Sweet and Spooky Ideas for Halloween

With yesterday being the hottest day EVER (no really, it was the hottest day in recorded history in LA) it's difficult to get my mind around the fact that it's time to get the Fall and Halloween decorations out. We have flames shooting out of the hillsides, air conditioning running nonstop and are trying hard not to stick to our furniture. It definitely feels like summer but one look at the calendar tells me that cooler temperatures are not far away and neither is our (somewhat sad) version of fall. Knowing that Halloween is a big holiday for many of you, here are some ideas decor and gift ideas.

 Before I get to Halloween, I just want to point out that it's easy to get double duty from accessories and decorations this time of year by going with a fall theme instead of just Halloween. The pumpkin in the photo about is a great example. Using a big fall leaf embellishment and several small ones turns this plain craft pumpkin into an elegant accessory that can stay out until the Christmas decoration appear. If you'd like to make it more appropriate for Halloween, you can always add a Jack O' Lantern face on one side and leaves on the other. The faces come in a variety of designs in lots of sizes, so you can use them in many different ways.

 

I like using them on larger craft pumpkins so that I can use them year after year. It's definitely a good investment over the long run, plus I don't have to deal with slimy pumpkin guts! You can also apply a couple of these faces to a mirror in your home for a fun  Halloween "trick." 

A good idea for Halloween decor is to apply your vinyl expressions on boards, tiles or plaques so that you can reuse them each year. That's what I did on this punched metal tile to warn guests at my door:

I ordered this expression in Shimmer Orange to make it really pop against the Black Punched Metal Tile (love this new color addition!). I added a little of our black ribbon and have a great piece I'll use every year. My daughter thinks this refers to her brothers. Little does she know...

Another Halloween piece I love is this cute "Eat, Drink and Be Scary" in Green Tea and Concord Grape. It might be difficult to see in the photo but I applied some Shimmer Effects to the purple parts to make them shimmer and shine a little more. I love the look. This expression is shown on the Vintage Embossed Metal Board in Black. This is another great, versatile Foundations piece because it can be hung vertically or horizontally. With its not-too-scary faces, this expression is perfect for my family. Two of my kids are still too young to enjoy the scary aspects of Halloween, and the other one is too, but won't admit it.

The last idea I'd like to share with you today is this cute vase I found on clearance a while back. It was much too plain so I added a spider and some lettering to make it the perfect little Halloween accent. Some orange ribbon and a spooky branch finish off the look. This is great to use if you don't have a lot of wall space but would still like to decorate. As always, you can make it do double duty by adding some silver snowflakes to the other side and using it through the winter.

Whatever you decide to use for your Halloween decor, don't wait very long to order your pieces. The sooner you receive them, the sooner you can begin to enjoy your fun items.

Customer Celebration Day - Ideas for FREE HALLOWEEN EXPRESSION

Uppercase Living's first Customer Celebration Day is TODAY! Hooray. I love being able to spoil my customers so I'm thrilled to give you all a FREE Halloween expression for any order placed today until midnight (MT). This cute expression, in Valencia Orange, comes in a special size available only today, perfect for our rectangular Foundations pieces, your front door, a black tray, treat bowl or anywhere else that needs a little spookiness! 

Putting it on our Black Vintage Embossed Metal Board is a no-brainer: no painting required and it's easy to save it to use year after year. If you'd like to spend a little more time on a custom painted background, try the Rectangular MDF board. Here it's been painted in Matte Black and distressed slightly. 

One of my favorite places for this expression is this cute metal tub. You could use this to bob for apples, hold cold drinks or display pumpkins and gourds. You will love pulling this tub out every year!

 

If you feel like getting even more creative, check out how cute the same expression looks on the Pre-drilled MDF board. Painted in Lemon Chiffon with Terra Cotta edges, the white knobs have been embellished with spooky spiders crawling in all different directions. 

  

All you have to do is place an order today and your FREE Halloween expression will be included in your shipment. I'd love to know how you plan to use yours, so leave me a comment and share where you'll display yours this Halloween. 

FREE Expression on First UL Customer Celebration Day - September 23

To celebrate being named one of Inc. Magazine's 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies, Uppercase Living is announcing a series of Customer Celebration Days from now through the end of October. Each day will feature something special for our customers, without whom we never would have accomplished the growth and success that earned us the distinction from Inc. 

Our first Customer Celebration Day is this Thursday, September 23. All orders placed that day between 12:01 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. (MT) will receive this FREE Halloween expression in Valencia orange,  a $14.95 value. While this expression can be found in our catalog, this size is only available as part of this special! It's perfect for any of our rectangular Foundations boards.

