It's ONLY $2

"It's ONLY $2!" Those words have been heavy on my heart for several months now. Many years ago, I was asked by someone who was in the midst of a struggle to help her set up a budget. During our meeting, I mentioned ways for her to decrease expenses and shared my thrifty shopping tips.. for a large family grocery coupons could be a huge savings for them. Anyway, as I explained how and where locally I used coupons she asked where she could get the coupons. With my simple response, "In Sundays newspaper, it's ONLY $2" her eyes grew large and filled with tears and then glanced away down at the ground. I knew instantly that my assumption that everyone could "spare" TWO DOLLARS was just that.. an assumption.
At that particular time in my life I was comfortable in almost every way. I was in a position where I donated a good amount of money to charities and tried to help people often. However, maybe I was a little too comfortable and forgot how JUST $2 could impact a persons life so greatly.
My life has changed quite a bit since then and karma is a funny thing... I found myself in the same exact position not being able to afford a simple newspaper many times, even though it was "ONLY" $2. I have heard those same words of it's "ONLY" on several occasions reminding me instantly of the woman's face as I would take a deep breath and hope that my face (or tone) wouldn't give me away.
Back in the day I felt as though I failed terribly trying to help this woman.. I just didn't realize the lesson was for me and not her. I received my big slice of humble pie. Did you... "it's ONLY $2"

Making Money Online

This year I have had to look for additional ways to make money as so many others have.  I've found a few ways to do so online from my home that have worked for me and helped me financially.  So, I wanted to share my experiences with you.

FusionCash ~ Offers a variety of online tasks to complete to earn money such as surveys, internet searches, watching video's and trial offers if you would like.  You select what you want to do and when.  Cashouts are at $25 and it takes a few weeks for the payment to be processed.  Payment is on the 20th on the month. I like this one for the different tasks available.

Slicethepie ~ Very simple... listen to music and write reviews!  I love this one!  Cashout is at $10 and is processed quickly.  They pay out on Monday and Thursdays.

ZNZ One ~ You must complete one trail offer from a major Fortune 500 Company to be elgible.  Offers vary in price.. sometimes there are free ones if you hit it right.  Once you complete your requirement then you can refer people back to do the same.  Payment is $20 for each person who signs up and completes their own trial offer.  Payments are processed in about a day.  Quick money here!  Only one person per household is eligible.

ZNZ Big One ~ This is basically the same as ZNZ One except you need to complete about 4 - 7 trial offers depending on the "credit" amount given to each offer.  Offers vary in price.. sometimes there are free ones if you hit it right but generally there is not enough free ones to complete the requirements so be prepared to pay a small amount for this one. I paid $21.89 total. You need to complete a total of 1.0 credits to be eligible before you can refer other people back to do the same.  Payment is $60 for each person who signs up and completes their own trial offer.  Payments are processed in about a day also. Only one person per household is eligible.

Now, I am also a part of a wonderful team with Solavei too!  If you haven't yet heard of Solavei it is only a matter of time as they are bringing a whole new perspective to mobile phone service. Their plan is unlimited EVERYTHING ~ calls, text and internet for just $49 a month!  To sweeten it more, you can have your family and friends join along with you and get your service for FREE... or make money EVERY MONTH depending on how many people join.  Most existing cell phones will work with this service.  You do need to purchase their sim card.  This is a definite no brainer here... you already have a cell phone and paying more than $49 a month so it's a winning situation no matter what.

I hope this helps you the same as it has me.

Sweet Wishes!
Renee

Business Partners

Today was one of those day when my feet hit the floor my thoughts just soared beyond my control, which can be a very good thing... if I can keep up!

My thoughts were very clear this morning as they were directed towards my love of networking with my Edible Business Card. From the start, I have always given a facebook shout for a business when they purchased edible business cards. A little thank you from me with the hopes of driving more business to them.

With nearly 6,000 facebook fans now I think I should be able to help my customers even more. So today, I am going to make the Edible Business Card even sweeter! I created a special photo album called Business Partners which is located on Treasured Sweets facebook fan page.

Becoming a Business Partner is free and easy! When your business makes an Edible Business Card purchase you will be added to this photo album along with a brief description of your product or service, a link to your website and tag to your facebook fan page.

Edible Business Card purchases include custom made candy bar wrappers, water bottle labels and mint books with your business information or any premade product that is personalized with your business information.

I hope this creates long term business partners and increases fan base numbers, as well as sales for my loyal customers.

It's a New Year and It's GOING to be a new ME!

