A Little Bit of Easter

If you haven’t entered my current giveaway, you are really missing out!  Crystal takes very cool artsy photographs of maps (choose your favorite town) with a fun candy heart message (for message choices, ask Crystal).  You can win one 8x8, or two 5x5s.  Get one for yourself and give one as a gift!  Enter Here!

 

Well, I finally made it down to the basement and found the box of Easter stuff.  It’s not a holiday that I do a ton of decorating for; in fact, I’m kind of tired of the whole Easter basket/candy thing (bad mom!), and I’m thinking that this year we’re going to start a new tradition of putting the focus more on the resurrection than the bunny.  We do talk about it every year, and my kids know the real meaning of Easter, but I’d like that to be the emphasis rather than the aside.

But I’m not going to ditch the cute factor all together.  The kids appreciate a few touches here and there.

 

So here is Farmer Bunny:

 

 

And our little Easter tree:

 

 

And the thrift-store ceramic bunny with the cute expression:

 

 

Can’t you just see him wiggle his nose?

 

 

I’ll have an Easter project for you tomorrow!

New Sponsor Giveaway: Etsy Shop CAPow

This giveaway is now closed.  Winner is #1, Paula! 

And now you all have another chance to win, because I have a new giveaway for you today!  I’d like to introduce you to my newest sponsor, Crystal, and her etsy shop CAPow!

Crystal opened her shop in 2007 and started off selling hand sewn wallets.   Sales were pretty slow and after a year, she started listing some photography. However, it wasn’t until Crystal had an inspiration in the checkout line at Walmart that her sales really began to take off.  In February of 2010, she was buying a box of Candy Conversation Hearts when she had the idea for her Hometown Hearts series, which has become very popular.

The combination of city map and candy heart sentiments is fun and personal!
 


Crystal also offers prints, such as Rise and Grind (sounds very apropos for a Monday morning!).



Her typography maps are in the shape of states formed from each county's name written in the proper place and shape of that county.




Crystal is offering the giveaway winner her (or his) choice of the Hometown Heart series, either one 8x8 or two 5x5s.  She can do any city she can find on her maps.

To enter, visit CAPow and then come back here and leave a comment telling me which of Crystal’s items is your favorite (mandatory).  For additional entries, you can do one or more of the following and leave a separate comment for each:

• Like CAPow on Facebook (button on shop homepage)
  
• tweet about this giveaway
  
• follow me on Google Friend Connect or let me know if you already do

Winner will be announced this Friday morning.

One Thousand Followers Giveaway!

Giveaway is now closed.

I’m super excited to have hit the one thousand mark on Friday!  Thank you so much to all of you!  I’m honored that you are interested enough in what I have to say to keep coming back.

In honor of this milestone, I’m having a giveaway.  My most popular giveaway ever was for my one year blogging anniversary, when I gave away a collection of items that I had found at thrift stores, so I have decided to do a repeat of that.

The prize package includes:

• a silverplate compote
• a footed milk glass compote/candy dish
• a milk glass bud vase
• a hobnail milk glass planter
• a silverplate dessert fork
• an aqua Ball jar with zinc lid

 

Here are a few ideas for how to use some of these items:

• display items in the silver compote, such as Scrabble tiles, marbles, or a nest
• plant a succulent in the footed milk glass dish
• use the hobnail planter to hold a small potted plant, pens and pencils at your desk, or lotion, sponge, etc at your kitchen sink (that’s what I do)
• make a recipe card holder with the fork, or maybe start a little collection to display or frame
• make a soap or lotion dispenser out of the Ball jar (though I should point out that this is a quart jar, not a pint like I used)

 

But wait!  There’s more!  I’m also going to include a couple of my favorite things.

• a box of my daily indulgence, iced vanilla latte (but you’ll have to supply the whipped cream and sprinkles).

 

• three single-serving packages of Popcorn Indiana Kettlecorn, one each of three limited edition flavors:  Drizzled Black and White, Dark Fudge Chocolate Chip, and Drizzled Cinnamon Sugar.  OMY (Oh My Yum)!

