I wish with all my heart I could say that I’ve played world of warcraft before. When I was in junior high, I played a little starcraft on the computer and I actually can’t even remember if that was what it was called. Anyways. I love that world of warcraft (aka WOW) has become a huge phenomenon. I think it’s hilarious. You can really tell something has hit home if people have started creating origami figures. Check these out:

[via Wow Paper Craft Blog ]

We may not carry patterns or cool colored paper on our site, but we do have cardstock and you can use your imagination!

So, I won’t lie, we are pretty busy around here! It’s the holidays and getting ready for that is always crazy. This post may be short but the product suggestion is important.

Everyone likes to be friendly and helpful most of the time right? But sometimes you come into work with a purpose, ready to own it  and get stuff done. It’s really hard to get stuff in when people constantly drop by to ask about this or that. I know I drive our IT department crazy with little questions all the time. When I saw the cubeguard (spotted on fresh trends btw), I wished I had $19.99 to buy it for every person and I also wished we had actual cubicles (we do the side by side desk sort of thing.)

You can display many messages with your cubeguard- including keep your mouth zipped shut:

You think vacations are defined by cheesy sunglasses and a leather suitcase (feel free to use this one even if you are sitting there, could be funny right?)

They even sell custom cubeguards! This would make me feel less ticked, I do like mountains.

I really feel proud of the cubeguard. I don’t even know how they chose that name. Guarding your cube? from who? It should be called like a cubeseal (sealing your cube from intruders) or cuberope (like the ropes they have at the oscars) or….you get my point.

I also love the idea of having someone come up to talk to you  and they are literally 2 feet from your face and they just have to see that sign. You don’t even have to look at them because your cube is guarded. Okay enough about cube guards. If you want one, get it HERE !

He hasn’t made it a whole year yet. Today is Day 72 (that’s pretty impressive!) and it looks like he’s not slowing down yet.  Instead of listing all 72, here’s my five of my favorites. (disclaimer: you may see some shirtless images!)

1. Get plants for your apartment! Clean the air, plus it looks nice

2. Use old T-shirts (or old towels) to clean instead of paper towels. (I’m a HUGE advocate of this one. It’s amazing how fast you can go through a roll of paper towels. Imagine the money you could save if you didn’t have to buy paper towels every five seconds.)

3. Reuse paper to write down notes. Use scraps of paper to write down quick notes.

4. Unplug unused electronics at night. I wish I was better at this one! This is much easier to do if you have everything plugged into a surge protector.

5. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. This is a no-brainer. Take the elevator up 2 floors or walk up 2 flights of stairs. Exercise + Green. Those that live on the 22nd floor..you can take the elevator, but take the stairs whenever you can! It’s better for you.

Have any simple ideas to try? Share them in a comment below! We’d love to know how to make our lives greener and well easier. (Plus, shop our selection of green office supplies and make your office more environmentally friendly!)

She mentioned that her inspiration came from Color Me Katie and her heart sticky notes on the sidewalk.

And now I’m passing it on to you. All of these cool post it notes you can buy from Shoplet.com!

Now go create something and tell us about it!

“It’s a win-win situation”

“Where’s the call to action?”

“At the end of the day, what the customer wants is important”

“Let’s go over the game plan”

“I want to hit the ground running with this project”

“Rather than discuss this now, let’s take it offline”

I don’t know where we get these phrases! But every office around the country is full of people who use them. I don’t believe all “buzzwords” are bad. Sometimes you do want to streamline or optimize a process. I guess we could just say make the process more efficient or faster or better. For some reason when you say streamline little stars go around the word and make it more exciting.

We’ve seen some “buzzword bingo” cards floating around the internet  and we decided to create one of our own- full of phrases we love at Shoplet.com Here’s our recommendations for rules:

1. Print this card
2. Bring it your meeting, preferably hidden  under a bunch of papers so you look important
3. Bring a pen or pencil to mark it. You can even write in cursive over it so it looks like you are jotting notes rather than crossing off boxes
4. If you get bingo, we don’t advise that you yell it. We want you to keep your job. Just poke the guy next to you and point to it. Try to make him laugh and get in trouble instead of you.

You can download the bingo card here on Flickr. Enjoy!

P.s. If you start getting a lot of bingos, you may or may not  be sitting in a meeting at Shoplet.com headquarters.

No this isn’t the first time Shoplet.com has appeared on facebook.  About a year ago we launched “The Green Office” App, which helps you to purchase green office supplies on Facebook.This year we decided to relaunch our presence on facebook, with a whole new look and a whole new mission. We want to hear from you. We want to be friends with you which means listening to your suggestions/ideas, looking at the cool office supplies you find, and getting to know you better in general! If you’d like to join us on facebook, access our company page HERE We hope to see you soon!

Nikes are pretty “in” I would say right now. I see lots of hipster kids walking around with tight pants and giant nikes all the time. Nike is really quite the genius brand, the way they weaseled their way into the skater/hipster crowd. Anyways, I saw this post these sweet paper kicks on this site yesterday and I just had to pass them on. Designer David Browning, an illustrator attending UWE in Bristol, has so many paper creations! I couldn’t believe it. Now that you’ve seen his shoes, check out his cool boxes.

