Thank You For A Wonderful 2013!

The end of 2013 is almost here - and what a year it has been!!

You asked for more designs this year, and we delivered!  It was thrilling to have launched 16 new designs over the past twelve months, including:

Chinese Calligraphy           Dragon Tattoos Graffiti Monsters Princess Birds  Skateboarders Brown Bear™ Hungry Caterpillar™

Monkeys Luchadores Flutterbugs Arcade Zombies Music Notes Empire City Military Vehicles

Just a few of our new designs launched in 2013

2013 also saw the introduction of our Loot Bag Packages, which have been a hit with parents for more than just parties; new Personalized Wall Art products for more ways to make your child's room their own (without marking the walls!); and increased website functionality for even greater customization of labels and packages.

Wordless Wednesday - Our Great Wall of Friends

Thanks for all your comments on our blog posts! Every time you interact with us on social media, you are added to our Great Wall of Friends.

Thanks for being part of our story! :)

Holiday Kickoff

The holidays are here! 

American Thanksgiving and Hanukkah signalled the official start of the holiday season, followed quickly by Black Friday and Cyber Monday. My, how the time is flying by!! If the December dash hasn't begun at your house yet, it's coming.

We here at Oliver’s Labels are busy preparing for our best holiday season yet, and are thrilled to offer limited-edition HolidayWall Art decals, as well as lots of fun tips, giveaways and festive fun on our social media pages (links are below)! 

But, before we get into all the fun of the season, we want to take a moment to reflect on those who aren’t as fortunate as we are. If you are involved in an act of kindness in your neighborhood or community, let us know about it! Whether you’re volunteering at a homeless shelter or hospital; donating funds or resources to causes in other countries; or contributing to your local food bank, we would love to hear about the many acts of kindness being done this holiday season. 

Let's inspire each other and make a difference in the lives of those around us.

Let the merry-making, cooking, gift buying, baking, decorating and hot-cocoa-drinking begin!

Connect with us on...

           

It’s more than just a "like" to us… the Oliver's Labels Great Wall of Friends

At Oliver’s Labels, we genuinely love hearing from our friends through social media. Be it a Facebook Like, a Twitter follow, or a Google +1, we think each interaction is important, and should be shared - forever.

So we’ve created the Oliver’s Labels Great Wall of Friends - a monument to our friends on social media.

For each post, like and tweet we receive, we'll print it on an actual physical label. Then we stick that label on our Great Wall of Friends at Oliver’s Labels HQ for everyone to see - including you.

Each week we’ll take a photo of our wall and proudly share it on social media and blog pages. And when you post, tweet or like our page, your message will be up there too.

So be a part of our wall, our company, and our story. Share with us on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter and ask your friends to share too.

Find us on...

           

Showing Thankfulness at Thanksgiving… and All Year ‘Round

Many kids these days have a lot – more than they really need – and it’s our job as parents to instil a sense of gratitude for all our abundance. With (American) Thanksgiving right around the corner, it is the perfect time to introduce kids to fun activities that encourage gratitude.

So in that spirit, we've rounded up some amazing ideas from talented bloggers; we hope they provide you with some inspiration!

Live. Craft. Eat. and Lasso the Moon: Thankful Hearts and “I am Thankful” printable

Image: livecrafteat.com
Thankful Hearts from Live. Craft. Eat. 

Apples 4 The Teacher: Giving Thanks placemats (+ 3 more)

Little House Living: The Thankful Thanksgiving Jar

Image: littlehouseliving.com
Little House Living's Thankfulness Jar

One last idea that we thought of… make a yearly “thankful” video. Whether you choose to make it around the holidays, or during some other time of year, it’s wonderful to be able to look back on what each family member was grateful for in years past. And, it’s a great tradition of gratitude to leave for future generations.

We love the idea of making thankfulness a big(ger) part of our lives by expressing it not only at Thanksgiving, but all year 'round. So, if you have a special "thankful" tradition, we'd love to hear it! Share it with us in the comments below, or on our social media pages (links are below).

