Penelope's Pitstop » Love of Paper

Back To School!!

Penelope — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:26:18 +0000

Forgive my absence, my friends! I am still here and still tied to Penelope’s Pitstop. Not only am I working hard on getting Tippie Toads going and keeping up with those orders, I am juggling 3 kids, a husband, and a sick doggy . And I thought I would have MORE time this summer to work…ha! I just wanted to let you know that Tippie Toads is growing and I am so excited about it. I am adding new products every week. This week, I added:

Darling aluminum water bottles in 4 different styles:

Memo Pads…

Binders (cutomized front, back and spine)…

Trivets/Large Coasters…

And acrylic rulers…

All designs can be customized in any design on the site. Click on over to www.TippieToads.com and check out all the fun things! Still working on new projects so keep checking back, as well!

A final plea..I am trying to grow my fans on Facebook and I am stuck at 92. I would love to top 100 and more. Would you please fan Tippie Toads on Facebook? Thanks so much!

Sports Invitations

Penelope — Sun, 22 May 2011 15:44:43 +0000

My sweet middle child just turned 5 last week. He is absolutely obsessed with baseball, so I opted for a new birthday idea and we had our party at Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros. I thought it would be fun and definitely more fun for the parents. It was beyond our expectations. Everyone had a blast. While I was searching on-line for the perfect party invitations, I landed on QTPieWrappers. They have a variety of ticket-related invitations, but I was thrilled to discover invitations that looked like Houston Astros Game tickets. I ordered them immediately. Seeing as how I am usually running a bit late in the invitation department, I was thrilled when they arrived just a few days later. AND, they were perfect.

Since the party was a good 30-45 minutes away, I knew the parents would want to come, too. So, everyone received enough invitations for everyone in their family…just like game tickets. They were so believable that guests even arrived with their tickets in hand! These are not only awesome for birthday parties, but tailgates, kids (and adults) sporting events. We loved them and I was perfectly pleased with QTPie Wrappers.

Valentine Cards at Write Away

Penelope — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 04:10:44 +0000

I LOVE sending out Valentine’s Cards…as long as I can get a picture snapped in time:) Write Away has some darling Valentine ideas. We are doing more custom cards, as well, so feel free to contact me for a more customized card for your family!

Contact pennysampler(at)yahoo(dot)com to place a personal order. Or, order via www.writeaway.com and select “Penny Sampler” as your rep. Thank you!

Heaven Is for Real

Penelope — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 12:01:09 +0000

My mom introduced me to this book this past weekend while I was in the hospital. This young boy, Colton, is related to someone from my hometown. I called the bookstore, had it held, and my mom brought it to me in my bed. I read it in a day. I am a Christian, and I love hearing stories about Heaven and angels and miracles. I love to hear how God works in people’s lives. This book was different, though. For the skeptic, the cynic, or the non-believer, this book could be just for you. Heaven is For Realis about a 4 year-old boy who was very sick after his appendix burst. Using all medical logic, he should have died. Months after his miraculous recovery he mentioned in conversation with his parents that “angels sang to him” when he was in the hospital. As his parents probed, not wanting to plant any pre-conceived thoughts in his head, this 4 year-old boys reported things about heaven that even many adults don’t know. He couldn’t read and his parents were certain the depth of his knowledge was never covered in any 4-year-old Sunday School class he attended. Over the course of several years, information slowly came forth, allowing Colton to disclose his experience at his own pace. He met his great grand father in Heaven, “Pop.” He had never met him here on earth, but told his Dad how nice he was. One day, his Dad ran across a picture of “Pop” and Colton said that no one is Heaven was old and no one wore glasses (like the older picture of Pop.) A few weeks later, Colton’s dad had his mom mail him a picture of “Pop” as a young boy. When Colton saw it he said, “Yeah! That’s him!”

The details that Colton knew were amazing and even more amazing is how those details match scripture and the small taste of Heaven we receive in the Bible. There were many things he didn’t have names for like “sash” and “crown”, but he described them perfectly.

This is a great read. An easy read. A fresh take on Heaven from an untainted and child-like perspective. There is no way this little boy could know the things he knew without having some sort of heavenly experience. It will definitely make you think…

Recordable Storybooks

Penelope — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:06:43 +0000

These are fabulous! My mom and dad just gave one of these books to my boys and they love it…I love it! They are recordable Storybooks from Hallmark. When you go to the site, you can choose a book by occasion or you can choose from any number of your favorite children’s books. Once you purchase the book, it gives you step-by-step instructions for how to read and record your very own storybook.

