Making it Lovely

Tag: Giveaway

  • SpexClub Glasses Giveaway

    SpexClub Glasses Giveaway

    I love that glasses have become so affordable and easy to find online lately. I still wear my other frames all the time, but SpexClub offered to let me try out a new pair. So now these are my fun, oversized go-to option. Just the right amount of nerdiness to them!

    Would you like a pair too? SpexClub would like to give away one pair of glasses of your choice, prescription lenses included, to a lucky reader. You can get non-prescription lenses too if you just want a pair for fun, or even go for sunglasses with the tinted option. Enter to win by leaving a comment below (one entry per person, U.S. residents only) now through October 16, and I’ll draw a random winner on Monday. Good luck!

    * Congratulations to Katie, who said “Aaaaaah! I’ve been dying for new glasses. My one year old just broke mine and I’ve been using a spare pair but they’re all floppy on my face.” No more floppy glasses for you, Katie!

  • ONA Brooklyn Camera Bag (Giveaway)

    ONA Brooklyn Camera Bag (Giveaway)

    ONA wrote to me after I had featured their Brooklyn Camera Bag in a roundup of cute camera bags, offering one to me for review. They’d also like to give one away to one of my lucky readers!

    The bag is beautiful, and I can fit my camera inside with my nifty fifty attached, plus two other lenses. I like that there’s a big pocket along the outside to hold a notebook or an iPad, and then a smaller pocket under the flap to hold essentials (I carry a cute business card holder instead of my usual wallet, keys, my phone, a pen, and lipstick). The leather is thick and holds its shape well, and the interior padded compartments are adjustable so you can get a good fit for your gear. The buckles are pretty, but buckles can be tricky to undo in a hurry. Here, they’re actually a cover for quick-release clasps that can be done and undone with one hand. Smart!

    I have another camera bag that is adorable, but this one is a better foil for all of my dresses. Plus I like that the strap allows the bag to be worn as a cross-body, since you can see that I usually have my hands full.

    Win a Brooklyn Camera Bag

    Would you like one too? ONA would like to give away a Brooklyn Camera Bag to one lucky Making it Lovely reader!

    Leave a comment on this post to enter. One entry per person, open to U.S. and international entrants, and you can have your choice of color (black or chestnut). The giveaway ends Friday, September 2 at midnight CST, and a winner will be selected randomly. Good luck!

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

    Congratulations to Julie, commenter #457 and winner of the camera bag!

  • Social Space Makeover Contest Winners

    Social Space Makeover Contest Winners

    Thank you all for voting for your favorite finalist in the Social Space Makeover Contest! After a lot of drama in the end, and a lot of data crunching this weekend, I can officially announce Heather as the first place winner. Today, I’ll be sharing the custom design board that she has won. And after resolving some issues with the voting data, the second place actually goes to two winners: Lisa and Mary Sue. They were only six votes apart out of thousands, and in my book that’s close enough to call it a tie. They will each receive a $100 gift card to The Home Depot, courtesy of the American Express Membership Rewards program. Congratulations to all three winners!

    Heather’s Winning Entry:

    Help! We’ve been remodeling the inside of our home for the past 2 1/2 years but have totally neglected the outside of our home – including our front patio that has a lot of potential but is just barren and boring! When we had our daughter Zoey 10 months ago we really stopped all work on our home and now that she is getting close to walking we want to spend more time outside with her and entertaining friends and family but have no place suitable to do so (our backyard is even worse than this, with a death trap back porch!) […]


    • Heather’s blog post
    • Heather’s original entry

    Here’s how I’d use Heather’s 150,000 Membership Rewards points to redo her front patio.

    Heather and her husband, Mike, are handy and they’d like to build a custom bench for their space. They may also replace their existing firepit with something custom, but I included a ready-to-go option in case they want to go that route. They’d like to change the exterior of their house to be yellow and gray, but Heather tells me that they’re saving up for a big siding replacement job. When they’re ready, I think they should go for it and paint their door a cheery yellow, like my friend Erin Loechner did. I’d set aside $400 to use at The Home Depot for materials and paint.

    I would add a sleek table out there with six colorful chairs (in a green/yellow color that isn’t a perfect match for a yellow door, but that goes well). Tubtrugs are inexpensive and perfect for corralling toys, holding drinks for a party, or even as big planters. The solar lights are the only thing in the design plan not available through points, but they’re so good for the patio that I had to include them, and then cute accessories from west elm finish off the space. And plants! I can’t advise as to what’s good for the area, but I’d be sure to use some of that Home Depot money to add some greenery out there too.

    Heather is free to use her points as she wishes, and I’m looking forward to seeing what she does with her space. Congratulations again to Heather, and also to Mary Sue and Lisa! Thank you, everyone, for following along with the contest. I hope you’ve enjoyed it!

  • Social Space Makeover Contest Finalists

    Social Space Makeover Contest Finalists

    I’m working with American Express to give away 150,000 Membership Rewards points and a custom Making it Lovely design plan. We’re looking to help people make over their social spaces; the spaces where they spend time with family and friends. Nearly three hundred people entered (here was the original call for entries), and it was no easy task for me to narrow them down to just ten finalists. There were poems and haikus, letters from non-persons, clever videos, photos with funny captions… it was a pleasure to receive so many wonderful entries (thank you)!