I saved my favorite for last. Pop Up Books!

If you feel inspired, stock up on Color Paper at Shoplet.com.

Here’s the one that’s important. Hand written addresses on the envelopes are a must- they aren’t even optional.  I’ve been told it’s almost offensive to even consider printing off labels and slapping them on. I’ve been lightly thinking about which pens we should use to address the envelopes and then I came across the perfect product : Sharpie Calligraphy Pens.

I always expected anything with the word “calligraphy” in the product name would be way out of my price range. These are only 6 bucks! I went to Sharpie’s website to see if they had any tutorials on the product and sure enough, I was not disappointed.  They provided a PDF  that will help you practice writing Old English Letters!  Click to Download it

This weekend I will be addressing a million invitations and I’ll keep you updated as to how great I feel about the pen after using it extensively (all I’ve done so far is to scribble some cursive on a piece of scratch paper.) Have you tried it? Have any tips you can share? Thanks and have a great weekend!

**UPDATE**

Over the weekend I used my pack of Sharpie Calligraphy pens to address around 300 invitations. Overall, it was a good experience. I used the brown marker at first which really did look like a cheap crayola marker on the label and was somewhat difficult to write with. I actually switched half way through to a fountain pen which was easier to write with but thinner than i wanted. Eventually  I decided to try the markers again and I LOVED the black one. It looked less like a marker and had a deeper, richer color. If you need to address invitations or formal envelopes, just get the single black Sharpie calligraphy marker and you’ll be set! (I actually liked the blue one too, the color was just a little too bright for our invites.)

I’m surprised I haven’t brought up this disney movie before. Beauty and the Beast = my favorite Disney Movie. I came across this article on choosing an ostrich feather duster and the first picture that popped into my head was Babette the feather duster from Beauty and the Beast. Maybe that’s why feather dusters have always seemed so elegant and uppity to me. Anyways, the article is entitled How to Choose the Best Ostrich Feather Duster that I thought I would share with you [Thanks to The Dusting Store for the great tips!]

Compared to other bird feathers, ostrich feathers have long barbs (the branch-like strands that run out from the feathers shaft) that are perfect for picking up dust. The three basic differences in ostrich feather dusters are the size of the duster, the type of feathers used, and the type of handle or casing holding the feathers. Size With ostriches being large birds, ostrich feather dusters can range in size from 10″to 28″ long (including handle). You will want to use the larger dusters for high ceilings or open areas, and the smaller ones for general cleaning around shelves, desks, and tables.

There are 3 basic size ranges: Small dusters in the 10″-14″ range. Medium dusters in the 17″-23″ range, and large dusters in the “27-30″ range. The most popular size tends to be in the middle range between 17″ -23″ (Including handle). Extension poles are also an option. Some ostrich feather dusters are made with a threaded head that can attach to an extension pole to reach ceiling areas, ceiling fans, and other hard-to-reach areas.

Types of Feathers
There are 3 basic types of ostrich feathers, each having different characteristics as follows:

Gray Feathers–Gray feathers (called “drab” feathers) are exclusive to the mature (3-4 years old) female birds, and come from the long growth on the part of the wings as they near the body. Gray feathers are somewhat stark in nature, and less “stringy” than black feathers. Gray ostrich feathers are not as soft as the “black” feathers which come from the male birds. They are still a soft feather, however, and work great for most cleaning purposes…

Black Feathers–Black feathers are unique, softer feathers (compared to the gray “drab” feathers) and are exclusive to the mature male birds. There are about 4 female birds to every one male bird. The black feathers tend to be more “stringy” in nature, and less stark or pointed than gray feathers. Because of this “stringy” nature, the black feathers tend to fill in the head of the duster more, and are a very soft and premium duster. In the natural state, the larger feathers can have frosted tips of a different color (white and beige usually) and can have a blend of white coloring at the stem end. Any ostrich feather that is pure white, or any other bright color, is the result of dyeing.

Floss Feathers–Floss feathers are premium feathers, that are taken from the under-wing covert areas of an ostrich covering the area where the wing feathers attach to the body. These soft feathers make a very soft and unique feather duster–with wavy feathers that can feel like soft fur. Do to where they are found on the bird, they are not as long as gray or black feathers. Type of Handles or Casing There are two basic types of handles or casing. Wood/plastic–Most feather dusters are made with a round wooden handle made of pine, or birch, or similar less expensive wood. The handles are either stained or lacquered. Some handles are made of plastic or other composite materials. Slide Casing–Some feather dusters are called “retractable” feather dusters. Instead of a handle, the feathers are attached to a slide mechanism, and slide up and down inside a plastic casing. When the slide is down, the feathers are protected inside a casing similar to the size of a standard flashlight handle. When the slide is up, the feathers push out and are ready for dusting. These are popular among delivery truck drivers who carry the dusters in their pocket, and then use them to dust off product displays or merchandise when they stock shelves.

So who knew there was so much to know about feather dusters! Hope that helps you make your decision! Head on over to Shoplet.com if you need a new duster for your home or office!