Saturday, August 24, 2013

Waffles and Weddings


Wouldn't this make the funniest wedding greeting card to put a QR code of this YouTube video on the inside?  Better yet, send it in a "Congratulations on your Engagement" greeting card and say something like, "Start practicing!"

Yes, wedding greeting cards are usually beautiful and include an inspiring message inside so there are choices . . . Create a card with a photo of the couple on the outside with a heartfelt message with this URL code on the inside including a small caption by it OR choose one of our many beautiful and serious "Congratulations on your Wedding" greeting cards and slip this video clip on the inside corner OR choose one of our silly wedding greeting cards and go fun all the way OR even add an image of a waffle on the front!!! The choices are, well, ENDLESS . . .

Remember, SendOutCards creates the QR code FOR YOU: Just copy the YouTube URL and paste it into the bottom section of the UPLOAD MORE PICTURES pop up box.

Happy Card Sending!

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Kermit the Frog would LOVE SendOutCards

SendOutCards
We're SO GREEN!

Yes, Kermit the Frog would love us since he loves green! I have always loved the fact, especially here in Green Portland, that SendOutCards follows a great environmental model among greeting cards companies in that we print cards AS THEY ARE USED. Meaning, instead of buying a big box or inventory of greeting cards that you may never really send, we at SendOutCards PRINT ON DEMAND.  Only the cards that are actually USED are printed. Isn't that great? That is one factor in why we can sell at amazingly discounted prices, PLUS we are saving a few trees here and there!

As I was gathering some facts about my company for a fun Trivia Game at an event yesterday I also learned this: Our high quality greeting cards are printed from 20% Recycled Paper and 80% paper from farm raised trees for the purpose of making pulp. Good news!

Happy Card Sending!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

I love this helpful video







Were you confused at first by the new Internet "cart format" to sending a card?  I am used to it by now but there was a short learning curve I must admit. I have never been fond of change in my routine and now I belong to a technology-based company that needs to routinely update its format to stay on the leading edge of technology! Yikes!

I love what this change gives to me, especially being able to send more than one gift with a greeting card or what I have requested from the company on many occasions: being able to attach both a gift and a Gift Card.  NOW I MAY!!! I also LOVE that I can now "doll" up my gift by choosing the Signature or Premium gifting option. But besides that, I know that this change to our website is a step toward even better things to come in the future.

I love that SendOutCards listens to their customers and distributors when we have ideas for site improvement or just some creative ideas. Have you sent any of your ideas to: wishlist@sendoutcards.com yet?  When you have ideas that you want to see happen, share them with me and I will include them on my emails to Wish List; there is power in numbers!
Happy Card and Gift Sending!!!

Watch this video for some helpful hints on using our updated SendOutCards website:
I think this is my first attempt at sharing video to my blog. Please let me know if it works!

Friday, June 7, 2013

Father's Day is around the Corner!

That's right! Father's Day is Sunday, June 16. For those of you, like myself, who are in denial that it is ALREADY June, Father's Day approaching this quickly will be quite a SHOCK!  You have heard me say this over and over again. Dad's are under appreciated (as is most everyone). Dad's love to hear the expression "Thank you". They do what they do out of love but a genuine thank you will melt their heart.

A beautiful or funny (for that matter) Father's Day greeting card with a few lines of gratitude is a real treat not only to send to your father but to take the time to express. There is MAGIC in the attitude of GRATITUDE! The actual writing of the words will warm your heart as you express kind thoughts and contemplate your dad opening your card and reading it. You can bet it will be displayed in a prominent spot and be read over and over again! Sundays are perfect days to sit down and write a card . . .
Nature's Picnic Gift Basket
You can take your Father's Day greeting card one step further and make a PicturePlus card with your own digital images. He will take that greeting card to work and set it on his desk to show with pride!  A picture is worth a thousands words but do add words of gratitude to each card. If you have a photo of the two of you together, include your gratitude for that experience or adventure with him. Do you have a funny memory to share? Dad's love to laugh with their children.
If you are looking for a Father's Day gift to send with that greeting card, SendOutCards just launched their gifting department on steroids! Now, you may send multiple gifts with your card, even choose upgraded packaging! We have a beautiful line of premium gifts: Harry and David move on over!  Here is a funny gift that is sure to resonate with some dad's out there (and ALL of my sons for sure)!