    Below are the finalists’ entries. I tried to even the playing field by giving everyone the same photo/video space (500×750 pixels), and approximately the same description length (this symbol […] means that I edited the comment for length). Many of the finalists have additional photos and information, so I’ve included a link to them (and also to the original comment) with each.

    Now it’s your turn to vote! The winner will receive 150,000 Membership Rewards points and a custom Making it Lovely design plan to help guide them in redoing their space. The second place winner will also receive a prize: a $100 gift card to The Home Depot. So here we go! The finalists, in no particular order…
    (more…)

  • Social Space Makeover Contest

    Social Space Makeover Contest

    I’ve been able to work with some amazing sponsors here on Making it Lovely. Last year, I partnered with American Express and used their Membership Rewards points program to redo our bedroom. This summer, I was offered the chance to redo another space with 150,000 points, but I’ve been very fortunate lately, and I thought that you might like the opportunity instead. So I’m working with them to give it away!

    (That’s enough to win that settee above and then some!)

    You could redeem points for gift cards to stores like Pottery Barn, west elm, or Crate & Barrel (I love using my points that way, though I’ve been eying the camera equipment lately.) Or go for something fun like a Wii or a barbecue. There are a million things from which to choose.

    Winning 150,000 American Express Membership Rewards points would go pretty far in redoing a room. Given a shopping spree like that, what would you get? I’ll tell you what you should get. Wait, that sounds like I should be shaking my fist at you. What I mean is that the winner will also receive a custom design plan from me with advice and suggestions for the makeover!

    A little before & after inspiration…

    Brandon and I did this backyard patio makeover on our own (manual labor and all), but every post about makeovers should include a little inspiration! The contest winner will receive a custom design plan like the one I created for our patio to help guide them (though you’d be free to use the points however you wish).

    So, how do you enter?

    American Express and I want to help you makeover your social space. It could be the living room where everyone hangs out and chats, your kitchen (everyone always ends up in the kitchen at parties, right?), or maybe a it’s a patio or back deck. Where do you spend time with family and friends? We want to help you spruce it up!

    Leave a comment with the following to enter:

    • Tell me what space you want to make over, and why. Be brief (a few sentences is fine). I’ll be including your words in the voting round if you’re a finalist!
    • I need photo(s) and/or video of the space. This will also help determine the finalists, and your images are part of what people will be voting on, so make ’em good! You can host your photos and videos on free sites like flickr or YouTube, or you could post them to your blog if you have one. Please don’t post photos or video here — simply include a link to them in your comment.
    • You can enter as many separate spaces as you’d like, but only one entry per person will be selected in the finals.
    • Make sure you enter a valid email address when leaving your comment. It won’t be published publicly, but I’ll need it to contact you if you’re a finalist.

    Entries will be accepted through Saturday, June 11, at 11:59 PM CST, and only US residents are eligible. I’ll select the top ten finalists and post them on Monday, the 13th. The winner of the 150,000 Membership Rewards points and custom design plan will then be chosen by readers of Making it Lovely! The runner-up will also receive a prize: a $100 gift card to The Home Depot. Good luck to all of you!

    * June 12: Comments are now closed. The ten finalists will be announced Monday, June 13.

  • Recycled Paper Bunting (and a Giveaway)

    Recycled Paper Bunting (and a Giveaway)

    I have a great giveaway for you today (sponsored by Windows Phone 7), but more on that in just a bit. First I want to share a little project with you.

    Supplies

    • paper (can be new, or can come from magazines/catalogs)
    • ribbon (grosgrain works nicely)
    • ruler or drafting triangle (optional — see the second step for clarification)
    • pencil
    • scissors
    • decorative edged scissors (optional)
    • glue (plain Elmer’s is fine)
    • sewing machine or needle and thread (optional)

    Instructions

    • Determine how long your garland will be and cut the appropriate length of ribbon (mine is nine feet long). Be sure to leave some extra length to hang down on the ends or to tie into bows.
    • Cut a triangle out of paper to use as a template. The sides on mine were seven inches long. You don’t have to measure, but a ruler is helpful for making straight lines. I used a drafting triangle, but that is totally unnecessary unless you are persnickety about making true equilateral triangles (*ahem*).
    • Trace your template onto different papers to make as many triangles as you need. I cut nine triangles from catalogs and nine from pink card stock.

    • Figure out which triangles are going to be the top layer (the patterned ones in my case), and mark off the top one inch from each. Fold it along the line and snip off the little ends that stick out.

    • Line up each smaller triangle with a larger one and glue them together along the top to make your flags.
    • After I made mine, I decided that they would look even better with a decorative edge so I used my pinking shears. You can leave them plain though, or even draw on a border (dots would be cute).

    • Glue or sew your completed triangles to your ribbon, remembering to leave some length along the ends to hang.

    • Finished!

    And that’s how I made a recycled paper bunting using items from around the house, doing more with less. Speaking of which…

    Windows Phone 7 Giveaway

    The new Windows Phones are helping people Do More with Less, and I have one to give away to you! You can enter to win by leaving a comment on this post. One entry per person, per day, until November 29. Please see the official rules for more details.

    This giveaway is brought to you by the new Windows Phone 7. Less tech tired. More tech trendy: Learn more about Windows Phone online and see it in person at local T-Mobile stores today.

    * 11.30.10: Congratulations to the winner, TracyCK!