Making it Lovely » ‘F’ for Freebies

ShoeMint Giveaway

Making it Lovely — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 15:34:34 +0000

I’m working with ShoeMint again today to bring you another fun giveaway. One lucky reader will win the pair of shoes of their choice!

You remember ShoeMint, yes? It’s a collaboration between Rachel Bilson and stylist Nicole Chavez, manufactured by Steve Madden. The members-only site continually rolls out new styles, so they’re always on-trend, and the site even makes personalized style recommendations for you. Styles start at $79.98 whether you choose fabric, leather, or suede, and they offer free shipping and returns. I’m pretty well set in the flats and heels department but I did need some new sandals for the upcoming warm weather, so I picked the cuties above. I’m gonna rock them with shorts and that loose, white sweater, and the orange necklace I picked it up years ago at a local shop.

Which pair would you choose? Visit ShoeMint to register for free (no obligation to buy), then pick your favorite pair and leave a comment below with your choice for a chance to win!

One entry per person, open to US and Canada residents only. Entries will be accepted until midnight CST, April 23. One winner will be chosen at random and notified via email, and they will be noted in this post once confirmed. Good luck!

p.s. New members save 20% on their first purchase.

ONA Chelsea Camera Bag (Giveaway)

Making it Lovely — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:48:56 +0000

ONA recently wrote to me to ask if I was interested in reviewing and giving away a new camera bag they were coming out with. I did the same for their Brooklyn camera bag (which I still use and love), so I agreed. They sent over their newest, the Chelsea camera bag in cognac leather.

(in case you’re curious: dress • cardigan • bracelet • shoes)

If I’m going out with my big camera in tow, I’m not going to carry a camera bag and a separate purse. With my other bags, I have to pare down a bit, but the Chelsea fits everything I usually carry, plus my camera with a small lens attached and two additional large lenses. I also like the classic, feminine shape and gold hardware.

Would you like a Chelsea camera bag (in either cognac or black) of your own? ONA will give one away to a lucky Making it Lovely reader. Just leave a comment on this post to enter. Good luck!

One entry per person, open to U.S. and international entrants. The giveaway ends next Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at midnight CST, and a winner will be selected randomly.

p.s. You can keep up with ONA by liking their Facebook page.

* Congratulations to the winner, Molly!

ShoeMint Giveaway

Making it Lovely — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 15:00:57 +0000

I’m working with ShoeMint today to bring you a fun giveaway. Five lucky readers will each win a pair of shoes of their choice!

ShoeMint is a members-only site, borne of the collaboration between Rachel Bilson and Steve Madden. They design stylish, high-quality leather and suede shoes (or in various fabrics, if that’s more your thing), and each style is $79.98. Below are the shoes I picked. I’m a flats kind of girl most days and I’ve been wearing those cute gray ones a whole lot, but they have some great heels and boots too.

They’re on top of trends, adding new styles each month, and you get free shipping and returns with each order. Which pair would you choose? Visit ShoeMint to register for free, then pick your favorite pair and leave a comment below with your choice for a chance to win!

p.s. You can save 20% right now with the promo code 20LUVUS.

One entry per person, open to US and Canada residents only. Entries will be accepted until midnight CST, January 17. Five winners will be chosen at random and notified va email, and they will be noted in this post once confirmed. Good luck!

* Congratulations to the winners: Mel, Cora, Barb, Sarah, and Teresa.

HomeGoods Vases and $500 Gift Card Giveaway

Making it Lovely — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 17:17:44 +0000

HomeGoods and Taniya Nayak created a fun quiz, the Stylescope, that helps you discover your style personality. They asked if they could link to Making it Lovely for one of their results, and of course I said yes. I even took the quiz myself, and I got my designated style! (“Urban Funk”, they’re calling it.)

Today, I have a great HomeGoods giveaway. I went to my local store to pick out a prize for you (I chose a set of three wooden Cynthia Rowley vases), and HomeGoods has provided $500 in gift cards. To enter, just leave a comment below. And if you take the Stylescope quiz, I’d love to hear what you got!

