chickpea designs

…Sarah! Congrats, Sarah. You have my e-mail address, so get to me whenever you’re ready, and your Christmas card design will be on the house. Woo-hoo!

For the rest of you - and anyone else - all card designs are $12 through Thanksgiving Day. After that, they’ll be $15. Thanks so much for all the interest and encouragement.

Also, just fyi - I’m working on a number of baby announcement designs, so if that’s a need of yours, I’d be happy to work with you.

Oh, and sorry I didn’t get to posting this until today - our internet went out yesterday morning and remained off until this afternoon.  Grrr.

edited to add:  A number of you have written to say that although you plan on using my cards this year, you don’t want to enter to win one because you want to buy one and support us!  That’s very sweet -  please, go ahead and enter if you want.  We’re honored, though, and thank you.

Also, my giveaway is also in conjunction with this larger etsy giveaway.  Feel free to browse these other stores and enter at her site!  I’ve had so much fun exploring other people’s stores at etsy.

So I was going to start my giveaway contest Saturday (tomorrow) morning, but I kinda forgot that I’m going to another country then. I’ll only be gone one day, and we’ll be back home by 7 pm. or so, but still… you know what it’s like when you can’t host your contest because you’re out of the country.

I know, excuses, excuses.

Anyhoo, I’m just going to go ahead and post the contest, and if you’re reading this on Friday instead of Saturday, consider yourself an early bird.

I’m giving away ONE free Christmas photocard design from my shop! All you have to do is go to my shop, browse my designs, and tell me which one is your favorite (don’t worry, you can change your mind if you win). Post your answer in the comments section - don’t forget to enter your e-mail address, so I can contact you if you win - and you’ll be entered! The contest is open until Monday, November 19 at 12 p.m. EST. After that, I’ll use this nifty random number generator to pick a winner.

Here’s the nutshell version of how my shop works: you purchase your favorite photocard design, then through etsy, you e-mail me your family photo(s) and any minor changes you want done to the photocard (if any). I then send you a proof, and you let me know if there are any edits to be made. I’ll send you a final, high-resolution digital jpeg file of your photocard, where you can either print your photocards at home, or you can take them to a photo printing center. Walla!

FYI… Right now, it looks as if Walmart’s prints start at $.12 each, Costco’s start at $.17 each, and CVS’s are $.19 each, with 10 free prints when you sign up online. Those seem to be the best deals I’ve found so far.

Happy browsing!

This Saturday I’ll be hosting my first-ever giveaway. That’s right, I’ll be giving away something for free. And I know you can probably guess the nature of the prize. I’ll be part of a blog carnival promoting Etsy stores, so get your game face on. Or something.

Consider yourself warned, for those of you who take the time to read this blog. And consider yourself advantageous if you actually take the time to comment this weekend. Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha…

Well, I promise this isn’t all I’m going to blog about now, but it is Money Saving Monday AND Works for Me Wednesday, and I planned to share my recent idea over there. So for my regular readers - you’re going to read about it again. And call me crazy, but if this is my idea for WFMW, too, shouldn’t I just use the same post? Instead of boring my regular readers? I think so, too. So excuse the lazy editing.

I’m obviously brand new at this, but a few months ago I discovered Etsy, and about a week ago I took the plunge and opened a shop. Etsy is basically an online shopping mall, and anyone can open a store for free - selling exclusively handmade things. So if you’re at all crafty or creative, this is a great avenue for selling and getting your name “out there.” When I’m perusing the stores I kinda feel like I’m at a giant online craft fair.

I’m surprised how much traffic I’ve gotten already. Lots of interest and people asking questions, and some purchases already. Given that my items are all Christmas-themed, I think the bulk of my sales will happen in the next few weeks to a month - we’ll see. I’m offering a lower order-before-Thanksgiving price, so maybe that will entice some people to order theirs sooner.

Anyhoo, if you sew, paint, design, craft, or generally do anything with your hands, definitely check out Etsy! The percentage they take from your sales is very minimal and reasonable. And it’s a great way for a Mom to bring in some income from home with her God-given talents.

For more money-saving ideas, head over to Money Saving Mom! And for more great tips on, you know, life, go to Works for Me Wednesday!