Shop Contrary's Black Friday Cyber Monday Weekend!

As you toast the season with family and friends, the elves here at
Contrary would like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving accompanied by an
exclusive 30% off shop-wide sale just for you. Take advantage of your first look and get a head start on
your holiday shopping while the shop is stocked.

To receive your exclusive 30% discount, shop at Contrary anytime between
the time you read this post and midnight Monday, 11/30. Enter the promo code
"BFCMblog" in the message to seller field during the checkout process. Once
you complete your order and checkout, simply wait for a prompt revised
invoice sent by email reflecting your discounted total and proceed to pay.

Here's wishing you a happy holiday season and special thanks from Contrary. Feel free to forward this code to your friends and family.

Keep in touch with Contrary: Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sneak Peek

Sign up on the Contrary email list to receive special news, upcoming events, and exclusive promotions for the shop. I'm not a spammer and keep your information private. Additionally, I'll be revealing the details of and giving 24 hour advance access to my Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale to email subscribers.

On Facebook? The Contrary fan page on Facebook is up and running! I hope you'll become a fan of the page, I'd love to see your product photos, hear your comments, and keep in touch.

Contrary on Facebook

Thanks for your continued support and for keeping in touch!

1 Day Sale: Exclusively for You

With your help, today I reached 3000 sales over at the Contrary shop! To celebrate, I'm hosting a 1 day 10% off sale on all items in the shop. Simply enter the code "Happy3000" in the message to seller field during the checkout process and either wait for me to email you a revised PayPal invoice or proceed to checkout and wait for your prompt PayPal refund. Sale valid through Thursday, 11/19/2009.

Thanks for helping me get this far and here's to the next 3000!

Bang Bang...

Listening to a little Nancy Sinatra lately...maybe she can keep you company too?



xoxo

How To: Fancy Favors with Recycled Studio Bits

It's no secret I take great care in the presentation of packages I deliver from Contrary orders. What most folks don't realize is just how simple it can be to take fancy packaging to another level with studio supplies you may have overlooked. It's not only one way to help make the most of materials, but a solid means of owning your brand and wowing your customer every time.

I make most of my shipping supplies by hand using recycled menus from a french restaurant. It's so simple to find fancy paper all over the place that would have otherwise gone straight to the landfill, not to mention many places are happy to have the extras taken off their hands. Lately, I've been sewing up these decorative little paper garlands with the menu scraps I have on hand to use as favors included in select shipments.

Love them too? Here's how to make a set of your own:

Materials:

• Scissors
• Craft shape punch (optional)
• Paper or fabric scraps
• Thread
• Sewing Machine
• Typewriter or Pen (optional)
• Cellophane bag or wax paper (optional)
  

Step 1: Cut or punch desired shapes for your garland out of your scrap paper or fabric. Quantity of shapes is up to you in order to create desired garland length. Use additional scrap paper to create a label insert for the garland's final package. Below, I used a typewriter with the text: a little garland made just for you...

Step 2: Once desired shapes are cut, sew them one by one using a sewing machine. Make sure you have a little extra thread at the start for final garland to hang freely. Continue to hold down the pedal after shape has passed through the needle to create space between each shape. Once all shapes have been sewn, make sure again you allow extra thread at finish for slack on the garland.

Step 3: Finish your garland favor by bundling it flat in a cellophane bag or folded wax paper. Include your
label and voila!

I hope you'll enjoy getting creative with the free resources around your studio in order to add a little punch to your packages.

For those of you that love these little paper banners but don't want to make one, I'll send a free version to the mailboxes of the first three commenters on this post. Be sure to include your email address so I can contact you for shipping info.