Indoor Kid Activities Round-up

 

With living in the Midwest, I find myself continuously looking for indoor activities to entertain my toddler when it gets too cold to go outside. Thought I’d share a couple of great ideas I’ve found from other bloggers that are easy and fun.

If your kids like arts and crafts projects, you can help them create a paper plate snowman with easy-to-find objects around the house. The Busy Bee Kids Crafts blog has step-by-step instructions and tips for creating this. You can read it here. My favorite part is how little clean-up is involved with this one!

Another fun project is teaching your kids how to make an indoor igloo. I found some great ideas for making the igloo by re-using an old yogurt container and some basic art supplies on the Teaching Tiny Tots blog here. ...read more

Discounts & Deals: Save 35% on Custom Calendars

 

A Special Offer from FedEx Office:

Save with our limited-time offer. Surprise a loved one with a custom desk or wall calendar from FedEx Office. Whether you need something special for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day or a birthday, FedEx Office has a variety of design templates to help get you started. 

Calendars also make great promotional items or fundraising tools and ordering is easy – simply select a design and personalize each month with a different photo and custom dates. You can even customize the month the calendar starts.

Place your order online by Feb. 14, 2010, and receive 35% off.* Plus, every order qualifies for free, 7-day delivery.

Click here to place an order with this discount. ...read more

Creating a Great Business Brochure

 

Recently, my cousin asked for help proofing a brochure she created, and as a student of journalism, I was happy to help. Upon first review, I noticed several layout and design elements that needed improvement. And that got me to thinking — I bet a lot of small businesses face the same issues. Making custom brochures is a surefire way to promote and grow your business, and with so many resources available, it has never been easier or more cost-effective.

The vast array of design and printing options available at retailers like FedEx Office and on the Internet give you more flexibility than ever to create professional brochures in no time. You can choose bi-fold, tri-fold, full-color, black and white, glossy finish, premium papers, colored papers…the list goes on and on. If you prefer to produce them yourself, check out the Web and Microsoft Word for free templates to get you started. 

Following are some tips I gathered to help our small business readers create a captivating brochure:  ...read more

Making a Good Presentation

 

You may have seen our new FedEx Office TV spot where a business guy asks his colleagues “who is our best presentation guy?” and someone calls out “Carl!” Carl then turns out to be a whiz at CREATING presentations, but not the best at GIVING presentations, as the audience finds out. It’s a funny TV ad, and it also demonstrates how difficult presentations can be sometimes. 

We see a lot of presentation documents printed in our centers, and we’ve gathered some tips for how to put your best foot forward with your printed presentations. ...read more

Be Prepared with ICE

 

Being a mom means being a worrier sometimes. Worst case scenarios are always rushing through my mind. I’ve heard about the campaign to add an emergency contact to your cell phone directory under the label “ICE,” which stands for “In Case of Emergency.”  So, if you are ever in an accident (heaven forbid), the emergency personnel will be able to easily locate someone on your behalf.

I did this, but then I took it one step further. What if the cell phone isn’t with me or is damaged? What about my child, who doesn’t carry a cell phone? What if the emergency personnel don’t know how to work my phone? (Even I can’t figure it out half the time!) ...read more

Around the House Round-Up

 

It’s time for another “best of the blogosphere” round-up from the Out of Office Team. This time I thought I’d share some of the cool things we’ve seen from other sites on home décor. Hope you find their ideas and projects as inspiring as I did!  

  • I love the Better Homes and Gardens online decorating archives – check it out here. They’ve got hundreds of projects big and small, plus photos to get you thinking. Their DIY site is also loaded with easy-to-do projects, templates and instructions.
  • A home blog on AZCentral.com has a great tip on turning old family photos into something visually stunning on a big, blank wall.
  • Room Envy is a fabulous site with amazing room design photos to fit everyone’s tastes – from sleek modernism to retro 60’s designs. Definitely give it a look if you’re in the market for a change.
 
Happy decorating!

A Special Gift for Dinner Party Guests

 

I have finally put the house back in order from the holidays. Now, it’s on to the next event -- which is hosting a dinner party for my parents and in-laws. While they’ve met before, this will be the first dinner at our house since we got married last summer.  ...read more

Make Your Impression Stick

 

My refrigerator is littered with sticky fingerprints, photos, sporting tickets that I don’t want to lose, emergency numbers, and yes, magnets. Every time the appliance repair company pays us a visit, they leave with us a magnet with their number. They’re quite handy and I’m sure they are a great business builder – we see them every time we reach for the ice cream. 

Businesses of all sizes can keep their name and number visible with these magnets. You can even pick a shape that fits your business – our realtor has a house-shaped magnet, and our emergency vet has a magnet that is shaped like a heart, but that’s a number I hope I don’t have to call! 

...read more

Give Your Luggage a Lift

 

Have you ever noticed when you travel that everyone else seems to have a suitcase just like yours? They all look like giant black boxes coming off the conveyor belts. Some of us tie colorful ribbon to the handle or use a bright-colored luggage tag. I have done both, only to find myself trying to remember the color of the ribbon. And then there was this one time when the contact card from my luggage tag went missing altogether! I figured it must have fallen out somewhere in transit. ...read more

New Year’s Resolutions Series: Resolutions Round-Up

 

Now that the Out of Office team has shared with you some of our resolutions for 2010, I thought it would be cool to share some interesting resolutions we’ve seen in the past week from other bloggers and sites. You can check out some of our favorites below. ...read more