And, to all of our American friends who will be celebrating in a few weeks - Happy Thanksgiving!

Find us on...

           

It's That Time of the Year Again...

It's back-to-school season! Who would have thought the summer would fly by so quickly? I say that each year, but this year it's especially true, maybe in part because of the crazy weather we've experienced. It's really been more like spring (or fall) than summer!

With the new school year comes new opportunities to label, label, label (my favorite thing to do)!

If you've ever wondered what really needs to be labelled for school, here's a run-down...

• School supplies; I don't go so far as to label every single pencil in a jumbo pack of 64, but I do think it's important to label the more expensive items like washable markers and specialty writing tools that tend to 'disappear' quickly (sparkly pens, pencils with fun erasers, etc.). And, of course, labelling your child's pencil case is a must. :)

• Clothing - especially shoes, jackets & hats (also mittens in winter). You really don't want high-ticket items like jackets and shoes to end up in the lost-and-found pile, and smaller items - although not as pricey - are at greater risk of being lost more often. Save your sanity and label it all! TIP: If you are out of Shoe Labels, try Original Labels or Stick-eez Labels. I've used both of them in a pinch and they've worked great!

• Backpacks and lunch items (those Thermos containers are NOT cheap - enough said!)

• Extra set of clothing to leave at school - little kids especially need to have extra clothes in case of an accident. I like to recycle a zippable bag, like the ones that Robeez shoes come in, and fill it with the extra change of clothes. I use an Original Label on the bag to help quickly identify who it belongs to, then also label the items inside with Stick-eez clothing labels.

And...

If you're feeling lucky, there are lots of back-to-school giveaways going on over at some of our favorite blogs! Here's a round-up of our current giveaways in case you want to throw your name in the ring to win some...

The Mama Maven - ends tonight
Homeschooling Mom 4 Two - ends Aug. 21 @ 11:59pm
Multi-testing Mommy - ends Aug. 25 @ midnight
Feisty, Frugal & Fabulous - Aug. 31 @ midnight
Ahh~mazing Reviews - Aug. 31 @ 11:59pm
The Taylor House - Aug. 31 @ 11:59pm

Wishing you a fun, stress-free back-to-school season!!

New School Year, New Designs!

A few weeks ago, I introduced you to four of our newest designs, and we are fortunate to have had fantastic feedback about them on our social media pages thus far.

Here at Oliver's Labels, we have fun coming up with innovative, unique and cool new designs for you, and have been working hard to make your label choices for back-to-school better than ever! In turn, we would like to introduce you to four more new designs this week!

Introducing....

Military Vehicles

 Empire City

Music Notes

Zombies

 

A round-up of our newest designs...

 

There really is something for everyone - we hope you and your kids enjoy them!

Stay tuned for more new designs coming your way (yes, MORE!!). And, be sure to follow us on social media to stay up-to-date with what's going on at Oliver's HQ.

           

Welcome to the world, Prince of Cambridge!

Well, it's official - William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have just welcomed their first child, a baby boy, into the world!

Many congratulations from all of us at Oliver's Labels!! Now, if only we knew where to send them some personalized labels...

Which design do *you* think would be appropriate for the newest member of the Royal family? Here are two cute ones that we like...

 

                                            Sports Theme                               Hungry Caterpillar™

We can't wait to find out the little one's name.  Any guesses what it will be? Let us know in the comments below, or by connecting with us on social media.

            

You asked for it...

Here at Oliver's Labels, we love what we do. Coming up with new designs, products and ways to make ordering easier is what we work hard at everyday. We love hearing from our customers, too.

So, when we introduced personalized growth charts awhile ago, many of our fans asked for them to be available on our labels. And we listened.

Introducing our newest label design - Princess! Along with it, we've added Grafitti Monsters, Chinese Calligraphy & Dragon Tattoos to our growing lineup of cool themes for all ages.

Stay tuned for more new designs coming your way. And, be sure to follow us on social media, where you'll be the first to hear about promotions, new products and more!

