Illinois to Arizona Moving Alert!

I'll be closing down on 5/24/2013 for 10 days for a cross country move (again!). Alot of products and fragrances are going out of stock until after the move. Please check the fragrance list for the most current in stock scents.

I'll be motoring from Illinois to Arizona, I should be back up and running on June 4th. The travel bug has bit me hard and I'm shooting for multiple cities, mostly west of the Mississippi, in the next 10 years. If you have a suggestion, comment below. I'm searching for mostly warm climates with plenty of hiking in the great outdoors nearby.

I'll be posting pics of my journey on my Facebook page, the link is over there on the right.

Thanks,
Sue

Mothers Day Giveaway! Popular Perfumes Gift Set! Ends 4/20

I'm giving away one of the popular perfumes gift set! Just enter your info in the rafflecopter entry form below and you can enter 4 ways, follow me on Twitter, like the Somethin' Special Facebook page, comment on this blog post, tweet about the giveaway or subscribe to my somethinspecial.com mailing list. Or do all 5! Just log into the entry form using your Facebook login or simply enter your name and email address to choose your entry options.

The raffle begins on Wednesday, April 10th and ends at midnight on April 20th. I'll choose and post the winner here on April 21st. a Rafflecopter giveaway

My review of stamps.com, customer since 2007

I've been using stamps.com since 2007 and have almost always been really happy with the service. I had used endicia.com prior to stamps.com and had switched because they were no longer accepting my credit card for postage purchases. This was a big turn-off for me because I use a cash back rewards card for my purchases and after spending around $15,000 a year on postage, this came to a nice chunk of change I was not willing to miss out on.

All my selling venues offer their own postage printing service (as of now, not back in 2007), but I wanted a central printing place, instead of logging into eBay and printing there, then logging into Etsy and printing those orders, then logging into Volusion and using the usps.com site to print. See what I mean? Way too cumbersome. Stamps.com offers this and works really well with my Zebra LP-2844 printer.

I have the $15.99 per month package (which is the Pro plan) and I also like that I can buy insurance for international shipments. When the PO increases their prices (seems like every year), stamps.com is quick to notify you in advance and update their software with the new fees.

In the last 6 years of printing, I've had stamps.com crash twice without any realistic resume service time. Once was earlier this year and it was really aggravating that I wasn't getting any answers and the clock was ticking. I had customer orders to ship and it's not my customers problem that stamps.com is down, it is my problem to solve. I did have to use the alternative shipping services (eBay, Etsy, USPS) for that one day and it really sucked. So I do appreciate the service, but have found that if they ever crash again, I have a backup plan. Hopefully they never will.

I would recommend them, they've been a really good postage printing service for my small business. If you'd like to give them a try, use this link:

www.stamps.com/tell

And use offer code C-6Y34-ZBV. This will give you a free 4 week trial and $100 in free stuff ($45 in free postage, a digital scale worth $50 and $5 in shipping supplies).

Game of Thrones season 3 starts tonight on HBO!

I'm a big fan of Game of Thrones, now. I didn't read any of the books until after I saw season 1 on HBO. Then I was hooked and sprinted through all 5 books. I'm anxiously awaiting book 6 just like all the legions of GOT fans. Hurry George R.R. Martin! Do you need help? I'll fetch your lattes, spell check, feed your dragons, dress up like a Khaleesi, take the black, just let me know what you need to finish book 6!!

At your service,
Sue of House Faunt

Vacation & Moving Schedule 2013

It's a busy year and I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on some big dates here at somethinspecial.com.

I will be closed from April 25th to May 6th, I'm going to California to meet my new nephew Hunter and spend a week helping my sis with daycare. I can't wait to spoil him like crazy!

On June 1st I'll be moving from Chicago to Sedona, AZ. When I designed my business, I wanted to make it as mobile as possible, so it can be run from anywhere in the world. This will be the 2nd time I'm doing a cross country move and I'm really excited about exploring more of the USA. 10 cities in 10 years? Why not?! I'll be closed from approximately May 28th to June 5th. I will work hard to make my down times as short as possible.

Some fragrances and products will be going into out of stock status before these dates. Also, look for some pre-moving sales I'll be running!

I will give plenty of advance notice on Facebook, Twitter and via the newsletter mailing list.

Thanks,
Sue

New Hemp & Olive Butter Natural Body Cream

A firm textured butter that melts on contact with the skin and spreads easily. Organic coconut oil, glycerine and vitamin E, are combined with an impressive 47% natural oil content, making this a superior skin moisturizer. Targets dry and troubled skin using cold pressed organic hemp and olive oil. The restorative properties come from retaining essential fatty acids and preserving vitamin content. Paraben Free. Baby Safe.

24% Organic Ingredients:
Hemp
Olive
Coconut
Beeswax

New Solid Shampoo Bars

I have spent years looking for the perfect formula for a shampoo bar and here it is. Simply rub the wet shampoo bar onto your wet hair, create tons of cleansing bubbles, massage your scalp and rinse clean. Includes Argan oil and hydrolyzed silk for soft and shiny hair.

Besides being a great product, it only comes packaged in a tin foil wrapper, so no more plastic bottles to worry about recycling or filling up our oceans and landfills. Made in an easy to handle flower shaped mold, so your fingers can grip between the flower petals and keep it from slipping out of your hands. Also doubles as a shaving cream bar for soft, smooth legs.

Time for a giveaway! Green Shamrock Bracelet and Earring Set!

I'm pleased and proud to be hosting a giveaway for my Moms adorable jewelry! She is giving away this Green Shamrock Bracelet and Earring Set. Just in time for St. Pattys Day! Enter your info in the rafflecopter entry form below and you can enter 3 ways like the Joyful Jewelry Facebook page, favorite the Joyful Jewelry Etsy shop or comment on this blog post. Or do all 3! Just log into the entry form using your Facebook login or simply enter your name and email address to choose your entry options. The raffle begins on Friday, March 1st and ends at midnight on March 8th. We'll choose and post the winners here on March 9th. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dear comment spammers

Instead of trying to post spam comments on my posts, why don't you create your own blog and write interesting content that people will enjoy reading? I'm getting tired of deleting constant spam comments every day when I could be doing something much more useful. Go away!

Thank you,
Sue

New banner design for Jason Faunt jasonfaunt.com