REVIEW Cricut Mystery Box September 2013

I saw this mystery box on sale on the Cricut website and had to give it a shot. I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised. I thought for sure that it would be junk. It turns out that I can use the items that arrived in my box. With Shipping this box cost me $40. Here's what came in the box:

tool kit

duffel bag for the Cricut Electronic Cutter

Cardstock

White Vinyl

Black Vinyl

 

Like what you see? Go to www.cricut.com

REVIEW: August 2013 Out of the Box Sampler

This is my video review for the August 2013 Out of the Box Sampler. This box costs $25, which includes shipping. It is mostly bath and body products with a few edible samples packaged separately. Well worth every cent I paid.

I'm sending in my wax tart samples for September through December. Since I'll be sending in 100 samples each month, I get a free box for each month I send in samples. It's a pretty good deal for me. My product will reach 100 potential customers. Those people will try my wax tarts in their home. You can't get much better exposure than that. To me it is well worth the effort to separately package all the wax tarts. I just make a game out of it.

Throughout the summer I go to yard sales and buy up any baggies that I can use as cute packaging. When I do finger painting with my kids, I make sure to use card stock. That same card stock is then used to make business cards to put in with my samples.

If you have a craft business, the Out of the Box Sampler is an excellent way to get your product out to your potential customers. Have fun with it.

Tips on preparing samples and giveaways

After participating in a sample box, I learned a few things. The samples I sent in were wax tarts. I participated in the Out of the Box Sampler. I'll be sending my samples in again over the fall and winter months.

I'll pass on what I learned to you, my readers, in case you ever want to join in on the fun. I sent in 100 samples. I made sure that every one of these samples had my business card stapled to the plastic baggie that had my sample in it. This is one thing that I would change. In the future I'll be placing my business card inside the baggie with my sample. This way the person receiving my sample in their box won't have to rip my business card.

Something else that I'll be doing differently is paying more attention to the box theme. Every month the Out of The Box Sampler has a theme that is listed on their web site: Out of the Box Sampler  

The smartest change I'll be making to my style of preparation is making the wax tarts ahead of time. This is perfect for when you think you don't have enough time to make samples. Make them ahead of time and package them ahead of time. What I do is I make small batches of tarts at a time. This way I don't get overwhelmed.

Participating in a sample box is an investment. There are ways to be thrifty about it:

1. Get your packaging at yard sales or flea markets. There's always someone out there trying to get rid of their festive packaging materials from different holidays. Help them out and help yourself out at the same time.

2. Print your own business cards. It's easy! Most computers have at least one program that help you make your own business cards. For the card stock and/or thicker papers, I normally just use the paper that my children used for finger painting. I cut it down to 8 1/2 inches x 11 inches. Then I make sure that the colorful side is facing up. This way my business information is clearly seen on the blank side. The back of the card is where I write what the scent of the wax tart is.

3. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! If you get pretty packaging with something that you ordered, reuse it for one of your samples. The same goes for cute ribbons or stickers or even old sewing lace. These materials can easily be used to make a pretty bow on your sample baggies. Just make sure that your baggie is secure so that everyone knows which sample goes with what business card

REVIEW Burt's Bees July 2013 $30 Grab Bag

Here is a video review of the July 2013 Burt's Bees $30 Grab Bag.

I get these almost every time they go up for sale. It's a great way to get their products at a low price. You never know what you're going to get.



Enjoy!!

Out of the Box Sampler Review July 2013

Here is my video review of the July 2013 Out of the box sampler

It was my first time doing a video review, so it's very rough. Hopefully you get a good idea of what is in the box. It is truly worth the $25 you pay for it. How else can you check out some of the best of Etsy?

A good chunk of the $25 goes towards shipping your box of goodies to you.

If you would like to order a box go to : www.OutofTheBoxSampler.com

REVIEW Mega Goodie Lot from Green Bohemia

The pictures above show what I received in my Mystery Box Mega Goodie Lot from Green Bohemia on Etsy. I paid $16.75 with shipping and received an AWESOME lot of scrapbooking and jewelry goodies. I would definitely buy this again.

Want to buy one?? Click here: Green Bohemia

REVIEW April Vitacost Be Pretty Box

April Vitacost Be Pretty Box

Once again a great value for $13.99 free Shipping. Customer Service was excellent. I contacted them becasue I have this item set on their Set and Save. When I saw there was no tracking number after a few days, I made sure to contact them. No questions asked they sent out my box and gave me my tracking number. This happened within hours of me contacting them. Want one?? www.vitacost.com

REVIEW Beauty Army Sample Box

This sample package came from Beauty Army. I paid $12. In April I had the choice of samples or this nail care set. I have to say that I liked this box a lot. The package was not only pretty, I can repurpose it for a gift. The contents were very nice quality. I liked the nail buffer and the conditioner worked well. 

Here's their site: Beauty Army

REVIEW My Dream Sample Box

Above is a picture of the contents of the "My Dream Sample Box" Here's their site: www.mydreamsamplebox.com

This box comes packaged as a gift basket. It is shipped in a flat rate box. So when you open it, it's like getting a gift box full of nifty crafty items.

I received a nice variety of handcrafted goodies for $25 free shipping.

REVIEW Be Pretty Box from Vitacost.com

I recently ordered the Be Pretty Box from Vitacost.com out of curiosity. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. I liked everything that I received. I will be buying these in the future as well. You pay $13.99 free shipping and they send you a box full of goodies. 

They have different boxes on their site. I chose the Be Pretty because I knew that I would get the most use out of it. This way I can try different stuff and see if I like it. The products I received were all organic and high quality.

I will be posting more reviews in the future. After all, this is my blog and I'll post what I want to post :-D

Raffle for St. Francis University Economics Club

Hello everyone,

My husband, Dr. Edward J. Timmons, asked me to put together a Pittsburgh Penguins themed basket so that his students could raffle it off and use the money they raise for a trip to Washington D.C. in April. So below are pictures of everything included in the basket and the value of each item. This way anyone who buys a raffle ticket, will know what exactly it is they are trying to win. Also if you are seeing this and are interested in buying a raffle ticket, please e-mail me at: oalvarado411@aol.com so that I can get you a raffle ticket. Just a disclaimer...purchasing anything from my Etsy Shop does not increase your odds of winning. It will earn you brownie points with me though :-D Raffle Tickets are going for $1 each. Thanks for stopping by!!

12 oz Penguins Themed candle. Each color is a different scent. Yellow is Hyacinth. White is fragrant woods. Black is Inspired. Retail Value = $8 

 Black and gold crackle print pillow. Retail value = $10

 Refrigerator handle covers in black and gold crackle print.
Retail Value = $10

 Stack of 3 Scented Wax Tarts.
Yellow = Hyacinth
White = Fragrant Woods
Black = Inspired
Retail Value = $1.50

 Set of 4 coasters in black and gold crackle print.
Retail Value = $10

 Solid Black Quilted Tote with interior pockets and one exterior pocket.
Retail Value = $45

 interior of black tote

 close up of Penguins patch which has been sewn on to the front

 interior pockets

 exterior front, showing the snap closure

Here's the tote basket with everything in it. If you want one of these as a gift for a friend, please e-mail me at oalvarado411@aol.com and make sure you write "penguins basket" in the subject.








Total Value of basket: $84.50

Etsy Shop

Hello everyone,

Sorry I haven't been posting as often as I should. I spend the majority of my time raising my two little boys. If you ever get bored and want to visit my etsy shop here's a link to get to it: