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Giveaway: Crafty Gemstone Supplies from Add a Dangle

Marie — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:40:56 +0000

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all who entered. Congrats to #25 Deborah Gilchrist. Have fun making your jewelry with these beautiful gemstones.

Hey, all you DIY crafters! Yes, I’m talking to you. Get ready for this fabulous crafty giveaway today. Add a Dangle, one of Make and Takes sponsors, is offering a gift certificate to help you stock up on your DIY jewelry supplies. If you’ve been wanting to make some handmade earrings or a necklace, then this is the store for you. Here’s just a few of the lovelies you’ll find in their shop.

Gems: Quality gemstones for your DIY jewelry.

Chains: Clasps, hooks, and sterling silver or gold chains cut to length.

Jewelry: Beautiful jewelry ready to wear.

And you’ll be going on a $50 shopping spree to fill up on your jewelry supplies. Who could use a few more chains, clasps, and gems? I know I could!

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Giveaway Entries: For your chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Add a Dangle, leave a comment on this post by Monday March 15th @ midnight, telling me if you’re going to make earrings or a necklace. I’ll announce the winner chosen from random on Tuesday morning March 16th. Good Luck!

Extra Entries – enter a new comment for each extra entry telling what you did:
- Tweet this giveaway and follow @makeandtakes
- Become a facebook fan of Make and Takes

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4 Helpful Tips for Thrift Store Shopping

Marie — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:29:35 +0000

There is real talent when it comes to thrift store shopping. I’m lucky to live near two of the top thrifters around, Allison and Kami. These ladies are skilled in their approach and attack! After going with them on a recent trip to the thrift store, I learned a thing or two. Here’s a few tips for the next time you go thrift store shopping.

1. Get there early! I arrived just before 10 am to my local Utah thrift store and witnessed close to 30 people lined up to get in. They are the real bargain hunters. Kami and Allison are usually among them! They say most people head in towards the collectibles first, seeing what’s new for the day. You could probably go every single day and find something new.

2. Pile it in, decide later. It can get pretty hairy in there, people spying in your cart to see what you’ve got. So if you’re thinking about a specific item to buy, just put it in your cart. Allison’s cart is piled high, both of them. She likes to make sure it’s all in her cart, so no one else can snag it. Then decides later if she’s really going to buy it. (She’s got an iron grip on those carts! ;)

3. Will I use it? If you’ve got something specific in mind for an item, like Allison’s really cool jug or this clock of Kami’s or this mirror that’s going to get a fresh coat of paint, then get it! But if you’re not going to use it, don’t buy it. It’ll just be adding more junk to your junk.

4. Go with a friend. This tip is helpful with tip #3. I was constantly asking them their opinion if I should buy something. Should I get this or this? What would I use it for? Can I borrow your black paint? Will I really end up wearing it? It’s nice to go with someone who can tell you yes or no, otherwise you might buy a whole bunch of stuff you really don’t need.

Here’s what I found and purchased. I’m beyond thrilled with my wooden lollipop tree. My grandma had one of these out at Christmas when I was little and I’ve been wanting to find one ever since. (That dude behind me is totally eying my find, I know it!)

My baby also got a cute dress, I have a new fun red purse, a couple of plates that will start showing up in recipe posts, and a tissue box cover that Kami convinced me to paint (I’ll share the new look when it’s done).

What thrifting tips and tricks do you abide by when shopping at thrift stores?

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This Might Be the Best Commercial Ever!!

Marie — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:44:01 +0000

I can’t get enough of this Old Spice commercial. I die of laughter every time it’s on. I like to do what he says: look at your man, now back to me, look down, back up. Ha! It’s so cleverly done!!

“The tickets are now diamonds!”

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Giveaway: Perideau Designs, Stationary for the Modern Soul

Marie — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:06:07 +0000

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all who entered. Congrats to #47 Jennifer and #135 Elizabeth. You’re the winners of some fabulous snail mail stationary!! Enjoy.

Perideau Designs, one of Make and Takes sponsors, is offering a fabulous stationary giveaway today! Bridgett, creator of Perideau, is happily giving away 2 $25 gift certificates to her lovely paper shop! There are too many beautiful things to choose from. Here are just a few of my favorites!

Personalized Stationary

Cards for Kids

Gift Tags

Bedroom Prints

Like I said, lots of fabulous paper designs to choose from! Luckily, 2 of you will be receiving this fabulous prize, so enter in for your chance to win. P.S. dont’ forget to check out Perideau’s Blog for more fun with paper!

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Giveaway Entries: For your chance to win one of 2 – $25 gift certificate to Perideau Designs, leave a comment on this post by Monday March 8th @ midnight, telling me if you’re an emailer or a snailmailer! I’ll announce the winner chosen from random on Tuesday morning March 9th. Good Luck!

Extra Entries – enter a new comment for each extra entry telling what you did:
- Tweet this giveaway and follow @perideaudesigns
- Become a facebook fan of Perideau Designs

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Giveaway: Little Fairy Wings for Your Little Fairy

Marie — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:04:43 +0000

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all who entered. Congrats to #264 Sarah A.! Have fun playing dress-up with your little fairy!

Little Fairy Wings, one of Make and Takes sponsors, is offering a fabulous giveaway today. It’s all about being a girly girl with magical fairies and flower headbands! Even if your house is already littered with every dress-up known to man, a girl can never have too many tutus!

Their items are great by themselves, but can also be paired with something more. Or you can even do a little “make and take”, embellishing them for a completely different look. Maybe try a large daisy flower on the middle back of the wings, or even flowers around the waist band of the tutu.

They also have all kinds of accessories, perfect for play time, giving your little girl that little something extra!

Today, your little fairy is in for a treat, as Little Fairy Wings is giving away a $50 gift certificate to one lucky princess. They have petticoats, tiaras, wands, wings, boas, tutus, everything your little princess would love to play for dress-up!

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Giveaway Entries: For your chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Little Fairy Wings, leave a comment on this post by Monday March 1st @ midnight, telling me if your girly girl likes fairies or princesses! I’ll announce the winner chosen from random on Tuesday morning March 2nd. Good Luck!

Extra Entries – enter a new comment for each extra entry telling what you did:
- Tweet this giveaway and follow @makeandtakes
- Become a facebook fan of Make and Takes
- Subscribe to Make and Takes RSS feed

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Weekend Links: Disneyland Crafty Projects

3 Reasons to Attend a Blogging Conference, the Mom 2.0 Edition

Marie — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:16:33 +0000

I was at Mom 2.0 in Houston this weekend, another amazing blogging conference. If you haven’t been to a blogging conference yet, here are my 3 reasons to attend. Going will change your life and your blog, promise!

Reason #1: The People. This is the fun part, where you get to meet really cool bloggers. The ones you read daily about, the ones you want to take home in your suitcase, and the ones you aspire to become.
Then for even more fun, you get to meet brand new faces. The ones you are so happy to know about, ones you can’t wait to work with, and the ones you feel like you’ve known each other for years. And of course I brought along my hot mama sidekick, Allison (we don’t go anywhere without each other!) In the photo above: me, Jyl, Laurie, Amy, photo courtesy of Mainline Mom

Reason #2: The Panels: I go to learn from above mentioned bloggers. Panels on writing, passion, pr, marketing, content campaigns, and offline experiences. One of the best panels was about 3 Mormons and the Bloggess! Funny name, fabulous session! Photo above courtesy of Gabrielle Blair.

Happily, I was speaking on a panel at Mom 2.0. Gwen Bell, Deb Averett and I spoke about your Toolbox for Online Success. What you need to stay organized, build your blog, and manage a home-business. Don’t we look so intense as we discuss organizing your emails?! You should have seen us at the beginning of the session when Gwen had us all take a moment to “be in the moment”. I loved that zen feeling, closing our laptops, clearing the brain from an information packed weekend. Photo courtesy of Christy Nelson

Reason #3: The Parties: It’s usually at the parties where the best kind of networking happens. You’re introducing yourself to the next person in line at the food table, but it might happen to be someone who will change your life. You exchange cards, you get to know each other, and bam, something new and amazing has hatched! Who knows what will come of it. That’s how it works. Getting out there, IRL! And… you usually get to dress up, always fun (me in a Mad Men outfit above)!

I also hosted a fabulous party up in my suite with an amazing company, Cambria Cove, who sponsored me at Mom 2.0. There was chocolate, cheese, and a gift for everyone to take home. And you gotta love when the people you work with turn out to be like family. Chris from Cambria Cove could have been my sister. What a great business blogging is!

Hopefully you see why it is I keep going to these conferences, to learn, grow, and have a mama’s night out! Thanks to Kirtsy and The Tasteful Life for hosting an amazing conference. I was happy to have been in attendance.

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Finishing Up Our StartNOW Program at Park City

Marie — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:00:11 +0000

We’ve completed Day 5 at Park City Mountain Resort, our last StartNOW ski day. Thanks to PCMR for being a fabulous sponsor and helping my son become a skier! And with the Winter Olympics going this week, it’s been fun for him to see what he could become if he keeps at it. He’s really done a great job, I’m so proud of my little snow dude.

Here’s a quick video of Day 5 with my son sharing a little bit about how he did after his lessons on the slope. (Did you catch the movie reference he made at the beginning? High five if you can name it!!)

There’s only 6 weeks left in the ski season, but just enough time to get into the program and finish before it’s over. I suggest going in a series of once or twice a week with your bounce back passes. We took a few weeks off after the 3rd lesson, and even though my son still remembered what he was supposed to do, his legs took a little more time to get going on the first couple of runs with us, before his lesson.

We can now officially call him a SKIER. He’s hooked and we love it!

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We’ve Got Your M&T Buttons!

Marie — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:54:36 +0000

Along with the redesign of our site, we’ve come up with a few fun Make and Takes buttons you can add to your blog. So grab a button and show the love for M&T! And make sure to add the “featured at make and takes” button if you’ve been featured here!

	<a href="http://www.makeandtakes.com/" ></a>
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Thanks for supporting Make and Takes!!

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Giveaway: The Dreamy Giraffe, Bright Big-Eyed Art

Marie — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:49:09 +0000

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all who entered in for these amazing prints. We have 3 winners. #24 Kendra, #65 Alicia, #185 Dymphna! I’ll get you in contact with Kathy to choose your print.

The Dreamy Giraffe, one of Make and Takes newest sponsors, is offering a fabulous giveaway today. Kathy R. Jeffords is the owner and artist of these whimsical prints, bringing fantasy and imagination into your home.

My favorite is this SUPER CRAFTER! She needs to find a home on my craft room wall!!

Or this “extraordinary” girl!

Or this “extra crafty” girl! LOVE them all!

Oh, Alice!

Argh Matey!

Something for the boys!

These beautiful art pieces are a reproduction print of one of Kathy’s original acrylic paintings. They are 8.5″ X 11″(21.59 cm x 27.94 cm), with a white border around all sides. And 3 winners will each be receiving one of her prints, Ooo LaLa!

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Giveaway Entries: For your chance to win one of 3 Dreamy Giraffe Prints of your choice,leave a comment on this post by Monday February 15th @ midnight, telling me which girly print is your favorite! I’ll announce the 3 winners chosen from random on Tuesday morning February 16th. Good Luck!

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Blissdom, Bloggers, and Harry Connick Jr.

Marie — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:10:23 +0000

I just got back from the blogging conference Blissdom and am happy to share some of the amazing moments, bloggers, and celebrities I saw!! Here’s me and Allison from Petit Elefant, my conference buddy who I never go without (along with Jyl and Rachael, go Utah!)

It started off with Kevin Carroll, an amazing speaker who gets your creative juices flowing. And all because of a Red Rubber Ball. Amazing. If you have the chance, hear him speak or read his book!

Let’s talk about Harry Connick Jr. He performed Friday night and was adorable, along with his crew. I was literally 3 feet away from his beautiful piano. He was funny, charming, and fabulous! He even gave Flat Tidy Mom a kiss!

The after party was also a hit, dancing the night away. You get me in a room full of girls, music, and no kids, and I’m gonna groove all night. We were doing the grrrr, “brick house”, and the “roger rabbit”! Even a little mosh pit may have been started!

We even went on a RUN! Yes, a few of the runners from Eat. Blog. Run. got up early to run 2 miles together in the cold Nashville air! Christine, Allison, Audrey and me. I loved it. And if it’s anything like what our relay race is going to be together, I can’t wait!

Now let’s talk bloggers, because that is why I love to go to blog conferences. I love to meet and greet in real life with the many women (and men) who’s blogs I love to read. Here’s just a few of who I met, love, and stalk!

Check out these blogs for a few more Blissdom Wrap-ups!

Hoo-Dee-Hoo
Pop Discourse
Such the Spot
Oh Amanda – I guest posted on Oh Amanda last week talking about Building Your Blog.

Images via Petit Elefant, Secret Agent Mama, Moosh, Apron Thrift Girl.

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