This Bubble Bath is truly "organic"! Make the beans in the bottle, turn the bath water on, and let your personal bean bubbles create the Redneck Bubble Bath. Find this in our gifting section for MEN.

Happy Father's Day Card Sending!

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Greetings from Kona

No, we are not still in Kona but, since it is raining in Portland on our second day home, we wish we were back in the warmth of the sun. Funny thing is, it was BEAUTIFULLY warm weather here in Portland WHILE we were in Kona!

We had a fabulous time in Kona, relaxing, snorkeling, swimming, snorkeling, laying on the beach, snorkeling, visiting the volcano, and did I say: snorkeling??? We saw so many beautiful varieties fish on this trip with very little effort. It was SO easy to find great places to snorkel. Maybe next time we will take a water-proof camera. I have never had the desire to have vacations photos without family in them but I did fall in love with a few of those beautiful fish!

So I do love the fact that we can travel inexpensively right now so we can pretty much, at the last minute, decide to go on a trip. And I do love having work that usually will allow for that. My work, SendOutCards, can be done anywhere. I've done Gift Accounts (where I walk someone through sending their first card) while cleaning my bathroom, waiting for my luggage, driving to see family (when my blue tooth is working of course) . . . I LOVE it!

I also love that I can upload a photo of my family to create a postcard to send to several friends or business connections with a click of a button on my lap top without having to find a pen or stamp.  Have you ever put a First Class stamp on a postcard just for the convenience? Never pay First Class postage for a postcard again! SendOutCards figures that out for you; it is just that simple!  This postcard was at the end of a full day of swimming and snorkeling. We visited a farmer's market in town and were headed to fix dinner with fresh papaya, mango and a HUGE avocado when I spotted this perfect palm tree!

This summer enjoy the ease of sharing photos of your vacations with picture postcards, with YOU as the subject, from the comfort of your hotel room!
Happy Card (Postcard) Sending!

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Mother's Day Madness

Avoid the Mother's Day mall crowds and warm your mother's heart. Instead of driving to the mall to pick out a gift, a "thing" to celebrate your mom on her special day, bring a tear of joy to your mother's eye by spending that mall time instead to write a heartfelt note in a Mother's Day greeting card to her. A short note of sweet or even fun remembrances from your childhood or young adult years will bring a smile to her face. Sunday is a great day to do that so the card gets mailed on Monday!
 Every mother loves receiving a real greeting card in the mail. A card with an added heartfelt message will get read and re-read for months. Give her the gift of reliving those happy memories or feel the warm,wonderful feelings surrounding the sentiment behind your expression of gratitude for her devotion!

Go ahead, make your mom's day . . .
Send a real greeting card with a heartfelt message!!!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Downtown Portland Inspires Me



I had a very inspiring day today. Every visit was fresh and warm . . . just like the sun today in Portland as it peaked out beyond the clouds. Downtown Portland is an exciting place to visit; I felt it a privilege to be in the Pearl District for part of my day. It feels so alive there amongst the brick warehouses transformed into eclectic meeting places!
I drove past my old stomping grounds as I left my appointment: Smith Western Novelties and Gifts. I learned how to use a packing tape dispenser working in the shipping department which pretty well explains why I am a master box packer. I would bring Morty, my first baby, down to the warehouse of the family business and work in the afternoons.
 
It is funny how I used to count boxes of thousands of postcards there and now I represent a greeting card company, SendOutCards, that prints ONE personalized postcard at a time. How cool is that? I love that not only do they print on recycled paper BUT they print ONLY the cards that are being sent out; now that is eco-friendly! Not only are they “Changing lives, one card at a time” but they are Saving the environment, printing one sent card at a time”!

