Happy 4th of July Everyone! With the 4th of July upon us – we would like to take a moment to honor the men and women who bravely served our country and have lost their lives serving to protect us in the line of duty. We offer our prayers to those families who have lost loved ones in the Armed Forces. And for those who continue to serve – we salute you and thank you for continuing to protect our freedom and independence!
To celebrate this holiday we are offering our blog readers a special discount 15% OFF your wedding favors or wedding order of $175 or more PLUS Free UPS Ground Shipping. But Hurry! This offer won’t last for long, your 15% OFF Discount expires on Sunday July 5th, 2009 at 11:59 PM.
Use discount code: July09 to save 15% off!
And remember! Our New Jersey Showroom features over 2,000 of our most popular wedding favors, over 30 wedding accessory collections and wedding invitations. Plus we carry tiaras, Bridesmaid and Groomsmen gifts. If you are in the Tri-State area we are conveniently located just 30 minutes from New York City, 10 Minutes from Staten Island and centrally located in NJ.
Our showroom is located at 137 Main Street, Sayreville NJ 08872. We are open to the public on Saturdays 12-6 and weekdays by appointment only. We are opened tomorrow, July 4th until 6 PM.
Finally, if you’re on Facebook – become a fan of our page!
It’s 9:30 at night and my cell phone is ringing, it’s my grandfather on the phone. He asks me how things are, if I can take tomorrow off to visit, and where I am.
“I’m still in the office editing products. I can’t make it tomorrow, I have alot of work to do, but I’ll try to make it over on Saturday [the 4th of July] after we close up the store.”
I hang up the phone. Ten minutes later my cell phone rings again, “Hey hunnie, what time are you leaving? It’s almost 10.”
That would be my husband who is battling with a severe head cold. I’ve left him all day alone so I could tinker in the office.
This particular blog isn’t about wedding favors, but in a way, it is – it is my job, my career, my baby. And what I am about to say isn’t necessarily about my business but it’s for any person who wants to be an Entrepreneur.
When I worked a full time 9-5 job, I looked forward to the end of the day. I looked forward to the weekends and paid holidays. I liked having sick time and personal time and all the goodies and benefits of working for someone. But I also longed to be my own boss and create an environment which would allow me the flexibility to take my son to work with me or take the day off if I needed it.
However, being your own boss isn’t easy. As a matter of fact, I haven’t seen a 40 hour work week since I quit my full time job back in 2003. That’s right, no 40 hour work weeks – they are more like 80 or 120. There are no holidays, no sick time, no personal days off. I work almost 7 days a week. It’s been one of the hardest – but most rewarding – job I have ever worked. Perhaps with the exception of being a mom, that’s hard work too.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I adore what I do, I adore weddings, wedding favors and I am in love with the concept of love. But for all those young entrepreneur’s who think it’s easy starting a business, or running one – it’s not. It’s a labor of love.
Just like a baby, you create it, nurture it, and hope it does well. But you need alot more than a string of hope and a bit of luck to make a business a success. You need the tenancity to plow on no matter what you face, the belief that you will be successful and some toothpicks to keep your eyes open during it all. It’s exhausting, exhilarating and consuming. Do you have what it takes?
I wear many hats around Little Things. How many jobs do I have? Well that depends on the day:
1) Buyer – I travel to the trade shows, scour the web for new products, make contacts, and look for leads. I decide on what to bring in, what to keep out and what lines we should carry. I also decide which areas need expansion and which need to be condensed.
2) Webmaster – that’s correct, about 90% of the wedding favors and accessories you see on the site have been input by me, manually by hand. That includes the product descriptions, price points, and all the other junk which needs to go into the backend for you to make a purchase. I also design the categories, subdivide them and move products.
3) Copy editor & Writer – I write the copy, the articles, the section pages, the meat and potatoes of the site – it’s what makes a site rank. I also write the blogs, outside articles, etc… I even have some articles being published in an upcoming wedding book.
4) Marketing & Advertising – whether it be SEO, SEM, affiliate marketing, linking, purchasing advertising space – that’s me too. I also design the graphics when I have to produce newsletters. You’ll find my twitter account managed by me. Our facebook and myspace pages too are handled in house.
5) SEO & Analytics – falls into a category all by itself. Any entrepreneur who is venturing on the web today should know some basic SEO. Even if you’re going to outsource this, you should know what your seo company is doing for you. I can’t tell you the countless numbers of hours I’ve poured into research.
