Do it right. Start with the invitations! Instead of picking up a generic set, splurge on a few custom upgrades with linen finish, matching envelopes and be sure that both sides are in full color. You’ll impress guests and set the tone for party – garish balloons and goofy clowns will be nowhere in sight!

Think twice about a theme party. Resist the urge to throw a cheesy party. If you elect for a theme, make sure elegance and class are the names of the game. Instead of printing silly pictures and images on décor like banners and table cloths, try to take a more subtle approach. Opt for soft colors, muted palettes and an overarching theme – not a heavy-handed one.

Delight their sensibilities. Instead of chips and dips and cake and coke, why not wow the birthday man or woman with hors d’oeuvres and canapés? And don’t bother visiting the local store for generic cake, lay out a sampling of posh desserts instead – everyone will ooh and ahh with pleasure! Still searching for the perfect party favor? Fill an eco-friendly tote bag with samplings of adult beverages, a customized T-shirt or beautiful note cards.

You’re now ready to throw a wonderful bash – get to it!

1. 1. Pick a Theme. Is the birthday boy or girl a huge Star Wars fan? Maybe they’re addicted to Sex & The City or they’re dedicated football fan. Then half your work is done for you! Go out of your way to plan a party theme that caters to their whims. The perfect theme requires absolute consistency, so get creative in your effort to tie everything back to it. Start by creating custom invitations that reference the theme in design and color choice. And don’t forget that the little things can have a big impact. You want to make sure that décor like napkins, tablecloths, streamers and banners, are working double-duty to communicate the overall message!

1. 2. Keep the Guests Happy, Too. The guest of honor isn’t the only one you should care about pleasing. Making sure your guests are content is a key task of the perfect party planner. Keep the buffet of snacks plentiful and the bar stocked, because a satisfied guest is a happy guest. And why not create a little tote bag packed with party favors to match the theme? Your guests will love you if you fill it with useful items like candy, pens, fun knickknacks or a keychain emblazoned with the birthday boy or girls picture.

1. 3. Your Work is Never Done. Even after the big day has passed, there’s still one more thing you can do to ensure that your party planning skills will never be forgotten. No party is complete without a cameraman on hand to document the big day. Once you’ve compiled all of the fun photos, it’s time to share! After you post these gems on Facebook, Myspace and other social networking sites, you should create photo cards to send out to attendees. And if you want to hold the title of the Greatest Party Planner Ever, take the time to create a photo flip book or notebook  for the guest of honor and close friends and family. That way, you’ll create a keepsake that they’ll cherish forever.

See, that wasn’t so hard. Now you’re ready to party the night away knowing that you planned a wonderful bash. Give yourself a pat on the back, you’ll never throw a boring birthday party again!

Eye-catching banners printed on high-quality vinyl are great for any occasion.  Create a festive summer banner to promote a big sale at your sporting goods store, or a something trendy, announcing that the outdoor dining area at your café is ready for business.

Designing custom banners is easy.  Just upload your own design or customize and online template to suit your needs.  Try designing a vertical banner or create different colored banners for different seasons!

Give away as a gift

Have you ever looked at a calendar and seen that a friend’s birthday is coming up, but you have no idea what to get them? A T-Shirt could be just the answer. With customizable T-Shirts you can design a shirt that’s tailored just to your tastes. Whether you choose a funny design that really speaks to the recipient or add a funny, personal message, you’ll be able to create something that no one has. T-Shirts can be gifts for all types of occasions. Here are just a few of the many ways to present them:

• Stocking stuffers
• Party favors
• Rewards for a job well done
• Personal gift

Support Your Favorite Cause

T-Shirts an also be used to promote solidarity for a cause or event. If you’re working on a fundraiser, play on sports team or are enthusiastic about a political candidate, T-Shirts can express your dedication. Express your support with a catchy phrase or choose a design that portrays your feelings. If you order a bunch of T-Shirts, you can hand them out to sports teams or members of your organization to promote team spirit.

Promote Your Business

Looking for a cost-effective way to promote your business or organization? Choose a design that reflects your industry or brand personality, then add your logo and company message. Handing out T-Shirts at trade shows, career fairs or other events can help get people interested in your business. Equipping your staff with T-Shirts that have your logo on them reinforces your brand as well as helps build company solidarity. For inexpensive advertising, just wear a T-Shirt with your logo as you go shopping or do your yard work.

At Vistaprint you can customize all aspects of your T-Shirt. We offer shirts in white, gray and black as well as in two different styles: short sleeved and long sleeved. Depending on how much customization you want to do with your shirt, you can choose to use one of our hundreds of pre-made, professional T-Shirt designs or upload your own design. If you want to get really original, upload a favorite photo. No matter what design you decide on, you can customize your T-Shirt even further by adding a personal message or other text. T-Shirts can also be printed on both the back and front. With so many options, you’ll definitely be able to create a one-of-a-kind T-Shirt to meet your needs.

