Don't Roast the Easter Peeps

Easter is around the corner. Store shelves are stocked with Easter Peeps, those sugary sweet puffs of fluff in a variety of colors and shapes. No one in my family is really a fan of Peeps so one Easter, several years ago, we decided to try an experiment with pink Peeps since the grandchildren were visiting. We sat around a fire pit and tried to roast them as you would a yummy marshmallow. Thinking they were a type of cousin to a marshmallow, we were shocked to watch in amazement that the fire didn’t roast them turning them into a soft, warm blob of sweet goodness but only melted them into a hardened plastic-like blob; rendering them rather indestructible.

Our Finding: PEEPS DON’T ROAST!

Which explains why this funny article in last month’s LDS Living Magazine caught my eye. I think it will give you a chuckle:

What Easter basket is complete without one of those gooey yellow chicks sitting contentedly on the plastic grass? But Peeps are more than just a lovable and tasty candy; in fact, thanks to research conducted in 1999 by Emory University scientists James Zinring and Gary Falcon, Peeps have gained a reputation for being nearly indestructible.

Strength: Most consumers of the marshmallow treat believe the candy is made primarily of sugar, a substance that dissolves in water. However, Zinring and Falcon found that the Peeps refuse to dissolve and instead merely float on top of the water, hot or cold. Peeps also cannot be dissolved in acetone, surfuric acid, or sodium hydroxide.

Weakness: Zinring and Falcon successfully deconstructed Peeps by dousing them in Phenol, a solvent with the ability to dissolve protein (coincidentally, this solvent is lethal to humans). The candy was dissolved within an hour, but left behind the wax eyes common to Peeps.

Americans, for the most part, are oblivious to this research and continue to buy over 700 million Peeps a year. In their 60 years of existence, marshmallow Peeps show no signs of losing their beloved status in Easter tradition.

And guess what???

SendOutCards has a PINK PEEPS greeting card so you may send a fun card to your favorite "peeps"!

Have a Sweet Easter! (inside message)

Happy Easter Card Sending!

Traveler Tip

Considering that Spring Break is around the corner, I thought I would give you a heads up. Go early to the airport. We have become kind of casual in arriving early for our flights. But this week, we had a rude awakening.

We were traveling on a Tuesday morning no less. We thought nothing of getting to the airport one hour ahead. Well, we were shocked to be standing in a security line for over 45 minutes with no chance of getting on the other side before our flight left. Howard is much more brave than I am so he talked to the nice airport lady and she let us in the First Class lane so we jumped four rows ahead. Thank goodness!

If you are traveling to someplace fun, send a postcard to us here at home! SendOutCards has lots of cards with place names. For example: Skiing in Utah this week? You should be. We were just there and it dumped tons more dry fluffy snow in the resorts. Type utah in the search box at the top of the card catalog. Did you notice that I didn't capitalize Utah; it seems to work in the search better if you don't.

We all love getting mail but I have noticed that grand children and grandparents LOVE, LOVE, LOVE getting personal mail. So if you are traveling, your grandchildren would probably prefer a postcard with a personal message mailed specifically to them over a drawer full of cheap T-shirts! Better yet, make it a postcard with your own digital photo of your trip with YOU on the front and add a thought bubble saying something cute. They will LOVE that!

Happy Card Sending!

The Extra Mile Smile

There are no traffic jams along the extra mile. Roger Staubach (card inside)

In the latest Wally Amos column in my Costco Connection magazine, he writes about “GOING THE EXTRA MILE” in our personal and business relationships. He teaches us that going the extra mile encourages loyalty and support in employees, customers and friends alike. Here are his comments:

"Going the extra mile indeed means giving everyone you come into contact with more than they expect. Going the extra mile doesn't mean you'll have less if you give more. It means making the people in your life feel special. It's letting them know that you genuinely appreciate them.

It could be something seemingly as small as a thank-you or remembering their birthday with a card. That extra effort lets people know you are not taking them for granted. The reward for making others feel special is that you also feel special!"

Later in the article Wally Amos continues:
"I heard a former high school teacher turned superintendent say that every time he would see a student in the halls he would imagine the initials MMFS on his or her forehead: MAKE ME FEEL SPECIAL."

Everyone wants to feel special and we have that ability by simple acts of kindness we exhibit at any given moment. We can touch and improve someone's day by just giving them a smile, a word of encouragement or even showing them that they are needed. USE the simple process of SendOutCards to drop a note in LESS THAN 3 MINUTES and it will not even feel like an EXTRA MILE effort since it is so easy! A REAL greeting card in the mail will allow someone to read and reread your kind words over and over again to extend that special feeling they receive even farther! I promise:

YOU will also feel better!

I highlighted in orange so I could say to you, "Orange you glad you did this?"

From Thomas S. Monson, a leader whom I admire:
"THINK TO THANK. Take things with gratitude rather than for granted."
Happy Card Sending!

But I lose the inside of my card!

