your bridesmaids by glamming up their bouquets with a scarf. 

Oh crafty Martha, you make all of your projects look so easy and perfect! Wait, this idea actually is. I already put together a round up of my favorite bouquet + scarf pairings. Enjoy!

1: bouquet created by Nico Cevantes from The Wedding Chicks paired with red stripe scarf by Kate Spade /// 2: bouquet created by Studio Choo from Style Me Pretty paired with Gatsby scarf by Club Monaco /// 3: bouquet created by Honey and Poppies from Grey Likes Weddings paired with paisley scarf by Ralph Lauren from Barney’s /// 4: bouquet created by Poppies and Posies from Style Me Pretty paired with ditsy dog print scarf by Ted Baker

Last Thursday, Deb and I headed to the Cape to help build walls for our 10’ x 17’ booth at the National Stationery Show. We‘re stepping it up this year and trying an alternative to our usual foam core walls. My dad enthusiastically accepted this challenging project, so we left the studio behind for a day to help him with construction and painting. Using wood allows us to hang deep shelving and reuse the walls year after year. This translates to a better looking booth and significant cost savings (yay! and yay!). Luckily, it was a gorgeous day and we accomplished almost everything on our list. It was a nice change of pace to be outside, enjoying the fresh air and physical work. Thank you Advil, Sparrow coffee, and most importantly, Dad.

It’s nearly impossible for me not to (attempt to) sing along to Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic” whenever it plays on the radio. And as with most catchy tunes, I tend to gloss over the words and let my mind wander. But is rain on your wedding day really such a terrible contradiction? For some couples, no amount of rain showers will dampen their spirit on this day. And it looks pretty wonderful. 

top row: couple under yellow umbrella by Uros Cuden from Lovely / bridal party by Tinywater Photography from Ruffled /// bottom row: bride staying dry by jordan23queen via Flickr ) / underneath a rainbow from 100 Layer Cake

It’s as if the world is letting everyone know that you will be there for one another always—rain or shine. Plus have you seen the cute umbrellas out there? Bring it on, gray skies.

left to right: black and pink Marimekko umbrella from Umbrellas.net / polka dotted yellow umbrella from Barney’s / dappled teal ubrella from ModCloth / island blooms umbrella from Vera Bradley 

Given that we’ve just launched all of our greeting cards on our online store, we thought it would be fun to ask our team to name a favorite Smudge Ink birthday card.  Read on to see our favorites and learn how to enter a contest to win your top five favorite birthday cards.

Co-owner Kate’s vote goes to TTB07.  This fun birthday card, in shades of coral and gray, depicts a camera and the greeting, “Smile, it’s your birthday!”  Kate likes the card’s overall composition, including the colors, and its clever “smile” wordplay is sure to make any recipient say, “Cheese!”.

Our designer Stephanie and office manager April both chose TTB766 depicting a sweet little snail toting a balloon.  This charming card is printed in their favorite color scheme of yellow and gray, and “it’s funny,” says April.  Stephanie adds, “The thought of a teeny-tiny balloon small enough to tie around a snail makes me smile. I also enjoy the fact that sending this card to someone would be a pun in itself…good old-fashion snail mail!”

Co-owner Deb is another TTB766 fan. “It’s cute, clean, and I like the typeface,” says Deb, adding, “I also tend to move at a snail’s pace.”

Emily, our print shop manager, prefers one of our most popular birthday cards…TTB514′s  “Have a Wild Birthday!” An adorable zebra, in graphic black & white and wearing a jaunty red party hat, is “eye catching,” says Emily.  “He’s cute and out of the ordinary, compared to the other cards.”

Lis, our fulfillment assistant, has two favorites:  TTB115′s fireflies in a jar design recaptures that joyful childhood pastime of catching lightening bugs and the wonder of summer nights.  Likewise, TTB806′s image of a purple, swirly, soft-serve ice cream cone brings to mind that cold, delectable summer treat.  “These have memories attached to them,” says Lis.

Custom wedding manager Sabrina likes the comedic touch of TTB809′s scuba diver and his bubbly underwater birthday greeting. “I get a chuckle out of it,” says Sabrina.  She also admires the blue graphic design, particularly the lattice-like rendering of the ocean.

Meghan, our printing assistant, likes our FTB425 birthday card displaying a cute, balloon-adorned bicycle. She appreciates the smaller 4 bar size, the mix of red and purple colors, and the fact that “it’s festive and can be for any age.”

Speaking of bikes, I’m drawn to TTB246.  I love vintage things, and the antique bicycle design on this card…known as a high wheeler or a “penny-farthing…” gets my vote for favorite card.  I also like the affectionate jab at aging with its “Happy Birthday, old timer,” greeting.  Whenever I come across this card when filling an order, I always think, “Good choice!”  And then I wonder, “How the heck did they ever ride those things?”

Which smudge ink birthday card is your favorite? Browse our collection and then leave a comment below. We’ll randomly choose a lucky winner by April 18, 2012. The winner will receive one of each of their top five favorite smudge ink birthday cards. And the winners are: Megan and Susie! Thanks for your participation!