Believe it or not, flamingos are born gray and white and do not turn pink for two years. A steady diet of shrimp-like crustaceans consumed by flamingos is responsible for their famous pink feathers. The birds feathers actually pale in captivity unless their diet is supplemented.

If you see a tall bird with long skinny legs, backwards knee joints, a lean S-shaped neck, a bent bill hook for a nose, and lots of pink feathers, chances are good you’re having a close encounter with a flamingo - unless of course you’re looking at our Flamingo House Number Address Plaque.

If you’ve never seen a live flamingo, it’s because you don’t live in a warm and watery tropical estuary or an extensive mudflat surrounding many saline gulfs or alkaline lakes (or because you’ve never been to the zoo).

Here are 10 little-known fun facts about the pink-feathered bird loved by so many:

  1) Flamingos don’t really have knees that bend backward. What they do have are long feet with webbed toes. What we refer to as their ‘knee’ is actually their ankle.

  2) To the Egyptians, the flamingo was a living personification of the sun god, Ra. Derived from the Latin word flamma, flamingo means ‘flame’.   3) A newly hatched flamingo is born with a straight bill and no pink feathers. The bill curves and the feathers turn pink as the bird matures.

4) A flamingo can live up to 20 years in the wild and 50 years in captivity.

  5) A fully grown flamingo has 12 to 16 pink tail feathers that lose their color once they have been molted (shed and replaced by the bird).

  6) A flamingo's eye is actually larger than its brain!

  7) Flamingos are likely to be the only tall, pink bird in any given locale.

  8) Flamingos feed on small organisms like plankton, tiny fish, and fly larvae in muddy flats or shallow water. They stir up the bottom with their long legs and webbed feet and bury their bent bills (or entire heads) to suck up mud and water and filter out tiny, tasty morsels of food.

  9) Flamingos are social birds that find safety in numbers. They live, feed, and breed in large groups called colonies that often number in the thousands and tens of thousands.

  10) Flamingos are a fun way to greet your guests at the door with your choice of any of our three Flamingo House Number Address Plaques.

Thank you readers for your continued support of our Classy Plaques Studio, we appreciate your business!

Cassie Jones

Classy Plaques Blogger

Flamingo Decor Ideas

The first one is ‘silver’ and the second one is the topic of this Classy Plaque blog post and the theme of one of our popular ceramic address plaque designs.

Five Hints
1.    It is edible.
2.    It is plentiful in California and Florida.

3.    Disneyland and Disney World can both be found in this county.
4.    It rhymes with… just kidding. (It rhymes with nothing).
5.    It is the color of Halloween (remembering that black is a non-color). 

The Answer (no peeking)
If you read the hints and guessed ‘orange,’ you are correct. If you read the hints and didn’t guess ‘orange,’ you should immediately withdraw your application for ‘Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?’ because you have no chance of winning.

Now Orange You Glad You’re Reading This Post?
Welcome back, Classy Plaques’ blog followers. This post features Orange Grove house number plaque - a bright, bold, fresh, vibrant, tangy, refreshing splash of colorful refreshment for your yard, gate, driveway, front porch or entryway. Whether you like the fruit or the color, this blog post is sure to get your juices flowing.

The Disney Difference If you aspire to build a world class theme park, you might consider buying an orange grove. As I mentioned above, it certainly worked well for Walt Disney. The two most popular theme parks in the world (Disneyland and Disney World) are built in Orange County in the middle of what used to be orange groves.

If Walt Disney can create the ‘happiest place on earth’ in an orange grove (twice), I wonder if the bright and colorful energy of an Orange Grove House Number Sign from Classy Plaques can do the same for you and your home.

With Orange Décor, Less is More
Decorating with orange (the fruit or the color) is a bold move that can bring any room to life with its vibrant energy. Orange (or oranges) can complement almost any design motif or decorating theme. When making a bright, bold, energetic statement by decorating with orange (or oranges), remember that less is more. Too much of this powerful color in one place at one time usually doesn’t work.