Keep your eyes peeled for more FREE Product Days in the weeks to come and make sure to take advantage of this one on Wednesday.

Just in time for holiday planning, decorating and shopping, it's time for my annual fall Open House. Uppercase Living has outdone themselves with fantastic ideas for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hannukah and Christmas. And if that's not enough, our new catalog is full of year-round ideas for every room in your home and beyond!
As always, guests are welcome, so grab a friend or two, or ten! If you've been planning to have a party but haven't gotten around to it, bring your guests to my Open House and get all the hostess benefits without having to clean your house or make snacks!
To make it more convenient for you to attend, I'm hosting my Open House over two days:

Sunday Sept. 26  12-5
Monday Sept. 27 9:30-12:30

Please let me know in your RSVP when you plan to come so I can make sure to have enough snacks and supplies. No matter whicd day you choose, you'll love the new items, free sample craft, and lots of prizes and giveaways. I'll also have information about our FREE Starter Kits for new Demonstrators, my October Coaster Party and more project and craft nights coming up.

Former Hostesses will receive a bonus 10% discount on their entire order as my special holiday "Thank You."

Earn a raffle ticket before you get here just by submitting your RSVP! You'll get more for bringing a guest, placing an order, scheduling your party and more! The Grand Prize is a FREE Photo Print and there will be lots of other goodies as well.

To view our holiday catalog and new items before the Open House, visit my website If you'd like to place an order but won't be able to come, you can contact me directly or  order on my site. Just associate it with the Pre-Holiday Open House.

Looking forward to seeing all of you!

SMA Blog Party - Uppercase Living Vinyl Going the Distance to Raise Awareness

I know a woman who dedicates her career to raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society because her dear friend's daughter was affected years ago. In talking about this she says, "When your friend's kids become sick, it's like your own kids are sick, and you have to do something." That is how I felt when one of our baby daughter's play group friends was diagnosed with SMA - Spinal Muscular Atrophy - over 8 years ago at the age of just 15 months. While all of our kids began standing up, then walking, Zeke was still crawling, and it became clear that he wasn't developing at the same rate as the other babies. Zeke's diagnosis was a devastating blow to his devoted parents, and heart breaking for us play group families. However, he has been so lucky to have parents who began getting him help immediately: various therapies, the appropriate appliances (from leg braces to power wheelchairs and everything in between; SMA is not an inexpensive disease to manage) enrolling him in clinical trials, all to give Zeke the best chance to live with SMA and be ready when a cure is found.

Before I go too much further, here's a little bit of information on SMA.

• It is the #1 genetic killer of young children.
• 1 in every 40 people, or nearly 10 million Americans, UNKNOWINGLY carries the gene responsible for SMA. Few have any known family history. 
• There is currently no treatment and no cure, but the National Institutes of Health (NIH) selected SMA as the disease closest to treatment of more than 600 neurological disorders. 
• Researchers estimate that a viable treatment and/or cure is attainable in as little as 5 years – IF provided adequate resources.  

Simply, SMA eventually impacts every muscle in the body hindering the ability to walk, sit, stand, eat, breathe, and swallow. The mind always remains unaffected and children with SMA are bright, sensitive, and playful in spite of their failing bodies.  There are 4 types of SMA which range in age of onset and severity of symptoms. Zeke, who has Type II, is able to do many things including sitting up, breathing and eating unassisted, writing. speaking, and of course, playing video games. He goes to school every day and is a popular student.

Another precious SMA baby, Gwendolyn Strong, is not so fortunate. Diagnosed with Type I SMA, she faces challenges in almost every aspect of her life. However, like Zeke, she is lucky in that she has parents who will stop at nothing to improve her quality of life and help find the cure for this cruel disease. What Bill and Victoria Strong have accomplished in terms of awareness, legislative impact and fund raising is quite incredible, and a true testament to the power of one Strong voice.

Today's SMA Blog Party is just one of their many efforts to raise SMA's profile. Obviously, my blog usually focuses on all the wonderful ways Uppercase Living products can be used to decorate your home, but today shows that it's about more than selling UL products. Zeke's mom, who is one of my best friends, was also one of my first customers (and continues to be a great supporter). She saw that a little vinyl can go a long way and that our products can also help raise public awareness. She rides around with the a simple but powerful expression on her minivan (modified for Zeke's power wheelchair of course) and donated two of these expressions to be auctioned  at a recent SMA conference.

