A Beautiful New Catalog

By far the highlight of our convention in Indianapolis was the introduction of our gorgeous new catalog. There is so much you'll love about this catalog: so many new expressions, three new decorative alphabets, brand new accessories and designs created just to fit them, three new colors and more! 

The cover shows you one of our new alphabets: the Split Monogram. Created from hand-drawn artwork, these are designed with space for your own custom lettering. I think these will be a big hit for holiday and wedding gifts. 

Another new alphabet is the Affirmation Alphabet. This is like nothing I've seen anywhere else and definitely fits with Uppercase Living's mission to help our customers live a life inspired. I can think of so many ways to use these. Our third new alphabet is one that will look familiar to Scrabble fans: the Alpha Numeric Alphabet. Our customers have been creating designs like this for years, so we're making it easy for everyone to order.  You can get these letters individually or in a set of the entire alphabet. Imagine how many words your could create with every letter. These letters are sized perfectly for our new 6" wood tiles. 

In addition to all those cool new expressions, we have new accessories. I'm so excited I'll say it again. In caps: WE HAVE NEW ACCESSORIES. Our white wood square tiles come ready to hang in either 6" or 12". And our unfinished DIY boards, also in two sizes, are double sided and ready for you to paint or Mod Podge paper to before adding your vinyl. But the coolest of all of our new accessories is the Puzzle Board! 

We have a whole new set of expressions created just for this board, but you can create anything you can imagine to go on them. These are great on their own, but the most fun thing about them is that they are true puzzle pieces that fit together. So you can create larger groupings right on the wall. There are so many creative ways to use these that they'll need a blog post all to themselves! 

Another surprise in this catalog was our pretty new font, Lavanderia. It's so fresh and versatile. I think I'll be using it in lots of custom designs! 

Finally, I'm thrilled that we have 3 new colors in our Premium Bond vinyl. This vinyl comes with a much stronger adhesive and is designed for outdoor installations - you don't want this on your painted walls! The addition of these new colors increases the options for those of you who want lettering for outdoor signs, storefronts, boats, and any other spot that needs to stand up to the elements. 

There's so much more in this new catalog than I'm unable to tell you about here: new project ideas, links to project videos, cool new techniques and so much gorgeous photography (including before and after shots, which we love!) to inspire you. I'm sure you can't wait to see the catalog for yourself, and you don't have to wait one more second! You can page through it right now on my website. As soon as you get your first look, you're going to want to call me and book a party so you can share all the new ideas with your friends, and get everything you want for free. When you do, I'll tell you all about our 4 different ways to party...but that's a whole other post, too. 

For The Love Of Pink!

Say "Hello" to Uppercase Living's newest color, Pink Peony! It was introduced today as a replacement for the discontinued Fairy Tale Pink, and I couldn't be more excited. This is a cooler shade of pink, with a fresh, on-trend feel. In fact, it was chosen in part because it's closer to the current shades of pink being used in home decor products right now, making it a better match for items you're seeing in stores or may already have in your home.

Pink Peony is an obvious choice for designs that are traditionally pink, including girly looks, breast cancer awareness, and spring decor. It's also a great pop of color in room with cool neutrals like gray or brown. It will look great as a one-color design by itself:

Item #21965 in Pink Peony, #30111 Punched Metal Tile

or combined with another color in a two part expression:

Item #21853 shown in Pink Peony and Slate Grey

For those of you who prefer a softer shade of pink, Cotton Candy is still available. Where will you use Pink Peony first?

Late July Newsletter - All Kinds Of Updates!

I know you've all been waiting for all the latest updates from Uppercase Living. Our convention was earlier this month in St. Louis and it was an extravaganza with one exciting announcement after another! The new catalog has been live for about a week and everyone who has seen it has one thing to say: WOW!!! The new Hostess Center on my website is an invaluable tool for hostesses to send invitations, track RSVPs and watch their rewards add up. I have so much great news to share with you all so I'll jump right in!
New Catalog, New Products, New Accessories, New Colors and MORE!
There is so much to love about this great new catalog! If you haven't had a chance to see it yet, you can flip through it right on my website. Of course, there are plenty of new expressions for a variety of spaces and tons of new designs. If you know someone who loves Peace Signs (my daughter is currently obsessed) you will love all the different options incorporating them. There are also new products that you will love:

• Not only are the very popular Chalk Walls back with lots of new designs, but they have a new name: Erasables. That's because now they're available in your choice of chalkboard or dry erase vinyl!!! Both dry erase and chalkboard pens are available to complete the package.
• A gorgeous new Double Frameworks is just one of the great new additions to our Foundations accessories. Frameworks now comes in chocolate brown and our Punched Metal and Vintage Metal Embossed Boards come in gorgeous new colors. We have a beautiful new Frameworks Photo Frame with plenty of room for you to embellish it with UL expressions. For those of you who love to hang our Foundations boards, frames and tiles on the wall, we have two new medallions, including a beautiful Fleur de Lis.  Finally, our brand new Shimmer Effects lets you add a little glimmer to any off the wall project quickly and easily.
• New Grande Format and Decorative Print designs give you more decorative options than ever before. I love the 2-part choices and chandeliers in Grande Format and my favorite Decorative Prints are all the interactive choices for children's decor (check out  Transportation Central, available in 3 colorways!).
• New clocks! Our clocks have been so popular that we've added 3 new designs. I'm having a hard time deciding which to get for my family room!
• New colors! Our brand new colors are very decorator friendly. You purple people are going to love Concord Grape. I personally think Wild Raspberry and Stone Cottage are both beautiful. And if you've been looking for a true blue, I think our Royal Blue will work nicely for you. We also have more Shimmer colors than ever before. I can't wait to use some of that Shimmer Orange for Halloween!

Of course, you can always view the catalog on my website. But you can get your own FREE copy in your hostess kit simply by contacting me to schedule your own party date. You'll be among the first to see all of the great new stuff and your friends will love having a girls' night out to see what's new and socialize while you earn FREE and HALF PRICE products.

Online Hostess Center Makes Hosting Parties Easier and More Rewarding Than Ever
You asked for it and now it's here: the new Hostess Center on my website gives hostesses a portal to invite their guests, track RSVPs and send reminders, and watch as online orders earn them more hostess rewards than ever before! The most exciting part is that your guests no longer need to live nearby to have their orders count toward your party total. Using the Hostess Center you can now invite guests to your party from anywhere in the U.S. or Canada. They can associate their orders to your party right on my website and have their products shipped directly to them. Meanwhile, you get credit for their orders just as if they were at your home party! There is no longer any sort of geographic limit on who you can invite to your Uppercase Living party. With so much to choose from in our new catalog, your guests are sure to find something that they'll love and you'll love checking off your Wish List as you earn FREE and HALF PRICE items.

I'm currently forming a Focus Group of hostesses who would like to have a party in July or August and use my Hostess Center. I'd love to get your opinions on how you enjoyed using the Hostess Center. If you would like to take part in this Focus Group and earn some bonus products for participating, please contact me to reserve a party date asap.

New Facebook Page
In order to reach more people and serve everyone better, I've created a new Facebook page. Come join me at http://www.facebook.com/ultorreh for ideas, updates, photos and more. Among other things, I've posted the hostess and customer FREE monthly rewards for July, August and September. If you're planning on hosting a party, take a look and see which month's freebies you like best. It might just help you pick a date!

Complimentary Design Consultations
With an eye toward improving my service to my wonderful customers, I am now providing complimentary design consultations. You can make an appointment to have me come to your home to provide ideas and guidance for some unique ways to decorate using our products. You can also just send me a photo of your space and let me suggest some ways to transform it with Uppercase Living. Simply call or email me to find out more.
Aloha!!!!!!I will be spending some time in Honolulu in August and will have limited time to talk to people about joining my team or placing orders. If you'd like to get together while I'm there, please contact me ASAP so I can fit you into my calendar.

Looking Ahead
Not surprisingly, there will be lots of great ideas and products still to come from UL as we get closer to the fall and (gulp) winter holidays. I'm not going to give away all my secrets, but I promise that you will LOVE them. I will be holding my annual Open House at my home in September and its not too early to start planning your fall parties. If this year is anything like last year, my calendar will start filling up early and I would hate to see anyone miss out on sharing our great products with their family and friends and earning tons for free. I've come back from Convention with tons of new ideas that I plan to put in place in the coming months. Look for more updates to come in the next few issues.

I hope you all enjoy browsing my new catalog either online or in person. I'd love to hear from you and find out your favorite new expressions, colors and products. Looking forward to hearing from you!

 

Comings and Goings...New Catalog Is Almost Here!

I'm just back from a wonderful and exciting Convention in St. Louis and, honestly, I'm having a hard time coming down from my excitement. Once again, I'm totally wowed by our designers and product developers. I can't wait to share all of our new expressions and accessories with my hostesses and their guests. There are gorgeous new colors and so much more. Here is a quick overview of products as well as the time lines for ordering from the old catalog along with the deadline for getting items from the current one:

• Our current catalog, mini Celebrations catalog and all the items on the current Retired List are available for purchase through tomorrow night until 11:oo P.M. Pacific time.
  
