Archive for the ‘Giveaways’ Category
My Memories Review And Giveaway
Friday, September 30th, 2011
**UPDATED***
We have a winner!!! DVanhorn5 please contact me with your e-mail address so I can get you your free copy of the My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking software. You have 24 hours to respond! Enjoy!
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I have always thought scrapbooking looked interesting but seemed way too time consuming with the cutting and special paper and all. I’m terrible at keeping my baby books updated and thought that if I bought scrap booking material it would just end up sitting around house creating more clutter. I LOVE blogging and am somewhat better at keeping my blog updated than scrapbooking. Then I discovered My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking. There’s no cutting pictures and pasting cutouts. Everything is right on the computer. My Memories Suite is an award winning digital scrapbooking software that is rated #1 by Amazon and Top Ten Reviews.
When My Memories offered to give me a copy of their digital scrapbooking software to download and review I was excited to try it!
It’s very easy and simple to use. There are many great and fun choices of backgrounds, templates, fonts, colors, embellishments and other goodies to try out. You can create page after page of fun designs and save them right onto your computer. My Memories Suite isn’t only for digital scrapbooking. You can make photo books and cards too! And there’s even a “share” function.
I noticed that there are several good “free” choices for the background “paper”, as well as affordable options for purchase. This is a great compromise for someone who likes scrapbooking but may not have the room for all the scrapbooking paraphernalia in the house. And If you absolutely MUST have an actual scrapbook you can easily print out each page you create. Win-win!
I played around with some designs for the purpose of this review and this is what I came up with. I still have a lot of playing around to do!
This was a very simple template that I liked for the picture collage layout. I could have chosen something other than a white background and black font.
Here’s another one I was little bolder with:
I was actually able to manipulate the location and angle on this pre-made template. I could have kept it as was or tweaked it a little bit. That’s what’s nice about the templates on the My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking software.
I still have lots to explore and play with. I’m sure you’ll see more templates debuting on my blog!
Like what you see? My Memories is offering to give one lucky reader a free copy of their digital scrapbooking software!!
All you have to do is head to the My Memories website and check out the templates. Come back here and leave me a comment about which one you liked.
As a bonus, there’s a prize for ALL my readers; even if you choose to not enter the giveaway. If you use my special promo code STMMMS14580 * on the My Memories Website you’ll get $10 off the My Memories Suite scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store. A $20 value!
*Copying and pasting this code is probably the easiest!
You can also follow My Memories on Facebook, Twitter or their blog.
So, head over to MyMemories.com, check out the templates and come back here and enter this awesome giveaway!
Giveaway ends Monday, October 3rd at midnight. Winner will be announced at some point on October 4th.
*****Disclaimer******
All opinions about this product are my own. I strive to be honest, fair and complete in all my reviews. My Memories Suite did compensate me for this review by giving me a free copy of their software.
A Writing Help Review And Giveaway
Wednesday, August 31st, 2011
Did you know that the abbreviations A.M and P.M come from the Latin words ante meridiem (before midday) and post meridiem (after midday)?
OR
That a “?! “is called an interrobang?
Well, I didn’t either until I was sent these nifty books I’m about to tell you about.
Reader’s Digest sent me their books Write (Or Is That “Right”?) Every Time and My Grammar and I…Or Should That Be Me? to review.
These cute, little books are full of great information for anyone trying to be a better writer. The books are small and the chapters are separated into easy categories and manageable groupings for quick look-up. These books aren’t anything like your grade school grammar text books.
They both have funny doodle- like pictures, are easy to understand and separated into easy-to-find sections. If you have a question you can easily pick up this book and find the answer to your quandary. The books also contain entertaining tidbits about this and that pertaining to grammar and writing. This books are perfect for bloggers, homeschoolers and teachers. Goodness knows I can certainly use all the help I can get with my writing!
The last chapter of ” My Grammar And I…Or Should That Be Me?” contains a section called “Pleonasm, Prolixity,and Tautology”. And the chapter is fun! You won’t find any other book that can make a chapter with that title actually interesting AND helpful. And now I know what those words mean. And you can too!
Reader’s Digest is giving away one of these books to two of my lucky readers! (United States residents only)
All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment stating what your biggest spelling/ grammar pet peeve/difficulty is and which book you’d like to win.
For extra entries you may Tweet about it, Facebook about it, “like” Simply Mel on Facebook or blog about it. (Just link back to this giveaway in your post). One entry per action. That’s FIVE chances to win! Just leave me a comment each time you do one of these things telling me what you did.
Clear as mud?
