Giveaway

How to Protect Your Phone // iPhone 5 GIVEAWAY

0 · Mar 25, 2013 ·

iPhone 5 GIVEAWAY // When I was a girl, one of my favorite books was a book about what people did for work. I wish I could remember what it was called or who it was by, but I don't. I loved this book! It talked about all kinds of people doctors, teachers, engineers, but my favorite section was about the lady who worked at the telephone company. They showed her working on the lines and then where all the lines went. Several lines went to homes and businesses and then they showed a little girl talking on the phone in the car. That just blew my mind!!! Now keep in mind… this was the late 70's early 80's (yes, I know I'm dating myself…) Cell phones weren't even around as far as my young mind knew but, the idea of talking on the phone while in the car was aaaaamazing!! I thought that would be the coolest thing EVER!!!

By the time I was in my early 20's I had my very first CELL PHONE! I had one way before any of my friends and family, because I wanted to be just like that little girl and be able to talk on the phone ANYWHERE! So, yes… My phone means a lot to me. It was one of my 1st dreams that actually came true.

Over the years, phones have become smarter and as sad as it is to say… my phone is my 2nd brain at times. I don't even know my husband's new cell number… Because my phone, "Hazel" knows it for me. Hazel keeps track of all my appointments and assignments. Without her I would be even more of a mess than I already am. She is my lifeline to my kiddos, my connection to my sweetheart, she is the way I stay in contact with family who live hundreds of miles away from me. She is like life blood in the middle of an emergency, when I am scared or panicked, I know I have Hazel and she will help connect me to the person I NEED at the time. Even if that is just a reassuring word from a loved one or a game of Angry Birds to calm my nerves and pass the time.

Where would we be without our phones? Hazel is like my 5th child. I feed her each day and make sure that she has all the power she needs. I clothe her in her protective case to hopefully preserve her life as long as possible. There is nothing worse than that feeling between dropping your phone and that long fall down, pleading with the universe… "Please don't let this time be the time my screen shatters!" My oldest daughter Hales a.k.a Lil'Whip, has an iPhone as well, and managed to drop it off a cliff a few years back. She was rappelling with the other youth from our church with her phone in her skinny jeans (I don't recommend this method of travel for poor phones.) With all of the climbing and wiggling, her phone shimmied out of her pocket and right at the worst time fell out and took the tumble of it's life. I can imagine how Hales felt as she watched her phone fall and hit rock after rock on it's way to the bottom of the cliff. Crazy as it sounds, after the fall… The phone still worked, it was just that the screen was in about a 1000 pieces. Hales never wanted to protect her phone with a case, because it wouldn't fit in her skinny jeans with the added bulk of the case. She learned her lesson that day!!

Now I know, that even if her phone had been wrapped in bubble wrap, it wouldn't have survived that fall. But, how many times a day do our phones come face to face with the concrete in the parking lot, the corner of the table, worse yet… a toddler! Some days, my only goal in life is to just keep my phone out of the toilet. So, why do we leave our phones unprotected? These are our babies, our lifelines to our loved ones. In most cases they represent a significant investment. Is it vanity? We look at the smooth sleek lines of the phone, the shiny surfaces and we don't want to cover up it's magnificence? Well, that's… dumb! They won't look as pretty with little nicks and scratches.

Our phone is our life, why are we not protecting it? PureGear’s DualTek® Extreme Shock Cases provides the best protection against bumps, smacks, and knocks.

For a chance to win a iPhone 5 equipped with a full line of compatible PureGear’sDualTekExtreme Shock Cases, click here and enter your email address!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of PureGear DualTek. The opinions and text are all mine.

iPad Mini & $50 iTunes Gift Card GIVEAWAY

0 · Mar 23, 2013 · 6 Comments

Easter is coming, but who said the kids are the only ones that get the good stuff in their Easter basket?

Wouldn't you love a new iPad mini?
For FREE!?

Of course you do. And we want to give one to you! Here's all it takes:
#1) Click on each image below and FOLLOW each web site on Pinterest

#2) Fill out the form below:

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*This promotion is sponsored by FamilyShare.com and is in no way affiliated with Apple, iTunes, or Pinterest. We hereby release Pinterest and Apple, Inc. of any liability related to this promotion, the receipt of prize winnings, etc. The giveaway will run from Friday, March 22nd at 12:01 AM MDT and ends Friday, March 29th at midnight MDT. Once the giveaway ends, winners will be chosen using Random.org and contacted via e-mail within 24 hours. Winners will then have 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open worldwide except where prohibited by law. Winners must be of full legal age in the jurisdiction in which they live. FamilyShare is only responsible for sending out the prize. FamilyShare is not responsible for loss, damage or theft once the prize is shipped. Participants will be responsible for any taxes, tariffs duties, etc. due upon delivery of the prize.

