Giveaway linkup

I appreciate all the people who helped me promote my giveaway. One of the best ways I noticed that I was able to get giveaway promotion was through giveaway linkups where people can just use mr linky to list any giveaways they have going on. Since I found it to be so helpful to me, I wanted to give other people the opportunity to share their giveaways on my blog as well. It makes it simple for people to find giveaways in one convenient place and to check out new blogs as well.

The rules are simple. I will have a new post every week, so that people can link up to list their newest giveaways. All you need to include in the your name box of the mister linky widget is:

• your site name
• the giveaway prize
• the end date

Also, make sure in the url box that you link directly to the giveaway and not just your site url. If you have multiple giveaways, then just fill out the mister linky form for each giveaway.

Thanks, and good luck to everyone.

And, I'm a bit proud of myself since this is my first time using mister linky, and I figured it out all on my own.

and the winner is

comment #79 heather m of mamalicious monday and heather's trendy finds. she is the winner of my 1st giveaway for a set of my recycled crayons. she has been notified via email.

i held out on posting this as i was hoping to have my etsy site finished, so those of you who didn't win would have a chance to purchase the crayons. however, i will post when my site is up and running. and, as a special bonus will offer a special discount to anyone who is signed up on google reader as a follower.

my 1st giveaway-closed

so, i know i have been promising a giveaway for my 300th post, and here it is. i am giving away a set of my recycled crayons that i will soon be selling on etsy. the winner will get to choose from one of 3 designs either circles

hearts

or sea creatures

the sea creatures are available in the following six colors

purple and blue

bluegreen and orange

green and red

the circles and hearts are available in all those colors and in rainbow

the winner will also choose whether to get a set of 6 crayons all the same color or assorted colors. each recycled crayon is made with at least 8 crayola crayons.

here the way to get entries:

1. you get one entry for commenting on this post


2. you get an additional entry for following my blog via blogger just hit the follow button on my left sidebar. you need to say that you follow me in your comment. this will count for both new followers and those who already follow.


3. you get an additional entry for following me on twitter. you can hit the button on my right sidebar to do this.


4. you get 2 additional entries for blogging about my giveaway and leaving a comment including the link to your post.


5. you get an additional entry for twittering about my giveaway. just leave the link to where you tweeted in a comment. if you need to know how to give me the link, check out my post here.



6. you get 2 additional entries for posting a comment answering my calls for help picking posts to submit for featured blogger on sits here.

that's right, you have an opportunity to get up to 8 entries in my giveaway. i'm going to be using random integer generator. so, make a separate comment for each entry, so that i can assign each comment as an entry to get the winner. this is my first time, but it looks pretty simple. and, don't forget to leave your email in your comment, so i can contact the winner. this giveaway will close at midnight on wednesday, may 13th. i will contact the winner via email and announce the winner on my website by friday, may 15th.

don't forget, i still have dove coupons available, and handmade goodies from me available. please check them out and read those posts for details.

this giveaway is listed at mom's most travelled giveaway carnival. check it out, she has close to 200 giveaways currently listed in the carnival.

update

i know i've got a lot going on my blog, so i thought i would give everyone a reminder and let y'all in on some things i have in the works. here's what i've got going on right now:

1. shannon at welcome to the nuthouse is having a hometown swap. check out more about it here. if you decide to partipate, please let her know you heard about it from me as she is giving away a gift to the person who gives her the most referral.
2. i have some awesome dove coupons i'm giving away here to my followers. stop in at that post and leave a comment to get them.
3. pay it forward is such an awesome idea. check out the post here and for the 1st 5 commenters who pledge to also pay it forward, you will receive a handmade gift from me.

and, some things to look forward to:

1. i am less than 25 posts away from hitting my 300th post, and this means as promised a giveaway.
2. i am planning a recipe swap soon, very soon. so, keep your eyes peeled.
3. my 1st interview with a crafter who i have tons of respect for.

pay it forward

i adore this idea from the moment i saw it at i was never the girl next door especially with my love of crafting. and, don't you just love the name of her blog. its called pay it forward. i simply copied the next part from her.

Here we go...

Making handcrafted items is a dying art, but they are so fun to make and get! So, here's a little game to encourage the handcrafting to live and thrive. The first 5 people to leave a comment on this post, will receive, at some point during the year, a super-duper handmade gift from me! What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise. The catch is that you must participate as well :) So before you leave your comment here, write up (or copy and paste) a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going. Then, come back, let me know you are going to play, and anticipate the arrival of your super-duper handmade gift! Remember that only the FIRST FIVE comments will receive a gift from me, so be quick!

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantee that you will like what I make. But, I will try my best to make sure that you do :)
2. It will be done this year (hopefully sooner than later)
3. You will have no clue what or when it will be.Please make sure to leave your e-mail address too so I can get a hold of you.
   Have fun!

my dove package has arrived and a small giveaway

my package from dove finally arrived in the mail today. my package included one new full sized dove ultimate visibily smooth nature fresh scented deoderant with pro epil complex and 24 sets of coupons to share with my bloggy friends. how exciting. i get to try a product before it even hits the shelves. according to their website, it goes out on shelves in 4 days and should be distributed nationwide by the middle of june.
i, of course, plan on trying on trying the dove visibily smooth deoderant and telling y'all all about it. but, that will be in a few weeks. and, why a few weeks you ask? well, because this deoderant promises a special feature. according to their paperwork they sent, in addition to their odor and wetness protection, conditioning of underarm skin, and lack of white marks, this deoderant makes underarm stubble easier to deal with by conditioning underarm skin and hair, softening stubble, and over time making underarm hair look and feel less noticeable. they state that within a few weeks your underarm hair should appear and feel softer and finer. so, i'll start using it tomorrow and report back with results in 3 weeks.
for now, i thought i would give some first thoughts. the pink packaging is definitely cute. i also like the subtle nature fresh scent which they describe as having green floral and fruity notes although all i smell is the floral notes. it really is light and shouldn't compete with any perfume you want to wear.
now, for the giveaway part. as i mentioned, i received 24 coupons. each coupon card actually has 2 coupons each for $2 off the any dove visibly smooth deoderant. as a coupon junkie, i have to say that's one of the best dove coupons i've ever seen. and, since they are good through 12/31/09, i'm sure you'll have plenty of time to use them and combine them will a great sale to really get an awesome deal on dove deoderant. i know some of y'all out their are like me and love saving money and will want these coupons. for any international readers, i believe these coupons are only good in the us. sorry.
how can you get them. well, i'll make that part super easy.

1. the first 24 people to comment and subscribe to my blog will get the coupons.
2. and, as an added bonus for the first 5 people who also follow me on twitter and comment with their twitter screen name for me to verify that, will also receive a coupon for $1 off kellogg's shredded mini wheats.
3. not to forget those who already follow me, leave a comment telling me you already follow me and want these coupons; and you can be part of the 24 to receive these awesome coupons.
4. please leave your email address in the comment, so i can contact you to get your mailing info to send you the coupon.

how to find your tweet link

a lot of blog giveaways i've noticed seem to be requesting you include the link to your tweet about your giveaway in the comment. i doubt i'm the only one who was clueless how to do this. no one i knew seemed to be able to tell me how to do this either. after much research on the web, i finally figured it out. so, i thought i would share it with my friends.
here's how you do it.

1. tweet as you normally would.
2. once you have tweeted, you will notice under your tweet it states __(a certain amount of time) from the web or text. click on the time portion of this. this should take you to a new page.
3. copy this link, and you have your tweet link for the giveaway.

hope this helps.