Friday, March 29, 2013

Happy Easter

Wishing you a Happy Easter weekend! I hope you have both a fun and relaxing time with your family and friends over this holiday. We have been enjoying grandchildren and family visits for the last two weeks. We were going to try to hop down to California for a day to see two more grand children (and their parents also of course) but the flights are too full. It would have been fun to add up how many family members we were able to visit in the last two weeks.
Speaking of hopping down to California, one of my favorite Easter time cards I created a couple of years ago was my granddaughter hopping on the trampoline, thus . . . Hoppy Easter!!! This time of year there are so many reasons to send cards and gifts: graduation, wedding, Mother's Day and Father's Day and . . . Happy Spring since the sun is starting to shine here in the Northwest!  I love using my SendOutCards service to not only make my life easier but to bring a smile on someone's face.
 
Instead of traveling, we will enjoy our holiday at home with my mom and our daughter, Katie.  It is a good excuse for an Easter basket to show up in our living room. I think it is kind of fun that she has requested a traditional ham and "funeral" potatoes dinner since, as a teenager, she said we should switch to lamb on Easter. Now, hopefully your Easter Feasting won't make you feel like this bunny below!


Have a great holiday weekend!

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Late Christmas Cards

How late is too late to send a Christmas greeting card you may ask???  Do you think your friends and relatives are going to refuse the mail because it is late?  No, everyone loves getting a real piece of mail no matter when it arrives!  A late greeting card will just make people smile and know they are in the company of real friends who aren't worried that they will be judged!!!
Traditionally, I keep a fun gingerbread bowl on the kitchen table to store our holiday greeting cards that arrive throughout the holiday.  I see most of my visiting children take some quiet time to read every card from that bowl.  So, our later arriving cards don't get read by our visiting family but we enjoy them even so.  I hear that there are lots of people who regularly send their holiday greeting cards late.  Some say they do it so their card gets more notice but truly, most of us are just running late. 
Goodness, we just experienced a year when there was an extra week in between Thanksgiving and Christmas and yet, I don't know a single person who felt that they had more time.  Christmas just snuck up on everyone this year it seemed!
SendOutCards has some great solutions for late holiday greeting card senders.  If you don't want to send a late Christmas greeting card, we have a fabulous assortment of New Years greeting cards or Calendar greeting cards. Check out my December post about Campaign Cards: TIP #6 for more information on New Years or Calendar greeting cards.
Today, my daughter-in-law, Aubrey, showed me this card that made me laugh.  You have got to take a look at it.  You can find it in the Humorous sub-category under the Christmas category.  Or, it is easier to just use the SEARCH BOX at the top of the Card Catalog and type in: january.  Do not capitalize the word January as the search tool does not like capital letters!  You will need to view it from your SendOutCards account to really read it easily.  
Enjoy and Happy Late Card Sending!

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Holiday Greeting Card Tips-Send a Sample Card



SendOutCards Campaigns
 Using the SendOutCards Campaign feature for sending Holiday Greeting Cards
Send yourself a hard copy
 
TIP #6-When I am going to send a card to over 100 people, I send myself a hard copy sample card of a large campaign in case I don’t notice a mistake (from my computer screen).  I can be pretty picky so you may not have the same need to see it first.  If you call SOC, or use the online chat feature, after you send yourself that sample card, they will refund that cost to your account.

Of course, if you are sending a holiday card right about now, there isn't the luxury of time to send yourself a sample card first.  If you really want to follow this advice, think about switching your holiday card to a New Year's greeting card or a Calendar Greeting Card is you have a business.  We have many, many great new cards in both of those categories.

Check out the New Year's greeting cards in the category: Holidays and sub-category: New Years.  There are even sub-categories in that section so click on the one you want. Businesses in the heath or finance industry are particularly well suited to sending a New Year's card and mentioning achieving goals for the new year.

