Hi Reader,
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It's been awhile since I wrote you but I took an impromptu trip to Alberta to visit the outlaws. They decided to book us a last minute flight and didn't give us much notice so there wasn't much time to do anything except pack. I didn't even have time to sleep. I just passed out on the couch for a few hours here and there and kept working.
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Of course I tried to put together some automated emails because I had two bundles that closed which I wanted to follow up on. I had them all ready to go but I ran out of time and was worried that if I missed some important aspect - a broken download link - I'd get irate customers writing and I didn't want to worry about that when traveling so I just left it thinking I could use my husband's laptop when we were there but he forgot the charger. 😁
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Well I'd like to say I came back rested, but my in-laws seem to be of the mind that my allergies are made up so there was some heated arguments that came to a head, to put it mildly. I'll get into the nitty gritty deets at a later date, but in the end, I took the high road which is all you can do when dealing with people who will never understand you, or care to.
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Truth be told, I've always felt like an outsider, but my RBF ("resting bitch face") seems to be a bone of contention. My mother-in-law said I look unhappy all the time. (Not that any rude comments or being yelled at had anything to do with it, of course.)
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Apparently, my face has caused a lot of friction with relatives over the years who think I'm unapproachable and has even garnered me certain nicknames. The remedy? I should smile more. Yep. Despite my RBF. Like, just sit there with a smile plastered to my face. That's the solution.
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Just curious. Have you ever been told you should smile more? Even though smiling for no reason would make you look insane? I really want to know if I'm the only one blessed with this affliction so drop me a line and let me know if you've ever run into the same issue, and how you dealt with it.

After my mother-in-law's chat, that evening, the whole extended family went to a fancy driving range. I don't golf, but I sat there politely...with a perma-smile on my face for the duration of the 2 hour game. My son recoiled as soon as he clocked me.
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"Uhhh mom. What are you doing?"
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I told him why since he witnessed most of these heated interactions and he just sighed. Then my husband walked over and reared back. "What's going on?"
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"Mom was told to smile more." My husband winced. "Can you stop doing that please?"
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The funny thing was. No one else noticed. 🤣

Normally, I would not engage in such childish antics but I wanted to prove a point. When you're not being yourself, only the people who truly matter will notice. The rest don't care and aren't paying attention anyways.
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So just be yourself, because the ones that love you don't see a resting bitch face. They see the real you. And anyone who can't bother to get to know you and figure that out for themselves isn't worth your time.
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That said, I'm going to try to incorporate more of a "smiling for no reason" free zone in my life and business going forward. That means I'm going to be even more me. I'll also be scaling back on affiliate offers I'm no longer aligned with.
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I'm also thinking I'd like to add a little section about my health journey since my allergies are not taken very seriously. I believe the reason for such friction with my family is caused by a lack of awareness and education and I'd like to change that. Is this something you'd be interested in hearing about? Little health snippets and solutions? Let me know in the mini-poll below.
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I will be doing a bigger poll where you can add to this question soon so if you have thoughts and comments, you'll be able to add them at that time.
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And if you have a remedy for surviving toxic family members without ruining precious vacation time, let me know because I'm still figuring out what to do going forward. 💗

ENDS TONIGHT CREATE NEXT LEVEL CLIPART

If you create your own clipart but are nervous about its quality, Carrie from Peaceful Passive Income has a new course that's perfect for you!

​​Edit your AI Clipart teaches you the ins and outs of processing and editing your clipart so that your images are truly high quality, with none of that AI weirdness!

• Learn how to make your clipart editing easier by being pickier with the clipart you choose to download from your AI program.
• Learn all about upscaling and background removal - including tech recommendations and workflows at different price points!
• Learn to edit your clipart in Photopea (a FREE program) - everything from simple image clean up to much more involved edits

This is essential knowledge for anyone who makes their own clipart so you can feel more confident in the quality of your products!

This course will regularly be $47, but you can get it until TONIGHT for just $27 with coupon code: EDITGOODCLIPART.