I don't know about you but good riddens 2011! I am generally pretty private about my personal life so many do not know that it was a very tough year for my son and I. We were sent on an emotional roller coaster ride by my husband/his father, who decided he rather spend his time (and money) drinking instead of being part of a family. It took a while to finally say "enough is enough" but I know it had to be done so that our recovery could start although it may have not for everyone.

With a New Year comes a new fresh start... for those who want it anyway, and I for one am first in line! I am excited for all the new possibilities that lie ahead for my son and I as we venture out in 2012 with open arms to embrace our new life!

Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Sweet News!

Introducing Treasured Sweets newest creation, Cupcake Wrappers & Toppers! These beautiful Cupcake Wrappers & Toppers come in six delightful themes and add the perfect touch for all of your celebrations including Birthdays, Baby Showers, or any special occasion. Combined with our personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, your party will be the talk of the town! Finely crafted and detailed, our Cupcake Wrappers and Toppers are made from quality cardstock and available through the “Shop Now” link on our Facebook page or by emailing renee@treasuredsweets.com

Written by my friend, John Williams. Thanks so much John for your help!

Make your wedding chocolaty

When we think of weddings in Central Wisconsin we may think sausage and cheese as an appetizer or a snack during the dance, we may think about cakes and ice cream, homemade chicken soup, but rarely do we think candy bars. I think we found a product that will change your mind.

A couple of weeks ago, I got to speak with Renee Thompson of Treasured Sweets in the sunny state of Florida. Renee has a unique business where she creates custom labels for candy bars (both large and small), candy booklets, and water bottles. Thompson is able to send some of the products already wrapped, but most of them she just sends the labels and lets you choose the chocolate inside.

You can use one of Treasured Sweets' awesome wedding themed templates or create one of your own design. When you design your own, you can incorporate your wedding colors, theme, and even pictures of the two of you together. Since we do so many outdoor summer weddings here in Central Wisconsin, we are always recommending that the ushers hand out water before the ceremony to be sure no one gets dehydrated or over heated. Now just imagine being able to give your guests a bottle of water with your name, wedding date, and picture on it. You are both taking care of your guests and giving them a nice gift.

In addition to the water bottle idea, Thompson has one of her own by using chocolates wrapped with wedding themed paper and inscribed with your guests' names and which table they should join for dinner. Your place cards are now doing double duty by directing your guests and becoming a wedding favor. The idea will amaze and amuse your guests, plus give them a nice chocolaty treat.

Thompson found the idea for Treasured Sweets in 2006, but did not start her company until 2008, after her son was born. She started out as part of a franchise of wrapper printers but soon branched out into more than the franchise offered. By offering such a wide selection, Thompson works hard in finding the best deals to save her customers money.

Satisfy your sweet tooth with a bit of personalized chocolate or keep your guests comfortable at your outdoor wedding with personalized water. This will give your guests something to treasure forever in their scrapbooks, even if the taste of the sweet is only a memory.

Review by My 3 Little Kittens

Treasured Sweets offers “Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Bottle Labels, Mint Matchbooks & More.” Whether you are celebrating a birthday, wedding, business event, baby shower, or anything in between, Treasured Sweets has the perfect personalized touch to fit your need.

I was very excited to be able to review several items created specifically for me from Treasured Sweets. Since Easter is later this month, Renee was sweet enough to personalize my items to celebrate Easter. The adorable tin was personalized with my name and featured the Easter theme. The tin was filled with Hershey’s Kisses that were decorated with Easter designs. I have to say that getting delicious chocolates in a personalized creation was very special. These would be ideal to celebrate any holiday and would be great for any occasion.

I also received the Hershey’s candy personalized with My 3 Little Kittens. What I loved most about the personalization was just how professional they look. I will admit that I actually felt bad about taking off the wrapper to get to the candy, because they looked so nice. Renee also used the Easter colored Hershey’s, so the colors matched perfectly. These are the perfect way to advertise your business. You can put your own message, your website url and your image. A business card makes a point, but a business message on chocolate will definitely get noticed.

To make the review even more special, Renee created some adorable wrappers for my children. Each chocolate bar is wrapped in an Easter theme with my child’s name personalized on it. These are going to make a wonderful addition to their Easter baskets this year. Every child can appreciate a personalized gift from the Easter Bunny!

Treasured Sweets can personalize wrappers for water bottles, tins and more. Renee has some really exciting new products that she will be adding to her website shortly. Make sure to also check out Treasured Sweets on Facebook and Treasured Sweets on Twitter to keep up-to-date with all the new products and great offers.

