Announcement    The original map letter banners and garlands on Etsy! Since 2011! Original home of Little Explorer Landing Soon, Once Upon a Baby, The World Awaits, and What a ONEderful World/Adventure map banners and garlands.

Current production times---between 2-4 business days to create and ship out your order.

Then, add shipping times to that------first class/ now called "ground mail", takes 5-10 business days, priority mail takes 2-4 business days, in transit.

Contact me prior to purchasing if you need your order super quickly----I may be able to rush it! Please don't assume I can, though, and simply write in a very urgent need by date in the notes. Thank you for understanding it's the customer's job to estimate need by dates, communicate with me directly, and purchase the correct shipping. I'm a small business and I can't offer refunds for items that don't arrive in time, given all the info. provided here. I really try and get folks the info they need and will always rush orders, if I can, for those who contact me. That said, you're welcome to risk it, many people do, and things work out just fine! :) I'm a worrier, and I like to share all the possibilities with customers.

Please always leave your need by date in the notes at checkout, as that is how we prioritize which orders need to go out first. Please note, however, that simply noting you need it tomorrow will not make it so. Always note shipping and production times and contact us directly via Etsy messages if you have a rush need.

ALWAYS PURCHASE PRIORITY SHIPPING IF YOU NEED YOUR ORDER IN HAND IN UNDER 10-14 DAYS---depending on location. We're in Oregon. Packages to be delivered on the west coast usually (not always!) arrive on the quicker end. East coast packages definitely take longer. Because it CAN take a full 7-10 business days, on occasion, for ground mail to get you your order, I can't guarantee shipping by your need by date if you don't upgrade. You've got to include the time it takes to make your order as well. It is actually faster to go with priority shipping, over ground mail/first class mail.

Cost you pay for Priority shipping is JUST the cost of that method of shipping, there is no mark up on that price/no "handling charges." The USPS is always raising prices on shipping, and we haven't raised our shipping prices in years.

PLEASE READ FOR EASE OF ORDERING:

We'd love it if you'd give a quick scroll through 12 years of overwhelmingly 5-star reviews about our shop, attesting to our product quality, excellent customer service, lightening fast shipping times, etc.

***In an effort to speed up production times, accommodate more customer requests for last minute delivery, and reduce prices, ALL banners and garlands will now come ready to string them yourself. Every order comes with a complementary large eyed NEEDLE and lots and lots of light weight yet strong twine (so you can divide up your banner into two lines if you want).*** Customer reviews indicate that stringing is not difficult and takes very little time. In fact, prestrung banners can be tangly when unwinding, while stringing as you hang (with all shapes and letter in order, ready to be strung) ensures you can get everything exactly how you want it, without tangles. I include instructions, just for extra help. But it's very straight forward.

We are confident you're going to love the ease of stringing and the new lower pricing, too! We've been able to reduce prices on all banners and garlands by A WHOPPING 20% by moving to a string it yourself model! :)

BUT! IF YOU REALLY DON'T WANNA STRING IT YOURSELF.......

*****IF you don't want to string your own banner, or have difficulty with such tasks or know you're ordering at the last minute and won't have a single extra moment to do it, then CONTACT US PLEASE! We'll set up a listing for you---it is generally $5.00 per banner (subject to change, depending on order load and length of banner) for pre-stringing, but we offer discounts for orders with multiple banners and offer it free for folks who simply can't string for any reason.*******

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Our letters and shapes are cut from custom-designed 110 lb cover weight, archival card stock PAPER. Sturdy enough to be used over and over again, but still lightweight, easy to hang, paper banners, that are 100% recyclable and environmentally friendly when you're done using them. Hanging and stringing instructions included.

We specialize in making individually cut letters, in all sorts of cool fonts, for the appearance of floating words---the lightweight yet strong twine used makes it extra easy to string and the letters hang nicely. Our letters are cut cardstock-thickness paper and not plastic or cardboard. Please read descriptions. We do not use plastic and these are paper banners, quality, sturdy, but lightweight.

Since we print our own designs, custom designs, and can match any color you need through color print-match, expect that our banners will often have a white cardstock back--usually PRINTING ON FRONT ONLY. Most people hang against a wall, so this is sufficient and helps keep prices down. Sometimes, if a banner is all black, for example, we'll use black cardstock and then the back will also be black or whatever color cardstock is used.

If you are NOT hanging your banner against a wall, or someplace that you might see the back, and you want that printed as well, we can do that for you. There is a small charge for that, due to the fact it takes twice as long to print on both sides of the paper. But reach out if that is your need, as we want you to have a banner that fits your party space! I'll set up a custom listing for you!

Please note the map chart showing you all the different map variations within each map type. You will receive a mix of those maps. If there is a particular shade you are looking for---for example, more teal or more blue when selecting our ocean maps---please let us know at checkout. Otherwise, we'll use our usual mix of maps. Only mentioning this because I know some folks are really trying to stick with a color theme, and yet still want to use multi colored map patterns. Just communicate with us about your needs and we'll steer you in the right direction.

