Celebrate National Sticker Day!

It's National Sticker Day! Did you know that the first stickers began as tax and postage stamps in the 1800s? They have come a long way since then and there are a variety of uses and styles today.

We love seeing folks come into the paper shop and sift through our bowl of stickers!

How do we use stickers in the shop?

• Brandy uses stickers for just about everything. Journaling, in her planner, on the happy mail she sends out... They adorn her YETI and her laptop. The sticker on her bathroom mirror serves as a reminder of how to carry on every single day.

• Elizabeth loves using stickers in her daily planner and her monthly goal planner, in letters and on envelopes. She also loves sifting through the sticker bowl to find fun ones to mail to her grand babies…

Stickers decorate, make things happy, make things personal... Finding stickers that represent our personality is so fun! People also love to collect stickers when they travel…sharing stickers of our favorite shops, restaurants and coffee shops. Our stickers can tell a story all on their own!

Tell us in the comments what you use stickers for…

Come Celebrate With Me!

Mark Saturday, August 6, 2022 on your calendar...why you might ask?

Well for one thing it is National Stationery Store Day and you know we will be celebrating! But it's more than that...we will be celebrating our 1-Year Anniversary!

Can you believe that our little shop will be one-year old in August?

I am not sure where the time has gone but I have to admit it's been one of the best years of my life! Who would have thought that our crazy idea of opening a paper / stationery store at the end of a long COVID run and on a street in Laurel, Mississippi that was under full construction would have gotten us here?But I am thrilled that we are still here and not just surviving but thriving and it is thanks to all of you! Your support and love of paper has started to create a movement here in Laurel and it just makes me giddy with happiness!And to celebrate we are having a week of fun - so don't miss it!

Here's a sneak of our current schedule - we will post more on our Instagram and Facebook pages next week!

Monday, August 1, 2022 - National Girlfriend Day

Take a look at the new Hey There Girl card created for National Girlfriend Day 2022!

These will be available in the shop and online on July 27, 2022 for purchase. Don't miss the opportunity to let your girlfriend know how important she is to you with this sweet little note. Blank on the inside and ready for your heartfelt message!

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AND THE BIG CELEBRATION…

Saturday, August 6, 2022 - National Stationery Day & Be Amazing Paper Company 1-Year Anniversary CelebrationYou might be wondering what National Stationery Day is, am I right? National Stationery Store Day was created to help support local paper and stationery stores. Support is more than stopping into the shop and spending money…support comes in many forms. -Supporting your local stationery shop means sharing their social media so that others can learn about them and what they do.-Supporting your local stationery shop means referring them to your family in friends when you find something you love there!-Supporting your local stationery shop means buying local instead of on Amazon and big box stores!-And on 08/06/2022 - support means stopping into the shop and celebrate with us! Stop by between 11AM-2PM to celebrate!

Here's a few ways we're celebrating...

-For the first 20-customers who spend a minimum of $10 you will get one of our amazing goodie bags filled with fun paper and stationery goods! There will also be some discounts and 5 people will receive a special customized offer for a box of stationery for FREE!

-Don't worry if you're not one of the first 20...we will still have something for you too! You'll get one of our limited edition one-year anniversary notecards to mark the occasion. And we have more goodies to give away too!

-Bring the kiddos - because you know I always have fun goodies for the kids. Getting kids excited about paper, pencils and all the things in letter writing is my passion, so we do our best to make sure it's fun for them.

PS - We'll have some yummy food and deserts for you to enjoy as well! You don't want to miss it!

Traditions That Stand the Test of Time...

It's hard to believe that we're at the end of the month of October already. November is around the corner and along with it comes the Thanksgiving holiday. This time of year always brings back memories of my parents and how we celebrated the holidays when they were still with us. 

Everything I learned about cooking came from spending time cooking with my Mom & Dad. All the traditions around our Thanksgiving menus are memories that I will never forget or let go of...I have worked hard to pass down those traditions to my kids and grandkids and I hope that they will create new ones as they grow with their own families. 

My parents, especially my Dad...passed his passion down to me; he loved to make every holiday perfect and so much fun for us as kids. Cool fall weather took us pumpkin hunting, finding the perfect Christmas Tree at the local Christmas tree farms, ice skating on the ponds, and baking...lots of baking. Our house was always filled with the smells of food and the smells of the holiday...apples, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie. I wanted my kids to grow up enjoying their childhood and creating memories of their own; but also taking a bit of mine along with them...a little bit of my parents.

Traditions are passed down from generation to generation...part of the reason that I opened the paper shop was to help continue traditions like sending cards by mail; writing letters on beautiful stationary and putting a stamp on it and dropping it in the mail. It's about reading a paper book and not one on your iPad and writing in a paper journal instead of typing on a computer. All of these things are important to me and continuing traditions that have always made me feel warm and comforted.

Don't get me wrong...I love technology...but I love paper more!

Books...Books...Books...

I am having the best time with our new little paper store in sweet Laurel, Mississippi. It's all the wonderful things that I enjoy most in life...journals, planners, books and of course the design work. 

But one of the things that I might be enjoying more is reading fiction again. It feel like forever since I have enjoyed a good fiction book. Most of my reading has revolved around business for the last 20-years. I remember, what seems like 20-years ago, when I used to love reading James Patterson books. They were my escape from day to day life and, of course, Patterson is such an easy read. However, I haven't read one of his books in so long.

Last week when a gentleman came into the shop in search of a book that he wanted to read while vacationing in Laurel. The author of that book Rick Bragg - he informed me writes for Southern Living and as soon as he said...I knew who he was talking about as I read Southern Living from cover to cover every month. After talking to him for a bit and hearing him talk about why he wanted to read the book made me realize that I have been missing out on reading beautiful books and novels, that have nothing to do with business, and more to do with life, love and living. By the way, that book The Speckled Dog is now available in the shop. I think I will have to start reading that one next.

Last week I ordered Where the Crawdads Sing for the shop. I'd heard about how good it was but just never picked it up. So before the books got here I started reading the book on my iPad and I can't seem to put it down. It is an amazing story and I feel like I have missed out by not reading it before now. 

As much as I love a good business book...there really is more to life than reading about business all the time...

Bringing Back that Personal Touch!

Story written by the City of Laurel:

(Photo Courtesy of Brandy Thornton - Jones County Chamber of Commerce)

Elizabeth Fanslow has always loved paper, stationary, and the connection that sending cards and letters fosters between people. On Wednesday, September 29, at 11:00 a.m. Fanslow and the Jones County Chamber of Commerce celebrated the ribbon cutting of Fanslow’s new stationary shop, Be Amazing Paper Company.

The shop is located at 513 Central Avenue in downtown Laurel and features a variety of journals, planners, postcards, greeting cards, stationary supplies, stickers, and books including Fanslow’s own “Be Amazing: 9 Critical Skills to Becoming an Inspiring Leader.”

Fanslow said that she will also be offering custom design services. 

This has been a busy year for Fanslow. In April, she and her husband, Richard, moved to Laurel from Florida since his job had him traveling throughout many of the states on the Gulf Coast.  Since then, they have secured a store in downtown Laurel, completed major renovations to the space, and opened the business to the public on September 17. (correction August 17)

This is her first retail store but in her role as a consultant, she has helped several business owners to get their own businesses started and started a lot of businesses for her clients. Helping entrepreneurs achieve their goals is another of Fanslow’s passions. Because of this, all of the cards in her shop are created by women business owners in the United States. 

Store hours are Tuesday- Saturday 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.  Customers can also follow the store on Facebook, Instagram, and through its website at beamazingpaperco.com .