And even better, Carrie is running a live round for both AI Clipart Mastery and Edit your AI Clipart from August 25th through September 7th.

Enrolling in either course nabs you instant access to the festivities which will include a promotional opportunity for you to showcase your clipart!

If you're interested in the full version of this course, you can also use coupon code MAKEGOODCLIPART to take $47 off Carrie's AI Clipart Mastery full course.
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Hurry though. Today (August 22nd) is the last day to take advantage of the sale.

✨ BONUS - If you sign up for Edit your AI Clipart for $27, get $15 back in Lara Loot which you can use in my shop with no expiry. If you prefer the full course, you'll receive $40.

NEW: CHATGPT ALTERNATIVE FOR 5 BUCKS!

I'm currently working on a course that features a super cool way to use AI which I haven't really seen being utilized anywhere and I'm excited to share it with you.
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I've been using Merlin​ to help me finesse the details, which has been my ChatGPT alternative since last November. If you're looking for cool, low cost tools and have been interested in ditching ChatGPT and it's $20 a month fees, make sure you check it out right now.

Merlin AI is running a Back-to-School special: get the annual plan for just $5/month ($60 billed yearly.) This gives you full access to their AI writing, research, and image tools—a huge value for anyone working online.
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I picked up Merlin on sale during Black Friday for $5 a month but I noticed the price has been steadily creeping up since then. Even when it was $15 a month, it was still a good deal considering you get access to powerful search engines such as GPT 4.1, Claude 4 Sonnet, Gemini 2.5 Pro and more for less than Open AI!
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I noticed more recently the price has risen to $19 a month which doesn't really make it competitively priced now, but I was scrolling social media recently and saw they are running a back to school deal on their Merlin Pro Plans for what I paid!
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One of my favorite things about Merlin is that it doesn't require endless coaxing to generate one image. Unlike Chatty, where you have to repeatedly ask for it to generate just one image, Merlin will simply create it - and multiples if you ask. It's a serious time saver. And yes, it saves your conversations if you want that option as well.
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Use code STUDENT70 at checkout. It's a limited-time offer, so if you want to lock it in, don’t wait. The annual plan at $5/month (billed $60 once) is the best possible deal. Cancel anytime before your term ends to avoid renewal, but heads up: annual payments are typically non-refundable. If you want to play it safe, try monthly using code JUST4 to save 35%.
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You’ll be paying a bit more, but if you decide you love it, hopefully you can still switch to the yearly deal if it's still available.

​NEW: 55% OFF KDP GOODIES​
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If you've been wanting to learn more about generating passive income and want to get serious about creating ebooks, look no further than the gurus of the Amazon KDP world, Self Publishing Titans. This week, they announced some exciting updates to take your KDP empire to the next level.
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They've just rolled out their brand new all-in-one Chrome Extension, in-house ARC Reviews, 30,000+ Templates membership, Hot Niches service & more. And right now, they're throwing an Anniversary Sale where you can save up to 55% off all lifetime items & bundles!
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Right now you can take up to 55% off on lifetime items and bundles, bundles and templates along with 40% off on courses such as their flagship training, Self Publishing Titans Masterclass.
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Make sure you take advantage of these incredible tools to help you expand your Amazon KDP empire. The sale is on until August 31st.

✨BONUS - Purchase anything from KDP Titans and get 30% of your purchase back in Lara Loot.

NEW: WONDEFUL WOO

The Tarot card niche is super popular on Etsy and other marketplaces right now and card decks sell for good money.

Jan Small has found a great niche to tackle with her latest Tarot Card Prompt Generator. Whether you use free or paid AI Art tools, you'll be able to create beautiful and consistent designs.
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Full instructions for creating a full-pack of 78 cards with gorgeous consistent designs are included.

Sell as printable items or print on demand (guidelines included for that, too.)

The prompt generator runs on the free Google sheets app and the prompts work for any AI image generator including the free ones.

