Sunday, November 23, 2014

Make a gift-giving reputation for yourselves!

YUP, it's that time of year again when everyone gets an ulcer trying to be organized and relaxed for Christmas.  haha!


Let's make it easy on ourselves this year, peeps!  Instead of braving the CRAZY stores and shopping malls just to buy a generic item, let's make a concerted effort to make the gifts special and make the gift-finding easy.  One way of doing that is to shop HANDMADE!  Yup, I feel like we're edging more and more toward a handmade planet.... #handmadeplanetISAID!  


Handmade gifts are ALWAYS the awesomest, most-remembered, most unique gifts that a person can get, and of course we all want to leave a reputation of phenomenal gift giving in our wake, n'est-ce pas?  That kind of reputation is GOLDEN!

Of course it doesn't all have to be uber handmade from that eccentric artist who makes his own paints and grows the cotton for his canvases.  For example, I'm looking at buying a super neat book for my nephew.  The best part is that it's a small publishing company and you can give them someone's name and they will print it with that person as the main character.  Mind. Blown.  Way.  Cool.

Long story short, we all still have time to order really funky stuff off the internet from the comfort of our own home.  We can find stuff that no one else has ever seen before and that will rock the socks of the person receiving it.  So in a way by giving more thoughtful and more special gifts we are actually giving the greatest gift to ourselves..... which is that satisfying feeling of making someone's day.  Okay okay, I know.... break out the violin!
But seriously, being a thoughtful and giving person rocks!

And this posting will inevitably get steered for my own purposes.  *evil laugh*  Should you know any awesome gals that would love one of my bags for Christmas, then head on over to THE HOBO TRAIN and persuse the variety.  

I am also having a contest to win a coupon code for my shop.  YAHOO!  Head on this way for that.... THE HOBO TRAIN -- FACEBOOK .  THANKS!!

All for now.  Big PROMO coming next weekend for BLACK FRIDAY/CYBER MONDAY.  Love to you all!  Hugs all around!

Renée


Wednesday, September 10, 2014

GIVING AWAY FREE SWAG!

Hellooooooo my lovelies!  

Yup, it's that time again.  SWAG + FREE = AWESOME!  I'm having a GIVEAWAY!  It is ridiculously fun to give stuff away.  I love giving back to my amazing customers and followers, as they give me so much already..... *grabs kleenex*  This GIVEAWAY is pretty much exactly like the last one for those to participated last time.  I am giving away an awesome skull and roses regular-sized hobo bag.  However, the winner can choose to have that bag or their choice of any regular-sized bag in the shop.  Of course, I will also ship the bag for free to anywhere in the WORLD!  Ya baby!  Here a pic of the swag bag....



A real beaut for sure!  There is a maximum of 25 entries per person.  Yes there are a few little hoops to jump through to obtain the entries, but that's the fun part.  There will also be some surprise chances at BONUS entries over the next couple of weeks, so keep your eyes peeled!  The giveaway ends on September 24th and the winner will be announced shortly thereafter.  The winner is picked randomly by Rafflecopter, so it is truly anyone's win!  

Here is the widget...

a Rafflecopter giveaway



If you have any questions at all, feel free to message me or post at the bottom of the page.  You can email too via thehobotrain@yahoo.ca .  And there's always the FB page.... THEHOBOTRAIN .  Check it out!

If you want to see what new stuff I have in the shop, please have a visit.... SHOP THEHOBOTRAIN

THANKS in advance to everyone who participates!  This is going to be a good time!

HOBO BAGS + FUN = THEHOBOTRAIN

Renée

Monday, February 17, 2014

CANADA15!

Hellooooooo!  As it happens I'm part of an awesome team on Etsy that is called Montreal Etsy Team and is filled with amazingly creative artisans.  A bunch of us are teaming up to have a spontaneous sale.  Yup, you heard right.  SAH-WEEEEEET!!!   Use the coupon code CANADA15 to get 15% off your purchase in any of the shops HERE .  Of course this includes my bag SHOP, too.  Ya baby!  I think we'd all agree -- it's time to buy ourselves a prezzie.  lol  I'm always encouraging people to be good to themselves.  Treat yourself well and you will feel well.  :)

I was just perusing the other shops that are participating and I have to say:  HOLY WOW!  There are some talented artists out there.  Here are a few items and their corresponding shops that you might wanna check out.  So inspiring!  :)

From Polymer Clay Bijoux , these are gorgeous Celtic design earrings for only $14, plus 15% off using the coupon code CANADA15.  No brainer!


From BLPhotography, put your herbal tea down on one of these gorgeous coasters and then Namaste your way through the day.  



From AelaDesign, brighten your day with some painted bohemian jewelry.  Total wow factor!  Love this colour combo and can't beat the price.  Thirteen dollars, before even using the coupon code CANADA15 for 15% off.  Sweetness!




On another note, I can't resist posting this leopard print bag from my shop.  It will surely bring out the animal in ya!  I'm even keeping one for myself, too..... like I said, gotta be good to myself.  lol   RAWR!  Click here to see the full listing..... LEOPARD PRINT BAG!



Speaking of animals, check out one of my newest backyard neighbours.  What a beauty!  I'm hoping he will leave a few feathers behind, as they look so gorgeous.  He is usually travelling in a pack of 10 or 12 others and the other day they were napping at the edge of the woods.  Pretty funny!



All for now.  Have an awesome day everyone!  Please feel free to spread the word about the CANADA15 coupon code.  The coupon code is valid until February 25th.  Again, to see the list of shops participating, check out this link:  CANADA15 .  THANKS SO MUCH!!!

Maybe a little tune before signing off?  A great reminder by the great Van Morrison never to let your spirit die.  Enjoy!


Love to all!  Please comment below.  Love hearing from you guys!

Renee :)  

Thursday, February 6, 2014

The results are in! :)

The results are in!  The giveaway has ended and the lucky winner is KELLEY HOOKER.  C'mon down, Kelley, and claim your prize!  CONGRATS!!!  A million thanks to everyone who participated.  I can hardly believe that there were 5112 entries!  *GASP*  U guys rock!  A little musical interlude to celebrate....  Get off that chair and shake ur money maker!




Celebrate good times, COME ON!!!  Groovy.  :)

Or for those who prefer a more recent tune but still throwback-style, please feel free to shake it like a polaroid picture!  Hey ya!


                                  


Whew, that was fun! 

Since this giveaway was such a smashing success, I will be having another in the near future.   Make sure you subscribe to this blog to get all the updates.  You can also get my posts right to your email by using the form at the bottom of the page.  

In order to appease all of the non-winners (NOT losers!), I will be gifting 2 coupon codes for 50% off any purchase in my online shop (before shipping).  I will give these codes to the first 2 people who comment here on this blog post with their email address and with the word: AWESOME.  

Easy peasy sneezy.  :)

In other news, I went to my local rummage sale 'bag day' today.  You can fill a large plastic bag with as much stuff as you can stuff into it for $7.  Ya baby!  It used to be $5 but they raised it two bucks starting this month.  Total bargain.  I got some clothes, fabric, a neat-o handkerchief, and a few other thingies.  Plus a totally retro knitted ORANGE shawl with a fringe.  You heard right -- I said FRINGE!

Signing off for now.  Lots of new product coming into the shop soon at www.thehobotrain.com .  I also have another Etsy shop that I'm slowly building up to house all my recycled products.  It's called Train Wreck Clothing.  Check it out: www.trainwreckclothing.etsy.com .  

Sweet dreams!  

Renee :)




Monday, January 27, 2014

FREE.... what an awesome concept. :)

Well then, is there anything better than free stuff?  Is there?  The answer, of course, is YES!  There's tons of better stuff.... like friends, family, love, creativity, adventure, excitement, relief, and more.  Also better than free stuff is BEING free!  I have to say that I am incredibly fortunate to have a freer lifestyle than most.  I work for myself and enjoy what I do.  I am able to have flexible hours and do as much or as little as I want.  It's pretty awesome and suits me well.  I wouldn't trade it for anything right now.  There is a trade-off, though.  I don't have a guaranteed paycheque.  I work alone (great a lot of the time, but kinda lame sometimes too).  I am entirely responsible for the development of my business.  And I don't have a path to follow.  There is no clearly laid out plan for me.  My biggest goal is being as free as possible.  After that I would like to make enough money to pay my bills and a few extras.  And I would like to keep my work interesting, so that I don't become bored with it or resentful of it.  I haven't been able to find a manual for this type of living, but I suppose that would go against the MO of it all anyway.  I kind of enjoy that the details are fuzzy.  lol  On that note, let's have a musical interlude that follows on this theme.  The group is called FREE and the song is All Right Now.  Enjoy!

                                        

And getting back to free stuff.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm hosting a giveaway.  I am giving away this bag:


It gives me a lot of pleasure to make someone's day, so I'm gonna do it dammit!  This giveaway will also bring me some new traffic and exposure, which is always cool with me.  And it's just downright effing fun to do.  Who doesn't like free swag?  Here's the rundown on how to gain entries into the giveaway:


Also, if you're hanging out on my blog and have 1 extra second, please scroll down to the bottom of the page and participate in the survey question (to the left of the contact form).  Many thanks!

Good luck to you all!  The lucky winner will win the above bag or a same-size bag of their choice from my shop -- whichever they prefer.  This giveaway is open to anyone in the WORLD.  Ya baby!

Have a great night!

Renee :)

Thursday, January 23, 2014

GIVEAWAY!!! Ya baby, free stuff! :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!   It's 2014 and whatcha gonna do about it?  Well, I'm sitting here in my workshop just a hangin' out.  It's too damn cold to go outside and take pics of my products and I'm feeling very thankful for some recent happenings that have changed the course of my near future in an awesome way (more on that later!).  I feel like giving back.  I've talked about doing a giveaway before and I think the hour has come.  
Ya baby!  

Since I just decided to do this, the details aren't ironed out yet, but I'm gonna fly by the seat of my pants here.  I would like to drive some traffic to my FB page www.facebook.com/thehobotrain as well as to my Etsy shop www.thehobotrain.com and get a few more followers on this little blog of mine.  

Just took a few minutes and set it all up on Rafflecopter.  SO EASY!  About to install the widget... hope this works!  Here goes...


WOW.  That was just too damn easy.  lol  Click on one of the options under 'enter to win' to find out how to get entries into the giveaway.  Each option gives you a certain amount of entries (gaining you more chance of winning).  The giveaway will run until February 6th, at which point the winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter.  Awesome! 

Here's a pic of the bag that you will WIN!  However, if you win and there's another bag that's screaming your name, then you're welcome to pick any other regular-sized bag, too.  I'm flexible like that.  :)


Here's a link to the listing if you wanna read all about this funky and sexy bag.... 


GOOD LUCK to everyone!  Feel free to spread the word!  

HAPPY 2014!!

Much love,

Renee  :)