Top designers recommend the use of various shades and hues (similar and contrasting) to blend and contrast the color into the room rather than having it stand out on its own as a focal point. To see an example of the power of complimentary colors, take a look at our Orange Grove Address Plaque on the Classy Plaques website. Notice how the blue and brown borders provide a tasteful backdrop of contrast that highlights the bright and bold orange hues. Now ‘orange’ you glad you read this blog post?

See you next time…
Cassie Jones
Classy Plaques Blogger

Orange You Glad You Read This Blog? - Classy Plaques Store

A professional blogger (like me) spends a lot of time figuring out what to say and what not to say about a given topic. Take cherries, for instance. I could blog about:

- The nutritional value of cherries as a popular super-food or the 1,000+ varieties of cherries grown in 20 countries and list the 10 types that are grown commercially.

- The popularity of cherry pie, which historically ranks #4 or #5 behind apple/dutch apple, pumpkin, and strawberry-rhubarb but ahead of blueberry, pecan, peach, and key lime.

- The use of the word ‘cherry’ in American pop-culture like cherried out (in tip-top condition), cherry-picker (engine lifting device), cherry-baby (cute girlfriend), and cherry top (old style police car).

- The brilliant color or juicy burst of flavor-or tell a nostalgic childhood story of climbing up a backyard cherry tree and being so scared to climb down that my mom made me stay in the tree all afternoon until dad got home.

I could blog about many things - but Renee, the founder, owner, and creative director at Classy Plaques (who also happens to be my sister-in-law and boss for this blog), sent me the following note last week:

Cassie…
'Of all our designs at Classy Plaques, The Cherries Themed Address Plaque is one of my favorites. The design is fun, the colors are cheerful, and all of the border color choices work great. This is my own creation for those 'Mary Engelbreit' lovers (hope you know who that is!). For some reason, this plaque is one of our best kept secrets. It comes out great in the kiln and everyone who orders it, loves it – but fewer people order it. We receive more positive feedback on this plaque design than any other. So let’s get the word out and blog about it. When it comes to these bright colors, there is plenty that people would love to decorate their homes with.
Thanks, Renee'

First of all, if you’re not an artist (like me) and have never heard of Mary Engelbreit (even if Renee thinks we should have), Mary Engelbreit is a world renown artist and illustrator whose licensed artwork is featured on hundreds of products, calendars, best-selling children's books, millions of greeting cards, thousands of gifts, crafts, and home accents.

Cheery Cherries
Incorporating cherries into your decorating theme is refreshing and will add whimsical fun and vitality to your home. Cherries work well on everything from socks and stationery to jewelry and fabric (also ceramic address plaques). Mary Engelbreit (who we all know and love) uses cherries in many of her products and designs.

Cherries work well in the kitchen and depending on how you use them, can complement both contemporary and retro designs. A few cherries will bring a touch of interest and detail. A complete cherry design motif will add a warm and welcoming ‘no-place-like-home’ feel to any room.

A bold, cherry-red wall will enhance a cherry decorating theme as much as an actual cherry design. Or try using a bold cherry red color on kitchen cabinets (or interior shelves), table or chair legs, or on hanging shelves for knickknack displays.

For accents, you may want to hang cherry-print curtains on a kitchen window or display cherry-design dish towels. You can mount cherry-themed wall art or display cherry-themed pottery, glasses, canisters, or cutting boards. Since accents can make or break any decorating theme, make sure your accents contain the same hue of red or the same basic cherry shape as your primary theme.

For a final touch, place a bowl full of sweet ripe cherries on your table. Their deep, rich color can conjure up cheerful memories of long summer days.

Have fun decorating and if you want, take a look at one of Renee’s favorite Classy Plaques designs: The Cherries Address Sign and House Plaque.

See you next time! 

Cassie Jones, Blogger

Cherries Themed House Plaque Decor

In this weeks post, we are talking about one of our favorite and most popular address plaques, the Modern House Number Plaque with Floating Numbers. This sleek number plaque is made of solid cast aluminum and features anywhere from 1 to 5 numbers and your choice from 10 different colors. But why is the Modern style so popular? Has it always been trendy?

Is Modern the Same as Contemporary?

The word “modern” is often used interchangeably with the word “contemporary.” They are basically the same thing right? You may be surprised to find out they are in fact quite different. Though it may be one of the most frequently used design words, modern design is probably one of the most mis-defined design styles.