I’ll leave you with one of my newest spelling pet peeves and something I struggle with.
I’ve noticed on Facebook that a lot of people get the spelling of woman (singular) and women(plural) mixed up. I have to force myself to NOT correct them every time I see it!
I never know when to use “;” in a sentence and I never spell carrots, apparently, exercise, and embarrassed correctly the first time I write it.
Ok, there you have it. Share your spelling/grammar pet peeves or issues you struggle with for a chance to win these great little books.
This giveaway will last until Friday, September 2, in the afternoon. I’ll announce the winner at some point then!
Of Goat Milk Soap and Scentsy
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
I found two products that are going to be a staple gift from me for Christmas.
A friend of our family for years and years started selling goat milk soap. She started her own small business called Healthful Ablutions. Bonise sells the most wonderful smelling and feeling all natural soap I have ever had the pleasure of using.
I received my first order a couple of weeks ago and I am HOOKED!
I ordered Oatmeal Milk & Honey and it is divine! Bonise also sent me some “Pink Sugary” bath fizzy because she is a sweetheart. She has a huge list of all sorts of soap, and lotion sticks (also 100% natural) that I don’t have the time to list here. These soaps are great for sensitive skin and good for the whole family. I love that I can even use it on my baby girl. I’ve seen people on Facebook comment that it’s helped with skin conditions they’ve had for years.
I’d also like to try the lotion stick that is a bug repellent. I hate spraying my girls down with the chemically “Off” but I am paranoid about ticks so I use that for now.
Bonise doesn’t have a website but she does have a Facebook page.
You can contact her there as well as at bonise.soap@gmail.com. Her Facebook page also lists her phone number and her address because she is that available and approachable when it comes to her wonderful soap.
Because I love her soap so much I’m offering you, dear reader, a chance to win one of her soaps!
If you go and “like” her Facebook page, look around at some of her different “flavors” of soaps and then come back and tell me which one you want to try I will enter you into my giveaway to win the bar of soap of your choice!
The giveaway will end Monday, July 25th.
UPDATED 7/25/2011***GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCED BELOW!***
The second product I’ve discovered and love is Scentsy. I’m sure many of you have already heard of Scentsy and may even sell it. But if you don’t, they are wickless candles that are safe to use around small children. They scents come in small bricks that melt in a beautiful warmer. My husband has forbade me to use candles in the house anymore because he didn’t like the soot it was creating on the ceiling. Plus he’s terrified of causing a fire. I love candles and was extremely, shall we say, resentful of not using candles. These are a great compromise.
My consultant is my friend,Christine, located here in Massachussets and my cousin, Heather, also sells them. She’s located in Texas. But, if you aren’t in any of these areas you can go to Scenty’s website and find a consultant close to you.
So, my friends and family can expect one of these two gifts for Christmas this year.
It’s kinda nice to already know what I’m getting people! (wink!)
This post is linked to Works For Me Wednesday over at We Are THAT Family
**** I literally had my husband draw the name of our winner out of everyone’s names written on little pieces of paper.
ERIN CACACE YOU ARE THE WINNER!!! Congrats! I’ll put the order in and get you your Mimosa Mandarin soap as soon as possible. Enjoy!
I Have A Christmas Card Problem
Thursday, October 28th, 2010
Hello, my name is Mel. And I’m a Christmas Card-aholic.
Seriously.
I get so excited when it comes time to pick out the design I want and the pictures I want on my Christmas card. I pour over designs and look at several different websites offering custom made picture cards.
And, of course, I want to give one to EVERYBODY!!
I love sending them. I love getting them. Oh,how I love getting them! During the month of December you’ll literally see me skipping to the mail box to see how many Christmas cards I got that day. Then I eagerly open them up and read them. Then put them in my special spot each year.
S.e.r.i.o.u.s.l.y.
I’m annoying like that.
There’s just something so special and festive about Christmas cards!! There’s just one downfall to my addiction:
It’s expensive!!!!
That’s why I jumped on this offer that Shutterfly is giving to bloggers! I blog about my favorite Shutterfly Christmas card designs and I get 50 free cards???
WOOHOO!
Shutterfly has a great selection. It was hard to find a favorite design. Or two. Or…three.
I usually like to choose a religious picture Christmas card because I do think Christmas should be about Jesus, faith and family. Shutterfly had some cute ones like this one:
and this one.
This is my general criteria for a Christmas card that I’m going to send out:
1. Has to say “Merry Christmas” or ” Christ Our Savior Is Born” or something that portrays the true meaning of Christmas.
