Claire Burke on Sale Until End of 2011

Dear Friends,

I hope all of you had a very blessed holiday this year.  After all the bad weather we had here in central Alabama this year, I think many organizations pulled together and most families who lost most, if not all, of their belongings were able to have a good holiday.  I'm very thankful for that.  I hope next year will see that even more of those families are able to get back to life as normal.

I want to announce that all of my Claire Burke home fragrance items currently in stock at Dogwood Square are on sale until December 31, 2011.   Take advantage of these prices and stock up on your favorites or purchase some gifts for upcoming events. Room sprays, potpourri, reed diffusers, simmering oil, candles, electric fragrance warmer refills, and concentrated refresher oil are now discounted 15% off their normal everyday price, so get them while they are on sale.

All Claire Burke fragrances such as:  Christmas Memories, Oh Christmas Tree and Slice of Spice as well as Apple Jack & Peel, Tropical Flowers, Wild Cotton, Vanilla Bean, Cherry O!, and the newest fragrance Sparkling Citron Verbena are included in this sale.  And how could I forget - Original (the most requested Claire Burke fragrance of all time.)

This is the perfect time to stock up or to try that new fragrance you've been wondering about.  There's bound to be a fragrance item that is just perfect to give for a birthday, anniversary, surprise or just to keep for yourself.  If you didn't get everything you were asking for this Christmas, this is the perfect time to treat yourself to a small luxury just for you - and at a very reasonable price.

Dogwood Square also has several items from discontinued fragrances such as:  Blushing Rose, Citrus Blush, Fresh Cut Spruce, Pomegranate Plum, Pumpkin Strudel, Sheer Vanilla, Simply Jasmine, White Gardenia, White Lavender and Wisteria.  These items have already been discounted and with the additional 15% reduction in price, you are not only saving a lot, you will be getting fragrance items you haven't seen in years.

We are trying to clear out as much of the current stock as possible because Claire Burke has some exciting new fragrances and items coming in January. We are trying to make room for all of them by giving you a gift of low prices on all remaining stock.  So, now is the time to take advantage of these low prices.

This sale is only until 12 midnight on December 31, 2011, and only on Claire Burke home fragrance items.  The Claire Burke prices do NOT reflect the 15% reduction.  The amount of your order will be adjusted before your order is billed.  If you have any questions, please e-mail della@dogwoodsquare.com.

Until next time ...

Della

New Items from Jamie Clair Candles - Fall 2011

Dear Friends,

I have recently been looking at all of the new items being offered by Jamie Clare Candles.  They now have some really nice looking candles in their Fine Fragrance Collection.  Here is an example of one of them:

I do have these candles in stock now and will have them on the site this week.  They have fragrances like:

• Bamboo
• Clementine Ginger
• Jasmine Tea
• Lemongrass (like the one pictured)
• Lily of the Valley
• Platinum
• Rosemary
• Sandalwood

These 12 ounce candles are priced at $18.00.

This next item is just right for Halloween.  It is a Plug in Fragrance Warmer.  You can use wax tarts, wax melts or fragrance oils with these cute little warmers.  I have them in now too and will be putting them on the site this week also.

These Plug in Fragrance Warmers are priced at $8.00.

I also went ahead and ordered some of the Christmas Plug in Fragrance Warmers.  They look like this:

I also have wax melts in these fragrances:

• Apples & Spice
• Bead of Roses
• Cherry Blossom
• Christmas Day
• Cool Citrus Basil
• Evergreen
• Fresh Linen
• Hot Apple Pie
• Island Breeze
• Pumpkin Spice
• Snickerdoodle
• Vanilla Passion

These 4 ounce wax melts are priced at $5.00.

All of these new products should be appearing on the DogwoodSquare website very soon.

Until next time...

Della

Prayers for Alabama

Dear Friends,

Wednesday, April 27, 2011, started off badly.  Storms early that morning caused a lot of people to lose power and heavy winds and rain brought trees down and soaked the ground.  However, it was not enough for me to stay at home so I went on to work.  Then about 10 a.m. we got word that the schools were going to close at noon because of the possibility of really bad weather that afternoon.  The weathermen were predicting very severe storms later in the afternoon and into the night time hours.

I live in a small town called Trussville just to the north and east of Birmingham, AL.  I live in a house on the top of a ridge of hills and we are usually very fortunate because when bad storms come through our area we are somewhat protected by where we are located.  We usually get winds blowing toward the back of our house, but there are a lot of trees there and they generally break the force of the wind so we don't get a lot of damage.  We did have a very large tree uproot itself and fall on our driveway several years ago, but that aside from the occasional limb is about the extent of the damage we have had.

Nevertheless, I went home about 2 p.m. and went down to our "den" which is a room we have finished in our basement to ride out the storm.  I turned on the tv and watched the local weather so I would know when to come upstairs.