6) Administrative work – the faxes, the bills, the payroll, the monthly sales tax. There is always paperwork to be handled.
7) Sales – yes, you may ocassionally get me on the phone when you call. This usually only happens when all my employees are occupied with other customers. Or if you venture into my store on a Saturday, you’ll see me there working, on the floor.
I wear many other hats including Human Resources, Mom, Hiring, training, developing, IT, software development, etc. Yesterday I had to deal with open season for our health insurance for our employees while trying to deal with networking a laser printer, updating drivers and editing hang tag options on 638 products.
Being an entreprenuer requires you (unless you have a ton of capital behind you to hire department heads) to know a little bit of everything, and figure out all the right answers when you have little knowledge of the subject. It requires extensive hours, hands on training, learning and developing.
But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I really don’t mind working until 4 am (which I did last night) or putting in 18 hour days. One day, I know we’ll be large enough to alleviate some of the workload. But until then, I plow on.
In the essence of Independence, I’ve created mine. How about you? I’d love to hear your stories as well. Happy 4th of July! If you’re in the Sayreville NJ area be sure to swing by our store – 137 Main Street Sayreville, NJ 08872 (732) 654-5262. Or visit us on the web at www.littlethingsfavors.com
Fashioncraft has updated there offerings on there personalized tags and personalized expressions items. Now all items have 234 designs, and 30 different color options. As we make this transition over the course of the following week, you’ll have all these great choices to select from. There are designs for weddings, baby showers, bridal showers, engagement parties, birthday parties, religious events and so much more!
Please bear in mind though, that all personalized tags are printed exactly as you request in the colors and designs shown. Personalized tags are included in a separate envelope in your order and you must attach these by hand to your favors.
"Please Be Seeded" Cherry Blossom Plantable Seed Place Cards
As a wedding expert, I cringe when I hear brides (or read about them) stating that they want open seating for their reception.
Open seating is every guest’s nightmare and it also will prevent you from having a smooth flowing reception.
But hey if you’re a fan of chaos, disorganization and unhappy guests, this may be the option for you!
Putting my sarcasm aside, I would like you to think about being in a crowded cafeteria looking for your friends or searching for an open table. It’s nearly an impossible feat. Or have you ever been at a table, already seated – when someone comes over and asks everyone to shift their chairs so they can fit? It’s annoying and disrupting – especially if you are already eating.
Now think about your reception – what if you’re groom’s obnoxious fraternity brothers storm in first and snatch up the front tables leaving your grandmother to sit in the back? What if your friends who don’t know anyone – are left to sit at a table alone? It doesn’t make it a fun time for your guests – and your guests’ feelings should be of uptmost importance.
While some couples think open seating is fun – it’s really not. If you leave it to chance you will have half empty tables, overcrowded tables, some guests dining with strangers and some guests dining alone. All of which will disrupt your wedding flow and your wedding feel.
You’re guests are like sheep – they want to be led – by you! Unless you’re having a cocktail reception where there are no seats, it is in good taste to assign tables (you don’t have to assign seats, but tables are mandatory!)
If you don’t want to go through the expense of place card holders or frames – don’t. But do splurge on inexpensive place cards (you can buy bulk packs at most craft stores for pennies). Or you can even puchase inexpensive place cards like the cherry blossom ones above – which also double as your wedding favors.
It’s A Napkin and it stands up! It’s useful and is serves as pretty table decor. And I couldn’t be more excited to show these unique wedding napkins off to you! These are innovated little naps, folded just perfectly into a shape which stands up.
With chic, modern designs and made in the USA of recycled materials and printed with all natural soy based inks – this eco-friendly product is not only trendy but instyle as well!
Simply place one at each place setting for unique (and inexpensive) table decor. Each napkin stands 6.5″ tall.
And we have designs for cocktail parties, weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, bachelorette parties, wine themed events, holidays and more!
These napkins were the 2009 Winner of the NY National Stationary show for best new design and received the Top 10 New Product Award in Canada.
Love to entertain? Having a Birthday Party? We have themed napkins for you as well. Whether you are celebrating a wedding or a 1st Birthday – these fun designs are sure to fit in with your decor and theme.
Unique Wedding Theme Napkins (In Pink or Blue)
Shown here are our Chic Cocktail and Wine Theme Napkins and our Bride & Groom Wedding Napkins which I was first drawn too. The cocktail napkins remind me of something Sex and The City – very modern, hip and chic. I was handed one of the bride and groom napkins as a “take home” sample” from the NY Stationary show last month and it has been propped up on my office desk. She’s really pretty in her blue dress and is perfect for that “something blue” touch or as bridal shower decor.