Contemporary Style

The term “contemporary” is more fluid and can represent more than just one particular style. It is the style of the present day. Because of this, the contemporary style is ever changing and always evolving, making it hard to truly define. Pieces featured in contemporary design are often more rounded and include softer lines. The color palette is more neutral featuring tone on tone colors and sometimes have bold splashes of color such as a striking patterned floor rug or a colorful piece of art.

What’s the Difference?

The main difference between Modern and Contemporary design style, is that modern is an interpretation of design that started in the turn of the 20th century. The term Modern Design refers to a distinct time period. It usually has a sense of simplicity in every area and generally implies straight clean lines, and many times has a use of steel, metal, or glass. Modern also refers to a simpler color palette, and the decor is minimal, without a lot of clutter.

Modern Style

Recently, with all of the millennials, searching for the next “new thing”, a Modern style is something that has stayed a surprisingly steady trend through the decades. The Netflix original show, “Tidying up with Marie Kondo” premiered in 2019, and it was a raving success. Marie Kondo’s revolutionary way of organizing a cluttered house, has swept the nation, encouraging people everywhere to tidy up and get rid of all the things that don't “spark joy”. This trend also tapped into the idea that young adults have been following, and that is the idea of minimalism. This encompasses a movement that points towards the immersion of the Modern style that is seen in houses all over America.

Whether you have the modern style decor in your house already, or you want to start exploring this minimalist sleek modern style that is being used in homes everywhere, we encourage you to check out our Modern House Number Plaque with Floating Numbers

Thanks for stopping by!

Sources used:

https://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/...

https://homeworlddesign.com/elegant-contemporary-s...

Enter the Dolphin
To celebrate the New Year and commemorate the unveiling of our newly remodeled website, Classy Plaques is pleased to introduce our  Dolphins Address Plaque as the newest addition to our line of Beach Address Plaques. Sometimes the best ideas come from a customer which was the case for a California woman who wanted a Dolphin plaque. We hope that dolphin lovers from California to Florida and everywhere in between will love this new custom designed house number sign.

Why the Dolphin?
The dolphin is arguably one of the most loved creatures of the sea – and for good reason. Dolphins have been interacting with humans for as long as we have known of their existence. Known for their gentle and playful spirit, dolphins are highly intelligent and are good at “tuning in” to the patterns and rhythm of life and nature. Better yet, dolphins are social creatures that spend most of their waking hours playing together in joyful harmony - with one another and with their environment. Apparently, they have learned the rich value that playful fun and loving friendships bring to life.

Myths and Symbols
Dolphins are often associated in mythical lore with higher forms of consciousness. Considered the "king of fish" by many ancient cultures, dolphin meaning is closely associated with kingly qualities - not the dominating qualities, but the gracious ones. In the traditions of many cultures, grace is a core theme related to dolphin meanings throughout the history of art and literature.

A short list of other symbolic dolphin meaning would include playfulness, gentleness, harmony, intelligence, contentment, friendship, community, resurrection, and generosity. In Christian art, the dolphin conveys an aspect of Christ and is often symbolic of resurrection. Artists often use the protective, stabilizing, compassionate spirit of the dolphin to send a message of peace and well-being to the pure of heart. For many, these cultural associations may make our  Dolphin Address Plaque a perfect symbol for your home.

10 Fun Facts About Dolphins
1. Dolphins have large brains and many scientists believe that dolphins are as intelligent as humans.

2. Dolphins use a variety of whistles, grunts, clicks, and body postures to communicate with each other. They use a unique, personal whistle to get the attention of another dolphin.

3. Dolphins live in social groups (pods) of as many as 200. They hunt together, eat together, play together, and protect and care for one another.

4. If a dolphin is hurt or ill, other dolphins will tend to them, lifting them to the surface to breathe. At birth, several dolphins will gather to help with the birth and pull the newborn out by its tail. They then swim in circles around the newborn and its mother to protect them from imminent danger.