 

To enter, you just need to leave a comment.  If you are a follower, leave a second comment for a second entry.  Winner will be announced next Monday April 11.

(I apologize to my overseas readers, but this is open to residents of the US and Canada only.)

Blog Happenings

• Tomorrow, I am excited to be swapping guest posts with Shannon at The House Creative!  Be sure to read Shannon’s post here, and visit me there and check out her blog.

 

 

• There’s still plenty of time to enter the Love Letters by Dina giveaway.

 

 

• My next Knock-Off Party is coming up on Thursday, February 24 (that’s one week from today!).  You can do something new, or link up an older post.  We’ve all done it!  Copied PB, Ballard, or Restoration Hardware, that is.  Here’s your chance to show it off!

I have compiled the party rules into one complete post; find it here.

 

 

I’d really like some help with this one!

• I’d love to get some feedback on my Monday’s Tips and Tricks party (tell me the truth; I can handle it!).  There aren’t a lot of restrictions on what you can post, so I thought it would be an easy one to in which to participate.  But it just doesn’t seem to be happening.  Do I need to change something?  Is Monday a bad day?  Is it just a boring premise?  Is there something that would make it easier for you to participate?  I’ll give it a little while longer, but I may have to pull the plug if it doesn’t pick up the pace soon.

 

• I don’t normally talk about this in a blog post, but I’m just going to throw in a little plug for my advertising spots.  My rates are reasonable, and there are lots of options.  Visit my advertising page for info and stats.  And if you don’t see an option you’re interested in, I’m willing to talk about other ideas!

 

• One more thing:  will you please pray for my blog friend Mary Joy, her husband, and their children?  Mary Joy is a beautiful woman of God, always there to encourage everyone else.  This weekend her husband had a seizure and was diagnosed with a type of epilepsy, and they are scared and apprehensive about what this means for their family.  They need our encouragement now.  Visit her blog and read Sunday’s post for more information.

Giveaway: Handmade Letters

  Giveaway is now closed.  Winner is #5, Heather of Heather’s Hutch!

LoveLettersbyDina is a new Etsy shop, opened by a young mom who is very artistic and loves to create.  Dina lives in Israel, not far from Caesarea (doesn’t that sound exotic?  To me, Caesarea is a place in the Bible).  She works in her studio, which she says is “located in a small village, at home, with a nice yard, a cat and a dog…”.  And a baby.  Isn’t this adorable and idyllic?

 

Dina graduated from Bezalel academy of arts and design, Jerusalem, as a Illustrator-designer. She is foremost a painter and sells original portraits and artwork in her other shop DachaStudio, but opened LoveLetterByDina because “I really like folk stuff, and I enjoy "painting" letters with different designs, patterns and textures. My inspiration is folk art, books, fairy tales, textile and ornaments. At the moment I am working on a Hebrew alphabet too, with plans for other languages (Russian, German etc.. including symbols and more). I will offer soon printed signs for home decor and greeting cards.”

She puts a lot of beautiful detail into each letter.  She makes different sets, such as the whole alphabet (you get the whole thing, plus a couple of symbols; I just cropped it for size).  This one is in Vivid colors.

The magnets are prints - reproduced from original oil pastels paintings, mounted on magnet-board (a bit flexible).  Each letter is 1.5” square, and can be rearranged however you like.  This set of “I Love You” is in the Indian Summer colors.

She also has Black and White, as below, and Orange and Brown and Golden Brown colorways.

 

 

For the giveaway, Dina is offering a set of four letters spelling “Love”, using a heart as the letter O, in your choice of colorway. Update 2/16: since so many of you have said “Home” is your favorite, Dina says the winner can choose either “Love” or “Home”! 

For all the colorway choices, you can look at Dina’s alphabets.

To enter:

1. Visit Dina’s shop, and come back here and leave a comment telling me your favorite item.
2. Tweet about it and leave a separate comment here.
3. Post it on your FB page and leave a separate comment here.

