Christmas in July
Back to school, Thanksgiving, Halloween – all of these events yet to come before we start hearing Christmas jingles in the malls. But in the crafting world, we’re relishing in the beautiful sunny days on one hand, but are building snowmen and stuffing stockings in our heads! I’m just about to get started on building up my inventory for this year’s series of craft fairs, and to get my head in the right place, I decided that reminiscing on last year’s craft fair season would do the trick.
Here’s what my table looked like:
I was selling jewelry also last year, so that is occupying the right hand side of my table, but the left hand side is all of my hand made crafting stuff.
I had a ballot box for a drawing of the Christmas tree, which also allowed people ot sign up for my monthly newsletter. I was giving away Idea Books for FREE as well. I had little candy sticks with decorative toppers, card purses, mini albums and the best sellers, were gift card holders. I’ll be making ALOT of these for this year, and with Close to my Heart’s Cricut cartridges, these will be EXTRA easy!! Stay tuned for my very first video, that will focus on using the Cricut cartridges to make gift card holders!
Pa Poy, Pa Poy!!
I absolutely loved the movie Despicable Me – I laughed, I cried, I felt warm and fuzzy inside!!…But what I love even more is that my nephew also loves the movie…So when I saw a picture of him posing like a minion with his 3d glasses just a few weeks before his 8th birthday, I knew he was giving me the perfect reason to google those lovable little yellow plops (??!!) and get inspired for a birthday card!
Here’s the outcome:
He was so much fun to make…I really liked how he turned out too – the Silver Glitter paper for his eye-piece makes the whole card *pop*. I used the super sharp micro-tip scissors to hand cut his mouth pieces
I had to send this card by mail to my nephew, and it wasn’t delivered on time due to the floods in Toronto that week. But the best part is that on his birthday, he says he got all that he had wanted except a Minion card!!! So he was THRILLED to get one, even though it was a few days late!
And in case you’re wondering where the title for this post comes from, here’s the inspiration:
Disappearing Acts
On Augist 1st a BRAND NEW Idea book will be launched!! Aa exciting as it is to know that we’ll have a whole new set of amazing products, we have to say goodbye to some of our favorites. Below is a list of items that will no longer be available after July 31st. Also these items are only available while supplies last, so if any of the links lead you to an “item unavailable” page, it’s already all gone…SO DON’T DELAY!!
Remember that you can qualify for my special promotion by snatching up some of these goodies!
Do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions about these products – rgkreations@hotmail.com
Thanksgiving in July…
I know – it’s supposed to be Christmas in July, and that is in the works for mid-month…
But I want to kick off the month by saying Thank You!! I want to give back a bit for your patronage, so this month, I am offering a special promotion of my own.
You will be rewarded with some freebies for placing orders on my shopping website ! Every purchase of at least 20$ will earn you a free “Petite Perks” stamp set that are exclusive for consultants to give to our customers to show them they are appreciated. You cannot get this super adorable stamp set unless you place an order!
Remember last month’s promotional Thank You stamp? Every 50 $ order placed on my shopping website will get you that same stamp for free! If you’ve already purchased it, you can substitute it for any monogram stamp! And you’ll also get the Petite Perks stamp set too!!!
The way to qualify for this special is to join the Thank You gathering listed on the shopping site. Do not order the stamp on your order though…you’ll have to send me an e-mail (rgkreations@hotmail.com) to specify which stamp you want and ensure that I have your proper mailing address.
While you’re on the shopping website, take some time to look around…You’ll see there’s tons of resources to help you unleash your creativity!! There are video resources and workshop instructions as well as bonus projects you can complete with the supplies you’ve ordered.
June 2013 Promotions
This month, there are several promotions being offered by Close to my Heart.
My personal favorite is “A True Thank You“. Not only is the stamp a sneak preview item from the new idea book being launched on August 1st, but all profits from the sale of this stamp will go towards the Oklahoma Hurricane relief efforts. There can never be enough Thank You cards around…and this stamp is a one-stop shop to make a wide variety of them! Yours for only $2.95!
The next promotion is the “Let’s Get Patriotic” campaign. Close to my Heart has produced 2 new stamp sets with Canada’s service men and women in mind. They will be available ONLY between June 1st and July 31st 2013. The stamps sets are called “Courage – B1437” ($9.95) and “Strong and Free – D1575” ($17.95). Now, having these patriotic stamps for a limited time only is one incentive to hurry up and get them, but the real clincher is that part of the proceeds from each of these stamp sets will go to a charity, namely, the Canadian Hero Fund, which helps military families, specifically with post secondary education scholarships. For every “Courage” stamp set sold, $3 will be donated, and $5 will be donated for every “Strong and Free” stamp set. What a great way to show you care and appreciate their sacrifices!