5. Dolphins navigate and hunt like bats, bouncing high-pitched sounds off of objects and listening for echoes.

6. Dolphins use echolocation (see #5) to find prey and hunt together by surrounding a school of fish to trap them before taking turns swimming through the school to catch fish.

7. The Bottlenose dolphin averages eight feet in length and weighs 500-600 pounds. Smaller species like the Maui’s Dolphin, are only four feet long and weigh 90 pounds. The largest dolphin species, the Orca (aka killer whale) can grow to be 25 feet long and weigh up to 20,000 pounds.

8. To prevent drowning while sleeping only half of the dolphin’s brain goes to sleep while the other half remains awake so they can continue to breathe!

9. Dolphins live long lives with some species living about forty years and others living as long as eighty years. 10. Scientists believe that dolphins conserve energy by swimming alongside ships, a practice known as bow-riding.

Dolphin-Themed Entry Decor

1300’s:

•    Golf originates along the coast of Scotland, where round pebbles are hit on beaches and sand dunes using a long stick or club.
•    Golf’s popularity eclipses the sport of archery (the foundation of Scotland’s national defense) and subsequently becomes a crime punishable by hanging.

  1400’s:
•    The game of golf is referenced in the Acts of Parliament under the Scottish King, James II.
•    King James IV catches the ‘golf bug’ and buys a set of clubs and balls from a bowmaker in Perth, Scotland.

1500’s:
•    The first recorded golf match takes place between James IV and the Earl of Bothwell and Mary Queen of Scots is subjected to public scrutiny for golfing at Seton House (too) soon after the death of her husband.
•    In response to a national obsession with the game, Scottish lawmakers ban the playing of golf on Sundays.

1600’s:
•    Wooden spheres used as golf balls are replaced with small bags made of thin leather and stuffed with feathers.
•    Golf quickly spreads to England and from there throughout the world.

700’s:
•    Golf evolves into the sport we recognize today.•    The first Golf Club, The Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, is formed in Scotland with the first Official Rule Guides published soon thereafter.

800’s:
•    The Old Manchester Golf Club is founded at Kersal Moor in England, the Royal Calcutta is founded in India, and the Royal Montreal in North America.
•    The first ladies golfing society is formed - the Fish Wives of Mussleburgh.

1900’s:
•    The modern ‘wound’ (Haskell) ball is developed making the ‘guttie’ obsolete.
•    Golfing becomes a professional sport and the PGA is formed in 1916

And the rest as they say is history.

Thanks for stopping by. See you next time.

Curt & Cassie Jones are a husband-wife writing team who blog professionally for Classy Plaques and other trending growth companies. They reside just south of Portland, OR in the north Willamette Valley. Tee off with Front Door Golf-themed Home Decor

It’s true! There really is an official California Poppy season. It begins with California Poppy Day on April 6th and ends with Poppy Week May 13th-18th. In honor of this auspicious celebration, Classy Plaques is featuring our popular Pop(py) Quiz to test your Poppy knowledge. We’ll start out easy and ramp it up as we go: (Answers are at the bottom)

POP(py) QUIZ

1. What state boasts the California Poppy as its state flower?
(Hint: It’s not Texas or Florida)

2. What year did the California Poppy become the state flower of California?
(no changing your answer on #1)

3. Why was the California Poppy named the state flower of California in 1903?
(no changing your answer on #2) 

• To support California’s nickname of ‘The Golden State’
• To match the state colors of blue and gold
• To coordinate with the state mineral (gold)
• All of the above

  

4. What is the proper (Latin) scientific name for the California Poppy?

• Poppyrazi Celebrititus
• Poppawheely tiltibackius
• Poppabearium Goldilockus
• Eschscholzia Californica
• Californicanu Poppicornius

5. California Poppies contain chemicals that are known to help you:

• Retain facts and remember more
• Find romance and true love
• Relax and sleep
• See the future
• Run faster and jump higher

6. The California Poppy grows wild throughout which western state? (Hint: It’s not New York or New Jersey)

7. California Indians valued the poppy as a source of:

• Nutrition
• Poppy seeds
• Poppyseed oil
• All of the above

8. Common nicknames for the California Poppy are:

• Flame flower
• Copa de oro (cup of gold)
• La amapola
• All of the above

9. When is Poppy Day celebrated?

10.  When is Poppy Week?

Answers:
1.    California
2.    1903
3.    All of the above
4.    Eschscholzia californica
5.    Relax and sleep
6.    California
7.    All of the above
8.    All of the above
9.    April 6th
10.  May 13th - 18th

In closing, let me share with you a quote from Classy Plaque’s version of Pippy Longstocking – the one where Pippy learns that her dapper and well-dressed grandfather has an energetic little dog that loves California wildflowers.

