Labels for LifeLabels for Life will give tips for organizing your life, home and office.

When Beth wanted to run for Town Council, she simply didn’t know how to get started. While she wanted to help her town, she hadn’t thought very much about the process of getting her name recognized in her community. Beth was known well in her local schools because she was active helping with her three kids’ class activities and various projects.

Beth really decided she wanted to run for Town Council because she wanted to make changes in the schools. The expenses for class trips were exorbitant and parents didn’t really have much of a say. While there were several tutors available at school, it was very hard to get an appointment. In some ways, she could see that her school was working hard to help her kids get a good education and then other times the things they did just didn’t make sense. That’s when she threw her hat in the ring for Town Council.

Her husband Tom came up with the bumper stickers. Tom owns the town hardware store and thought if they created a bumper sticker saying “Back Beth Smythe, Town Council ‘09”, it would get some attention. He was right. Tom kept the bumper stickers right by the register and before long they were flying out the doors, right along with the hammers and the nails. Then people were coming in just to get a Beth bumper sticker! That’s when Beth knew things were getting successful.

Beth is a lot like you and me, she isn’t the type of person who likes to attract a lot of attention. But she really wanted to make a difference. And the best way to make a difference was to get out there and meet people – and to pass out her great bumper stickers! She went to the town senior center and shook hands and passed out bumper stickers. She went to the library for a coffee meeting and answered questions about her positions and passed out bumper stickers. Soon Beth had to order more bumper stickers to keep up with all of her appointments.

It turned out Beth wasn’t the only one who wanted change in the schools. Others were tired of paying so much for class trips. They were frustrated by the tutoring situation. There were other things they wanted to see changes. People liked Beth, they liked her ideas. Beth passed out bumper stickers and shook hands as fast as she could. Her picture was in the newspaper all the time. She was running against a popular woman who had been successful as a Town Council member. Beth thought she had a chance….but she really didn’t know how good a chance she had.

The election day came and Beth gathered with her supporters. They’d worked hard to get her there. More than five hundred bumper stickers had been passed out in all. Beth had gone earlier that day to shake hands at the local supermarket to remind people to vote. Many said they were voting for her. She smiled and hoped for the best. Beth noticed lots of cars in the parking lot had her Beth bumper stickers on them.

The results came in…..and Beth won by a landslide! By more than 200 votes Beth was the new Town Council member. She’s making changes for her town and the schools. It all started with one little bumper sticker.

Let me tell you a story. Some family members are simply harder to shop for than others. Is it like that for you too? In my family, my Grandma is very difficult to shop for. To be fair, my Grandma is not a difficult person by nature or personality. She simply knows what she likes and what she doesn’t like. So when Grandma’s birthday comes every year it can be a challenge to find that terrific gift.

We all want to find that perfect gift. You know the one. The one that makes someone smile so wide you see the tops of their gums and they look like a little kid. It makes you realize you’ve found something they would have thought of if only they knew it existed. That gift. That’s the one we all dream of buying for our loved ones in a perfect world. Well for once I’d actually found it!

I found something I knew my Grandma would love. You see she is an enthusiastic needlepoint artist. I found some patterns inspired by stained glass windows. The patterns were exquisite. Grandma had often complained she simply can’t find “interesting” needlepoint anymore. So the very moment I saw these unique stained glass window needlepoint patterns – the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

I gave the little shop my Grandma’s address to send them and thought all was taken care of. Until I called Grandma for her birthday. Then the floor fell out of my plans:

“Happy Birthday Grandma!” I said

“Thank you dear,” Grandma replied

“Did you like your birthday present?” I asked

“No dear? I haven’t received a present,” Grandma said. There was silence on the end of the telephone.

I ended our conversation and called the little needlepoint shop. They had to track the package and it turned out it was on the other side of town! Grandma had moved to a very large town and the zip code number had been transposed. I was both relieved and frustrated, but at least the package would be on its way. Grandma would get her birthday gift on her birthday. And yes, she did smile one of those big kid gum smiles.

That tracking number really saved the day. I don’t want to think about what would have happened if I didn’t have one. There was only one set of those special stained glass patterns at the shop – I don’t think I could have gotten another one had I hoped for it. Without the tracking number, I would have needed to come up with a super idea for Grandma’s birthday in a jiffy.