And since these napkins are so eco-friendly – I just had to add them to our Little Things product line! I’m a sucker for eco-chic products – I love all natural designs and earth friendly materials.
And I adore the fact that this product is made in the good ‘ol USA. I love buying domestic and supporting our families and our economy here at home.
The office is a bit hectic today – so I bid you farewell until next time!
Paint chips and strips for your wedding colors? Who knew? Get inspired for your wedding color palette by visiting a local paint shop or your friendly big box home store. By selecting a palette of paint chips you can easily see which colors go best with each other, get great ideas for base colors and accent colors, and have really cheap swatches to bring with you to all your bridal appointments.
Shown above is a wonderful and popular fall wedding palette for Fall 2009 weddings. Deep hues of purples are all over – it lends itself to a certain richness and gives a sense of royalty and grandeur! Deep purples can be paired with lovely reds or accents of orange. I can just picture a beautiful fall floral arrangement with purples and oranges – very chic!
So now that you’ve found your colors, grab several of them – drop one off at your florist, one at your catering hall, bring one with you when shopping for dresses and accessories. This way all of your vendors know exactly what colors you are looking for and everything will blend together beautifully! How’s that for a wedding idea?
In a perfect world (kinda like the picture above, I would imagine) none of your friends or co-workers would put you on the spot and ask if they are invited to your wedding. But in reality, it happens.
With the current economic situation, you may be scaling down your guest list and that’s OK! Gone are the times of super-sized guests lists. Now, more than ever couples are including their families and close friends only – sometimes even cutting out their extended families to save cash.
Here are 4 great ideas on what to say if you’re put into an awkward situation.
If you’re having a small wedding say: “We really wish we could invite all of our friends, but we’ve decided to keep the wedding as an intimate family affair.”
If the above isn’t entirely true, but your friend didn’t make the cutsay: “Since we have large extended families, our guest list is relatives only.”
If your paying, blame it on the economy: “Because we’re paying for the wedding ourselves, we’ve had to cut down on the size of the event so it is more afforable for us.”
If you’re parents are paying, blame them: ” ___ and ___ are footing the bill and I need to stick to their budget and heat count, so unfortunately I can’t invite everyone I’d like to.”
President Obama may be too busy traveling the world and fixing our economy to dance at your wedding like they did at the Inaugural Ball, but if you invite the Obamas to your wedding they’ll send you a congratulatory note. Which I think is a pretty darn cool keepsake for your wedding day!
Send your invite to:
The Honorable Barack Obama and Mrs. Obama, The White House Greetingss Office, Room 39, 1600 Pennsylavania Avenue, Washington DC 20500
Shaken or stirred – cocktails are at the heart of every adult party. Whether it be a backyard BBQ, a luau themed bash, a cocktail party or an upscale wedding with signature drinks – cocktails go with parties like peanut butter goes with jelly. Whether you are socializing with friends at a casual event or networking and schmoozing at a function – chances are you probably have a drink in hand.
What better way to send off your guests and say “thank you” then by giving them a personalized packet or two (or maybe 3 and 4, depends on how much you like your friends ) of personalized cocktail mixes?
If you’re like me, chances are you will send home with your guests a little “goodie” bag of treats. Adults are just like kids – they love taking home a bag of treats! For my husband’s surprise birthday party last year, I threw a cocktail party for him and I made little bags of goodness to send home with our guests. In them I included several cocktail mix packets, mini martini glasses, these martini coasters and one of my all time favorite favor candles: Cocktails Anyone? Gel Martini Candle. So our guests went home with their own little bag of happiness – they could make their drinks, place it on a coaster, light a candle and relax.
But we have a bunch of designs for all different occasions: wedding cocktail mixes (in over 60 designs), exclusive to Little Things designs such as damask, fleur de lis and love bird which can be found here: exclusive cocktail mix designs, birthday party cocktail mixes and we also have cocktail mixes available in religious, Sweet 15, and holiday party designs.
To get your 10% OFF any of these cocktail mixes just use coupon code: Cocktail609 upon checkout!
Just in time for the beach season! It’s not often we offer a huge blow-out sale on items, but this week we are featuring 8 beach wedding favors at GREAT prices! The following favors were regularly priced $2.25 through $2.35 each – Now ONLY $1.00 Each! Buy these while we have them at this awesome price!
And only a minimum order of 12 pieces on any of the following favors:
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Erica