Anyone can record at book…so your children can read over and over and have it read to them by you without having to read it over and over again Or, for us, we love having this sweet book that Grammy and Big Daddy read to my boys when they don’t live close to us at all. The boys can open their book and hear their voices anytime of day and they love it. Of course, Babe, who loves my mom and dad, jokes every time he hears the book, “There they are again!”

Everyone will love this sweet gift…great for Valentine’s Day! The best part is that you don’t have to stop at one. There are so many great books to choose from, have all your relatives near and far record a book for you and your little ones to treasure for years to come.

Write Away Christmas Cards

Penelope — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 12:21:20 +0000

Welcome to Write Away Wednesday! I have been busy busy getting my things together in my new role as a Write Away Stationery Rep. I can’t begin to tell you how much fun it is. I signed on at the best time of year, as everyone of us and everyone at Write Away is preparing for Christmas. Christmas+paper products= Happiness. The ideas are endless for notepads, gift cards, enclosures, place mats…truly endless.

We live in a neighborhood where you walk to a common mailbox to retrieve your mail. Eleven months out of the year, I avoid the mailbox, the junk mail, the bills like the plague. However, when December 1st rolls around, I make a trip to the mailbox on a daily basis. I LOVE CHRISTMAS CARD SEASON! I love getting fun mail (and not ads) and I love seeing pictures of my friends and their growing famlies. What is not to love about receiving Christmas cards?

Write Away has five style options for Christmas cards.

A photo card with three pictures…

This photo card can be used for a horizontal or vertical picture…

You can have your picture digitally printed or, order your cards now (my plan) ahead of the rush and attach your own photo. We, of course, haven’t had a photo taken, yet. This is a great option for us, so we can get our cards ordered and not worry about being frantic over a picture.

Non-photo card…

All the designs are interchangeable among each style of card. So, these designs are available in the other styles, as well. What I love about these cards, is that while they aren’t photo cards, you can attach your photo on the back side of the card. The back side of the card is made of solid polka dots, so the picture is framed perfectly with cute paper.

And, if you don’t care for pictures, you can always create your own with these cute cards. Each person on the card is completely customizeable with so many choices for each character.

Finally, my favorite part about custom cards from Write Away is that most cards have the option of customizing your Christmas greeting. If you want a verse, a saying or just a “Merry Christmas”, Write Away is the way to go! Check out all the cute choices of Christmas cards at Write Away and see all pretty designs. Please don’t forget to select “Penny Sampler” as your wonderful Write Away rep!

WriteAway Stationary

Penelope — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:24:48 +0000

My friends, I have been busy. I have been busy trying to get healthy, but in doing so, I have spent some time in the seated position…in front of my laptop. I am having a party at my house in a few weeks, a Trunk Show, per se. I love to do these, as I invite a person with a cute home business to set up shop in each of the rooms of my house. This way, those that attend, can hit all the cute home party businesses at once. I had my first few committed, when a friend suggested Write Away Stationary, which I had never heard of before. As it turns out, the rep she knew was no longer with the company. I loved their website, so I contacted the company and somewhere in there, I became the newest Write Away Rep.

I am SO EXCITED! I LOVE, LOVE paper products, as you might already know. I consider myself close to expert on what paper products are out there, as I do a large amount of paper purchasing on the web. Wait, I do all of it on the Internet! They, I mean WE, have SO many cute things….notepads, flat cards, fold-over cards, placemats, gift stickers, gift cards, calendars, holiday cards, wine tags. Ladies, the list goes on and on. The day I received my samples in the mail, I was on Cloud 9. “A kid in a candy store” doesn’t even come close. So, I have been diligently working on my samples and getting organized for my first official party…at my house! I had no idea I would be selling darling paper products at my own house!

So, please go check out the Writeaway site. You can order directly off the site, or you can email me and order from me. Either way, I get the credit. Just make sure when you check-out, you click “Penny Sampler” as your rep. Even if you order from the Internet, I can help you with anything at all! Right now, our Christmas Cards are in high demand. Order yours now!

