Holiday Gift Giving Made Easy!

Well, it's that time of year - time to start thinking about holiday gift giving. I know, I know ... it's too soon! I feel ya. It seems like it comes earlier every year lol

As a crafter, I try to start thinking about it and planning earlier than this ... because it does take time to come up with gift ideas/projects, gather the supplies, and then of course design the projects and execute them.

So, I usually begin with creating a list of gift recipients, and ohhh myyy gosh! There's family (sisters, in-laws, cousins) friends, co-workers, boss, kids teachers and coaches, mail carrier, house party hostesses, neighbors; plus when you have kids, it seems you're at the doctor or dentist office very often and you become friendly with the staff and want to show appreciation ... so then we add secretaries, nurses, medical assistants, dental assistants ... ahhhh it can be so overwhelming! And these are just the women!

Well thanks to Color Street's new holiday bundles release, I've come up with some great gift giving ideas that'll give you the biggest bang for your buck! Now hear me out because I know it's going to seem like a lot. But let's do the math ...

There are 4 new holiday bundles that come with a total of 28 products if you bought all 4 ...

Bundle 1 ... Lipstick Vault $140 (16 products)

contains all 12 shades of lipstick, plus 4 shades of lip liners

Bundle 2 ... Lush Lashes $50 (2 products)

contains Tri-Flex Mascara and Waterproof Tri-flex Mascara

Bundle 3 ... Luminous Lips & Tips $50 (5 products)

contains 4 travel size Lips Oils (including 1 NEW Pixie Lip Oil), plus 1 Pixie nail strip set

Bundle 4 ... Glow All Out $50 (5 products)

contains a black velvet makeup bag, (NEW)Jelly Pout lip treatment, travel size Blackberry Lip Oil, Tinted Lip Balm, and Tokyo Lights nails strip set

Nails strip sets are always Buy 3, Get 1 Free; so add 4 glitter sets for $39

Okay, now we have 32 individual products for $329. Now don't freak out! Because if you calculate that to average, each item will cost you only $10.28! That's just $10.28 per gift!!

Just look at all that you get ...

I like buying holiday themed cellophane 'goodie bags' to put small gifts in. You can buy them at the Dollar Store or Target, or really anywhere you shop. I found these cute ones on Amazon. They are big enough to hold a 16 ounce jar, come in packages of 20 and have built in drawstring ribbons that are perfect. Just add a little bit of shredded filler and it's done

If you want to add a little more, combine 2 of the products as a gift. You would have 16 gifts and it would only cost you $20.56 per gift! Again, just add them to a cute bag, add some filler and you're set. You could pair a nail strip set with a lipstick, or a lip liner with a lip oil, the possibilities are endless! Here are a few ideas for you ...

Do you want to step up your gift an extra notch? Ulta has their annual Sweet and Shimmer sale going on right now! The products are so cute! And they're on sale for 5 for $10. That's only an additional $2 per item added to your gift! Here are a few of the items that I ordered ...

Here's a gift idea that would only cost you $24.56. 2 Color Street products, plus 2 Ulta products ...

Okay, so I know that seems like a lot of money to buy all 4 of the Color Street bundles. But here's another option that I just have to point out ... if you buy the Lipstick Vault bundle, you'll get 12 full size lipsticks plus 4 full size lip liners - that's the BEST deal! 16 products at $8.75 each!!

If you want to step that one up a bit, add (2) B3G1F glitter set deals at $39 each. You can add 2 lipsticks and a nail set and it would only cost you $24.24 each for 8 gifts

Again, you can step it up even further by adding some Ulta products. The hair scrunchies and makeup sponges come 2 in a pack - split them up for $1 each, and the large nail files come 3 in a pack so they're only $0.66 each! This would be an awesome gift for only $29.96 ...

As you can see, there are SO many possibilities! Play around, do the math - the deals are ahh-mazing! You could totally put together some great gifts that won't cost you a fortune!

