Though I’ve been a subscriber of Heavenly Savings for quite some time, this is the first time I’ll be participating in this blog hop.  But like many others, it’s easy to get into.  Simply check out the Heavenly Savings site and add your link to the list.  From there, check out a few other blogs and follow them on Google Friend.  If someone stops by your site and follows you, it’s not required that you return that follow, but it’s just good manners to do so.

They do require that you follow the first 3 blogs on the list.  #1 and #2 are the hostesses and the coveted #3 spot is for one lucky winner each week.  That site changes from week to week as everyone who adds their sites to the list have a chance to win that spot for the following week.  Also, you don’t have to write up a blog post about the blog hop (kinda like this one), but in order to be considered for the weekly drawing, the Admirer Monday button has to be posted either in the sidebar or in a blog post.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Heavenly Savings in NOT the only site hosting this blog hop.  The other site is called Giveaway Blogdom and they’ve got an awesome site.  I just joined up with them as well, and am heading over to check out The Not So Perfect Mom who won the #3 spot for this week.   So go give it a try and see if you can’t meet some new friends. You might even run into a few friends you forgot you’d already made. Who says Monday’s have to be bad. This is a great way to make them fun and something to look forward to.

As anyone who’s been reading for the past few weeks knows, I’m working very hard to enter a blog post here every day for the August NaBloPoMo challenge. This month’s theme was “green”, and I’ve done several blogs about that subject in one form or another. Other days, when I’m running out of day and need to get something posted, I recycle some of my old poems that I wrote years and years ago as a way of making sure something is posted. And because it’s recycled, that makes it green. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. LOL

If anyone has actually read any of my posts from this month or even before, thank you. I know my friend Gina has stopped by on occasion, and I love ya for it honey. But to all those who read but don’t leave a comment, I appreciate you too. I’d love to hear from you, but it’s not a major issue. I’ve spent years trying to turn this blog into something that was worth mentioning to others, but nothing seemed to work. I don’t care anymore. It will be what it wants to be and I’ll be happy that I have a few people here and there that stop by.

To everyone who’s ever left a real comment, thank you. To all of you who like to leave your nasty little spammy comments, thanks for giving me something to laugh about each day. I even appreciate the fact that you seem to think having your link associated with my site is such a good thing. I’ll take that as a complement.

I know I don’t have as many followers her as I do on my other blogs, nor do I have as many as a lot of other sites. But I do appreciate each and every one of you who stop by once in a while to see what’s going on. I’ll keep plugging away, you just sit back and let me do all the work.

This is also one of the easiest giveaways I’ve entered for quite some time. All you have to do is leave a comment with your name and email address. You can also “like” them on Facebook and, of course, write up a blog post about their giveaway.

And as anyone who really knows me can tell you, I’m always on the look out for fabrics that I can turn into quilts and other sewing projects. I love to quilt, love cutting pieces out and sewing them back together into different designs, and love creating new things out of old things. I’m a total dork and that’s okay. I can live with it. LOL

So hey, head over to Marie-Madeline Studios and get in on this awesome giveaway. I really hope to win this one, but if not, I’d love to see it go to a home that loves fabric as much as I do.

Until next time—Happy Crafting!!!!!!!

This give away is being sponsored by Laural Arts and this little store is so cool. There are all kinds of glass and stoneware objects. There are cute little wall plaques, complete with whimsical sayings. There are gorgeous glass wind chimes that would sound magical in a soft breeze. But my favorite is the purple glass incense burner. When you live in a rural region of cow country, incense is your friend.

The main entry into this giveaway is to check out the store and pick out your favorite item. Then head over to Audrey’s site and leave a comment about that item. From there, you’ll find out about the rest of the ways to get in on this cool giveaway. A winner will be chosen on April 23rd at 10pm central time.

So, let’s get into the details (for those who aren’t in the “know”).  Follow Friday is the brain child of 3 of the sweetest ladies online.  They’ve created a way for all of us Mommy Bloggers to get connected to each other and hang out, share ideas, and maybe win a contest or two.  Wanna Play???  It’s easy.  Just post this cute little button on your site and add your blog’s name to the list at McLinky.  This can only be done on Fridays and the list changes each and every week.  The only thing that stays the same is the 3 names at the top of the list.  And, the name in the 4th place is chosen by those gorgeous ladies who put this on.

Click here to enter your link and view the entire list of entered links…

Be sure to stop by and meet the ladies who provide this service to the world.  Those ladies are:

Tami from Hearts Make Families
Lynn from Midday Escapades
Rita from One 2 Try

Have a great day, everyone, and Happy Friday.