• You can begin ordering from our BRAND NEW catalog starting at 11:00 A.M. on July 20th!!
  
• We have new colors: Concord Grape, Wild Raspberry, Spring Hyacinth, Royal Blue, and Stone Cottage. You Purple People are going to love our new selection. Stone Cottage is a fantastic new neutral. Our selection of Shimmer Colors has been expanded with the return of some favorites from last year and the introduction of Shimmer Orange and Shimmer Charcoal...perfect for all you who love decorating for Halloween.
• A new product, Shimmer Effects, makes adding sparkle to your off the wall projects easier than ever.
  
• Our fantastic new accessory is a Double Frameworks frame which holds both a square and a rectangular insert. You will LOVE this. There's also a gorgeous frame with lots of room for customization with vinyl lettering and embellishments. Both are great for your own home and gifts. Plus, my favorite accessory, the punched metal tile is available in more colors than ever before. Wait until you see the new Berry tile. And black will be awesome for Halloween and so much more!
  
• Chalk Walls have become part of our new Erasable Vinyl line. Not only do we have more Chalk Wall selections than ever, but you can also choose each of the designs in our brand new DRY ERASE VINYL. Just wait until you see the kids' chore chart.
  
• Our clocks have been so popular that we now have 3 new completely different designs. From ornate to minimal, you will want several of these for yourself or as gifts.
  
• Those of you who love to turn our acrylic blocks into night lights will LOVE the new LED light insert. Designed to fit into the block's opening perfectly, it's battery operated and you'll never have to mess with cords again! Hooray.
• New Grande Format and Decorative Designs are absolutely fantastic. There are more Decorative Prints than ever before and they truly fit every type of decor. My favorites are the interactive designs for kids' spaces.
  

The biggest news of all is that my fantastic hostesses are no longer limited to inviting only guests who live locally. Now you can truly invite everyone you know to shop at your Uppercase Living party and help you earn free products, no matter where they live. You can also organize nationwide fundraisers. Online hostess tools make it easy to see RSVPs, orders, and track all of your hostess rewards.

I am so excited to share all of this with you and your friends. As always, schedule your own party ASAP to be among the first to see everything I've mentioned and more. I have dates available in July and August.

Believe me, this is just a quick preview of all that's still to come. Contact me to schedule a party or get help with an order. I can also add you to my mailing list so you can get up-to-the-minute information of all the ways you can use Uppercase Living in your life. I'd love to have you let me know if you'd like me to schedule a new catalog celebration party or some project nights. Don't forget to vote in my poll (to the right of your screen) and happy shopping!

Pantone Reveals 2010 Color of the Year

You know when you go into a paint store and try to pick a shade of, say, blue paint, and next thing you know you're staring at 250 shades of blue you never even knew existed? There are people whose job it is to know all of those shades, and thousands more, and guide industry, designers and retailers on color trends. The Pantone Institute recently announced the color of the year for 2010: a serene, tropical turquoise.

In the coming months, you'll be seeing this color pop up anywhere from home decor magazines to small appliances to fashion runways, and for good reason. Combining aspects of both blue and green, turquoise evokes thoughts of tropical waters and a relaxing escape from everyday life. Equally appealing to men and women, it is a natural choice for decorating when you're trying to design a room that is neither too feminine nor too masculine.

What's wonderful about this shade of turquoise is how easy it is combine with other colors. Pairing it with other shades of blue creates a calm, monochromatic feel, while adding it to neutral browns punches up an otherwise staid color. It's vibrant when mixed with red and/or orange. Combined with green, it is particularly trendy and evocative of the shades found on a tropical island: sky, sea and foliage.

The designers at Uppercase Living pay very careful attention to home decor, fashion and other trends to help them choose colors and create expressions that will look great in our customers' homes. The turquoise chosen by the Pantone Institute as the Color of the Year is very similar to our Caribbean Blue. There are so many colors in our palette that create a gorgeous complement to Caribbean Blue; from vivid and energetic to peaceful and serene, it's all about the color combinations. Here are a few suggestions from our design team:
As I look at each of these color combinations, each one makes me think of enjoying warm breezes on a sunny beach somewhere with an umbrella in my drink. How nice would it be to have that feeling in my home every day? To be honest, I've never been an avid fan of blue, but my daughter LOVES this particular shade of teal, right down to her glasses. I think I need to take a look around my home and reconsider how Caribbean Blue and the gorgeous colors that complement it so well can give me that same peaceful feeling every day.

Note: The colors in the graphic above are not exactly representative of the actual vinyl colors they depict. If you'd like a swatch of any of our colors, please let me know and I'll get it right out to you.