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?

Counting Down to Christmas With Uppercase Living

By far one of my favorite things in our Holiday Mini Catalog is this year's Christmas Countdown Kit. My kids love counting the days until Santa comes so we're all about a cute set like this. It's perfect for any home with children, churches, classrooms, Grandma's house, and even makes a whimsical addition to an office.

I also love this because it is a fantastic value. For only $19.95 the kit includes the metal charger, the two part expression in your choice of colors (I got mine in Crimson Red and Electric Lime), and a magnet that moves closer to Christmas with each passing day. All you do is assemble it (if you're local, I can do that for you) and begin the fun. You can even send it as a gift directly to someone who will think of you each day they move that magnet.

UL Tip: Glue a sparkly snowflake or other embellishment to the magnet to make it extra special. 

If you order your kit today, it will be an even better value because you'll also receive this 11"x11" sheet of Christmas designs absolutely FREE.

Whether it's for you or a gift, this is one decoration that will be enjoyed year after year, for the entire month of December. Happy counting!

Tips for Two-Part Expressions

I love our two-part expressions! The second layer always adds more interest, color and fun. They can be a little tricky to install, however. Here's a video with three tips to help you line up the handy registration marks when you apply a two-part expressions. As always, feel free to contact me for additional installation help.

Customer Photos: Raquel's Inviting Home

Those who are fortunate enough to get invited to my hostess, Raquel's, home might feel so welcome and at ease that they may never want to leave. If you're lucky, like I was when I went to do her Uppercase Living party in February, you'll be greeted by a sweet little girl even before you enter her home. She'll enchant you with her sing-songy voice as she leads you to the front door. Once inside you'll be welcomed by the beautiful Raquel and another, smaller, smiling little girl who clearly dotes on her big sister.

Raquel created this custom design to adorn the arched entry to her kitchen.

As you glance around Raquel's home, you notice the family photos first. Carefully arranged into attractive groupings, they showcase happy members of this close family. This is a home where there is no shortage of love.

There's also no shortage of style. The walls are painted in rich colors that are both trendy and elegant. The furniture is comfortable, attractive and perfectly accessorized. When you comment on how beautifully Raquel's home is decorated, she admits with a smile that that her husband, Jose, is actually the one with the eye for design. It seems like no detail was left missing, except for the finishing touch that Uppercase Living lettering adds to a room. Luckily, Raquel found me and added meaningful words to her home, unifying the look and expressing the emotion behind the decor.

The photos show you some of the expressions Raquel chose at her party. The custom "Mi Casa es Su Casa" (Spanish for "My house is your house." See, I told you her home is welcoming!) is directly across from her entry. What a lovely greeting for visitors to this bilingual home.  A gorgeous portrait of Raquel and Jose is crowned by the romantic expression, "Every love story is beautiful, but ours is my favorite."

Of all the expressions Raquel chose, I think the most perfect for her home is the two-part "FAMILY where life begins and love never ends" placed above one of the family picture groupings. Notice that big A monogram? True to the decor in the rest of the home, it's right on-trend but personal at the same time.

It is such a treat for me to spend time with my hostesses and their friends and family. Raquel is definitely one of those people who I'd love to be friends with, even if she wasn't a customer. Her tight-knit family and friends were such lovely guests. I'm looking forward to hanging out with this group again next month. I'm sure that Raquel will once again choose an expression that is simple, decorative, and a beautiful expression of the warmth and love in her home. 

50 and Counting!

 

Thanks to one of my lovely friends on Facebook, I know that there are now 50 days left until Christmas. For us adults, that translates to "Holy cow, only 50 days? How will I ever get everything done?" But if you're a kid, those 50 days may as well be 500. My kids have been asking how many days since the end of summer! 

Our adorable Christmas Countdown Kit answers the question in very cute style! Available for a limited time, the kit includes our 12x12 punched metal tile in Berry Red (for those of you who haven't seen it, it's such a pretty shade of red), a two party expression in your choice of colors, the Chalk Wall piece for the countdown, and the exclusive Black Easel that's only available in this kit. With all those pieces included, it's a fabulous value at just $32.95.  