‘Even Pippy’s preppy pappy’s peppy puppy prefers poppies.’
(repeat three times quickly)

Here’s wishing you and yours a spectacular poppy season, full of golden memories.

Cassie Jones
Classy Plaques Blogger

California Poppies Floral Address Sign

The latest ceramic address plaque from Classy Plaques is designed to harness the energy and excitement of catching the perfect wave and riding it all the way to your front door. The introduction of our surfing house plaque adds a powerful surge of energy to our unique line of beach address plaques.

We are excited to provide yet another way for our valued customers to express their unique passions and interests through our ever-expanding line of fun, unique, and artistically creative house number signs. At Classy Plaques all of our address plaques are custom-designed and hand-crafted especially for you.

Surf Lingo
Surfing has a unique vocabulary all its own. If you know the meaning of at least three of the following surfing terms, our surfing house plaque may be for you: Be a Star

Ever since Gidget (Sandra Dee) was initiated into the California surfing culture by Moondoggie (James Darren) on the big screen in Gidget (1959), the surfing lifestyle has become an important part of the American experience. Mainstream movies and movie stars have paid homage to the surfing subculture for more than fifty years.

From the disappointment of Chadwick Gates (Elvis Presley) career choices in Blue Hawaii (1961) to DeeDee’s (Annette Funicello) literal free fall for Frankie (Frankie Avalon) in Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), beach party films and surfing movies have enamored audiences around the world. More recent blockbusters like Point Break (1991) with Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves, Blue Crush (2002) with Kate Bosworth, and Soul Surfer (2011) with AnnaSophia Robb, Helen Hunt, and Dennis Quaid prove that the surfing lifestyle is not a passing fad.

  Rumor has it that many of these movie stars would have owned a surfing house plaque from the beach address plaques collection at Classy Plaques had they known about them. Buy a plaque and Be a star!

Make History

Surfing is one of the oldest practiced sports on the planet. The idea of riding waves on a wooden board originated in Western Polynesia more than three thousand years ago. Early surfers were fishermen who discovered that riding waves was a good way to get to shore with their catch. Over time, ‘catching a wave’ morphed from an efficient work activity to an enjoyable pastime. And the revolutionary idea of surfing for fun and sport was born! The rest is history.

Now that you know more than you ever thought you would know about surfing (and then some), we invite you to check out our beach address plaques collection and harness the power, beauty, and excitement of ‘catching the ‘perfect wave’ for your home – with a surfing house plaque from Classy Plaques.

Cassie Jones
Blogger for Classy Plaques

Beach House Number Plaques

Here are the HuffPost excerpts (credits below):

“Monogram is back in a big way with the return of the personalization trend. Whether it's fashion items, travel or home style, putting your own stamp on your style -- literally -- is hot all over again… The chic place this trend is turning up is in home décor. Wood letters, classic monogram pillows, bedding and throw blankets are everywhere.

The key to working the trend is to keep it simple with a piece or two. You don't want to go as far as have the painting of yourself over the mantle, but a few good initials here and there can look fresh long after the trend dies down in the coming years.”

What About Traditional Décor?
Many Classy Plaques customers are thrilled with the creative and artistic ceramic house plaque designs we offer and value our ability to customize a house number sign that specifically expresses their uniqueness.

More traditional decorators may be unaware that Classy Plaques also offers a complete line of Monogram Address Plaques . If monograms are part of your decorating motif (or if the personalization trend has cast its spell on you), a monogram ceramic address plaque from Classy Plaques may be just the ticket.

What’s First in Last Names?
Monograms typically focus on the first letter of the family surname. If you ever wondered whether the first letter of your last name is common or uncommon, today is your lucky day!