Giveaway will be open through Sunday at 11:59 pm central, with winner announced Monday.

Valentine’s Wreath and the Chocolate Winner

My Christmas wreath has been on the front door since I put it up in December.  It wasn’t so extremely Christmas-y that I felt compelled to take it down right away.

But with Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, I decided to make a change.  Red berries worked fine with the theme, so I just popped the silver ornaments off and started from there.

I used some heart picks from Dollar Tree, and ribbon and a large glittery heart card from Target’s Dollar Spot.

 

I shortened the picks down to a couple inches, and just stuck them in groups around the wreath.  Then I punched holes in the card and hung it in the middle with some of the ribbon.

After about $3 and 15 minutes, here it is hanging on the front door again.

I received my chocolates from Heart & Soul Candies last night, just in time to try them out before I announce the winner.  As expected, they were very yummy!

Aaaanndd….the winner is #5, Amanda of Serenity Now!  Congrats!  (Thirty-two was the total number of entries including the participants of Monday’s linky party.)

Giveaway (Pssst…It’s Chocolate!)

February already, folks!  Time to start thinking about love, flowers, and chocolate!  I was recently contacted by Heart & Soul Candies offering me two boxes of their chocolates in exchange for having their widget on my blog until Valentine’s.  One box for me, and one for you!  That sounded like a pretty good deal to me.  I don’t willingly turn down chocolate!

I was not familiar with the company, so I visited the website to find out more.  I discovered that the company is founded on Christian principles.  From the website:

• The Vision: Heart & Soul Candies Vision is to give cheerfully and generously to good works around the world by providing scripture based high-quality chocolate and candy products that bless the hearts and souls of people everywhere.
• 2 Corinthians 9: 7, 8: Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
• The Mission: Heart & Soul Candies Mission is simply to love God with all of our heart, soul, and strength as a growing inspirational confections company focused on building long term loving relationships, offering exceptional products, and serving our customers with uncompromised compassion.
• Mark 12:30: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

 

Based on the customer reviews, the chocolates are delicious.  In addition, while you enjoy the candy, you can feel good knowing that H&S donates 10% of total sales to faith-based organizations such as Samaritan’s Purse.  It’s win-win!

H&S chocolates are available at Walmart (for only $5/box!),  Family Christian Stores and LifeWay Christian Stores, among others. 

For a chance to win a box, do the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post (mandatory)
2. Tweet or post on FB and leave a separate comment
3. Anyone who participates in next Monday’s Tips and Tricks Party will receive an additional entry

Winner will be announced next Tuesday, February 8, so hopefully you will receive it in time for Valentine’s Day.  Good luck!

Make 5 Dinners in One Hour--Giveaway

I’m super excited about my new sponsor!  Michelle has created a plan to Make 5 Dinners in One Hour!  She says using her plan has saved her time and money, and her family is eating more healthfully—no more last minute drive-thru dinners.  I could have used that last night when I was a little under the weather and had Craig bring home Taco Bell.  How awesome it would have been to have my fridge full of Michelle’s dinners so I could just pop one in the oven!

Michelle’s blog is full of tips and tricks and recipes.  These Coconut Chicken Strips with marmalade dipping sauce are going on my “to try” list.

The Roasted Sausage, Peppers and Onions would be a nice change of pace at our house.  Michelle is all about making substitutions to fit your family, and I think I would try turkey or chicken sausage with this recipe.

This Spinach Quiche looks delicious!  I’m not sure if I could get my kids past the “spinach” (though I’m not above trying) but if not it would make a lovely lunch to serve some girlfriends.  

Now here’s the really great thing:  Michelle has planned out the menus, shopping lists, cooking directions and heating instructions for you!  For just $15 you can get a 3 month subscription.  Each month you will receive 4 weeks of menus (5 dinners each) for 4-6 people.  Once you have done the shopping and set out all your ingredients and tools, it should only take about one hour to assemble all 5 meals.