But it makes me wonder what happens to packages without tracking numbers. I think we’ve just gotten so used to packages having them today that we don’t think about them. That tracking number truly can save the day – I know it saved Grandma’s birthday. It could save a special day in the future for you too.

As the holidays approach, many are thinking about sending out packages. Whether you have a business or personal packages to send out – the holidays create an ideal time to use festive address labels.

The best address labels have plenty of room for a To address and a From address. They also have room to include international addresses. An address label with extra space means a business or individual can add a telephone number or a second telephone number to contact in case there is difficulty delivering a package. This is a great convenience and an ideal addition in today’s age of unique addresses.

Holiday mailing address labels let your business celebrate the holidays and pass along your Seasons Greetings to everyone who comes into contact with the package. From the package handlers at the Post Office or other delivery center to the mail room where the package is delivered, people will smile as they see your package. The holidays are simply a time when people and businesses seem just a bit warmer and friendlier. It is the perfect time to share your greetings.

Best of all, these Seasons Greetings go out into the world to connect with potential new customers for your business. No matter what products or services you sell – they will be attracted by a festive holiday address label. This address label reminds people of this special time of year and also for the reason for sending the package.

There are many ways to accent your festive holiday address label. Try sprigs of holly or ornaments. Or snowflakes and a wintery scene. Adding a small graphic is quite similar to including a holiday card with your package, and very much like the saying goes “a picture tells a thousand words.” Select festive holiday images that are ideal and that many people will enjoy. Snowflakes are a perfect choice for many as most think of snow during this time.

Print your festive holiday address label with a font that is easy to read. Some may decide to go a bit overboard, choosing a fancy font for their holiday packages too. Often this is a mistake – as then their packages are made much harder to deliver. While a pretty calligraphy font does look very festive, there are lots of people who may squint a bit at this font and wonder if those numbers are what they seem. Don’t leave that overworked post office worker guessing during this season! Use a font like Times New Roman or Courier.

Some companies today use their holiday address labels instead of including holiday greeting cards with their packages. As a business, this can be an excellent way of not only saving money but to also be “green” and act environmentally responsible. In today’s business climate there are many clients who will respond favorably to see a business that acts in a “green” manner and this will also respond them to act accordingly. This is an easy way to make a “green” decision that celebrates the winter holidays for your business.

Classic holiday colors for address labels include red, green, silver, gold, blue and white. But choose colors that are ideal and complimentary to your business, corporate culture and your logo or graphic design on the current packaging. Adding a festive holiday foil label that is complimentary is an ideal decision.

As a football Mom, I haven’t always been thrilled with my boy playing the sport. Sometimes I’ve worried about him getting hurt. Other times I’ll admit I’ve been frustrated when he just hasn’t spent as much time on his studies as I would like him to. But he does love being a member of the Panther football team. So I attend every game and proudly say “Go Panthers!” with the other Moms and Dads.

But the Panthers have had some trouble with their equipment this year, making it tough for Jimmy to enjoy the sport as much. The coach had even sat the boys down and talked about the team ending the season early without the equipment due to safety, something that really just tore Jimmy up inside. We knew we had to do something. So we turned to boosting the Panthers with a bumper sticker fundraiser.

Our Panthers bumper sticker fundraiser was simple. We created three different Panthers bumper stickers. The bumper stickers were beautiful – all four color and durable vinyl. We knew they would stand up to heavy-duty use and be on the vehicles a long time. The custom bumper stickers were for different levels of fundraising. If you gave up to $25.00 you got the first bumper sticker. If you gave up to $50.00 you got the second bumper sticker. People giving more than $50.00 got the third bumper sticker.

I’ll admit that there was some subtle competition going on here. That people really wanted to be seen with that third and “best” bumper sticker on their car. So even though we had ordered three different kinds of bumper stickers, we easily sold more of our highest priced bumper sticker. But we didn’t really have to ask or arm-twist people for money. They really wanted that sense of pride that comes from helping the team. The fact that our Panthers bumper stickers looked great I’m sure really helped though.