Car door magnets are the perfect example of inexpensive, yet hard-working advertising materials. Instead of getting a fancy paint job on your company pick-up truck or van, which can be a costly endeavor, consider creating a car door magnet instead. Car door magnets can help brand your vehicles so that you are recognizable to customers. At the same time, they can also make non-customers aware of your business. Because car door magnets at Vistaprint are so affordable, if they are able to bring just a few new customers to your business, they’ll have already paid for themselves.

While you’ll definitely want to brand any company-owned vehicles, if you work from home or want to do a little extra advertising on the side, you can use car door magnets on your personal or family car. No matter where you go – on the highway, in a parking lot, stopped at a traffic light, sitting in someone’s driveway – you’ll get exposure for your business. Best of all, car door magnets are non-stop advertising. You don’t have to keep paying someone else to run your ad and you don’t have to worry about someone “changing the channel.” They are simply out there for anyone to happen upon and read.

Make the Most of a Millisecond

Your car might always be on the move, so how do you ensure that your potential customers see you? To create an effective car door magnet, you’ll want to choose a design that not only reflects your business’s brand identity and industry, but one that will stand out and catch the eye of passersby. For instance, if you have a navy colored vehicle, you’re not going to want a car door magnet with a lot of navy in the design. Instead, choose opposite colors like white, yellow or orange to really make your magnet stand out. You will also want to include your logo for instant brand recognition.

Because car door magnets provide advertising on the move, many of the people looking at it will only see your signage for just a few seconds. This means you need to keep text to a minimum. Consider what you want potential customers to know the most about your business, then choose the top 3 or 4 things in that list and put those on your magnet. Often this information includes your company name, slogan, phone number and website.

For more round-the-clock advertising, try other forms of signage as well. Banners, lawn signs and window decals are other affordable marketing options that will help get the word out about your business.

1. Get Noticed. To drive business, it’s essential you make it easy for your customers to find you. In our highly mobile society, quality signs like car door magnets may be the first interaction a customer has with your small business. You don’t want to miss out on this opportunity to advertise your business! Placing a car door magnet on your vehicle will introduce your company in a manner which inspires customers to pick up the phone or visit your website – and they adhere to vehicles of any size.

1. 2. The Power of Non-Stop Advertising. Car door magnets work around the clock to advertise your business. On the road or even after a long workday is finished, your signage will be hard at work promoting your business and reinforcing your brand. This 24-hour exposure ensures that this inexpensive marketing tool never stops working on your behalf.

1. 3. Location, Location, Location. Even if your business isn’t in an ideal location, car door magnets erase this barrier. Since your signage will be constantly on the move, you’ll increase the chance that customers outside your normal geographic area will be exposed to your business. Signs function as visual cues for customers, and once they identity your business on the road, they’ll be even more likely to recognize your company once they arrive at your physical location.

And as always, creating car door magnets that match your company identity is key to building a consistent business image. This high-quality sign should be an extension of your other traditional marketing efforts such as advertising or direct mail. You can easily accomplish this by incorporating your brand image – try including your logo, color scheme and key messaging so customers can easily indentify your company. In doing so, you’ll send the message that your business is a credible, reliable establishment. What a great way to attract more customers with little hassle!

The answer is simple: business checks! You may have overlooked these bookkeeping tools because they’re generally used to keep your finances in order. But you should keep this simple fact in mind: every one of your company materials sends a message about your business. Customizable business checks work double-duty to balance your budget and build your brand identity.  Imagine the impression you’ll make when you pass custom checks on to vendors, customers or employees! Keep reading to discover three reasons why business checks are just what you need to complete your business identity.

1) You’ll Send the Right Message. It’s no secret that customers patronize businesses they can trust. And building loyalty amongst your customer base requires that you communicate with consistency. Traditional businesses should remain true to their identity and select a conservative design. You can even add a monogram and tagline to reinforce that classic look and your business message. Non-traditional businesses on the other side of the spectrum can have more fun with the designs they choose. Add interesting accent images to mirror the whimsical tone of your business.

2) There Are So Many Options. Whatever your business size, there’s a business check option for you. Standard business wallet checks are ideal for the traditional small business – you’ll get that professional look with little hassle. Custom three-to-a-page checks are perfect for larger businesses – you can compute difficult calculations and a single-stub journal helps keep track of payments. If your accounting needs are more demanding, print checks from your computer! Computer checks work with several popular accounting programs, so your finances will be completely organized.

3) It’s Never Been Easier. Ordering business checks may have been a hassle in the past – but today you can order them online! No more time-consuming forms or waiting for your checks to arrive in the mail. Vistaprint allows you to create and customize your business wallet checks in minutes. You can even have them at your door in as little as three days. And all of this is protected by Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption, which keeps your information safe and protected.

Now that you discovered the missing link – it’s time to get started customizing your own business checks. Whatever your need, there’s sure to be a check to suit your business.

Go through your brochures, too.  Can you edit or update the content? Free up some space by removing boring graphics?

Keep themed ideas in mind when designing your postcards or flyers.  Upload your own design or customize an online template.