2. I usually like cards with more than one picture. (Since I usually can’t decide which picture I like most for my Christmas cards)
3. I need to be able to add my own little message.
As you can see, both of my choices above fit the bill perfectly.
If you’re the type who doesn’t do picture cards, Shutterfly has a ton of cute, inexpensive regular Christmas cards to choose from.
Are you the type who loves Christmas address labels?
I am! Christmas only comes once a year so I like to go all out. Shutterfly has so many to choose from I’d have a hard time picking just one design.
Are you a Christmas card lover like me? Do you have any specific criteria for them? Or do you just scrap the whole Christmas card thing all together?
A Love Dare Giveaway
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
WE HAVE A WINNER!!! The winner is Debra!
Katelyn pulled the name out of the cup and asked ” Did I win your book?” lol. She still doesn’t understand why her name wasn’t in the cup.
Debra, congratulations! Enjoy the book.
Thank you everyone for entering the giveaway. Stay tuned for more.
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It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a “Love Dare” recap. The reason being that there’s been a lot going on! However, the last few chapters of ” The Love Dare” have dares that are very personal. So I figured I’d leave those dares a mystery to you and instead give away a copy of “The Love Dare” for you to read for yourself!
You can check out some of my “Love Dare” recaps if you want to see some of the wonderful ways this book can help strengthen your marriage. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and plan on reading it at least once a year.
Wanna a chance to win this book?
Here’s how:
1) Leave me a comment on this post.
That’s it! That’s all you have to do.
BUT….
For More chances to win:
1) Add my nifty blog badge to your blog (you’ll see it at the bottom of my blog)
AND/OR
2) Tweet about it on Twitter! (While you’re there follow me 
)
AND/OR
3) Write a nice blog post on your blog about this giveaway.
I’ll enter your name for a chance to win one time for each of these things. Just don’t forget to let me know that you’ve done them so I can check it out!
The giveaway ends Friday night, November 6th. I’ll randomly pick a winner and announce the winner Saturday morning by 11:oo am Eastern time.
This is seriously a fantastic book so you want to win it!
A “Fit” Giveaway
Friday, September 18th, 2009
UPDATED: We have a winner! Here’s how a winner was chosen: I wrote all the entrants names on small slips of paper. Those who had two entries got their name put in twice. I then shook them all up and had Mike pull one name out. Our winner today is……
Steph!!!
Congratulations!
I’ll be mailing you a copy of “Fit Home Team” soon.
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Give away is now closed! Thanks to all who entered. Winner will be announced shortly.
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Meet my new friend Mr. Elliptical
Let’s look at him from a different angle,shall we?
Pretty sweet, huh? And sorry! This is not the giveaway. Mike and I got this elliptical on sale online with free shipping. This elliptical’s stride is long enough for my 6′7 hubby, yet, I’m still able to use it myself. We are hoping this elliptical will help us get fit. We want to be able to live a more energetic lifestyle and be able to set a good example for our kids on healthy eating and exercise. Which leads me to my giveaway!
I recently received a book to review called “Fit Home Team” by Jorge and Laura Posada. Jorge Posada is the catcher for the New York Yankees and obviously has to be fit to play the sport that he does. Him and his wife have written this fabulous book on nutrition and family fitness. It’s a quality, hard cover book that has a ton of healthy and fun recipes, health and nutrition information, and exercise tips and ideas for the whole family. I am really enjoying trying out the ideas and recipes in this book. And on top of all I mentioned above it has a ton of color photos of the Posada family doing the different activities they talk about. I really like this book because the Posadas actually incorporate what they talk about in their book into their own family lifestyle and they make exercise and eating right a family affair. Below you can watch a clip I got off youtube of Jorge and Laura talking about their book.
I have one extra copy of this book to send to one lucky reader. You can do two things to enter this giveaway
1)Leave me a comment. If you comment you are automatically entered to win this book. Unless you state that you don’t want it and are just leaving a comment because you want to. Which is fine as well!
2) For a second entry and chance to win you can also copy my blog badge/button into the sidebar of your blog. I’d much appreciate that! Scroll down to the bottom of my sidebar and you’ll see my “Simply Mel” blog button with the code underneath for pasting it into your sidebar. Just copy that code and follow the specific instructions for posting things in your sidebar for whatever blogging service you use.If you decide to do this as well let me know in a separate comment so I can check out your blog.
This giveaway will end tomorrow night, Sept. 19th at 9:00 pm my time(Eastern?). I’ll post the winner at the top of this post.
Now that I’m done writing this post I think I’ll go get on my new friend Mr. Elliptical.