The last promotion is called “Make it a Banner Day” . When you purchase at least one stamp set (excluding M- or K- sized stamps) and place an order of at least $25, you will get a FREE mini-banner with your order!! This tax-free and S&H-free bonus is super cute and super on trend: You get 10 pennants, in 4 different shapes, each is about 3″x4″. There are also 9 jump rings included so you can link the pennants together to form your banner. And the best part is that the bonus is CUMULATIVE, that means that you get one mini-banner for EACH $25 spent/stamp set ordered. So a $50 order with 2 qualifying stamp sets will receive 2 mini banners completely free!! A 75$ order with 3 stamps sets will get 3 mini banners absolutely free!! Pretty awesome, right?!! So “where’s the catch?” you’re wondering? Well, supplies are limited, so you need to put in your order in before they run out!!
January – A beginning and an end
Welcome to my first post of the new year!! I hope the holidays were joyous ones and that the good times endure throughout the year.
As far as Close To My Heart goes, the new year is not really a “starting point”…Their new Idea Book goes live on February 1st, so January really is more of an “end point” for the current Idea Book. They’ve published a list of items that will not be featured in the new catalogue and will therefore be unavailable starting after January 31st. Check out the retiring items and get the ones you want before they’re gone!!
Although you can always call or e-mail me with your order, I also have an online shopping site available, and there are many benefits to shopping there:
- You can order at any time of day or night – 24/7!
- Real Time Inventory means none of your items will be on back-order!
- My website is the only way you can order deeply discounted clearance items – while supplies last!!
- Orders ship directly to your door!
- If you join my Mystery Hostess Gathering ( more on this in a later post), you’ll be entered in a draw for free products!
Plus in January there are 2 other reasons to order online
- With any $35 order, you can get the WHOOO’S YOUR VALENTINE? kit for only $10 – it has a $40 value and includes sneak peek products from the new idea book! (this offer is available for phone or e-mail orders also)
- If your order is $50 or above, you’ll qualify to get January’s Stamp of the Month for only $5 extra ($17.95 value)
So that covers the “OUT WITH THE OLD” part…But January is also the time for “IN WITH THE NEW”!! That’s why I am giving you a chance to have a sneak peek at the new catalogue at my Open House on January 26th! You won’t want to miss it!! You’ll get a free Idea Book for attending, and much to see and do!
I look forward to seeing you there!!
Resolutions of all sorts!
I have been meaning to post for quite some time, but I really didn’t want to do so empty handed…I have about 40 pictures of crafts I’ve done that I want to post here, but the drive that reads my camera’s memory card is not behaving well at all lately. So starting with that, I resolve to discipline that drive back into shape in the near future. I promise. I’ve already accomplished one of my resolutions by moving on with my blog, even though my pictures aren’t ready yet.
I also am embarking on a “Journey to Leadership” through Close to my Heart. What that entails is moving from being a Independent Consultant/Hobbyist to being an Independent Consultant/Team Leader. I have really enjoyed the instances where I was able to share my hobby with others and want to do it more. So my next resolution is to work through the program laid out by the Close to my Heart Corporate Office and see how far I can get! It won’t be obvious for me because I’m not really the type of person that can easily strike up a saleslady-type of conversation with strangers, but I have found out (in my moments of sheer bravery), that crafting is something that many strangers are interested in, even if they don’t feel extremely creative themselves – go know! I just have to put on my brave-girl cape and show those strangers that I am here to give them an opportunity to do something really enjoyable (which does not require any preconceived amounts of creativity) – not to try to sell them something they don’t want or need.
In the next few days, I will be posting a some sneak peeks into some really exciting things that will be happening in the next couple of months. Stay tuned!!
All the best for a happy, healthy, prosperous and crafty new year!!
Welcome to my journey!!
When I first joined Close to my Heart as a Consultant, I did so as a hobbyist, but with a long term vision. I knew I was just a few years away from starting a family and that would mean being off of work for a year. I knew that I would want something to ‘manage’ while I was on maternity leave, a creative and social outlet, because these are things that motivate me in my regular 9-to-5.
Here I am a bit over 2 years later. My son Jacob is now 3 months old and we have settled into our routine (I’ve been warned not to get too comfortable – that new routines are imminent!). I am now ready to start sharing my paper passion with others!!
Seeing as it is coming on to the Holiday season, my first set of posts will be about Holiday crafts I’ve made, and upcoming events.
Please feel free to leave comments, or let me know if you have any questions!!
Cheers!