My goal is this. Since my lovely sister has stepped back from her “Wynne’s-day” writing, I will make Wednesday’s “Write-Away” day. Every week I will showcase one of my favorite products…there are just so many! Here’s to cute paper products…

Clean Eating Magazine

Penelope — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:59:59 +0000

OK. So, I don’t want to smother you with “clean eating”, but the other invaluable tool I have used to “Eat Clean” is Clean Eating Magazine. I absolutely love it and can’t wait for it to arrive. It is a regular nutrition lesson for me, a reminder to stay on track and full of great recipes and “CE approved” products. I love the approved products part. It helps me to shop smarter and not spend the entire day in the grocery store reading labels. I will admit, there are some recipes I have not liked, but there a quite a few that I have made that we love.

With the exception of eating out, and we do still eat out, I have not cooked with refined sugar since we started. No refined flour, white sugar, brown sugar or powdered sugar. I have learned to adapt my own favorite recipes by using natural sweeteners like Maple Syrup, Agave Nectar, Honey and Sucanat. Almost every recipe tastes just as great and better without the refined sugars. I feel better, I have lost weight and I am still eating all that I love…I am just being smart about eliminating refined sugars and using more whole grain products.

So, I have included the link to this month’s Clean Eating Magazine for your reading pleasure. I think you will be really impressed….and it’s SO much better for your health! Here’s to eating clean!

Tosca Reno

Penelope — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:31:25 +0000

Many of my friends are aware that I have had some health struggles over the past few years. I have learned so much about food and health that I might not have ever known had I not been sick. Since I was pregnant with my last son, I developed all sorts of food intolerance’s that were eventually remedied by the Yeast Diet I have mentioned before. I am so much better, but still not the epitome of health I would like to be. After I completed the Candida Yeast Diet several times, I returned to life “eating clean.” A friend shared this with me at least a year ago and I love the idea. Basically, you eat only whole and unprocessed foods. Shop around the grocery store and don’t mess with the middle aisles full of processed foods loaded with potentially harmful preservatives.

I didn’t clean out my pantry and make a big announcement in the family. I just started cooking this way, continuing to eat down the pantry, but only buy good healthy food in its place. The verdict: I feel GREAT! The biggest change for me was to eliminate refined sugars…no white sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar. I LOVE my sweets friends, but have discovered that my sweets are just as great sweetened with 100% pure Maple Syrup, Agave Nectar, Honey and Molasses. And my stomach rejoices when I am good to it by feeding it as natural as possible. We already ate brown rice, whole wheat pasta, used whole wheat flour, etc, so we didn’t have many huge changes.

Aside from my friend’s inspiration, I bought several books by Tosca Reno, my favorite being her book for Kids and Family. I bought the book as a recipe book, but was intrigued with how informative the book was and encouraging. I was completely inspired to jump on the wagon when I finished her first book. I knew my kids would be the deciding factor in many of my recipes. Believe it or not…they love the recipes to date. Well, my oldest and my youngest. My middle child has his own eating issues (there’s always one, right?) I know this diet works because my stomach is just so sensitive. After we began eating clean, I strayed one weekend when we had guests and I started to feel tired and bloated and blah. But, the minute we returned to the clean way of life, I returned to feeling great.

The gist is this. If you choose to eat clean, you need to decide what your commitment is. Is it all or none? Is it just during the week? For us, it is cooking clean at home, providing healthy lunches for my boys and should we decide to eat my every so favorite Mexican, I will not feel guilty. If my kids have a cupcake at school for a birthday, it’s OK. I just want to provide good choices and eliminate as much bad stuff as I can at home. I cook a lot more to keep things fresh, but have found some great new recipes and adapted some favorite old recipes.

I would highly encourage checking this book and all her others out. It’s a great and easy way to get healthy and avoid all the harmful ingredients in processed foods. And for you Kindle fans out there, it’s on Kindle, too!

Chavah’s Garden Note Cards

Penelope — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:51:33 +0000

This summer I was contacted by Chavah’s Garden to review her note cards. I am all about eating healthy these days and her art really intrigued me. Once I received the note cards in the mail, I was pleasantly surprised. I loved them. What a beautiful thing to paint a single vegetable with such great detail. I was thrilled to see the note cards that are prints of the original watercolor paintings, but you could have fooled me! The card stock used for the note cards looks just like watercolor paper.

The mushroom and the ginger are my favorites. Such great detail!

I really liked the lettuce leaves…

The cucumber looks so fresh!

And because we dig Mexican down here…I think the Guacamole recipe is so cute!

Take a minute and check out Chavah’s Garden. Her Etsy shop is full of pretty watercolors. If you aren’t a note card kind of person (as you should be! ), all the watercolors are sold as prints as well. And while you are at it become a Chavah’s Garden Facebook Fan, too!