The fun thing about the kit is that you can start counting down anytime. I know there are those of you who just might start counting the days until next Christmas right around New Year's!

Countdown Tip: If you look closely in the photo, the expression has been placed slightly off center. The expression is designed this way for added interest. If you prefer to have yours perfectly centered, position the present first, then cut the 2nd part in two pieces, placing the bow and the words separately.

Bonus Tip: Order a coordinating Valentine's Day expression to go on the back of your Red Tile and let it do double duty! You'll be ready for Valentine's Day as soon as your Christmas Decorations are put away!

Ideas for FREE September Gifts

It's time for a preview of  September's FREE expressions and some ideas of how you can use them in to make some cute projects this fall. As a reminder, each month Uppercase Living gives you a choice of up to three FREE expressions with qualifying orders. Hostesses can choose from six expressions for FREE; it's just another great benefit of hosting an Uppercase Living party.

In addition to the "Think Pink" expression I recently posted about, customers can choose the Halloween Skull and Crossbones. It's shown here in Bright White on a Black Vintage Metal Embossed Board. You can add Shimmer Effects to make it sparkle on those dark fall nights.  

Another fun choice for Halloween is the Trick Or Treat free Hostess expression. In this photo, it's been applied to our new (and fabulous) Double Frameworks insert, covered with decorative paper, on top with a magnetic insert on the bottom. I love the clever candy corn in the corners. Two Lemon Chiffon and two Pumpkin Spice 2" Candy Corn embellishments were switched around so each corner gets a two-color design! The best part is that you can change out the embellishments and the inserts for each holiday, season or event in your family.

 After Halloween, hostesses might choose this FREE expression to decorate their homes for fall. This warm autumn welcome is shown in Terra Cotta and Pumpkin Spice and has been applied to the large Cocoa Punched Metal Tile. Don't forget that you can choose something different for the back of the tile. We love accessories that pull double duty. 

Although it's hard to choose, this elegant frame is my favorite of these ideas. I love that the two-part hostess expression has been cut apart to accommodate the shape of the frame. This gorgeous accessory is one you'll keep around long after the season.

To view this month's FREE expressions visit my website and just decide if you're going to place an order, host a party, or both! My fall schedule is filling up quickly. Don't wait too long to get your preferred party date.

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!

 

Well, here we are, the last day of Summer Splash. The Buy One, Get One FREE promotion, 20% off all accessories and FREE Starter Kit special will be gone tonight. If you still haven't taken advantage of all that Summer Splash offers, you may be tempted by this expression, the penultimate Photo of The Day this go round (I'm trying to improve my vocabulary. How is it working?). As a mommy to two boys, I can definitely relate to this photo. We spend a lot of days digging in dirt, playing with cars and always end with hugs for Mom. What a great gift for a household full of boys! This, too, will be retired soon so if you love it, snatch it up.

The deadline for all of the great Summer Splash deals is tonight at 11:00 p.m. Pacific Time. I'll be available by email and cell phone to help with orders today, so don't hesitate to call me if you have any questions.

Photo A Day #9

Another day, another photo of one of our soon-to-be retired expressions. This one is lovely for an entry, family room, living room or anywhere your family gathers. It would also look terrific with a grouping of family photos spanning several generations. This classic expression will be retired very soon, but is available now as party of our Buy One, Get One FREE Summer Splash promotion. Don't forget, Summer Splash ends tomorrow night...don't wait to get your great deal on this and so many other expression.

Photo A Day #8...Counting Down to End of Summer Splash

And now, for something completely different...
Isn't this piece gorgeous?!
I love this combination of colors, textures and fonts. This two-part expression is pictured here on a square Foundations MDF board which has been dry brushed with some paint. As it is, it's a lovely table top item, especially since the board is 20% off right now. But wouldn't it be dramatic in a larger size for the wall of a master bedroom? Lucky you, you can get both because they're Buy One, Get One FREE! But sadly, this is also one of our retiring expressions and it won't be available much longer. You can get it until July 19, but this is the last weekend for Summer Splash and the Buy One, Get One FREE sale. The great deals will end Monday night, so don't miss out!