My husband came home about 5 p.m. He is in charge of the IT Help Desk for our county and had been on the phone with the local EMA which had mobilized that morning.  He always sends one of the technicians who work for him to the EMA when they mobilize to make sure all of their computer and AV equipment continues to function during whatever the emergency is.  He had been getting overtime authorized and technicians in place to man the EMA offices.

He came down to join me as we watched the storm intensify.  Then we saw probably the most scary tornado we had ever seen.  It had started in Mississippi and was heading for Tuscaloosa, AL, at about 60 miles per hour.  It was terrifying.  They said it was in places a mile across and we could see it just demolishing homes and businesses all along McFarland Boulevard very near the University of Alabama campus.  We saw it continue to come toward Birmingham and destroy areas in Pleasant Grove where we had friends whose homes were just wiped off the map.  Then it continued on through areas in midtown Birmingham and now it was coming directly toward us.  We still had power so we could see the path it was taking and knew it would be on us in no time.

Just before it got to us, I looked at my husband and said "pictures, I've got to get all of our pictures and bring them down here."  So we went upstairs and rounded up all of our family, wedding, baby, and grandbaby pictures and hurried back downstairs with them.  About that time, the weatherman was saying that the storm was right over Trussville and the tv was showing places in Trussville so we know it was here, but instead of hearing the signature "train" roaring outside, we didn't hear anything.  It was still.  There was no wind, just a sprinkling of rain and no sounds to speak of.  It was eerie.  This is what it looked like when it got to Trussville.

In a couple of minutes the weatherman said that the radar showed that the storm had passed us and was now heading for Springville, AL, where our son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter were in their "safe place" and waiting for the storm to pass them.  Thankfully it did pass them without dropping a tornado down to the ground.  They did have some orange sized hail, however.  Then the "beast" went on toward Anniston and Gadsden, AL, where it caused more damage.

We were just incredibly fortunate that that beast of a storm did not drop a tornado down while it was moving over either Trussville or Springville.

When it was all over and well out of the State of Alabama it was after dark.  There was so much total destruction and loss of  life, it was hard to fathom.  Tuscaloosa sustained major damage as has been reported in the news.  My husband and I have both had several friends who totally lost their houses and all their belongings.  And, of course, there were so many people who lost love ones in this disaster.

I ask for your prayers for all those who were victims of this natural disaster, who were left homeless, were hurt or injured and especially those who lost loved ones.

Until next time...

Della

A New Way to Try the Claire Burke Fragrances

Dear Friends,


I have not talked about the mini gift sets in a while.  These are GREAT!!!  For a really reasonable price you can try one of the standard Claire Burke fragrances like Original or AppleJack & Peel or this is a way to try one of the newer ones like Wild Cotton, Vanilla Bean, Tropical Flowers or Cherry O!.


Claire Burke Mini Gift Sets from Dogwood Square.com

CLICK Here to Order Claire Burke From Dogwood Square.com

As you can see in the picture above these Mini Gift sets contail a candle a fragrance diffuser and a bottle of room spray.  They are attractively boxed and are ready to give as a gift to someone for a birthday, a secret pal, a bunko gift, a gift for a Mom or Mon-in-Law (remember Mother's Day is coming up very soon!!).  They could also work as a house warming gift or for a thank-you to someone for doing you a favor.  They are just perfect for so many rememberances.  And at only $20 they won't break the bank.

Click on the picture above and you will be taken to a page where you can order them from Dogwood Square.  We have plenty of these mini gift sets in stock as well as other great fragrance products from Claire Burke. Please stop by Dogwood Square for a visit soon!

Until next time...

Della

P.S.  And remember at Dogwood Square, if your order equals $50 or more it ships for FREE every day.
CLICK Here to Order Claire Burke From Dogwood Square.com

It's Been Such a Long Time...

Dear Friends,

As the time says, "It's Been Such a Long Time" since I have posted anything on Dogwood Notes. I have been having problems getting in to add any new posts and just today after sitting here at my computer for the last 3 hours and reading and trying things have finally discovered a way to get to the screen which lets me type a new post.

Well, enough about that -- It's Spring--at least it is here in middle Alabama! The tulip trees, daffidils and forsithia are blooming and soon my favorite, the dogwoods, will be in bloom.

As you may or may not know, Dogwood Square is an online ONLY business. There is no brick and mortar building with this business. I run Dogwood Square out of my home as a part time job because I also have a full time "day job."

In the last year or so since the downturn in the economy, the number of orders I have received through Dogwood Square has decreased along with other businesses of this kind. I am now struggling with a decision. Whether to continue the business or just stop it.

I have been thinking about doing this for about 6 months and unless business picks considerably, I will probably shut Dogwood Square down this summer.

I would very much like to hear from any of you about your thoughts.

Until next time...

Della