And if you want to step it all the way up, start your journey with Color Street as a stylist for just $99!! The starter kit comes with the following and could easily be split up for gift giving:

1 Lipstick, Lip Liner, 1 Lip Balm, 1 Powder Blush, 1 Balm Blush, 9 Nail Strips, 1 Hand Lotion, 1 Cuticle Oil, 50 2-Finger Testers, 100 Prep Pads, Large Nail File, Nail Buffer, 10 Core Catalogs, 25 Opportunity Brochures, Stylist Launch Guide, Tote Bag, Welcome Letter

One more thing before you leave! How would you like to have your own personal shopping link? The link would last for 30 days and you can add as many orders to it as you want. You can even share the link with family and friends for them to order from and you can earn free rewards! If you'd like more information, check out this recent blog post explaining how it works ... 

PERSONAL PARTY LINK INFO

If you'd like any information or have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. You can reach all of my links in 1 place ...

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Earn Color Street Rewards without hosting a party!!

Color Street has such an amazing and growing product line! There are always new products coming, new nail strip designs and of course new holiday and seasonal collections! I'm sure, like me, you want it all!

Hosting a Color Street party is a great way to earn free products! I have a great way to host a party without all of the typical party requirements (no creating a Facebook event or group, no sharing Facebook posts, no inviting friend and family, no playing games, etc.) I can create you your very own personal shopping link!

This is such an easy and amazing way to earn your own hostess rewards without having to host a party. The shopping link will last for 30 days and you can place as many orders through it as you want! Plus you can share the link with family and friends and their orders will count towards your rewards. You only need 3 separate orders totaling $150 to begin earning rewards (see rewards chart below). Once your link closes, you’ll have 30 days to create your rewards order (free shipping on that!).

I love to spoil my hostesses! Even though this isn't your typical party, you are still considered a hostess and will qualify for hostess rewards. Here's a breakdown of the rewards you can earn ...

Example: sell 3 orders

1st order total $39 (prior to tax & shipping)

2nd order total $59 (prior to tax & shipping)

3rd order total $57 (prior to tax & shipping)

total orders = $155

you'll earn $15.50 credit, plus 1 half-priced item

sell $342 worth of products and you'll earn $51.30 credit, plus 3 half-priced items

sell $722 worth of product and you'll earn $144.40 credit, plus 6 half-priced items

To get started I’ll need some info to set up your link. Fill out this Google Form and as soon as I set you up, I’ll send you the link and you can start shopping and sharing

CLICK to Request A Personal Link

Thanks for stopping by today! If you're not ready to start a personal shopping link right now, just bookmark this page to make it easy to come back to

xoxo

Dawn

Halloween Mani's

I just can not believe we're in the middle of September already! And now, thinking about Halloween ... uggh!

Summer is my absolute favorite season, and I always have a really hard time letting it go! I keep my pool open for as long as I possible can lol

I also LOVE Fall & Halloween, and as soon as I accept that summer is over I really get into fall and Halloween decorations (not yet, just planning lol) However, Color Street recently released the new Halloween collection, Enchanted Evening, and I thought I'd share. I've already ordered my new sets and have my mani's planned out, even though I'm still wearing bright, summery shades lol. 

So, here are the eight new shades that Color Street released recently ...

Your Haunted Heart will skip a beat with this black to blood red gradient shimmer.
(Shimmer finish. Each set includes 16 double-ended nail polish strips)

Give a Midnight Fright with this glow-in-the-dark ombré shade with spooky motifs.
(Glow in the dark design. Each set includes 16 double-ended nail polish strips)

You’ll look fang-tastic with Once Bitten, a smoky, dark steel blue with a bat pattern
(Creme finish. Each set includes 16 double-ended nail polish strips)

Watch shadows dance in the night with this black to silver diagonal ombré glitter on Phantom Lover
(Glitter finish. Each set includes 16 double-ended nail polish strips)

Capture that Widow’s Glow with this holographic glitter with spider web motifs.
(Glitter finish. Each set includes 16 double-ended nail polish strips)

Nocturnal Soul is a black shade scattered with chunky, autumnal glitter is eerie-sistible.
(Glitter finish. Each set includes 16 double-ended nail polish strips)

Ominous Orange, this pumpkin orange glitter is as sweet as candy corn.
(Glitter finish. Each set includes 16 double-ended nail polish strips)

Become the Scream Queen with this bewitching purple glitter.
(Glitter finish. Each set includes 16 double-ended nail polish strips)

Unveil your spooky style with these frighteningly fa-boo-lous nails! For a closer look at these bewitchingly beautiful new nail looks, check out my shopping site right here ...