The kids and parents sold bumper stickers for several weeks and it all went very quickly. Some of the cheerleaders were very outgoing and sold lots of bumper stickers. Some parents worked for large companies are were able to sell lots of bumper stickers. But truly everyone gave it their best effort and that’s what made it the most successful. Everyone giving their best to the Panthers.

I think our bumper sticker fundraiser was so successful because people realized they were helping out the Panthers by giving to the team. The bumper stickers didn’t cost us too much in expenses, so it wasn’t like throwing the team a fancy dinner or other type of event. But the bumper stickers looked great and best of all – they would be on the cars and SUVs year-round. So the team would get lots of Spirit from that.

As a proud Panther Mom I can say that we raised $4,500 from our bumper sticker fundraiser. Lots of folks in the community wanted to help out. I smile as I go to the grocery store or to get gas and see all of these “Go Panthers!” bumper stickers. I know I didn’t just help Jimmy but I helped the whole town.

Who doesn’t like a bottle of wine as a gift? A bottle of wine is the perfect gift for so many occasions. From the dinner party to celebrating a special event, your bottle of wine will be enjoyed and the thoughtfulness you share will be remembered with every delicious sip.

But most of us long to give gifts that get noticed, truly stand out a little bit. Especially when you attend a big dinner party and the hostess receives ten gifts all at once – how will yours really stand out from the crowd? When three other people are bringing wine, somehow it just doesn’t seem like you stand a chance.

Custom Printed Wine Labels created from your own artwork can easily be added to any wine bottle. What a perfect way to say “From The Johnsons with Love” or “Happy Holidays” or your own special greeting. Not only can your share your greeting, but an image to go along with it that shares your happiness and goodwill. Try a cozy family photo for the wine bottles you give as hostess gifts. Or to celebrate the new baby in your family, add a picture of that bouncing boy or girl’s photo to the wine label and announce their arrival in the world. There are so many ways you can make your Custom Printed Wine Labels unique.

Wine is a classic gift because it is popular with many people. There are different types of wine to give ideal for special occasions. Try bottles of champagne to celebrate that wedding engagement or start of your new company. Or a 25 year old bottle of scotch to celebrate a law school graduation or retirement party.

The Custom Printed Wine Labels are ideal also for corporate gift giving purposes. Add your company logo to give wine for a company event. Or add a photo of your latest product to give wine to clients and employees to celebrate a new product launch. Custom Printed Wine Labels can be ordered in a low 250 minimum quantity – so it is easy to do a small batch.

There are so many creative ideas for your custom artwork – sometimes it is hard to narrow it down to one. Photographs are quite popular as they depict people the recipient knows and show who we are toasting with our bottle of wine. Company logos are another popular choice for corporate gifts – remember every time your logo is seen it is a gesture of goodwill in your community. Giving a bottle of wine to someone can easily be seen by another dozen people, not just that one recipient of that bottle.

Now it is easy to make your personal or corporate gift stand out – with Custom Printed Wine Labels. As they uncork that bottle and take a sip of that wonderful vintage, they’ll remember your friendship, goodwill and generosity.

If you’ve gone to a winery these days (and who hasn’t) you may have noticed the latest trend….you can bottle your own wine. It’s very cool. These winemaking classes are easy for a beginner to take and often you make about a dozen bottles, so you’ve go plenty to share with future dinner parties (or one big party). Many wineries offer different classes for different types of wine – if you want to make red wine or dessert wine or white wine, etc.

But what’s missing from this personalized class is something you can easily provide yourself – personalized wine labels (wine label designs). Why not name your wine and mention that it is from “The Jones Family, Summer 2009″? This personalized wine label makes your wine ideal for gift giving for so many occasions.

Custom wine labels are easy to create, you’ll just want to know what type of wine you are making and what you are calling it – as most you give a bottle of wine to will want to know what they would be uncorking before they have a glass (so they know what to serve with it).

Warning: both the winemaking at the winery and the personalized wine labels can become very addictive. It’s fun – and your family and friends can get quite used to expecting a delicious bottle of wine from you – they’ll ask when they will see the next one! Don’t worry though….making the wine and the personalized wine labels are rather step-by-step and a fun experience!

Labels4life.com would like to wish you and your family a very Happy 4^th of July. Follow our tips to have a great 4^th of July picnic with your family and friends.