Yes, it’s true. When you choose the POSTCARD option from the SendOutCards card catalog, if your card had an inside message, it does not appear on the back of your postcard. It is a matter of giving you more space to write your heartfelt message of the back of the postcard. But if you just LOVED the inside message, this is all you have to do . . . On the pop up window where you choose the POSTCARD button:

1. First click the INSIDE button at the top
2. Highlight the words below the card where you see the message written in regular type then right click to choose COPY or copy it (CONTROL C)
3. Now click the POSTCARD option
4. On the “Personalize It” page (where you are taken to write your message), click in the box that says, “Click here to type your message”
5. Paste that previously saved inside message: Hit CONTROL V or right click to choose PASTE

You might need to hit your space bar to activate the inside of the text box. You may also want to resize the words so you have enough room to write your personal message below or above it. There you have it! You didn’t even need to memorize the cute verse to retype it. Cute postcard!!! Brighten someone’s day with a cheery postcard sent in the mail to remind them that Spring is around the corner and wish them a joyful Spring . . .

Happy Card Sending!

New St. Patrick's Day Greeting Card Designs

No, I am not Irish! Well, I guess I do have a wee bit of Irish in me from my Patterson ancestors on my mom's side! Nevertheless, I just wanted to give you a glimpse at some of the fun Templates and Elements found in the newest designs for customized cards for your St. Patrick's Day greeting cards. My last blog just mentioned the stock cards for this holiday. But the holiday is coming up fast, so take a look today and click that SEND CARD button!

I am LOVING those new Templates and Elements to use to create a customized St. Patrick's Day greeting card! Ready to enhance your own digital photos, our last year's PicturePlus designs are in the Template and Element category: St. Patrick's Day, and this year's new designs are in the category: St. Patty's Day. I LOVE the rich colors in this year's designs. But, if you are looking for a more cute selection of Templates and Elements for St. Patrick Day's greeting cards, you will find that mostly in last year's category. In last year's St. Patrick's Day Elements, you will find a cute leprechaun and even a pot of gold to go along with a message wishing prosperity to any of your clients or business associates . . .Hint: The Elements in any category may, of course, be used in ANY greeting card design and since I am a lover of the color green, I have used bits and pieces from both the St. Patrick's Day categories. It is just a matter of using the Templates and Elements enough to remember where you find your favorite pieces.

Happy St. Patrick's Day Card Sending!

You Don't Want to Press Your Luck!

Take a look at the great selection of St. Patrick's Day greeting cards we have. SendOutCards is always adding new greeting cards to the Card Catalog. Just go to the HOLIDAYS category, then to the OTHER HOLIDAYS subcategory and click on St. Patrick's Day to find just the right card. And remember: You may always override the inside of the card if the message on the inside isn't perfect for you!
TIP: When you want to change the inside message of a stock greeting card, click on the words "click here to type your message" and then scroll to the bottom of the card and you will see the OVERWRITE MESSAGE button. Clicking on that, gives you a blank inside so you may write whatever you choose.
The inside message makes me laugh on this greeting card. Don't you just love this??? I guess I lean towards the funny greeting cards much of the time. But, there are quite a few more serious ones and what an excellent excuse to tell your loved ones, friends and customers that you feel lucky to know them and have them in your life!

Now, don't press your luck . . .
BE SURE the people in your life know you care about them!

Happy Card Sending!
And, have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Speaking of Signatures

Since I last spoke of gathering signatures for cards from a group of people like an office or family, I would like to share some tips I use concerning signatures. First off . . . I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE having my own signatures in my account. I have the personal font option which comes with four signatures. Some of you received TWO personal fonts; I'm jealous!

You can also pay to have just four signatures added without the personal font. Someday, I want to buy more signatures to add to my account since I have other names like Mom, Grandma, and Halmoni and because I LOVE the ease of using my REAL signature on my greeting cards, the fact that I can make my signature in any color and on any background. It was like Christmas the day my signatures and personal font appeared in my account; I was so thrilled! Well, actually it WAS just before Christmas.So here is a detail about personal signatures: One of my signatures has a lot of white space around it, spacing it at the end of my message far lower than I want on my greeting card . I learned the solution to this while helping one of my customers, Kathi Knowles. I love answering questions for customers since I usually learn more tricks as well (two heads are ALWAYS better than one)! Now, I add a separate text box just for my signature. That makes it so I can overlap the text boxes to get rid of the extra white space. A separate text box just for my signature also allows me to twirl my signature so it can be at an angle. Oh, how I LOVE the twirl button!!!

And for those of you who did not purchase the personal font option (or have procrastinated filling out your font form . . . and believe me, you procrastinators are not alone), you can have the same fun with your "signature" by using a separate text box. I usually choose a different font to sign my cards when I am not using my "Lori B" signature and usually I use a different color.

Just add a little fun to your cards. Everyone likes to have a little chuckle and put a smile on someone's face. It will put a smile on your face also as you think of the person when you click SEND CARD!

Happy Card Sending!