On the Origin of Easter and Chocolate

For the secular individual, Easter has long been synonymous with chocolate, dying Easter eggs, and jelly beans rather than the resurrection of Christ. But how did this most sacred Christian holiday become the second highest top selling candy holiday of the year?

It goes back to the pagan belief that eggs produced fertility and re-birth. By the 1800's, Christians had adopted the symbol of the egg as part of the Easter festivities, representing the resurrection of Christ following His crucifixion. The use of eggs as symbolism evolved into gifts of chocolate dates back to the 19^th century in Europe, according to eHow. A tradition of giving chocolate eggs as gifts developed; a tradition which quickly spread through the rest of the world. According to Sharon Cacho in the “History of Chocolate and Easter”, the Easter egg was well recognized and quite customary by the 1960s, and from there other versions of Easter candy and other Easter novelty items were created, such as the Peeps that are so well-loved and are a staple in most Easter baskets.

And that is a short history lesson on the origin of Easter and chocolate. Looking for away to spruce up your Easter candy? Visit Treasured Sweets and purchase some great personalized candy bar wrappers that will be a hit at any Easter gathering.

This was researched and written by my lovely daughter, Jennifer Bowman. Thank you Jenn!

Sample Crazy!

Since I started Treasured Sweets over 2 years ago, I have always been finding ways to get some of my samples out there to new people. After all, there is nothing better than receiving a free little sample of chocolate for people to remember you! So when I recently came across several Sampler Boxes it was an automatic love for me. I send in my samples in to these companies and they in return have customers who purchase these great boxes filled with goodies from all sorts of businesses like mine.

Last month was my first month participating and I was very curious to see how my sample was being received, so as a sponsor I was eligible for a box and requested one from Tantalizing Sampler. I am big in the coupon world and have received many samples by mail but nothing like this has ever come in my mailbox. It was like a gift, beautiful presentation and each sample was a wonderful little treat! I'm hooked. I'm sample crazy now!

It was nice to try out so many samples from other businesses that I have come across on facebook but really didn't have any idea of the quality behind them. As a sponsor I was pleased to see how my product was being presented and as a consumer I was thrilled to try so many new items from tea to cookies to candles.

Now for March I can be found in Tantalizing Sampler with some Easter samples, Out of the Box Sampler whose theme is Death by Chocolate both boxes are now on sale. This Friday, March 4th My Dream Sample Box goes on sale and I am really excited to receive my own sample box.

If you love to shop, this is a nice little treat for yourself and if you are WAHM this is a great way to get great exposure to your products. Enjoy! Let me know if you try one!

Great tip on decorating for a graduation party!

When my daughter graduated from High School I wanted to celebrate her and all her accomplishments. I first went through a notebook where I kept all her special papers, awards and certificates and pulled out in chronological order the ones that I felt where milestones in her life. Then I went to her photographs and pulled out some of my favorite pictures starting with her newborn picture from the hospital all they way through to High School, keeping in mind the awards and certificates I had already pulled. Trying to keep these in chronological order as well.

With all her awards and photographs in hand I went to my local Kinko's and made color copies of all. I scrapbook, so I did some basic cropping and added a little color border to each photograph and glued them on cardstock along with any award or certificate pertaining to that picture if one was available.

The final step was to use a little tape on the back and stick to the wall in chronological order all around the room of where we held her graduation party. This took a little extra time, but boy was a huge hit and a wonderful tribute to my daughter! All of our guests enjoyed strolling around and seeing my daughter and her accomplishements throughout the years which brought her to that very special day!!!

Another great coupon lead

Treasured Sweets has now partnered up with SoCalCoupons to bring you extra savings every month on the personalized gifts you need. This month we are honoring all graduates and of course, good ole Mom! Don't forget Mother's Day is May 9th...the same day as my stepmother's birthday. I guess that is 2 gifts, hmmmmm or one extra special gift! I actually am working on a new product that was inspired by her. Hopefully, that one is coming soon!

In the meantime, here is that link for extra savings on your favorite Sweets!

http://socalcoupons.com/treasuredsweets.html

I love, love, love great customer service!

If you have been hanging around me long enough, then you just have to know how huge I am on customer service. I still believe great customer service (along with a fabulous product) is the key to success.

Last year I came across Online Labels, and placed the smallest order they probably have ever seen. New to my business, I actually ordered incorrectly. Feeling like a total idiot, I called them and discovered they aren't located far from me. I explained my error, and asked if I could come in person to make the exchange.