Where Do You Rank?
As shown below, the letter ‘W’ is the most common first letter for a last name in America followed by the letter ‘J’ in the #2 position. Of the 115 million households in America, nearly half of them (45%)share 100 common last names. Here’s how these 52 million US households (HH) in the Top 100 stack up:

Rank 1st Letter of Last Name # of HH
#1-2 W, J 5-6 million
#3-5 M, S, B 4-5 million
#6-9 R, H, T, C 3-4 million
#10-12 P, G, A 2-3 million
#13-14 L, D 1-2 million
#15-19 K, E, Y, F, N .5-1 million
#20-26 I, O, Q, U, V, X, Z 0-.5 million

Did Mr. Smith Go To Washington?
If your last name is ‘Smith’ and you expected to see the letter ‘S’ in the top position (as opposed to the #4 spot), remember that even the most popular last name (Smith) cannot stand alone against pairs of popular last names like Williams a

nd Wilson, Johnson and Jones, or Miller and Moore.

Believe It or Not
Following is a list of the most common last names in America for every letter of the alphabet. Believe it or not, 1 in 6 US households share these 26 common last names:

Anderson Brown Clark Davis Evans Flores Garcia Harris Ingram Johnson King Lewis Miller Nelson Owens Perez Quinn Robinson Smith Taylor Underwood Vasquez Williams Xiong Young Zimmerman

Gift Idea
A Monogram Address Plaque from Classy Plaques makes a perfect wedding or housewarming gifts for newly married couples and homeowners.

Note: Special thanks to Condiment (a HuffPost signature contributor) for excerpts from article in Style Section of Huffington Post dated 8/14/13.

Curt & Cassie Jones are a husband-wife writing team who blog professionally for Classy Plaques and other trending growth companies. They reside just south of Portland, OR in the north Willamette Valley. Outdoor Monogram Decor Ideas

Is There a Rooster in the House?
When it comes to home decorating, professional interior designers and do-it-yourself home decorators often reserve a soft spot in their hearts for the iconic rooster. Animal lovers, country girls, and home decor trend setters alike often include the rooster in their decorating, to add a touch of country charm to their home. The introduction of a rooster theme into your decor motif tends to evoke feelings of warmth, comfort, and simplicity reminiscent of country living.

Home Decor Trends
A quick review of Classy Plaques’ Pinterest page for ‘Rooster Signs’ will give you a feel for the growing popularity of the rooster theme in current home decorating trends. From kitchens to bedrooms to entryways and dens around the world, designers, decorators, and other purveyors of good taste have roosters in their home.

Tasteful Restraint

As with any home decorating idea, be sure to balance your themes, and temper your accents. Too much of a good thing can look overdone. It’s good to introduce a new theme or accent piece but remember that a little bit of pizzazz goes a long way. Too much rooster can be the difference between elegant, tasteful décor, and living at the county fairgrounds.

Who Let the Rooster in the House?
If you’re wondering how the rooster has become such a popular trend in home decorating, you have to go back in time - way back. The rooster is an ancient symbol of the victory of light over darkness and a representation of watchfulness and protection. Many cultures have used the rooster in household decor for centuries.

In the Middle Ages, the Gallic Rooster was used as a religious symbol that stood for hope and faith. During the Renaissance, the rooster became associated with the emerging French nation and for centuries, the Gallic Rooster was used by folk artists to adorn ceramics and furniture.

In America, the rooster is the iconic symbol of country living. The harbinger of daylight and official greeter of the morning sun is synonymous with hope, renewal, and good luck.

First Impressions
If you have followed the ever increasing trend of the rooster, a custom-designed ceramic address plaque or house number sign from Classy Plaques may serve as the perfect addition to your home decorating theme. Imagine the fun of greeting visitors and welcoming guests with the first indication of your decorating motif as they enter your home!

Feel free to view our ‘Country Rooster Cottage House Plaque’ or ‘Rooster Cottage House Plaque’ here or peruse the Entire Classy Plaques Catalog of over 100 unique designs in dozens of design, shape, size, and color combinations.

Until next time,

Cassie Jones
Classy Plaques Blogger