You can easily create your prompts using drop downs from the data input sheet. They've included all 78 Tarot cards and suggestions for each of the fields but there's also plenty of space to add your own ideas.

The generator is for personal use only, but buyers can sell any of the images they create.
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Right now, grab this tool for $9 during launch (regular price $27) (no coupon code required)

The launch ends Thursday, August 28th at Midnight PST.

✨ BONUS: Get 40% of your purchase back in Lara Loot on your purchase that includes any bumps/upsells which you can spend in my shop page with no expiry.

NEW: EASY AFFILIATES
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​Want to grow your list without doing all the heavy lifting yourself? Angela Wills has a brand new training out today called Build Your List with an Affiliate Program which shows you how to set up an affiliate program that brings new subscribers and sales.

It comes packed with a training manual, cheat sheets and a custom GPT to add more value!
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Inside, you’ll discover:

• What an affiliate program really is (and how it can build your list without relying on ads).
• The software and systems you need to make it run smoothly.
• How to attract affiliates who are excited to promote you.
• What to do once your program is up and running so you keep growing on autopilot.

This isn’t a giant overwhelming course. It’s short, simple, and designed to get you taking action right away. You’ll walk away with clarity and a plan for building your list using the power of affiliates.

If you’ve been looking for a smarter way to grow your audience, make sure you grab this mini class for $25 with coupon code: BUILD.
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The sale is on until August 28th at midnight EST.

✨ BONUS - If you purchase Angela's course, I'll give you $15 in Lara Loot to spend in my shop with no expiry.

NEW: MAGICAL LIVE WORKSHOP​
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Next week, Naima, one of my favorite biz peeps is running her amazing Magic 1-Pager live on August 28th.

This has been a super popular workshop every time she runs it and I've personally taken it a few times and absolutely loved basking in Naima's brilliance!
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This live workshop IS designed to take that “darling” idea that's been living inside your brain, rent-free, and bring it into sharp focus—so you'll walk away with a clear, outcome-driven one-pager that makes your offer easy to understand and even easier to sell.
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You'll learn how to:

• Tighten up your offer, so it's crystal clear
• Nail down the most lucrative problem it solves
• Refine the positioning, so it's understood by the right audience
• Tease out messaging
• Extract content pieces for the customer journey

All captured on a single page, that serves as a marketing & sales guide for the offer. The event runs at two different times on Thursday August 28th to give you more options.
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Previous participants have loved the experience, calling it "a genuine, learning experience you can use over and over".

Best of all, Naima, who I consider the "tech guru," has added cool new content, and of course, she's going to be throwing in custom GPTs and doing a deep dive into leveraging AI.

To make sure you have all the tools you need, this event also comes with a pop-up group in Heartbeat to host pre-work, replays, Q&A and feedback for the week following the workshop.

✨ BONUS - If you purchase Naima's workshop, I'll give you $25 in Lara Loot to spend in my shop with no expiry.

​NEW: OPTIMIZE YOUR BLOG

Get ready to level up your blog.

Neha has just unveiled the Blog Planner Notion template, a beautifully designed, all-in-one blog planner that will help you to research, organize, and optimize your blog in no time. Whether you're just getting started, or want to revamp you blog, this blog planner template is your guide to stay organized, improve SEO, and get most out of your content marketing.
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​What do you get:

✔️ A DFY Notion Blog Planner you can customize and sell

✔️ 5 Header images to customize the template easily

You get everything to list an in-demand product quickly in your store.
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Normally $47, get it for $21 until August 25th.
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✨ BONUS - If you purchase Neha's new planner, I'll give you $20 in Lara Loot to spend in my shop with no expiry.

Also, if you LOVE Neha's products, she's running a quick sale on her bestselling course, Google Calendar Mastery. Regularly $47, grab it for $20 off until Sunday, August 24th with coupon code FRIYAY. Click the photo above to get all the deets! (And yes, it comes with $20 of Lara Loot!)