A business can send a year-at-a-glance 2013 Calendar Greeting Card that will sit on your customer's desk all year long and the card only costs 62 cents!!!  That is a lot of months of keeping your name fresh in their mind every time they pick up that card . . . and for such a little cost.  Check out our new calendar cards in the category:  Special Collections and sub category: Calendar Cards.  We also have Calendar Elements if you would like to create a custom calendar card and add personal photos or images for only 1 more point.
The possibilities are endless!
I know the card catalog well.  Call me at 503-524-1111 if you want some suggestions. 

Holiday Greeting Card Tips-Adding Contacts



SendOutCards Campaigns
Using the SendOutCards Campaign feature for Holiday Greeting Card sending.
Adding people to your Contact Manager

TIP #5- At this time of year, hopefully you have already added your family, friends, customers and business associates to your Contact Manager.  If not, and if you have your contacts in any sort of Excel-type fie, you may add them to your SendOutCards account all at once with the Importing Contacts feature. Otherwise, plant yourself in front of a fun holiday movie and add your contacts one by one.  That is what I did before I realized there was an Import Contacts feature!

Check out the HOW TO IMPORT CONTACTS tutorial on your HELP drop down menu plus, Customer Service will help with technical issues if you experience any.  At this time of year, choose the CALL BACK option with Customer Service or use the Online Chat feature in the bottom left hand corner of your screen.

Once you have all your contacts into your system, you WILL feel jolly, jolly. jolly joy since it will then be SO easy to send a simple heartfelt card all year long!

Holiday Greeting Card Tips-Personalizing


SendOutCards Campaigns
Using the SendOutCards Campaign feature for sending Holiday Greeting Cards
Insert Name Feature for fun personalization

TIP #4-Remember to have fun with photos, text boxes, thought bubbles and personalizing your card on both the front and inside with the insert name features.   When you use the INSERT NAME feature, do not cut and paste it.  You MUST click on the INSERT NAME feature on the EDIT-PERSONALIZE IT page for it to work as a live mail merge feature.  

I used the FIRST NAME-INSERT NAME feature on this card.  When printed, whatever I have in the first name cell in my Contact Manager, will be auto-filled onto the front of my card.  Watch the tutorial about using Campaigns from your HELP drop down menu on your Main Menu Page red line for more explanations.  Call me at 503-524-1111 if you still have questions.

Holiday Greeting Card Tips-Signatures


SendOutCards Campaigns
Using the Campaign Feature in SendOutCards for Holiday Greeting Cards

Signatures and Personal Font


TIP #3-If you purchased the $25.00 handwriting/ 4 signature font option, it takes about 10 days to 2 weeks for it to get into your system.  For those of you who may have procrastinated mailing in that font page, a remedy to still using a signature is to scan an image of the signature that you use on your holiday cards and adding it as an image (photo) to your system.  Write it in a fun holiday color since you will not be able to change the color in an image of course, like you may change font colors.  When using a scanned image as your signature, remember the background of that part of the card should be white.  One of the fun features of purchasing a $5.00 signature, is that your background may be any color and there is much more flexibility.  Call me at 503-524-111 for further explanation.

Holiday Greeting Card Tips



SendOutCards Campaigns
A campaign is a card or set of cards that you wish to send over and over again or to a group of people in your Contact Manager. Watch the informative Tutorial on Campaigns in the HELP section and call me if you have more questions. Here are some tips and tricks:

1-Because there will be some days that the company will print almost three quarters of a million  cards in December, SendOutCards pulls cards from your account more than one time a day (we cannot depend on the midnight Mountain Standard Time deadline).  If you are planning to do some individual editing to some cards in a large campaign, post date the send campaign option on the last page of your campaign so you have time to do that. When you edit a card, you MUST click the continue button until you click SEND CARD button again so SOC knows you are serious about that change.  You will NOT be charged again.

2-When I create a detailed card, I ALWAYS hit the Print Preview button to make sure my computer screen is showing how SendOutCards will print it.  If there is a difference between the two displays, always believe Print Preview and be careful of your margins.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Spiders really BUG me



I mentioned in an earlier post that spiders give me the creeps.  I know that they have a good purpose on earth; I read that spiders and bats eat tons of insects.  In fact, bats can eat 600-1000 mosquitoes in an hour; that is one busy bat!  Yuck, but yeah!

