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Hello plannerpeeps.  So, it’s the day after Thanksgiving and  I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with you and your loved ones, at least to the degree you could under lockdown constraints.  I actually had a great time and am busy trying to stay away from all the Thanksgiving  leftovers, but yes, I am indulging in all kinds of goodies!

Today is Black Friday…and usually the biggest shopping day of the year.  However, I will say  due to Covid lockdowns there were a lot of retailers this year that had early bird sales even before Black Friday.    Regardless, I went ahead and rounded up these specials for the “official”  biggest shopping day of the year.

Most retail stores (online and brick and mortar)  of all types are offering huge discounts today for Black Friday, some up to  40 and 70 percent off, but they usually are deals that are available for only a limited time. 

This is the time to add to your crafting stash by purchasing many of the products you had saved on your “wish list” at heavily discounted prices– and  I usually save up my purchases to take advantage of these phenomonal sales. At least that is a technique I have used for years, especially to purchase my kid’s toys when they were little!

You have to grab these deep discounts within the time frame  that they are available which is usually  for only 24 to 48 hours.  Some retailers are extending their sales through the weekend to Cyber Monday to provide incentives to  the online shopping crowd.  Cyber Monday will be Monday, November 30th this year, so you might have a really good opportunity to shop all throughout this weekend. 

Here’s one good thing that has come from these lockdowns, I expanded into another craft…planner charms.  I watched some jewelry crafting vids on Youtube, purchased some amazing deals on Amazon online and got to work!  And guess what, I have a surplus  now, so  I will be either giving them as gifts to others or as giveaways! I’m thinking through what I have time to do!  Tell me what you think in the comments…

In any case, I decided to compile a few tips for  some of the planner and craft related specials (that I am aware of)  for you today.

 

 

Planner Deals

• • Erin Condren is having a 30% sitewide sale on all their planners and accessories for a limited time .  I am really excited by their new “Hello Kitty” line.   This is a great line for yourself or your planner Bffs.

• • • • If you like the Happy Planner (Big, Classic and Mini) by Me and My Big Ideas, Michael’s  (the craft store) is having storewide sales of up to 40 percent and 70 percent on selected craft items.  This sales is extended for two day’s.   You can also order online and pickup your order at a local store, ship to home or this year they have also provided curbside pickup.    Different rules may apply for each local store or  region in the United States.  I usually use my Michael’s phone app to access any coupons and deals.  I also have signed up via email for all their upcoming sales…these tools help keep my craft and craft related expenses lower than they would otherwise be.
        
      • Another source for the Happy Planner or other journals and planners is of course, Amazon.  I usually access their large assortment of planners and journals via this “category”  link >>HERE to see what are the latest deals  for the upcoming year available.   This is the best time to buy your planner for next year as the prices are deeply discounted for holiday sales.  Another great tool to buy for yourself or your planner BFF.
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      • If you have Amazon Prime ( which I do) you can usually have your purchases  shipped to you within two days.  This year my Prime membership has saved me an enormous amount of time and money especially because where I live in Southern California has been under strict lockdown.  You might want to consider membership. 

 

Cricut– this digital cutting, vinyl press irons and other cut file products company is having huge Black Friday sales as well as a variety of specials through to the end of December.

Silhouette – the  digital cutter company has been holding a Black November special for the whole month of November on many of their popular products.  However, for Black Friday Silhouette is offering Bundles starting at $14.99, with almost 50% off everything (some exclusions apply).  

I usually purchase my Silhouette products off of Amazon.  You can see the Black Friday Deals by clicking this “Silhouette Category” link to view available products and the select deals stores that partner with Amazon are offering.

When you do any type of planner sticker crafting or other types of graphic design,  you either need to make your own fonts and design elements  from sratch or purchase those that are  available on online sites.  These are some of the best places to buy especially when you are using these graphics  for commercial projects of any type. 

Creative Fabrica –One of my absolute favorite sites  and I purchased a subscription this year on this site. By subscribing to this site, it has reduced my graphic costs by a gi-normous (my made up word, of course) amount!  I am not exagerating, I have kept a tally of my monthly expenses for graphics for this site alone and I was able to reduce my monthly costs by about 2/3rds!  So, with this extra savings I have purchased other graphics on the other sites listed a la carte. Money savings all the way around!

Beginning today they are offering an $1 All Access Subscription, which will start on Friday, 27th November.  In this promo offer, customers can get our All Access subscription for $1 for the first month. After the first month,you pay $19/month (not $29). With this subscription, you can get access to ALL products on the site.

Etsy – many graphic designers are now setting up shops or products with appropriate licensing made for the small business owner or blogger, they vary from mockup photos to social media templates for Canva.  Today, Etsy is offering up to 60% off for Cyber week.  You might like my article/blog post on “10 Awesome Planner Finds on Etsy for Christmas Gifts for your Planner Bestie.

The Hungry Jpeg – This site is a great resource for graphics, fonts and mockups at affordable prices and with generous commercial use licenses. They offer a weekly freebie as well as great prices on graphics or font bundles at prices reduced over 80 percent if they were bought individually. This is a great way to get introduced to a variety of designers and collect design assets that you can use in your projects. You can purchase a la carte and many designers offer
their products at special one dollar USD discounts. For a limited time period, take 20% off sitewide using code: BLACKFRIYAY.  Sale ends November 30, 2020. 

Creative Market  -This site has premium designs, fonts and other design assests created/designed by professional graphic designers for professional graphic design use. Since the design assets are premium quality, you will need software and hardware to download and unpack their product offerings. The premium design asset offered also means prices are more expensive than other comparable sites.  They offer six freebies every week; most, however, (in my opinion) are products geared to other professional graphic designers.
But that is not to say, that there are reasonable and affordable products available. For a limited time period, save up to 75% on select items.  Sale ends November 30, 2020 at 11:59 PST.

FontBundles.net – I love the premium fonts available on this website. I have purchased a variety of unique and custom fonts on this website. They offer generous commercial use licenses and allow you to purchase via a “credits buying” system very similar to image/photo sites. They also have a sister site Designbundles.net which is great for affordable craft files for diy crafting.  Fontbundles & it’s sistersite Designbundles will have over 15,000 items (only 500 copies each) priced at $1.00 for this monster sale from Black Friday, November 27th to Monday, December 2nd .  The extra days will give you some time to review and favorite your purchases before buying.

 

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• To organize your “gift giving” shopping lists, I have two freebie printables available:Retro Christmas Shopping ListHoliday Shopping Lists PrintablesHope these few tips help with your planner and craft related purchases.

 

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