NEW: FINISH STRONG IN Q4

Are you ready to make Q4 your most profitable quarter yet?

Faith is running the 30-Day Business Plan Summit: Q4 Dash - a a free online event designed for digital product creators and online entrepreneurs who want to finish 2025 strong.
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Whether it’s:

• A brand new mini course
• A printable gift set
• A holiday-themed bundle
• Or even just your first digital product

You’ll walk away with a solid idea, plan, and creation path—so you can finally launch what you’ve been dreaming about.

You'll hear from speakers like:

• Faith Lee on crafting a product strategy that SELLS
• Kimberly Costa on building a holiday product line in 30 days
• Aimee Bagshaw on creating more products in less time
• Luisa Ferrario on launching a mini course (before the year ends)

You’ll get access to 27 expert-led presentations, all to help you plan, launch, and promote profitable offers with confidence, clarity, and momentum this Q4.
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The Summit runs from September 2nd - 5th.

If you've never been in Faith's orbit, make sure you check out her free guide: Email Marketing 101 -to get a better idea of her teaching style. This is a no cost PDF guide showing you a simple 4-phase framework to build, nurture & profit from your email list. Click the photo above to grab a copy!

NEW: MEMBERSHIPS MADE SIMPLE​
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Interested in launching a membership without the tech overwhelm? This planner makes it easy to get started. No fancy lists, or expensive software required. Just your idea, your platform, and a clear plan that works. Use it for yourself, or resell it to help your audience do the same!

The Simple Start Club Membership Planner PLR is crafted with 20 unique planner pages designed to walk users through planning and launching their first membership. It comes in the popular 8.5" x 11" size and includes the editable PowerPoint file, Canva template, and PDF file — all with full Commercial Use Rights. You’ll also get the 30-Day Simple Setup Guide bonus, giving your buyers a step-by-step plan to keep them motivated and on track.

Right now, save 50% OFF during the sale using coupon code CLUB to bring the price down to $13.50.​
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​The sale ends August 25th at midnight CST.

NEW: FALL INTO FUN​
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Mary Jo has just released her Fall Into Growth Social Pack, which contains 300 fall-themed graphics plus 100 expanded captions that spark conversation, inspire engagement, and keep your feed consistent all season long.

This content pack is perfect for coaches, creators, and anyone who want consistent, engagement-ready social media without the daily scramble.

It's editable in Canva with commercial use rights so your audience can edit, brand it and resell it as their own.
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If you’ve ever stared at a blank screen wondering what to post… this will feel like a lifesaver.

Here’s what’s inside:

• 100 Instagram quotes
• 100 Story/Reels quotes
• 100 Square quotes
• 100 expanded captions in Google Doc

That’s an entire season of done-for-you content designed to boost engagement and spark conversations.

All you have to do is:

1. Add your branding
2. Copy/paste captions
3. Schedule your posts

It really is that easy. Oh, and one more thing—it’s PLR.

Right now, you can grab it for $12 (Regular price $37) No coupon needed

Launch pricing ends Tuesday, Sept. 2nd.

TEMPLATE SUPPLY CLUB AUGUST DROPS:
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If you love MaryJo's designs, you won't want to miss her August drops in the Template Supply Club.
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This month’s theme: Simplify & Thrive​
It’s a beautiful bundle of Canva templates designed to help creators get focused, stay consistent, and stop drowning in digital and life clutter.

Here’s what’s included:

• Simplify & Thrive Workbook Template
• Simplicity Quote Divider Pages
• 30-Day Simplify Social Challenge (with captions!)
• Promo Pins (for personal use)

You can get everything for as little as $8 a month, with new templates every month and the freedom to cancel anytime.

✨ BONUS: Sign up for any of Mary Jo's membership options and get a one-time bonus of 50% of your purchase back in Lara Loot.

NEW: SIZZLING SUMMER SPREADSHEETS ON SALE​
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Mitzy is running a flash sale on her course, Pretty Spreadsheets for Profit.