Off I went. When I walked in to the huge warehouse, I felt so embarrassed with my thin little envelope in hand. How quickly that changed, I was greeted immediately and treated as if I was their only customer!

My company is still fairly new and my orders are few and far between, but I know that my order is just as appreciated as any other. I will always return to Online Labels! Online Labels can be found at: http://OnlineLabels.com

New Sweets!

I have been very busy creating new products to bring you, like this one called Easter Treasures! Everything pictured is included and 4 items can be personalized for your little bunny! Perfect Easter Basket, which can be used for years to come. For more details on this product and to see the newest additions, please go to my website at: http://www.treasuredsweets.com/

PS....this is currently a giveaway with my friends over at http://guessingalltheway.com/

Letters from Santa!

I couldn't be more excited to announce the arrival of Santa Letters at Treasured Sweets! They are so cute and the kids will love, love, love getting a special little something from Santa Claus. Santa Letters are $5 each and also include a personalized candy bar. Quantities are limited, so get yours today! See website for more details: http://www.treasuredsweets.com

Sweet deals from Treasured Sweets

FREE Chocolate with a personalized candy order of $25 or more!!! See our website for more details.....hurry offer is good til Monday, November 30, 2009!!!

October 15th Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month

In remembrance of my daughter, Shelby and for the other babies that left us too soon, I lit a candle this evening at 7pm. There is nothing in this world more painful than losing a child. If you know someone who has lost a child....be a friend, be compassionate and talk about the child that is so dearly missed.

Remember how precious life is, kiss your healthy child today and thank God for your blessing!

To read more about Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, please click on this link...it will take you to the Rowan Tree Foundation, one of the most compassionate sites I know.

http://www.rowantreefoundation.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32&Itemid=56

Product review and giveaway on Guessing All the Way

Laurie at Guessing all the way has just completed her review on some of Treasured Sweets products. Hope you can take a quick minute to check it out and while you are there enter to win the personalized Halloween Candy Bars!

http://www.guessingalltheway.com/2009/10/treasured-sweets-halloween-candy.html

Notes from a Coupon Queen

It does require some time to get all of this together every week, but it is definitely proving to be well worth the effort. For the same or less amount of money, I have way more food, cleaning and baby supplies than you can imagine!

I first started with Sunday's paper. I cut EVERY coupon out, keep what I want and try to trade what I don't use. I just subscribed to "All You" magazine which is $19.90 for the year...from what I hear each month there are $70-$80 worth of coupon's...and higher dollar amounts.

I swap coupons online with a group of others called "Swap Mama's", you can swap other things there too...books, magazines, baby - kids clothing, arts & crafts....and so on. I have switched grocery stores to one that takes competitors coupons, and also shop CVS & Walgreens. I have found "Frugal Coupon Living" (website) to be extremely helpful....as I said I get an email daily notifying me of some great special on EVERYTHING! and from so many stores.

I also joined a site called "Pssst", you get nice size samples with really high dollar coupons for that product. To participate, you have to go online after you receive your sample and provide a short little post of what you think about the product.

For those of you with babies, join your grocery stores Baby Club....you get great coupons (and samples/gifts) up until your child is 2 years old usually.

Know that Buy one Get one free....you can use 2 coupons. I have about 16 boxes of cereal right now that were either free or $1 or less.....name brand full size boxes! I have 6 bottles of Huggies baby bath that I paid $0.40 each for....Skinmate shaving lotion $0.80 a can....this week $6 in free fruit, OJ 1/2 $1, Gallon of milk $1.....and so much more!

You have to change the way you shop....and buy what is ON SALE with your coupons...whether you need it that week or not! After a few weeks...you will be stocked up and ready for winter hibernation without spending any extra money.

Be warned.....it is VERY addicting! Hope that helps! If anyone would like to start swapping coupons...let me know! I have a nice stack right now.

Also, the coupons that expire I send away to help military families oversea's....they are allowed to use them 6 months after they expire.

There is still time

You have one more day to enter the Giveaway for personalized Halloween Candy Bars from Treasured Sweets. To enter, simply follow the instructions at Frugal Coupon Living.

Personalized Halloween Candy Giveaway

I am so excited to announce that Treasured Sweets is sponsoring a giveaway just in time for Halloween at one of my favorite sites, Frugal Coupon Living.
Take a quick minute to enter to win one of two prizes: 20 personalized Halloween Candy Bars and 20 mini Halloween candy bars. Good Luck to everyone!

http://www.frugalcouponliving.com/