niceLena-big-holiday-sale-cybermonday

A pretty big deal.

I am loving the support from all my friends on fb and real life.  I think it's lovely that so many people have caught onto shopping small and handmade.  It's a roller coaster ride, for sure but awesome when your friends come along and cheer you on.  So, I made up a holiday deal because everyone loves deals.  I don't know how long I'll have these coupon codes up so, use it soon.  

xo 

Lena

niceLena- the wizard of cute

BUY 1= 15% OFF// coupon code SAVEON1 

BUY 2= 20% OFF// coupon code SAVEON2

BUY 3= 30% OFF// coupon code SAVEON3

How to prepare your small business for the busy season in 5 easy steps.

With the holiday season upon us, you may be panicking about how to keep it all together.  Take advantage of the tips I've put together to make this your most wonderful time of the year.

1. Make a plan for the season.

    While sipping morning coffee write up a rough outline of what you want to accomplish this season.  Treat yourself to a little brainstorming session to come up with promotions, coupons, and special events you know will get your customers totally pumped up. 

2. Set Reminders!

    Set yourself up with a system using Google calendar, or a similar program, then make a more detailed plan of how you want to spend each day.  Always set deadlines and reminders for yourself.  It can feel overwhelming sometimes and you're not always going to remember everything so write it down! Are you writing this down?  Save yourself a little Christmas Eve panic and set shipping dates, i.e. last day customers can order for each level of shipping grade etc.  

3. Stay Visible.

    It's very important to stay visible to your fans so devote some time for social media, emails and blogs to  engage with your followers.  Try to share a picture that represents your brand and personality every day.  Remind people about sales and promotions going on through these sites, make sure you use #relavent #hashtags.  Dont forget to promote those promotions you came up with in step one! Creating special codes for repeat customers may seem like a daunting, time consuming task- but it's worth it.  Trust, me.  You trust me right?

4. Take inventory of your stock and supplies.

    Research your stock and sales from the previous holiday season so you are always a few steps ahead, and have a bit more on hand just in case. Be optimistic but realistic about your budget. 

5.  Get Ready to Do it All Again. 

    Once you get past the big push, don't sit down and rest.  It's time to start planning 2015.  Ha.  Just kidding.  Take a nap.  You deserve. it.  

xo

Lena 

i am obsessed with glow in the dark stuff

I am in the process of putting together a group event called "Come glow with me." It was suppose to happen over the winter but with the polar vortex and all, I decided to try again in the summer.  Every year we try to organize some kind of light, landscape changing event.  The first one was releasing 100 sky lanterns at the beach, the next year was sparklers, and this year it will be glow in the dark.  My friend had a good idea, and that is everyone would come dressed up in some kind of glow in the dark costume.  Then the kids would run around with flash lights and activate everyone.  Can you imagine the public spectacle?  I can't wait.

To get ready, I purchased glow tape from a company called Tape Brothers.  I looked up several places and the pricing seemed reasonable.  Plus, I like the name, like there's two brothers obsessed with tape (i want to be their sister).  So, me and the kids played around with doing mosaics.  We used cutout wood but you can stencil and cut out different shape on cardboard.  I'm thinking of also taping up the cheap bouncy ball from Target and having the kids chase them on warm spring/summer nights.  Look how well it glows.  I used the high energy 1/2 inch tape.  They were way more vibrant then the gaffers tape.

my precious

Penny loves her corn.  She kept saying, "my precious" in Gollum voice. The hat is just a little extra something, like butter on top.   

Bookcrossing.com is geocaching for books

I stumbled onto Bookcrossing.com via stumbleupon ages ago.  And the topic of geocaching came up and I remembered this awesome site.  I am hoping to get everyone I know in my neighborhood to participate because we only have 14 books in my city right now and that sounds lame to me.
Basically, you enter the book you wish to release into their site and you get a custom number.  The person who finds it then can enter that number into their system and see the journey of that book.  I think this will be a great summer activity for me and kids.  Go check it out!

From their about page:

"What is BookCrossing?

It's the World's Library. It's a smart social networking site. It's a celebration of literature and a place where books get new life. BookCrossing is the act of giving a book a unique identity so, as the book is passed from reader to reader, it can be tracked and thus connecting its readers. There are currently 1,203,362 BookCrossers and 10,321,178 books travelling throughout132 countries. Our community is changing the world and touching lives one book at a time.

What's our mission?

Very simply, we aim to connect people through books.

How do we do it?

Label. Share. Follow. Breath new life into books instead of letting your old favorites collect dust - pass them along to another reader. Our online archival and tracking system allows members to connect with other readers, journal and review literature and trade and follow their books as lives are changed through “reading and releasing”. Users are able to tag and track their individual books by marking them with BCIDs (BookCrossing Identity Numbers). Each BCID is unique to each book – once it’s registered on our site, the book can then be followed and journaled forever. BookCrossing is free to join and free to play. So don't be 'shelf'ish with your books - read and release!" 

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Hand-painted Chevron Post Earrings Featured in She Knows, Beauty and Style 

Yay! My earrings were featured in SheKnows.com, "Funky stud earrings for every day."
 

# 9 -NiceLena "Color Block Mod"

Look no further than Etsy shops for all of your adorable stud earring needs. We especially like these hand-painted color block studs from shopNiceLena for their boldness and practicality. (Etsy, $12)

"Stud earrings don't have to be a boring accessory for the days you can barely pull yourself together in time for work. Here are 10 stud earrings that are both unique and practical for everyday wear.

All too often, stud earrings are the fashion terrain of pearls and diamonds. But what's a trendy girl going to do with boring old gemstones? Check out these cute and funky earrings that you can feel proud to wear every day."