The Aftermath Of Easter

So how did your household fare? 

Did your kids have a sleepless night in anticipation of the Easter bunny refusing to go to bed or were they in bed eagerly awaiting the arrival of the great bunny himself?

Was it chocolate for breakfast or did they eat their cereal before tucking into their Easter stash?

Were the kids bouncing off the walls after consuming the majority of their Easter chocolate or did they pace themselves in order to make it last as long as possible.

I always ensure I eat a balanced diet every day and that always includes a little chocolate in there somewhere (whether Easter or not).  And I always chuckle to myself when I see recipes that make use of leftover Easter chocolate.  Leftover chocolate!  What is that?  It doesn't ever happen in my household - never ever!

But I understand that not everyone may harbour the love for chocolate as much as I do so for those who end up with leftovers, here are some seemingly delicious recipe ideas.

Starting with brownies and moving swiftly onto bundt cakes, gala pies, chocolate and mint ice-cream and chocolate pancakes - there is no denying that these recipes make awesome use of the Easter treats.  So much so I might have to hunt down more chocolate just so I can make them.  And of course it goes without saying that I don't have to hunt too far to find it.

Hmmm, wonder what I will make first?

Last Orders For Easter

Well Easter is fast approaching and you have until 2.30pm Tuesday 15 April to get your Easter gift orders in so they arrive on time.  We don't want the Easter bunny to be blamed for any late deliveries unnecessarily. 

Not surprising (as they are so cute), there are only a few of our Bunny Boxes left (available in pink and mauve) - sorry guys the blue was our most popular colour and they have already sold out.

Our Rocky Road Hamper is popular at all times of the year; there is just something so decadent about the Australian made Freckleberry Rocky Road (milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate and fun mix blends). 

And I personally love the Double Blend - our beautiful Russian egg tins with a variety of plain and centred mini eggs for your enjoyment.  I am hoping there is one of these still in stock once Easter is over.

And who doesn't love chocolate freckles and chocolate buds?  For the die-hard fans we have a Choc Freckles and Friends noodle box - a half kilo box in fact.

I am looking forward to Easter - a long weekend and a time to recharge before the Mother's Day rush arrives.  But in reality there is always something to do here at Rainbow Designs as our gifts are popular all year round.  And if I am not sending out gifts then there is always the stock ordering and taste testing to do.  This is definitely one of my favourite parts.  We take our stock quality very seriously around here!

From the Rainbow Designs family to yours - we hope you enjoy a relaxed and chocolate filled Easter.

Hopping With Excitement

Ooh ooh I am full of excitement with the new range of gifts we are about to launch (Cadbury Collection, Caramel Confectionary Mix and Nestle Chocolate Collection to name a few)!  But shh it's a secret!

I can however share with you some of the impressive Easter treats that we have in store to make up for our veil of secrecy and you won't be disappointed.

Easter Tin With Gingerbread - For a gift with a difference try our retro tea tin filled with mini chocolate Easter eggs and gingerbread cookies.  And once the goodies are eaten the tin can be used and admired.

Rolo & Friends Easter Gift - This gift is just gorgeous and ideal for your best friend.  Rolo comes with a beautiful book on friendship, Tease Tea sachets and a selection of Easter eggs; all tied up in a drawstring bag.

Easter Feaster - Well it's just not Easter without our Easter Feaster box.  A huge kilo of yummy mini chocolate Cadbury and Red Tulip Easter eggs in a variety of scrumptious flavour - milk chocolate, caramel, turkish delight, peppermint and strawberry.

Bunny Box - A cute little bunny box adorned with glitter and a delightful 700g of mixed chocolate Easter eggs.  You will know some "bunny" loves you when this package arrives on your door!

The last day of March is tomorrow so best to get your order in quick to avoid delay.  Hop to it!

Easter Crafts

We know that Easter isn't too far away as all of our Easter goodies have already arrived in-store ready for you to place your orders.  Check them out - they look scrumptious.  From filled chocolate Easter eggs to a gingerbread Easter egg and everything in between, my mouth is definitely watering.

Easter is definitely one of my favourite celebrations.  While admittedly it is just as commercial as Christmas from a non-religious perspective (albeit without the huge price tag), it is centred around one of my favourite subjects - chocolate.  What would life be like without chocolate around - dull, right? 

Easter is also a fun time to make some fun crafts with the kids and celebrate the beauty that the holiday has to offer.  And I do have a few favourites to share with you.

Try these Easter Glass Stained Windows for a start.  These faux stained-glass decorations look great on the window and give the kids an opportunity to show off their awesome creativity.

Or how about a cute cottontail bunny rabbit made from - what else - cotton wool?  A little delicate for a daily playmate, however he/she would look great as a centrepiece in an Easter basket or Easter display.

Decorating eggs of course has become tradition these days, so here are a couple of fun examples with a pretty floral theme.  The first involves colourful decoupage flowers and the second, courtesy of Martha Stewart, involves decoupage of beautiful botanical images although any image of course can be used. 

Let your imagination fly as you sit down and do your Easter crafts this year.

Don't forget that Good Friday is April 18 so all Easter orders should be placed by Tuesday 15 April to guarantee an early delivery.

We Have Been Busy

You may not realise it, but in between the taste testing and the product ordering, we actually do some real work around here.  In fact we have been as busy as a bunny in preparation for the Easter Bunny’s arrival next month.  If we left it to the Easter Bunny to do the work for us, we might be in a spot of bother so we take it upon ourselves to restock the shelves with suitable gifts in which the ‘big bunny’ himself would approve.

I have a special sweet spot for those delicately filled Easter Eggs (especially those Turkish Delight eggs) and I particularly love the range of Easter gifts we have this year.  We welcome back old favourites and have introduced a few new treats to see in the Easter celebrations.

Is it a busy time for you in your business?  We had our brief reprieve over the Christmas and New Year period but ever since we have returned to work in 2014, it has been foot on the throttle and go-go-go!  Not that I am complaining, mind you!  I enjoy being busy especially as we enter our 10th year in business – and what a year it has been so far.

We welcomed new customers and many old ones and have sought to give each one that extra special VIP customer care that we are known for.

“Excellent communication - I was kept up to date with the entire order and delivery progress the whole way. Super quick delivery. Faultless! Will definitely use again!” – Christina B

So browse our range, and have a look at the goodies we have available.  We like to keep you on your toes and always have something new up our sleeve to surprise you with.  You are thinking Easter and I have Mother’s Day in my head – it pays to keep one step ahead.

Reasons people send gifts

During the last 9 years we've sent out a lot of gifts for birthdays, probably one of the most common reasons for people sending a gift actually! I think that it's great that we can help people with their gift giving needs and love the fact that with the internet it makes it so much easier and faster! Quite a few of our gifts are 'oh no I forgot such and suchs birthday' I need it delivered FAST, please please please. We do everything we can but there are times when it is just impossible for us to deliver on the date requested, especially when it is needed the same day but it's going to Perth - just can't do it. In these instances we let our customer know that we are unable to deliver on their requested and do suggest that if they require same day delivery to look for a business that is on the same area or even to try a florist. Florists are generally all linked by larger companies (such as Interflora) so use local businesses to do the order requests. Wouldn't it be great if Rainbow Designs had little shops scattered all over Australia!!



Another popular reason for people sending a gift is to say 'sorry' - whether it be for saying something not very nice, for forgetting a special day or for not ringing more often. A little box of chocolates is a great way to say sorry and I'm pretty sure you'll be forgive for whatever it is you did!

 



Anniversaries have been celebrated a lot with a big box of lollies - from 3 month anniversaries right up to golden and everything in between. It could also be the anniversary of buying a house or getting a job - so many special dates to remember and celebrate!



Main events such as Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day and Christmas can always guarantee a flurry of orders - generally last minute! It can have me worried at times thinking what terrible sales we've had but them low and behold in they all come, with only moments to spare. Sometimes I do wish people were a bit more organised :-)

 

 



So, who's birthday have you forgotten??

Until next time, share a box of chocolates with someone you love

Jacqui

It's not all Lollies and Chocolates here!

January 2013 - another busy Christmas period was over, Christmas pressies and turkey were a distant memory and the start of another year was at hand and so was an almighty thump! January always brings with it a big old sigh and a bit of a 'fall in a heap' feeling - every year! So this year I decided I'd had enough and need to 'get away' from work, full stop.

A week after making this decisions someone smiled down upon me because I came across the bargain of all bargains and booked myself a cruise, leaving in 5 days time! I could not wait and thankfully I didn't have to wait too long, all hands on deck and away we went.

10 nights, which actually turned into 11 nights, at sea with NOTHING to worry about except for 'buffet' or 'dining room'? It was just what I needed to really relax and not think about my business AT ALL.

Pacific Jewel - Vila

January is typically very quiet so I didn't mind shutting up shop for a few weeks, orders still came in but they were all processed when I returned (and the customers were aware of this delay). The only thing I did wrong was not allowing myself a day back on land to aclimatise to 'work' again - lesson learnt!

2013 is proving to be one of my most difficult years in business and I have been finding days when I just don't want to go to work - my love for it just isn't here at the moment. I am sure (fingers crossed) that it will pass and my enthusiasm will return but at the moment I spend more time dreaming of another cruise than I do working on Rainbow Designs! This is one reason why I have started getting into blogging again. Last year I had a few issues with my blog so, frustratingly, had to remove it. I did manage to keep some of my older posts and put them onto this blog but most were gone. I am hoping I can get back into the swing of blogging more regularly, things like behind the scenes, generally small business issues, products, reviews (maybe of other small business and maybe even from customers??), feedback, ideas, babbling etc anything really that forms part of my life, business and personal, that I feel like sharing.

I've been using Facebook as a promotional tool for Rainbow Designs but it's just not working - I haven't find the right way to use it yet. Will keep trying or will just delete the dam thing!

Anyway, almost time to head down to the couriers - I generally walk or drive each day and only get the courier to pickup when I have a lot of parcels, as they charge $8, this is generally in the busy time like Easter and Christmas. I've got one parcel that I need to drop at the Post Office as it's for a PO Box so need to leave a bit earlier. I don't mind doing this as it's a great way to get out of the office, get some fresh air and enjoy some 'away from the compuer' time.

Till next time,

eat some lollies!

Jacqui