Dear Lizzy 5th & Frolic // Giveaway

0 · Mar 13, 2013 · 96 Comments

Dear Lizzy Giveaway // What girl doesn't love a shinny new toy to play with? Better yet, new craft supplies to tinker with? I know this girl does. Not too long ago, I was given the opportunity to play with the new 5th & Frolic line from Dear Lizzy at American Crafts and I was thrilled. I had a chance to meet Elizabeth Kartchner, the talented designer and creator of Dear Lizzy, last year at SNAP and immediately fell in love with her style. She is one talented lady for sure! I decided I was going to make some new room decor for my daughter Emily's room with her new 5th & Frolic line…

Supplies

Old frames
Krylon spray paint in Watermelon
1-2 pieces of vellum or tracing paper
Dear Lizzy paper pack
Dear Lizzy tags
Dear Lizzy decorative brads
Dear Lizzy paper garland
Dear Lizzy burlap bows
Dear Lizzy glitter ribbon
Mod Podge
Glue Dots

Instructions

This project was sooooo easy! Emily and I found some fun room decor pieces at Target in their Valentine's Day clearance section last month…

I loved the shape of the pieces, but didn't love the whole motif. I knew with a little spray paint and some fun design elements these little goodies could be transformed into something really fun, so I stashed them away waiting for the perfect project. Along came Dear Lizzy, and knew it was a match made in heaven.

I spray painted the frames with the Krylon Watermelon gloss and then let it sit over night to cure. The next day I traced the raised elements of the frames using some vellum and cut the templates out. I then used the templates to cut out my paper that I would then decoupage onto the frames with Mod Podge. A little trick when you are decoupaging… lightly wet the paper you are using with water before you add the Mod Podge. You won't have any issues with air bubbles if you do that.

Once the Mod Podge was dry, Emily and I set to work decorating her frames. We had so many fun options to choose from…

Tags, brads, glitter tape, burlap bows… So many fun things to choose from. Our favorite was the paper garland. It was so cool how you could magically pull the garland out of the paper and not have to sit for hours cutting little triangles and sewing them together. LOVED IT!!

Emily and I had a ball! This whole project took about and hour once the spray paint was cured. What made it so easy were the stylish papers and design elements from Dear Lizzy's 5th and Frolic line. Everything looks stunning together, so it was impossible to go wrong. The only thing that made me a little sad were the other fun goodies we didn't get to add to our project. Here are a few more of my favorites..

I can't wait to play around with the stamps and the Dear Lizzy day book. The line is truly a joy to work with.

Want to play with some Dear Lizzy 5th and frolic of your very own? It's available at American Crafts now, or from JoAnn Fabric & Craft stores nationwide on March 17th. BUT… you could also win a $50 prize pack here on WhipperBerry from American Crafts!!

All you need to do is follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter box below…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jessica Sprague Oh Shoot! Digital Photography Classes // GIVEAWAY

2 · Mar 5, 2013 · 145 Comments

Digital Photography Class// Last week, I posted about my faux slate (chalkboard) photo background and asked if any one was interested in more photography posts. The response was overwhelmingly YES!! It seems that many of you would love to learn more about everything from how to use your camera, all the way through staging, editing and preparing your images for your blog and especially Pinterest.

Well, I am thrilled to announce I am starting a new series to touch on all aspects of my photo process, tips and tricks that I've learned over the past two years of blogging. I, however, am NOT going to dive into the world of teaching you how to use your camera. I would have to spend hours and hours, days, weeks even… Developing posts that would do the subject justice. I am going to leave that to the professionals at Jessica Sprague. They have spent way more than hours and days on developing some amazing photography classes. They actually have a teacher, Candice Stringham, who went to school for years to learn how to be a photographer. She KNOWS HER STUFF!! Not only does she have a BFA in Photography they invited her back to TEACH photography at the collegiate level. Yea, she's legit!

My first word of photography advice is… STOP USING AUTO friends!!! Oh Shoot! the beginning photography class at JessicaSprague.com is perfect to learn how to really use your camera. You won't believe the difference. This class will teach you how to do just that. You won't have to be scared of all those dials, buttons and numbers on your camera… It really demystifies your camera and the whole photo process. I took the class and actually learned several new things that I'm sooo excited to start incorporating into my photography. Oh Shoot! is perfect for beginners and even more advanced photographers. The nice thing is once you sign-up for the class, you will ALWAYS have access to the class material. You will be able to refer back to the material or take refresher class whenever you like for years to come. Most online photography classes don't have that available for their students indefinitely. That's just one of the many things that set Jessica Sprague apart from the rest.

Each class has a video, MP3 of the class material and a PDF of the material. Below are a few snippet's from the first class on Shutter Speed…

All of the material is professionally created, easy to read and understand. You won't feel like they are speaking photography greek. The class is limited in number so you will feel like really are a part of a small group, rather than a little fish in a big pond. You will also have the ability to chat with your classmates and instructor via the online chats and email for even more personalized help. It really doesn't get any better than this, REALLY!

The 2013 session of Oh Shoot! starts on March 11th and runs through April 21st. It is an instructor led class, but don't worry… You will have access to all of the materials even if you can't make the live chats. This is truly a valuable experience that shouldn't be missed. The class is $130 and well worth the money. The spots are limited so run out and grab your seat for class TODAY!! I have one spot to GIVEAWAY to one of you, my favorite friends!!

Jessica Sprague Oh Shoot! GIVEAWAY