Picnics are fair-weather friends. Check the weather forecast before you go. A few sprinkles are usually okay with most picnic goers but thunderstorms are a no-no. Don’t be disappointed.

Unlike the popular rumor, mayonnaise does not spoil. But meats, eggs and dairy should not become warm – leading to dangers of food poisoning. Always play it safe when picnicking to avoid a tummy ache or much worse. Pack picnic foods to keep them both dry and cool at all times.

Plastic containers are often an ideal way to transport most of your popular picnic foods like macaroni salad and potato salad. But don’t leave guests guessing….but a label on the top so they know for sure which picnic salad they are dipping a spoon into. This keeps your picnic smooth and organized – and guests will always be satisfied.

Pack your picnic in a cooler that is sturdy not just pretty. Make sure your picnic basket or cooler can manage everything you are putting into it. When in doubt, bring an additional cooler or basket.

Remember hand wipes for easy clean up after picnicking. Many popular picnic spots can have restrooms nearby but they can be crowded – bringing wipes can make cleaning a toddler’s hands much easier than standing on line for twenty minutes while you miss a concert or community event.

Post by MaverickLabel.com, now offering security holographic labels.

Photo by pinlux

The dangerous relationships between birds and windows is one that comes in varying degrees. Sometimes it’s just a quick peck of bird meeting glass. Others it’s a small series of crashes and a flutter of wings. The worst, however, are the jarring impacts that resonate throughout an entire house, leaving you and your family members startled and often crippling or killing the bird. Sadly, these impacts are far more common than you might think. In an article for Audubon magazine, David Malakoff cited that in North America, window strikes kill between 100 million and 1 billion birds annually. According to an NPR story, Professor Daniel Klem of Mulhenberg College things that Malakoff’s estimate is too conservative, and that the real number easily exceeds 1 billion birds in the United States alone.

Why do window strikes happen?

It’s hard to know for certain exactly why window strikes happen, but observation has granted some measure of insight. The first, and seemingly most common, rationale is that birds simply cannot see glass. The transparency of the glass makes the window look open, and this is often complicated further by a window on the opposite side of the house. This causes what is commonly referred to as the “tunnel effect,” meaning that the bird believes that the two windows lack glass and thus represent a clear tunnel to fly through.

The other primary reason for bird strikes seems to be reflections. Windows in houses and buildings can easily reflect the environments around them. So, while the house or building certainly appears to be a house or building, the windows look more like wooded areas which are perfectly safe for flying.

Ways to prevent window strikes

There are a range of possibilities for preventing window strikes. The most effective method is to remove a window, or to completely cover it with something opaque and non-reflective like wood or cardboard. Granted, this removing a window is a bit drastic and not practical for the vast majority of home owners. Thankfully, with a little understanding as to why birds strike windows, home owners can reduce bird strikes with more people-friendly methods.

Covering Windows

While boarding up windows is an extreme solution, it does prove a point. Putting something between the window’s glass and the outside world can both alert a bird to a physical object and prevent reflection. The line for most home owners seems to be when such a covering moves from the area of protecting birds and into the realm of obstructing views. Home owners have several options like summer storm screens, to heavier plastic “shade cloth” and even the commercial CollidEscape film, all of which help to remove transparency and restrict reflection to various extents.

Silhouettes and Obstacles

Another tactic is to prevent the bird from coming  near the window. Some homeowners put blockades, such as a tree or bird feeder, in front of a window, particularly windows that are struck with some frequency. If you notice that your bird feeder is causing birds to strike your window, then moving the feeder further from your house would be a prudent move. Another popular method, which works to varying degrees, is to intimidate birds away by way of statues and silhouettes. A statue of an owl, or a cut out made to resemble a flying hawk can cause an errant bird on a collision course with a window to change course.

The Happy Medium

For many home owners, window strikes are infrequent happenings and thus can easily be remedied by merely moving a bird feeder or placing a hawk silhouette in a tree. For others, more permanent measures must be taken. However, for majority of home owners in areas with heavy avian traffic, there is a happy medium. Make part of the window more obvious with the application of custom stickers. Placing stickers on a window makes the glass less transparent and can break up reflections, minimizing two of the most common reasons why birds strike windows in the first place. Special sticker creating techniques can even make these stickers nearly-invisible to humans while birds staying perfectly visible to birds. Such stickers benefit birds while doing very little to detract from the value humans derive from said windows.