One entry per person, open to US residents only. To enter, leave a comment by midnight CDT, December 27. One winner will be chosen by random, notified by email on December 28, and will be announced here. Good luck!

* Congratulations to the winner, Katie K.

Go Boost Their Roost!

Making it Lovely — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 16:08:47 +0000

I’ve been working with HouseLogic to offer homeowners a chance to win a $20,000 home renovation to “Boost Your Roost.” I received hundreds of entries and had to choose just one to move on to the next stage of the contest. Narrowing them down was a long process, but I’m so excited about the family I’ve named as finalists!

Clara and Brantley in San Antonio, TX would like to add a screened porch to replace the falling apart covered porch they have now. I hear it gets crazy hot there, and they have a little girl who could use a shaded, breezy, bug-free spot to play outside.

Their submission to the contest is below.

Located north of downtown San Antonio, our home sits in a small neighborhood of mid-century modern houses. The 1600 three bedroom / two bathroom house is incredibly efficient – the kitchen, living and dining room are one contiguous space. While we love our little home our only complaint is its lack of a usable outdoor living space. While Texas is known to be incredibly hot, with shade and a cooling breeze, spending time out of doors can be quite pleasant throughout the year. While a previous owner added a covered porch, its condition is deteriorating and the slab over which it was built slopes in a way that makes it difficult to use. More critically, swarms of mosquitoes make the space uninhabitable for most of the year.

Our daughter loves to play outside and the addition of a covered screen porch would provide a space for her to do that. Such an outdoor living space would also serve as an amazing venue for the entertaining of friends and family as well as a quiet place to enjoy the outdoors while being protected from the fierce sun and mosquitoes.

Screened on three sides, the porch would be open to the prevailing southeast breezes. Because of the sloping nature of our site, the porch would be a few feet lower than the finished floor of the house, creating a higher volume in which a large fan would further encourage the circulation of air through the space. A thin landscaped courtyard would separate the screened porch from the bedroom wing of the house, allowing all existing windows to open into the courtyard. To the west, a custom outdoor curtain would protect the space from the late afternoon sun.

A sweet family, a concise but detailed entry, and a thought-out plan… they had my attention. Then I watched the video, and yep: finalists. (The scene with the calendars makes me laugh every time.)

Bonus points, right? I want them to get their porch. This is what it would look like (note the now happy daughter).

But they need some help. They are now one of six finalists, and only the project with the most votes will actually win the $20,000 prize. So head over to HouseLogic to check out the competition and cast a vote for your favorite project (*ahem* Clara and Brantley). You can vote once a day until voting ends on August 13th.

This post is sponsored by HouseLogic, a website for homeowners from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Boost Your Roost

Making it Lovely — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 17:28:51 +0000

Boost Your Roost

Pssst… I wanted to give you a little reminder that there’s still time to enter for a $20,000 home renovation!

I’m accepting entries through the end of the day, Monday, July 16. All the details are in my original post about the contest. I’ve gotten some fantastic submissions so far, and I’m going to be narrowing them down soon to choose a finalist, so be sure to get yours in before it’s too late. Good luck!

This post is sponsored by HouseLogic, a website for homeowners from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Enter to win or visit houselogic.com/boostyourroost for more details.

Boost Your Roost $20,000 Contest

Making it Lovely — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 14:31:40 +0000

We’re fond of major before and afters around here. Brandon and I have taken on some big projects, like redoing our kitchen, making over our backyard, and fully refinishing our basement.

We’ve improved our home a lot over the years, but we’ve also improved our life at home. Do you know how nice it is to do laundry in a basement that isn’t scary? Or to cook with the kids in a kitchen that is not only cute, but that actually functions (and isn’t falling apart)? Making my home, well, lovely, makes me and my family happy. These things take some planning though, and a bit of work, and of course you need a budget to work with.