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Are you following me on my other social media? Click here to check out all of my links to contact or follow ...

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Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

Dawn

Slot Machine Birthday Card

Hello, hello!! I know, it's been a hot minute since I've posted. Summer is here and I've been keeping busy out in my backyard lol

I did take some time recently to create a birthday card for my husband. Let me start by saying, we love playing slot machines! Prior to Covid, we use to go to Vegas at least once a year, sometimes twice. Then Covid hit and we stopped going for obvious reasons. We will get back there eventually (hopefully SOON!). In the meantime, the hubs discovered some local gaming cafes that he likes. So, I decided to create this card for him and give him some extra cash to go spend a few hours in his happy place. Here's the card I made ...

I was inspired from a card I seen on the internet and I tweaked it a little (I'm so sorry to whoever created it, I never copied the name to give credit). The card I seen, had no measurements so I decided on a 5"x7" card, using my Cricut cutting machine. I designed all of the elements in Cricut Design Space by using basic shapes and searching out the images that I wanted to use ...

For the writing, I used Cricut's font BFC Autumn Woodland, and Cricut Gold Metallic marker on the front and Cricut Black marker on the inside. I originally wanted the writing on the front to be silver and use silver foil cardstock for the coins and the word You, but my silver metallic marker wasn't working so I went with the gold. 

To save on paper and cutting, I used my Stampin' Up! trimmer to cut the Basic Black cardstock 10"x7". then folded it in half for the card base. I also used the trimmer to cut the Basic Gray cardstock 4.5"x6.5" for the card base front layer. I cut out all of the other pieces with my Cricut. 

Aside from the Cricut machine and markers, I used Stampin' Up! cardstock (it's what I always use for all of my paper crafting lol) The colors may look a little off because of photography, but I used the following cardstock ...

Basic Gray

Gray Granite

Basic Black

Basic White

Crushed Curry

Real Red

Gold Foil 

I used Tombow multi-purpose liquid glue to attach all of the pieces together, then began putting the card together ...

I created the money bag to put some cash 'in' by creating an offset in Design Space and used a piece of scrap paper to attach it to the back and then to the card. For the coins, I curled the cardstock with the side of a pen, then put a dab of glue on each side to attach the front and back leaving an opening.  Then I used a skewer to roll up the money and insert into each coin ...

I used a dab of glue on the back of each coin to attach them all to the inside of the money bag, then attached it to the inside of the card ...

And here's the completed card ...

Since his birthday fell on Fathers Day, and I already had my Cricut out, I decided to make him a couple of t-shirts. He's a truck driver and is constantly complaining about dispatchers, traffic, his job and everything else that's related lol ...

He truly loved the card and t-shirts when I gave them to him! He really wanted to head off to the local gaming cafe immediately, but stayed home and spent a pool day with the family lol. 

Well, thank you very much for stopping by today! I hope I was clear in my instructions, but if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask! Leave a comment or send me a message. You can reach all of my links right here ...

CLICK HERE

until next time!

xoxo

Dawn

Using Canva and ChatGPT to create social media graphics

I spend a lot of time in Canva creating graphics for all of my social media. Awhile back, a social media marketing coach introduced me to ChatGPT and my brain instantly got busy with ideas of how to use it! That same social media marketing coach later taught me how to use Canva and ChatGPT to save time by bulk creating graphics and I've been using this feature ever since. (Brenda Ster is an ahh-mazing coach! If you're not following her, you should! Go search her on Facebook NOW!)