Stickers used to prevent bird strikes can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Homeowners can make use of seasonal varieties like flowers for spring, snowflakes for winter, and even holiday images. These stickers can even be made in the images of predatory birds, thus mimicking the silhouette effects and adding to the sticker’s effectiveness.

The real key to preventing bird strikes is to change the status quo. This can be done through changing the locations of physical things – like bird feeders and trees – thus forcing birds to alter their flight paths. Or, it can be done though intimidation, via silhouettes of predators. Or, a home owner can change the bird’s perception of the actual window. Stickers, whether they are human-visible or not, make windows more obvious to birds, while screens and covering cloths negate the qualities (reflections and transparency) that make windows harmful to birds in the first place. The question for home owners is to determine which window strike prevention method works best for you.

Mark Trumper is the CEO of MaverickLabel.com, an industry leader in label and printing products catering towards the needs of small business owners. Maverick Label, the Internet’s source for cheap stickers and window decals, is found online at: http://www.mavericklabel.com

Photo by gorickjones

In case you’ve been too busy playing Wii Fit in an effort to look great in your tankini this summer – or have otherwise been engaged – let us share with you the hottest trend in vacations: staying home. Staycations are vacations where you actually stay home and do fun things. No, they don’t have to be endless days of vegging out in front of the tube – you can actually do some pretty cool stuff. We’ve got some unique tips to help you plan a great staycation that will have your family truly feel like they’ve had a summer break.

#1 Clean house before your staycation. This may sound like work – and yes, it is work. But remember that when we go on vacation, we stay in clean hotel, motel and bed and breakfasts. Taking your staycation in a house littered with toys and dust is going to make you feel more stressed out than ever.

#2 Sit down with your family to plan some fun activities. It helps if you have some fun ideas, but be sure to ask for your family’s input on exactly what they consider fun. If you plan a day at a local museum and your children don’t want to go – this isn’t a pleasurable activity. But if your children would rather go to the local aquarium and admission is a comparable price – then this gives you a great activity to do for your staycation.

#3 Visit your local tourism website. Most counties and every state has an official tourism website and office to provide information. While most do deal with out-of-state inquiries – your staycation can greatly improve when you get information on all of the local attractions. Sometimes we are so busy that we just don’t know about some of our local jewels to truly enjoy them.

MaverickLabel.Com, a company founded to meet the growing need for a label source utilizing the latest technologies blended with old fashioned quality and customer service. They specialize in custom label printing and have cheap stickers and custom roll labels for summer needs.

Summertime is a peak time for label use. Families are more active than ever. With most families taking vacations, it is easy to see why families would need labels to identify things that they need. Let’s talk about the top summertime uses for labels.

1. Gardening. Many people enjoy gardening in the summer. Labeling the stakes in the ground, baby plants or your supplies helps you grow a beautiful garden.

2. Beach or Pool. Most families spend lots of time at their local beach or pool during summertime. This is an ideal time to use labels. Use labels to identify your beach/pool chairs, umbrella, label your bathing suit and swimming cover-ups. Labels can also be useful with some water toys for kids.

3. Summer Camp. Many children attend a day or sleep-away camp during the summer. Smart mothers have learned that labeling their belongings means that more of their belongings will come back with them at the end of camp!

4. Family Vacation/Staycation. Every family can use labels during their vacation/staycation. You’ll want to label everyone’s suitcases as you travel. You’ll add labels to everyone’s clothing. Adding labels to other items you use like a packed lunch as you travel, car care supplies or labeling everyone’s drinks just keeps you better organized.

5. Summer Barbeque/Party. Using labels can help you identify the mustard from the ketchup. It can also help you identify people’s drinks from one another. Using “Hello” labels at a party can be a great icebreaker as people get to know one another.

Labels simply get you through the summer. With a little organization and preparation, summer flies by – our favorite season. It’s always more fun during summertime! Waterproof labels will be a part of any good label kit for summer.