           

The REALLY BIG Giveaway...

From time to time, we love to get in on some social media giveaway fun... and this week we're having a blast participating in The REALLY BIG Giveaway, hosted by Crafty Texas Girls*.

There are 5 awesome prize packages up for grabs...

- Package One: "For the Girly Girl" - includes a bevy of cute clothes and accessories
- Package Two: "For the Lady of the House" - includes clothing, home decor and beauty items
- Prize Three: "For the Fashionista" - includes chic accessories (the chevron purse is too cute!)
- Package Four: "For the Creative Kid"- includes a set of our Eric Carle Personalized Name Decals (in winner's choice of Hungry Caterpillar™or Brown Bear)™plus three more fun prizes
- Package Five: "For the Girl who Loves to Dress"- includes some really adorable girls' clothes and accessories

 

Go check out this fantastic giveaway and enter to WIN!

And, if you're feeling social, head over to the Crafty Texas Girls Facebook Page and tell them that Oliver's Labels sent you! :)

*In case you aren't familiar with this blog, it's one we've come to love because of the fantastic array of home decor projects, DIY accessories and kids activities. And, Samantha's tutorials are amazing!

Take Your Dog To Work Day

I didn't know it was Take Your Dog To Work Day (www.takeyourdog.com) until one of my colleagues brought in his furry friend. This is Magnum, holding down the fort here at Oliver's Labels headquarters... isn't he cute?!

Happy Weekend!

Summer Adventuring - Tips for a Safe Ride

Summer is a time for adventure - visiting museums, attending fairs and festivals, camping and more.

Many of these involve travelling by car, which can be challenging when you've got a few kids in the back seat. In the midst of making preparations to keep the kids entertained (movie player installed - check!; snacks packed - check!), a very important element can be accidentally overlooked - car seat safety.

Did you know that seventy-three percent of car seats are not used or installed correctly^†? That's a staggering number! There's nothing more important to us than our kids, so I've listed a few handy resources help you determine if your child's seat is installed correctly before heading out on your next trip!

Here are some websites that I've found extremely helpful...

• http://www.car-seat.org/ - a very helpful forum, monitored by Certified Car Seat Technicians from the U.S. and Canada.  (**If you don't reside in the U.S., be sure to find country-appropriate advice and information here.**)
• http://www.safekids.org/tip/car-seat-tips
• http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/safedrivers-childsafety-car-index-873.htm - Transport Canada 
• http://www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/CPS - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (U.S.)

One of my favorite blogs featuring car seat safety information is Funny Things Are Everywhere. Wendy is an Ontario blogger and Certified Car Seat Technician who writes about her passion for keeping kids safe in their seats. Despite the many laws and guidelines set by governments, minimum guidelines are just that - minimums. And, to illustrate this point, Wendy has a great post you should read. You can also follow her on Twitter (@mapsgirl) and Facebook.

In addition to web resources, many local police stations and fire halls offer car seat clinics to check your installation and fix it, if need be.

Be safe this summer and, when making your travel checklist, be sure to add a car seat check to the list!

^† http://www.safekids.org/tip/car-seat-tips

Make-Ahead Father's Day DIY

Mother’s Day has come and gone (we hope you had a great one!), and before you know it, Father’s Day will be upon us. So why not get a head start planning a fun day for Dad?

Here are some fantastic DIY Father’s Day ideas for kids…

Fill a Can – use the free printables to make a customized can that can be filled with cookies, a t-shirt… whatever you wish. There are other printables (card, tag) included, too!

Photo: bargainhoot.com

Custom Coasters – This tutorial from Arrow and Heart shows you how to use some of your favorite photos to add a sentimental element to a useful gift.

Photo with Personalized Chalk Drawing Background – I love this idea from Samantha at Crafty Texas Girls. Draw whatever you wish on the pavement and let your own creativity shine through!

Photo: Crafty Texas Girls

Dad will love any of these amazing gifts made with love by his child(ren). Happy crafting!!