Our banners are designed for indoor use, however, our customers have told us for years that they have used them outdoors, in dry and non-windy conditions and they've worked great.

"GOOD-TO-KNOW" STUFF:

We prioritize orders based on the need by date you give us at checkout---if you don't need it for a month, it may take a little longer than the shipping estimate you see at checkout in order to get it out the door, since we are always trying to accommodate last minute orders. If the date of your party isn't for a month or two, BUT you want it in-hand sooner, just write the date you'd like to have it in hand. We look at YOUR date to prioritize order completion, especially necessary during high volume times of the year.

This does not mean that your order will automatically ship within 24 hours, but we do try our best to get orders out as per stated need by date. Please note the ship out range of dates when ordering and ALWAYS upgrade to priority if your need by date is under 2 weeks away. USPS first class mail is now called GROUND MAIL and is noted by USPS to be slower. We can't guarantee arrival if you don't upgrade shipping when required.

Shipping times vary a ton and we get surges of "last minute need" orders so that even these requests may take a couple of days to go out.

Take a quick look at your shipping address before purchasing, to make sure it's correct. Make sure to REFRESH the page, so that it gets entered, if you end up changing something. :)

Shipping Information:

If you follow the tracking of your item, and you notice it's dropped off the radar for multiple days, contact me and I may be able to get a replacement out for you in time. Most of the time, if the tracking is absent, the mail carrier just failed to scan it into the system and it's still on it's way to you. I'll do everything I can to get you what you need in time! Sometimes USPS just doesn't scan things along the way, and yet it will suddenly show up on your doorstep and very rarely things go missing. This is beyond our control, but we will try our very best to make sure you get what you need OR receive a shop credit.

If USPS excessively delays your order, I cannot offer a refund, but I will offer you a free banner, created and shipped at my expense, for a future event. That is IF the problem is USPS and not that you ordered at the last minute without upgrading to priority. This happens very rarely. USPS is pretty darn reliable, although keep in mind, former first class, now GROUND MAIL, shipping estimates are now longer, or at least a wider range of shipping times.

Please check out our return policies. Custom items, where you get to pick colors and shapes and add names, etc., are generally non-returnable. Items that may be eligible for return must be sent back immediately, unused, in original packaging, unopened----please only ship back AFTER contacting us first to make sure your item is eligible for return.

If it's customized in any way (meaning you get to pick colors/patterns/shapes), it is not returnable.

It has to be something we can resell quickly and due to our highly customizable product, very few items fit that bill. Sending something back/returning to sender because it arrived after your need by date is not a valid reason for return, especially if you did not upgrade to priority shipping if your need by date was under two weeks away.

All items are made to order.

We're not responsible for theft ----please make sure packages have a safe place to wait for you if you aren't home. If USPS scans it as delivered, it is considered by Etsy to have been delivered.

Always check with neighbors, your postal carrier and members of your household if you don't see your package. This often resolves things, in my experience, with customers not seeing their package. Fortunately, we rarely see the problem of stolen packages.

A sincere request: When leaving a review for our shop, please keep in mind that we are a small family business and negative reviews can really affect customer trust in our shop. The vast majority of our reviews are great, in fact, almost all are 5 star reviews, and we know we earned those. ALWAYS read all shop descriptions and announcements closely so that you aren't confused by what you are purchasing. We sell cardstock paper banners, not plastic, laminate, or other materials. Photos accurately represent our colors and patterns and fonts. Scroll through all the photos, read through our concise and easy to visually scan shop descriptions. Note shipping times at checkout. And contact us anytime with questions.

Still, the squeaky wheel gets the eyeballs, to paraphrase. And any bad review is honestly upsetting, because we just hate the idea that someone didn't get what they needed or wanted. So we hope that you will contact us first if you have any issues. Just know, we will fix anything we mess up on, replace ripped letters for free--and this includes after you use it---we want you to be able to reuse your banners, so if in taking them down for storage, something gets ripped, contact us and we'll replace that letter or shape! We'll work with you to come to a fair resolution if there are any other issues. In other words, there's no reason to leave a bad review. We take this seriously, because it's our livelihood. We respond very quickly to messages. :)

In these very price sensitive times, also please keep in mind that with material costs, the shipping subsidies we offer, and the many and ever increasing fees of Etsy and credit card transactions, we keep about 40-50% of the purchase price. We promise you that we're keeping prices as low as we possibly can, even as we deal with sellers brazenly copying our copyrighted designs, phrases and patterns. We simply absorb most material cost increases ourselves and rarely raise prices. In fact, with the introduction of string it yourself, we actually lowered prices.

Contact me anytime about bulk orders, wholesale purchases (25+ of the same item=significant discount), custom orders, and partnering via social media.

Thanks for visiting and buying handmade :)
Message me anytime for a quick response!
Barbara
Magpie & Max