This super useful course is designed to help you take your Etsy sales to the next level, with stunning spreadsheets that will set you apart from the competition and attract a passionate audience eager for beautiful and practical spreadsheets.

Regularly $97, you can grab it for $39 until August 28th at 11.59pm EST.

✨BONUS - If you purchase Mitzy's course or any of her upsells, get 40% back of your purchase in Lara Loot. For this purchase, please send me your receipt.
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​Important: When checking out, make sure you see my name "laramai" at the bottom of the checkout page where it says powered by Warrior Plus when you hover over the little person icon.

NEW: SEPTEMBER SCHOOL DROPS
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​Katherine has released her newest kit in her Limitless Design Kits Monthly Membership. This month, it's the School Days Design Kit.
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With all the latest concerns over copyright, usage rights, and outsourcing art from questionable sources, a few members have asked if she makes the graphics in her kits. The answer is YES, she personally illustrates/draws/paints the graphics.
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All of her personal hand-drawn or painted illustrations and high-resolution elements can be used to create PLR, digital products, physical products, and TEMPLATES (to name a few) which is MUCH MORE than any typical commercial use license.

Along with the individual elements, she's also included a few different types of graphics to help you create scenes.
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These design kits are only available for one month inside the membership so you have until the 14th to pick these up. Katherine will then be offering them for sale at the current regular price of $97.
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You'll automatically receive $482 worth of bonuses that come with MRR rights, meaning you can turn these kits around and not only sell them commercially, but as PLR without restrictions!
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MRR or master resell rights means you can sell these items commercially to others who can also sell them commercially. Normally, with PLR, you can sell them to others for personal use only.
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This means you can use these products to create your very own PLR. It's also perfect if you've been wanting to get into a bundle but don't have a creative bone in your body and aren't sure what you would be able to offer with PLR rights - now you'll be able to thanks to Katherine's gorgeous resources.
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Best of all, you can use these elements without fear of infringing on someone's license, which is much more generous than a standard commercial use license, and use them for to create PLR digital products, physical products, and templates (to name a few) - and yes, even stickers!

Check out everything you get on the sales page. This kit will be available at the discounted price of $27 until July 14th.

✨BONUS - If you purchase Katherine's kit, I'll give you give you 50% of your purchase back in Lara Loot which you can use in my shop with no expiry.

Things I'm crushing hard on this week. 😎

✨ Tales From the Rouge Fun things ✨
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✨ My Favorite Biz Tools ✨

*TC Bonus: If you purchase Thrivecart using my link, receive $200 back in Lara Loot. 😻
Other purchases made through my links qualify for bonuses! ​Drop me a line​ for more info.

My name is Lara and I'm the owner of Tales From the Rouge - inspired by a magical enclave in the Rouge Valley in the east end of Toronto, Canada. I'm a writer/television producer and a wife and mom who loves photography, nature, and my ever-expanding collection of antique typewriters. I'm inspired by nature on a daily basis and draw inspiration from my surroundings which trickles down to my creations.
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You are receiving this newsletter after signing up for one of my paper packs in a free or paid bundle or giveaway. I hope you'll stay and enjoy my newsletter containing useful health and wellness tips, fun stories along with awesome promos and gifts! However, if you don’t want to stick around, just hit that unsubscribe button at the bottom of this email. I do hope you hang out for a bit to see what the fuss is all about!
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Please be aware that if you unsubscribe from this email you will no longer receive updates on bonuses, courses, or waitlists that you might have signed up for. Please use caution when unsubscribing.​
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​Disclaimer:

I often recommend products and services that I use or that have been recommended to me by people I trust. In many cases these recommendations are accompanied by an affiliate link, which provides me with a referral commission if you click through and make a purchase.

The information presented here is for educational purposes only. Before taking any action that may affect your health, finances, or well-being, please check with your own doctor, health-care provider, financial and business advisers. Always do your own due diligence.