We hope your holidays (Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/other) were all that you wished for and more.  We are lifting ourselves out of the “Christmas is over” blues with the best kind of retail therapy ~ a sale!  All of our holiday items (holiday greeting cards, photo cards, invitations, ornaments and other decor) are 40% off.  Hurry in for best selection.  This sale will only last until we close for inventory in a couple of weeks!

They say that, in difficult economic times, people reach out and communicate with friends and family more than ever.  I think it’s because, at times like these, we tend to focus on what is really important to us - like staying in touch with the people we care about.  Most of us don’t have the time throughout the year to let these people know that we’re thinking of them.  But saving up all of that well-wishing for the holiday card season can get expensive.  And, with Thanksgiving falling so late this year, most of us are scrambling to check all of our holiday to-do’s off our list!

Salutations is making it easier and less expensive for you, our Inspirations readers, to send your holiday wishes with an incredible promotion that you can tailor to your preferred savings!  We can print within 2 business days any holiday greeting cards or photo cards we have in stock!  And, for a limited time, you can choose either 20% off any in-stock holiday item (cards, photo cards, invitation, ornaments, decor, gift wrap, gift tags, etc.), free personalization of your holiday cards or invitations, or free printing of your recipients’ addresses.  See our Holiday Gift to You from Salutations post for all of the details.  Remember to mention the promotion and the option you’d like when you’re in the store.  If you’re shopping online, tell us your choice in the Order Notes during checkout.  Please feel free to pass this fantastic promotion on to your friends!

If you’re like me, that increasingly familiar orange RSS logo stands for Really Super Scary!  But I have conquered my fear and you can too.  {For you younger 20-somethings ~ OK, 30-somethings ~ who already know Web 2.0 like you know how to breathe, please just skip this post instead of mocking the rest of us and subscribe to the Salutations RSS feed!}

Now, I have always considered myself fairly technologically advanced.  I taught myself every software application I know (including Adobe InDesign, and that’s saying something!).  I am a firm believer in using technology to make my business more efficient.  I recently launched my online store, worked with my web designers to redesign my website, I’m blogging, I joined Facebook (yes, I was forced to create a personal account when I wanted to publish a Salutations Facebook page and now I’m hooked), and I joined LinkedIn.  But, when I found out that my mother had a Facebook account before I did, I decided it was time to broaden my horizons even further.

Here is what you need to know to get started. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is basically a standardized format for delivering regularly changing web content from news-related sites and blogs.  {You can read a more in-depth explanation here on Wikipedia.}  By subscribing to an RSS feed, you are able to stay current on the latest information from your favorite sites without having to visit each site separately.  And, you reduce the clutter in your inbox by not having to subscribe to email newsletters.

You can subscribe to your favorite news feeds or blogs in several ways.  You can add the feeds to your web browser’s start page (I use iGoogle and I love it) or you can download a free RSS reader (like Google Reader).  Click here for an article on the best RSS newsreaders to choose one that you like.

So, give it a try and start your first subscription with Salutations’ blog!  See that little orange, no longer scary, button on the right side of this page?  Go ahead and click on it . . . you can do it!

I admit it . . . I am a certified typographile.  I love all things related to letters, fonts, handwriting and calligraphy.  So imagine my delight when I ran across this fabulously fun site called wordle!  Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. You can even tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes.  Feeling in the spirit, I created this Happy Thanksgiving wordle that says it all.  I was having so much fun that I created a Salutations wordle from the “About Us” section of our website!

Oh yes, in this age of technology, we have much to be thankful for.  But on Thanksgiving Day, let us all be certain to slow down, look around, savor the moments in addition to the food, and give thanks for all that we have in our lives.  Happy Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas (and Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa) . . . and Salutations would like to give you an early holiday gift.  The best thing is that you get to choose the gift that you’d like!  For a limited time, we are offering your choice of one of the following 3 gift options for every holiday item you purchase:

Gift #1 - Enjoy 20% off your purchase of any and all holiday items we have in stock ~ holiday cards, holiday photo cards, holiday invitations, holiday decor, holiday gift wrap, holiday place cards, holiday gift tags . . .  you get the idea!  {A savings of $25-$75 for 100 holiday cards!} This discount is not to be combined with any other discounts.

