Holiday Shipping Schedule Deadlines

Holiday Deadline to receive your gifts by December 25th:

Africa/Central & South America Customers:
December 3rd

Canada Customers:
December 6th

International Customers:
December 6th

Domestic US Customers:
December 10th

All orders are mailed First Class via the United States Postal Service. Please contact me if you need to expedite your shipping method at an additional cost.

And remember that I offer Free World Wide Shipping for all orders over $25.00! Any shipping upgrades will be at an additional cost.

Are You in the Halloween Spirit Yet?

I'm a little too old for trick-or-treating, and too young to have kids of my own so what is left to do for fun? Hold a Halloween Party for adults perhaps?! I found some very tasty sounding recipes for different beverages that would be a great addition to any Halloween Party.

I can already see boring offices transformed into festive spooky fun, and something for the teenagers to get excited about. (imagine that!)

I hope these found recipes bring you some Halloween joy.

Bug Juice Smoothies

2 cups vanilla yogurt
2 large bananas, cut into chunks
1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup orange juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Candy:

Gummy worms and/or gummy bugs

1. Place all ingredients in blender, except for the candy. Cover and blend on high speed about 30 seconds or until smooth.
2. Pour into 4 glasses.
3. Serve immediately garnish with gummy worms or bugs.

Makes 4 servings.

Halloween Fizzy Punch

6 cups cold orange juice

1 (16-ounce) bottle cold lemon-lime soda
1 pint orange sherbet - divided use

1. Place orange juice in a large pitcher.
2. When ready to serve, stir in lemon-lime soda.
3. Place 1/4 cup sherbet into 8 punch cups. Pour orange drink over sherbet and serve immediately.

Makes 8 servings.

Hot Spiced Harvest Brew

3 cups boiling water
1 (6-ounce) package orange gelatin
4 cups boiling apple juice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 cinnamon sticks for garnish (optional)

1. In a large bowl, stir boiling water with dry gelatin until completely dissolved. Stir in boiling apple juice and cinnamon.
2. Serve hot with cinnamon sticks, if desired.

Makes 8 servings.

Mmm...Enjoy! And thank you for reading.

P.S. The pictured jewelry can be found at my Etsy Shop. The Jet and Topaz Moon Earrings are temporarily out of stock, and I will be getting another pair of those available this week.

Flirting with the Winter and Holiday Spirits.

I just made my first cup of hot chocolate this year - oh how it brings back memories. One taste of this mystical chocolate water, and I am feeling as innocent and naïve as a child. I remember the midnight to 3am car rides stopping back home with just enough time to make another cup of hot chocolate before hitting the road.

This taste mingling with music blaring from the speakers; feeling the comfy-ness of gloves and a scarf, and having the window down to keep us both awake. It was thrilling - and memorable - and real.

The office where I work is decorated for the holidays. The weather outside is getting colder. I can almost see the snowflakes falling and piling up on the roads…I hope it snows in time for Christmas this year.

Snow is always so innocent and youthful. I used to take long (2 or 3 hour) walks in it by myself listening to music and happily getting lost in thought. That seems like ages ago.

[I need to make myself some snowflake earrings.]

Happy Holidays! Enjoy the spirit as Winter approaches.

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you find some time to enjoy the beauty and calmness of the Holiday season.

-
Christina
CM Designs dba 1337 Art
http://1337art.etsy.com
[Elite Art for the elite at heart.] Featuring jewelry for men and women, awareness items, bookmarks, brooches, cards, cell phone charms, clip on earrings, cuff links, hair accessories, wine charms, and more!

5 Ways to Organize Your Business for the Holidays

The holidays are quickly approaching--it's already October!! Here are five ways to help organize your business for the holidays. Hopefully you can be prepared so you can take it easy.

1. Purchase plastic shoe containers at Target or Walmart for $0.99 each. These fit great on shelves, and they are see through. If you do a lot of shows you can designate one container for each show and label them as such. These bins are also good for storing supplies, finished product…the possibilities are limited to your imagination.

2. Get a free self-inking address stamp from Vistaprint. These are great to stamp on customs forms and envelopes. It will be a great time saver when you have a lot of orders to package and ship at one time.

3. Make sure you have enough shipping supplies. Plan to have more than you think you need. Do you have enough tape? Bubble envelops and boxes in different sizes? You can get free expedited shipping supplies from the United States Postal Service website. You can even order free customs forms.

4. Create, create, create! The holidays bring a lot of hungry shoppers. Be sure your shop has plenty of stock available in different styles and price ranges. If it is possible, create multiples of the same item so when you sell one you can immediately relist it. Look through all, and I mean all of your supplies to see what you actually have! (I know I have a ton of supplies around that I need to dedicate a day to go through!)

5. Set boundaries. If you accept custom orders set a deadline so you aren't overloaded on custom orders. Designate a weekly schedule to go to the post office...maybe just two or three times a week? You could also make things one day, ship items another day, etc. Whatever will work for you.

I hope this is helpful to you, and I appreciate you taking the time to read. If you have any comments, questions, or requests please feel free to reply to this blog.

Thank you so much for your time,

-

Christina

CM Designs dba 1337 Art

http://1337art.etsy.com

Elite Art for the elite at heart. Featuring jewelry for men and women, art collage, awareness items, bookmarks, cell phone charms, hair accessories, key chains, kilt pin brooches, wine charms, and more.

Custom orders are accepted.

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The holidays are coming!

Even though it's only August the holidays will be here before we know it! Now is the perfect time to start doing your shopping (and if you're a business owner, start prepping!)

We at CM Designs (dba 1337 Art) will be accepting custom orders until November 30th. If you would like us to create something special for your loved ones now would be a great time to do so.

You may also send any inquiries (including pricing) to 1337art@gmail.com. We would be happy to work with you.

We will be building up our inventory with more of our existing products as brand new items! If you haven't already sign up for our newsletter for specials, coupons, sneak peeks, and more! (you'll be glad you did!)

Sign up for our email newsletter here.

Thank you so much for your interest,

-
Christina
CM Designs dba 1337 Art
http://1337art.etsy.com
http://1337art.silkfair.com

Elite Art for the elite at heart. Featuring jewelry for men and women, awareness items, art collage, bookmarks, cell phone charms, hair accessories, key chains, kilt pin brooches, wine charms, and more!

We accept custom orders and requests.