This hatred I have for spiders is more of a fear.  But why, considering their size to mine???  I don’t know, but a spider of most any size can immobilize me.  That is why I was CRAZY this year to put spiders on my Halloween greeting card to my customers.  I received one back in the mail from someone who moved their offices.  Yikes; I couldn’t even touch the part of the greeting card that had the spider while putting it in a new envelope to re-address it!

                             It would be frightening not to have you as a customer!

But I had fun lots of fun with my Halloween greeting card this year.  I normally send cute greeting cards but this one was a bit edgy and it made lots of friends laugh.  Was that really you?” they asked.  Yes, me, ratted hair and a lot of hairspray!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
And yes . . .
SendOutCards is so cool it is scary!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Halloween is around the corner; yikes!



I used to enjoy picking out funny or cute Halloween greeting cards for the family but I would spend quite some time in the card isles doing so.  Now, I easily find the ones I like from my SendOutCards account from the comfort of my computer.  Since Halloween is such a playful holiday, have fun choosing greeting cards that will make people smile.
There are entire subcategories devoted to family, humorous and of course, children!  The choices are endless with spooky, bright or bloody colors to create the tone you wish.  Choose from monsters, mummies, spiders, bats or black cats or on the lighter side, candy corn, pumpkins, or cute costumes.  Just have fun . . . knowing you will add a happy moment to the person receiving the card.
 
Are you old enough to remember the spider pages in the Golden Book Encyclopedias?  Well, truth be known, I couldn’t even bring myself to touch those pages.  Turning the page gave me the creeps.  As I started thinking about a fun Halloween card creation this year, I choose a template that had spiders since my previous Halloween cards have been on the cute side.  As I started working with the template, that old feeling came back to me and I am certainly glad that I do not have to handle the cards with spiders on them.  Ha Ha . . . just my family and friends have to touch them.  Eeck!
 Vishing you a vonderfully vicked and vild Halloveen! 
Happy Halloween Card Sending!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Thanking Fathers


Has Father’s Day snuck up on you like it did me?  My goodness, the weeks and months are passing by at light speed!  So, if you didn’t get a Father’s day greeting card in the mail yet, it is NOT too late.  Just give your dad a call on Father’s Day but put a nice message into a greeting card over the weekend.  It could start by saying, “Dad, as I think about you on Father’s Day,  . . .  Why put it into a greeting card?  He will pick up that card over and over again to read your words and bring a smile to his face.
  Dads love feeling appreciated.  Father's Day is a perfect time to express your appreciation. If you need help thinking of what to say, try to be more specific than general.  You may think of a special outing you shared that brings fond memories to the two of you, think of some advice he gave you that helped you, or a funny saying that you can remember him saying repeatedly.
 "Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a Dad."
Anne Geddes

Happy Father’s Day Card Sending!

Monday, June 4, 2012

Showing Appreciation

 “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more . . . 
It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” 
Melody Beattie
When May Kay Ash, founder of the billion dollar Mary Kay business, started her business, she had a goal to write three thank you notes a night. This practice not only expressed her gratitude to the people with whom she met and with whom she did business, but also allowed her to maintain a positive attitude all day long as she sought out people to whom she would send these thank you notes.
There is a magic in the attitude of gratitude.
Think about it, having the attitude of gratitude can shape your thinking and experiences.  As you are looking for someone or something for which to be grateful, THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO NOTICE, people doing good and the good things happening in your life daily!
How do I know this to be true?  I have always been a letter writer.  I was pretty good at writing greeting cards to thank people for things they did but I was also very good at writing letters to complain about something if I felt I had been served unjustly by a business or some situation.  After using SendOutCards and following the goal to write a heartfelt greeting card a day this is what happened to me:

 First, as I wrote a greeting card expressing how I appreciated someone, I had good feelings as I thought about the ability to brighten the day of the person getting the greeting card.  It didn’t take much time before I realized that I was the one benefiting from this simple process.  Of course, the person getting the greeting card feels good also and I have had some many amazing responses to the greeting cards.  I also realized that the energy to write a letter of complaint was draining, re-living negative, angry emotions all over again as I wrote.  So, sometimes when I have not received good service and am tempted to write a letter of complaint now, I stop and think of what business has served me exceptionally and write a note of gratitude instead.  It feels so much better!