Gift #2 - Enjoy free printing on any holiday cards,  holiday photo cards, and holiday invitations we have in stock.  This includes the personalization of your card or invitation and, if you’d like, your return address on the envelope flap. Yes, you read that right! {A savings of $50-$100 for 100 holiday cards or invitations!}

Gift #3 - Enjoy free printing of your recipients’ addresses on the envelopes of any holiday cards, holiday photo cards, and holiday invitations you purchase from those we have in stock.  You will just need to send us an Excel spreadsheet of the names and addresses in our specified format!  {A savings of $100-$125 for 100 addresses!}

Bonus Gift - You can maximize your savings by purchasing any of our discontinued styles of holiday cards, which we’ve just put on sale at 40% off, and choose either Gift #2 (free printing of your cards and/or return address) or Gift #3 (free printing of your recipients’ addresses).  Now you’re talking huge savings!

This promotion is for a limited time, so hurry in for best selection.  Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to choose the gift of savings that works for you!  You may apply different gift options to different purchases (e.g., you can get 20% savings on your holiday cards, but get free printing on your holiday invitations) ~ you just can’t apply more than one gift option on the same holiday item.

To use this promotion in our online store, simply tell us in the Order Notes during checkout which promotion you would like.  Your credit card is not actually charged until we process the order, so we will adjust the total or send you an email if the order doesn’t qualify for some reason.  {Be sure to check that the Stock Status says In Stock when ordering.}

This promotion begins Friday, November 21st, and will continue for a limited time.  {Please note that the promotion will not be applied retroactively to any currently placed orders in process.} 

For a limited time, Sweet Pea Designs is offering 15% off their holiday photo cards.  You can order your personalized photo cards either traditionally (where you apply the photo to the cards) or with your photo digitally printed on the card.

Digital photo cards are created using a special process in which your photograph is printed on the actual photo card, along with the photo card design and your personalized text or greeting.  With a digital card, the photo and the card are one–they are delivered to you complete and ready to mail.

Visit Salutations’ Sweet Pea Designs store, where you can shop the entire line of Sweet Pea Designs stationery and accessories, including viewing a proof online.

We just launched a Facebook page for Salutations.  If you are on Facebook, please join us on our page.  If you like what you see, you can become a fan of the Salutations page to receive news of updates, promotions, and new products.  We’d love to hear your thoughts - post them on the Wall!

We are so excited and proud to unveil the makeover of our Salutations website!  Since the launch of our online store, we have been hard at work with our crack web design team at Yellow House Design to better integrate our original website with our web store.  You can now toggle back and forth seamlessly between the department overview pages (Baby, Wedding, Party, etc.) and the online shopping pages.

The department overview pages provide a description of the services we offer and the products and manufacturers that we carry.  From each of these pages, you can click to go to that department’s section of the online store, see the most popular categories within the department, and click to go to the department’s photo gallery.  The photo galleries showcase products that are not yet offered through our online store, but which can be ordered by calling or sending us an email.  We would be happy to provide you with a quote for anything that you see in the photo galleries.

You can also easily access our cobranded websites from the department overview pages.  For example, from the Baby page, you can shop our Sweet Pea Designs online store.  From the Stationery page, you can access our Embossed Graphics store - the Annex at Salutations.  And, from the Wedding page, you can access our Envelopments online gallery.

Dabney Lee is offering 15% off holiday photocards through November 30th!  While most promotions on holiday items have passed, this is a great opportunity to save on one of the most adorable lines we’ve seen!

Visit our Dabney Lee Holiday photo gallery to select a design that you like or create your own design from scratch using the vast array of borders, images, and holiday critters.  Please come in, call or email for a quote or to have us help you design a fabulous, one-of-a-kind holiday card!

Dabney Lee will print your photo directly on the card or leave a space for you to fill with your own photo prints.  Just email your photo to us to have it printed on the card.  What could be easier?

Time is running out to take advantage of holiday discounts being offered by our vendors. Through October 27th, Crane & Co. is offering 10% off holiday cards and invitations.  Through October 31st, Sweet Pea Designs is offering free return address printing with personalized holiday photo card orders.  {You can even order your holiday cards and invitations online in our newSalutations Sweet Pea store.}

Many of our lines are now offering digital printing of your photo directly on your holiday cards!  In fact, Boatman Geller is offering free digital photo printing on their personalized holiday cards this season!