She gives suggestions for side dishes, but you are free to make adjustments for your family’s preferences.  Each week also includes at least one freezable meal so if you don’t need all five that week, you’ll have one ready to go in the freezer for a later date.

This whole idea sounds awesome to me!  I’m eager to give it a try.  I’ve signed up for the free trial week menu, and you can too, but one lucky reader will win a one-month subscription!

To enter, visit Michelle’s blog then come back here and tell me which of Michelle’s recipes you’d like to try (look on the archives list for post titles).  For a second entry, follow her blog, then leave a second comment.

This giveaway will be open until Tuesday, Nov. 23 at 11:59 pm central, with the winner announced Wednesday the 24th.

Thursday’s Giveaway: Starbucks

I hope you’ve been enjoying the giveaways this week!  Today’s prize is a $15 Starbucks gift card.  Maybe not the most original thing ever, but who doesn’t like Starbucks?  Even if you are one of the two people in the world who doesn’t like coffee, you can get a muffin or something.  Or even pass it on to someone for whom you need a gift , like a teacher.

Many of you may like to use it for the special treat that’s only available this time of year:

Myself, I would probably get a Java Chip Frappuccino, because of my experience with the Pumpkin Spice.  But don’t let that stop you!

This one is easy to enter…no hoops to jump through, just leave a comment!

This giveaway will close Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 11:59 pm.

More giveaways to enter:  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Giveaway #3: CSN Stores

Today’s giveaway gives the winner options…lots of options.  Whether you are looking for a drop leaf table, a mailbox, shoes, or a baby stroller, CSN stores has all that and much more.

The lucky winner will receive a $55 gift certificate to use in any of the CSN stores, on anything you want.  If you choose something at a higher price, the $55 will be applied to your balance. (The $55 does not include shipping, but many items ship for free.)

I actually recently won a CSN giveaway hosted by Tricia at Three Petunias, and did some shopping at the website over the weekend.  I’m still undecided, but here are some items I’m considering.

I’ve been wanting a pendant for over the kitchen sink, and I found quite a few options within the $55 range, like the Madison Mini Pendant for $47.70 with free shipping.


I would also like a new faucet for my powder room, to compliment my vanity makeover.  This Price Pfister is $57.12.



Of course, I could be persuaded to go with a new pair of boots instead.  The possibilities are endless!



Two ways to enter:

1.  Follow me on Twitter or Facebook by clicking on the icon on the right and taking the appropriate steps, then come back here and leave a comment telling me you did so.

2.  If you take the extra step and spread the news about the giveaway either on Twitter or FB, then come back here and leave a second comment, you will get a second entry.

This giveaway will be open until Tuesday, Oct 5 at 11:59 pm.

You can also enter Monday’s giveaway, and Tuesday’s.

Tuesday’s Giveaway: Home Reserve

Last week I received a free chair from Home Reserve furniture to review.  You can read all about that and how it came to be here.  I was pleased with the chair, and they were pleased with my honest review, and I asked if they would like to provide a giveaway for my readers.

They have generously provided a $25 gift certificate to be used at their website!  There are some choices that would be covered by the $25.

Throw pillows come in several different shapes and many fabric choices. 

This is the 16” square pillow in Jacinta Spa ($19):

Rectangle pillow in Kiowa Black ($21):

 

Fabric wall art 12”x16” in Miles Citrus ($22):

Fabric wall art 10”x32” in Savory Cocoa ($24):

If you chose to do so, you could put the $25 toward any other choice.  I think the  the designer cubes would be useful.  They all have storage and could be used as a footrest, coffee table, living room toy box, etc.

Small designer cube (17”w, 23”l, 19”h) in Ella Citrus ($49):

The large cube (20x45x15) might work well at the end of a bed (Kia Onyx $71):

Two ways to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway (leave a separate comment for this one).

This giveaway will be open until Monday Oct. 4 at 11:59 pm.

Be sure to enter Monday’s giveaway, and check back every day this week for more prizes!