Second, the best part of my goal is that I am looking for the positive or to notice someone doing something nice.  It has changed my outlook.  I LOVE the feeling.  And all this from a greeting card company who, when I first heard of how SendOutCards worked I said, “A greeting card written from your computer?  It won’t have the same impact.”  NOT TRUE!  Even as strong of a greeting card writer as I had been, I would have not had the experiences I have enjoyed if I faced the many obstacles and cost of sending greeting cards the traditional way.  I LOVE sending a REAL greeting card in the mail with the ease of doing it from my computer and being able to personalize it even more with my own photos!!!

I invite you to join with me and take a 30 Days of Gratitude Challenge. Send out at least one heartfelt greeting card a day expressing appreciation to someone you would like to thank.  It could be something you observed that day or to someone for whom you wish to express gratitude for the part they have played in your life.  This costs about a $1.00 a day.  If you send out at least one greeting card a day expressing appreciation for 30 days and you don't see a positive impact in your life I will refund your $30!

Let me know if you accept this challenge!  You will be glad you did!  It is a nice way to live.
Gracias, danke, merci . . .whatever language is spoken, “thank you” frequently expressed will cheer your spirit, broaden your friendships, and lift your lives to a higher pathway as you journey towards perfection.  There is a simplicity, even a sincerity, when “thank you” is spoken.  Thomas S. Monson
Happy Card Sending!

Monday, May 28, 2012

Memorial Day Memories

 This nation will remain the land of the free
 only so long as it is the home of the brave. -Elmer Davis
I love the reminders I have seen this weekend of the meaning of today’s holiday, Memorial Day.  My favorite sight was a flag lined cemetery.  It was inspiring to see all the flags waving in the wind.  Memorial Day memories bring lots of warm feelings of family and friends, trips to the coast, barbeques, picnics and just plain backyard fun.  All of which are precious things for which the gratitude of our freedoms make even more meaningful.
Have a wonderful Memorial Day!


Thursday, May 17, 2012

Gobs of Graduation Greeting Cards



 To you, graduate! May the next part of your journey
bring you more joy, wisdom and success. Congratulations!
Do you know someone graduating this year? Whether it is from high school or college, this is an important occasion in their lives to recognize and celebrate.  Goodness, in our family, we celebrated the kindergarten, elementary and middle school graduations also; it is fun to celebrate important milestones!

SendOutCards does have GOBS of Graduation Greeting cards.  Go to the Category Expressions, then Congratulations, then Graduation or just type graduation in the search box at the top of the Card Catalog if you wish to see a smaller selection of graduation greeting cards.. 
My Wish to You On Your Graduation Day
May the world offer you as many wonderful things
as you have to offer the world.
Send a graduation greeting card acknowledging this accomplishment, offering your congratulations and wish for luck in the future. If you don’t know the graduate well, send one of our graduation greeting cards with a message already on the inside or find a quote or poem to add to the greeting card.  Many websites offer quotes like thinkexist.com or brainyquote.com; just use the search tool for graduation quotes.
Graduation is not the end; it is the Beginning.
If the graduate is a close family member this is a fantastic time to share your love and appreciation in writing expressing heartfelt feelings of the characteristics that make the graduate special to you and bound for more future successes.

And of course, as always, we have humorous graduation greeting cards if you feel so inclined. One of  my favorite funny graduation greeting cards is the one pictured below.
Your family is so extremely proud of you.
You can't even imagine the sense of relief they are feeling right now.
This would be a most opportune time to ask for money. Congratulations Graduate! 

Happy Graduation Greeting Card Sending!