I've posted here about various causes, such as Breast Cancer, but none is as close to my heart as finding a cure for SMA. That's why one of the first things I did when designing this blog was to add a the Unite for a Cure button on the side bar. For every SMA awareness decal purchased from me, I will donate $1 directly to the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation. If you'd like to order one, you can design it directly on my website or contact me for help. Here are some other things you can do to help:

• Visit the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation Facebook page. Victoria will post about various fund raisers and opportunities to vote to get funding for crucial research. Lots of great links here too.
• VOTE TODAY to help GSF win $20,000 from the Jimmie Johnson Samsung Helmet of Hope contest, Go to VoteforSMA.com, select the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation, enter the two security words, check the Official Rules Box, and then click "Vote Now." Do this every day through Sept. 29th.
• Purchase a lovable bunny from My Bunny and Me and choose to have your purchase support SMA research. 
• If you blog, blog about SMA today. The more people know about SMA, the better.

Tomorrow, I'll post details about my annual open house which I'm holding next week. But today, let's focus our collective love, energy and karma on all the families who live with SMA, mourn a baby who lost the fight, and the doctors and researchers who WILL find a way to end the suffering.

Update on Halloween Welcome Kit

Wow, if you blinked (like I did), you missed out on the super cute Halloween Welcome Kit with the black mini punched metal tile. But the super cool designers at Uppercase Living have come up with a great new option:

This features the spooky Welcome expression in Matte Black with an Artichoke tile and black ribbon. It is still priced at just $7.95 and still very limited in supply. I will be placing an order tomorrow morning for local customers, but if you know you want one, don't wait and order yours tonight on my website in case they sell out again. Congrats to those of you who snatched up the first ones!!

Exclusive Halloween Welcome Kit Is A Bewitchingly Good Deal!

Just in time for your Halloween decorating, here is a boo-tiful new kit from Uppercase Living. The exclusive Halloween Welcome Kit includes the Black Mini Punched Metal Tile (regular price $9.95), black ribbon and the spooky Haunted House Welcome expression in your choice of Valencia Orange, Electric Lime or Soft Silver.  This whole kit, an over $20 value if purchased separately (which isn't possible because the Haunted House Welcome is only available in the kit), is only $7.95, a frightfully good deal! At this price you'll want one to greet the ghosts and goblins who visit your home throughout the season. You can even get one for each of your little monsters' rooms. But you'll also be able to afford several as gifts for your favorite witch, werewolf and zombie.
Alas, like vampires, these kits are only around for a limited time so you can only get yours until October 11, or until they're all gone. If you're bloody smart, you'll get a Fall expression or embellishment for the back so you can flip it around and continue to use it through Thanksgiving. But if you wait too long, you won't have a ghost of a chance of getting one!
Hop on your broom and fly over to my website to order yours now (or you can just send me an email) or better yet, invite the rest of the coven over for an Uppercase Living party at your cave and I'll give you one for FREE. Qualified catalog parties count too!
Whether you buy yours or get one free for hosting, don't miss out on this Halloween treat to adorn your Haunted House. 

Uppercase Living Named To Inc. 500 List of Fastest Growing American Companies

It's easy for me to tell you all what a great company Uppercase Living is. Through the time I've been with UL-almost 2 and a half years now-I've gotten a first hand look at our innovative products, our industry-leading quality, the corporate support for our demonstrators, the top-notch corporate team (an amazing, creative, smart, professional bunch of people), and so much more. As I always tell people who are considering joining my team, I'm committed to this company and plan to be around for a long time.

Now, everything I've been telling you about Uppercase Living and much more, has been confirmed by Inc. Magazine who placed UL in its annual Inc. 500 list of Fastest Growing Private Companies. Founded in 2006, Uppercase Living has achieved 3-year growth rate of almost 2000%. No wonder we find ourselves on a list whose previous members have included the likes of Microsoft, Oracle, Zappos, and ClifBars, to name a few. Add that to the fact that most people have still never heard of Uppercase Living, and you'll realize the tremendous growth potential that is still ahead for us.

Part of my job is to discuss our business opportunity with potential demonstrators. I always advise them to examine a company's track record before they sign up. A history of success is a great predictor of how a demonstrator will find working with the company. It shows that the products are of a high quality, the company is easy to do business with, consultants are motivated to stay, and the corporate staff is supportive of the sales team's efforts. Our inclusion in the Inc. 500 list demonstrates all of those things, all of which things I've seen first hand.

With our fantastic new Holiday Mini Catalog and a busy holiday sales season coming up, now is a terrific time to join Uppercase Living and start your own UL business. What's more, if you join by October 11, you can earn a FREE STARTER KIT. That's right, you can join one of America's fastest growing companies for FREE. Contact me for more information and get ready to be part of a company with a bright future that will brighten yours, as well!