I thought I'd share it with you in case you are in the same boat I was in. I was constantly looking for ideas to create graphics for engagement in my Facebook group, pages and Instagram. I absolutely LOVE this feature and use it often. It does take some time, but it takes much LESS time than if I were to try to create individual graphics without this feature. Okay, lets get started ...

First, you need ChatGPT. It's a free online AI tool that you can access and sign up for right here ...

ChapGPT Link

Once you sign up, click on the box at the bottom that says 'Message ChatGPT'. This is where you type in your request. I'm making some good morning/motivational graphics that I'll be posting every Monday. I kept it simple, but would like specific parameters ... I typed in '10 short happy monday motivational quotes. Return list with no quotation marks, no emojis, and unnumbered' If you don't include that last part, it might generate a list with emoji's, numbered, etc.

After typing your request, hit send and the list will generate instantly. If you're happy with the results, highlight and copy this list.

Next you'll need to open your spreadsheet software. (I use the free Google docs app.) Create a new sheet and copy the content into the sheet, then make sure to save it as a .csv file ...

Now you'll need a Canva account. (You can sign up for the Free version) Here's the link ...
Canva

I like using square designs, so I created a custom size design of 2000x2000 px. You can create your design whatever size you prefer.

Begin your design with a background (I used a solid color), then add any text you want (I added the good morning). Add a text box where you want your quotes to appear. And don't forget to add your watermark or logo if you have one ...

Now here's where the magic happens lol! Over on the left size of Canva, scroll until you find the Apps button and click on it. Then search for the Bulk Create button and click

Click on 'Upload Data' and navigate to where you saved your spreadsheet. Once you find it, click on Open. You'll see it added to the left of Canva ...

Now right click on the text box you added for your quotes. Click on 'Connect Data' and you'll see your list in a little pop up. Click on your list and it will be connected. You'll see the name of your list on the left hand side. Click on that, then click on continue ...

Once you continue, you'll see the list of quotes with checkmarks on them all (if they're not all checked, click select all). Once they're all selected, click on 'Generate 10 Designs' (or however many you selected)

A new window with your new design will appear. You can click at the bottom to show the designs in grid view to see all of the quotes ...

Now you can leave them as is, save them, and start using them! Or you can change them up. I decided to change the background colors and fonts for each one by using the design styles. Just click on a quote design and choose a color/font palette ...

I ended up changing all 10 of them with different colors and fonts ...

and then of course, I had to add a little element to each one. I found some simple flowers and stuff to add a little somethin' somethin' lol ...

When you're happy with your design, save them and start using them!

So, what do you think? I know it sounds complicated, but it really isn't. Once you've done it a few times, it becomes easier and quicker. Seriously, I can create these designs in minutes now ... except for when I decide to change each design with added fonts or elements lol. Sometimes that takes me forever to decide on what to add!

Here's one I did with a daily motivational theme. I created 45 of them! Yes, that was a big one and took me forever to change backgrounds, fonts, and add different elements lol

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and are able to try it yourself. If you do, I'd love for you to share with me. If you have any questions, or if I wasn't clear enough in my instruction please feel free to leave a comment below or contact me (links below)

Until next time!!

xoxo

Dawn

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Bowmanitaville Buzz: May Color Street & Stampin' Up! News and Updates

Happy May!! It's finally feels like Spring and the weather is breaking soon! It's been fairly chilly here on and off, but it looks like its going to start warming up to the 70's-80's and I cant wait!! It's been a pretty busy April for me, so I haven't had much time to post. But I have lots to tell you today!

It is going to be an Ah-MAY-zing month and I have all the updates! Brace yourselves, because Color Street and Stampin' Up! have some thrilling promotions and new products lined up to elevate your nail and crafting game! Read on ...

**All of the links are at the end of this post, or you can click on highlighted text to bring you right to the product

💅COLOR STREET💅

NEW PRODUCTS!!