Do you have a space that needs some attention? Maybe you want to create a laundry room too, or give your kitchen a facelift. Maybe you have a bathroom that has seen better days, or you dream of a wall of windows to let the light in. What would you want to do to your home if someone were to come in and give you the budget to do it?

I’ve partnered with HouseLogic to offer homeowners a chance to win a $20,000 home renovation to “Boost Your Roost!” To enter, send me an email (boostyourroost@gmail.com) with the following information:

Describe the room you’d like to renovate with a $20,000 budget in 300 words or less. We want to hear about why your home improvement project is important to you! How will it help you enjoy your home? How will it impact your time with family and friends?
I need at least one photo (5 photos max) of the space. Your images are part of what people will be voting on if you’re a finalist, so make ‘em good! You can host your photos on free sites like flickr or post them to your blog if you have one. You can also include drawings or a link to a video if you like.
Include your full name, email address, phone number, and home location. (Your information will be kept private, but we’ll need it to contact you if you’re a finalist.)

I’ll be narrowing down the entries and choosing the best submission, which will go on to be one of six finalists (five from other participating bloggers). The finalists will then be voted on by the public to see who will win the $20,000 home renovation. So get creative, start dreaming, and let me know how you plan to “boost your roost!”

This post is sponsored by HouseLogic, a website for homeowners from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Entries will be accepted now through July 16 at 11:59pm (CDT), and you must be a homeowner living within the continental U.S. More details can be found at houselogic.com/boostyourroost.

Blogging Your Way 2.0

Making it Lovely — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:07:52 +0000

Holly Becker of Decor8 has expanded her long-running course, Blogging Your Way, with a new 2.0 class for bloggers past the beginning stages. Holly is a supportive, open, and honest teacher, and I’m proud to be joining her along with Jeanette Lunde from Fryd + Design to teach the first session this June.

I’ll be showing how I create layouts for Making it Lovely, talking about advertising and monetizing your blog, and more. The full list of course topics covered can be found here.

Join Us!

Registration has begun and you can sign up here. I also have two spots to give away! You can enter by leaving a comment below with the class’ hashtag: #byw2.

Rules: The giveaway is open to international entrants until midnight CST, May 20. One entry per person. Two winners will be chosen at random and notified on May 21. Seats are non-transferrable, and those who have already registered and paid for BYW 2.0 are ineligible. Valid only for the June e-course. Comments must include #byw2 to be eligible.

* The winners are Sarah A. and Kate S.

Rainbow Birthday Party Invitations (Free Printable)

Making it Lovely — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:14:43 +0000

We had a rainbow party last year for Eleanor’s birthday, and I made really cute invitations for it. At the time, I didn’t offer a free printable version because I couldn’t think of a way to incorporate the custom rainbow colored text into an invite that would work for everybody. After adapting my train party invitations, I realized I could do something similar, and lo, a free download for you today.

These are for personal, non-commercial use only.

I’ve only provided cards for ages 1-10, but if you’re handy with a graphics program, you should be able to create any number you please. Rainbow 75th birthday party, anyone?

Train Party Invitations (Free Printable)

Making it Lovely — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:18:48 +0000

We’re having a party for Eleanor’s third birthday soon. She loves trains, and while searching google images for “Little Golden Books Trains”, I came across The Train to Timbuctoo by Margaret Wise Brown, with illustrations by Art Seiden.

It was originally published in 1951 and though it is now out of print, it’s easy enough to find used copies for sale. I ordered one from eBay (a first edition copy!) with plans to use some of the illustrations inside for our party invitations. The title page had the perfect layout, so I scanned it, cleaned it up, and based our invitations off of it.

I printed them on cream colored paper and rounded the edges with a corner punch, then paired each invite with a burnt orange envelope.

I’ve created a free blank version, available for download below. You can print them four to a page (the second link has them laid out for you already), and the invitations will fit perfectly in an A2 envelope (like these).

These are for personal, non-commercial use only, falling under the Fair Use Copyright Act.