Free for All

Anyone who knows me knows that I love two things...anything personalized, and anything cheap! Chances are, if you're a close friend/co-worker of mine, you've already heard about VistaPrint and their awesome products. If not, it's time to find out!

VistaPrint is a company that offers personalized products--postcards, business cards, return address labels, magnets and more. As a teacher, I use VistaPrint for most of my classroom communication. I also use their products to market my Uppercase Living business. (http://amandaturner.uppercaseliving.net/) The best part about VistaPrint is that you can get the products for FREE!!! Customize & personalize your products, and only pay shipping!

First, let me tell you how you can get in on the FREE products! Go to http://www.vistaprint.com/ and scroll down to where you see "Exclusive Offers" on the left hand side. Sign up using your e-mail address. BE PREPARED! VistaPrint will send you lots of emails--but that's how you get the free stuff. After you've signed up, just wait for an email offer to come to you and you're good to go.

There are a few things you'll need to remember:

1) You will have to order each item through the e-mail that you received from VP. So, once you've designed something and added it to your cart, you'll need to go back in through the e-mail for your next item.

2) Some emails allow you to get up to 4 things for free, and some allow you to get 10. Read the fine gray print at the bottom of the email before ordering.

3) Don't pay for fast shipping--unless you're in an extreme emergency. VistaPrint is super fast...I always pay for the slowest shipping, and usually have my products within a week.

4) As you're ordering items, and after you've completed your order, VP will offer you numerous other "free" things--free labels, etc. NEVER click yes. Just order what products you've designed on your own. If you click the wrong thing, you may be enrolled in a $14.95 per month VistaPrint club. (Don't worry--if you accidentally join, you can get them to credit it back and cancel your enrollment.)

Now you know the rules, so it's time for some sample products. When creating your items, be creative!!!

Here are a few examples of how I've used VistaPrint. I hope you can use these ideas. (I got these pics from the VP site--it was easier than taking actual pictures. Please know that the quality of the products is GREAT!)

One item you can get for free is 25 brochures. I hand these out at Open House so that parents know about me, my behavior policy, and what supplies they will need. I find that parents pay more attention to these than they would a sheet of white paper. It doesn't get lost in the stack of papers.

You can also get 140 free return address labels. A person only needs so many, so I've come up with different uses for them. I've created parent signature stickers and those come in very handy. Here are some fun stickers I made.

Business cards are also great--and free! You can get 250 for free--create standard business cards or enclosure cards. I make punch cards for my kids at school--get a 100% on a test, get a stamp. They love this! (You could also use this idea if you own a business--a stamp for each $20 spent or something.)

Need 100 postcards? Ok, they're free! I use these for all of my positive notes home at school. You could also use these for note cards. There are tons of designs to choose from and you can purchase envelopes for them as well.

You can also make:

-banners

-notebooks

-t-shirts

-magnets

-checks

-rubber stamps

-invitations
-announcements
-ink pens

-sticky notes

-note cards
-calendars

And LOTS more!

Go ahead and get started--leave me a comment to let me know how you liked the website, and what products you've ordered. I'll be glad to help if you have any questions. ENJOY!