• Foot Care Bundle - I haven't received any details yet, but the preview looks like it includes a cute callous remover
• Patriotic Collection - no details yet, but I can assume it'll be appropriate for the upcoming Summer holidays - Memorial Day, 4th of July, Flag Day, etc.
• Summer Collection - The new Summer Collection, Retro Resort will be released Friday, May 3rd. The collection consists of 10 new shades, including Pedicures! Here's a little sneak peek ...

SPRING COLLECTION REMOVAL - with the new Summer Collection release, will come the removal of Pretty Tough - Spring Collection. All shades in the collection will be removed from the website on May 21st so if you've had your eye on any of them or have a favorite, get them now before they're gone for good

MAY JOIN SPECIAL - if you join Color Street during the month of May, not only will you receive an amazing collection of products for just $99, you'll also get a $50 product credit if you earn 150 PV during your first month!

MAY HOST SPECIAL - host a qualifying party during the month of May and you'll unlock the exclusive set River Fairy, a pale turquoise with magical flecks!!

💕STAMPIN' UP!💕

NEW CATALOG - The brand new Annual catalog has been released on May 1st! Oh my gosh, these new products are sooo amazing! There are way too many to show here lol, but here are a few ...

• Two new kits! - Hello Hollyhocks and City Sights. Each kit includes everything you'll need to create beautiful cards
• In Color Collection - In Colors are limited edition colors that are only available for 2 years. This years release (2024-2026 In Colors) are Peach Pie, Petunia Pop, Pretty in Pink, Shy Shamrock, and Summer Splash. Each of these colors are available in cardstock, ink pads, markers, blends and patterned paper and makes coordinating super easy.
• Pocket Thoughts Bundle - includes the Pocket Thoughts Stamp Set and the Pocket Thoughts Dies. Add paper pockets on card fronts, tags, and more, and fill them with whatever you see fit! Then pair with the cute imagery and greetings from the stamp set to send family and friends personalized, heartfelt messages to make them feel loved on special occasions! (item #163553 in the catalog)
  
• Designer Series Paper (patterned paper) - there are 16 new DSP collections available in the new catalog! The come in gorgeous nature, abstract, color collection (Brights, Subtles, etc) and so much more!

CLEARANCE RACK - the clearance rack has tons of retiring products at greatly reduced prices! Save up to 60% on stamp sets, embellishments, paper and more!

PAPER PUMPKIN - a crafting subscription kit that delivers creativity to your door every month. Each box includes everything you need to make a stunning project. We’ll surprise you with projects like cards, gift packaging, home décor, and more for just $25.00 a month (shipping included). Talk about happy mail! Subscribe by the 10th of the month to receive that months kit. The preview for May's kit is titled 'The Best There Is' and makes 9 cards (3 each of 3 designs) great for Fathers Day and more.

MAY JOIN SPECIAL - when you join as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator you get to choose $125 worth of ANY Stampin' Up! products. For the month of May, you will also receive the brand new 2024-2026 In Color Collection of products for FREE! You'll get Classic Ink Pads, 8 1/2"x11" Cardstock Paper, 6"x6" Designer Series Paper, and Stampin' Write Markers - in ALL 5 NEW COLORS!!! I joined Stampin' Up! in 2015 and I have never seen this deal before. If you've ever thought of joining, even as a hobby or just for the kit, now is the time to do it!!

HOSTESS REWARDS - Stampin' Rewards are the product rewards you receive based on sales. You can pick out any exclusive Hostess Products, or any products from the catalog based on your earnings. Did you know that you can earn rewards on your own order? Just place an order for $150 or more and you qualify for Stampin' Rewards! You don't even have to hold a party!

Whew, that was a lot of new things happening! As I said, it is going to be an Ah-MAY-zing month and there is so much more to come. Are you following me over on Facebook? My page and group is where I post the most up to date specials and information. If you're not following me, all of my links are below.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I appreciate it so very much. If you ever have any questions, please don't hesitate to comment below or contact me.

Until next time!

xoxo

Dawn

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