]]> http://christinesenter.com/follow-friday-april-2nd-2010/feed/ 4 http://christinesenter.com/win-a-50-chilis-gift-certificate/ http://christinesenter.com/win-a-50-chilis-gift-certificate/#comments Sun, 28 Mar 2010 05:52:50 +0000 Christine http://christinesenter.com/?p=91 Yeah, I know I’ve been gone quite a long time, but I’ve been a bit busy. Ok, I’ve been playing with all my new quilting fabrics and reading/playing with all my new crafting books and magazines. Plus, I’ve been in the process of redesigning my other blog and trying to get some things put together so I can get my Bonanzle store up and running the way it should be.

But, I just read about a new contest/giveaway and I had to do a blog post about it. Why??? Because this is one giveaway I truly want to win. That’s not to say I don’t want to win all the contests I enter, but this one is right up my alley. This is a giveaway for a $50 gift certificate at Chili’s. So why does this have me in such a twist??? Because we just had a Chili’s open in our area less than a year ago and I still haven’t been there. Plus, this coming May, my hubby and I will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary and I really want to go to Chili’s. And knowing my hubby, he’d be over the moon for a free dinner from there for his part of the anniversary. LOL

This giveaway is being hosted by Tami at Hearts Make Families. She’s one of the great ladies that put on the weekly Friday Follow and is really a neat lady in her own right. And though I’ve been going through all the cool giveaways the past couple days, this one really jumped out at me. I had to get in on this one. I’ve never eaten at any Chili’s, and have always wanted to. This could be my only way of making this dream a reality. Yeah, I’m pretty easily amused. LOL

So, what does one have to do to get in on this giveaway??? Head over to Tami’s site get your entries posted in the comments. There are several ways to get entered into this contest, most of which are very easy. This contest will run through April 5th, and a winner will be chosen by Random.org. But, if you have any love in your heart for me, you’ll just sit back and wait for me to win this one. LOL, yeah I know, not gonna happen.

The cool part about this giveaway is that if you don’t have a Chili’s in your area, this gift certificate can also be redeemed at Romano’s Macaroni Grill, On The Border, or Maggiano’s Little Italy. So, you have your choice of places if Chili’s just isn’t your thing, or you can’t get to a Chili’s.

If you do get in on this giveaway, and win, I will bribe you for the gift certificate by telling the world what a great-kind-loving-wonderful human being you were for handing it over to me. LOL. No??? Well, good luck anyway.

Ok, enough depressing stuff, let’s move on. I was just notified that I’ve officially won my 2nd giveaway. Special thanks goes out to Annette at The Fairy Blog Mother and her giveaway of a free 30-day trial of the paid option of Pogo Games. I’m a Pogo addict, with Boggle Bash being my all time favorite game (Word Whomp coming in a close second). As much as I’d love to have a full subscription to the paid portion, I end up spending my money on stupid things like food and bills. So thank you to my Fairy Blog Mother for giving me a full 30 days of avoiding my housework.

Click here to enter your link and view the entire list of entered links…

And this is week #8 of something I’ve found to be a great way of meeting people. Welcome to Friday Follow. I’ve added a couple of my other sites to the Friday Follow blog hop and am just amazed each week at how many people come along and follow my blogs. So, how does it work? Simple! First of all, you need to follow the first three names on the list as these are the wonderful women who started the whole thing.

Then, add your name to the McLinky list and watch the follower come in. Some days you’ll have a ton of followers come in, others you’ll only have a few here and there. But, they do come in and it’s a great feeling knowing that there are others out there who want to be part of your world too. Remember though, you should always follow anyone who comes by and follows you. Sometimes it can take quite awhile to get to all of them, but it’s just a good neighborly thing to do.

Another thing you should keep in mind is that you can only add your site on Friday (each Friday). Your site will be visible throughout the rest of the week so others can come by and still join your site, but come the next Friday, we start all over again. But more than anything else, it’s well worth your time to get in on the party. It’s fun, it’s easy, and it’s a great way to find blogs you didn’t know existed.

First of all, let me tell you a little bit about this cool shop. Valerie, the talented lady behind this store, has to be one of the most creative people I’ve ever seen. Not because she can make something out of odds and ends, but it’s what she makes her jewelry out of. She uses washers and nuts. Not the kind of washer you put your clothes or dishes in, but the kind you might find in the garage.

Seriously, I had never thought of using the hardware in my hubby’s garage as jewelry pieces, but this store proves that it works. Additions Style is filled with earrings, rings, and necklaces that seem to defy logic. When you look at the pieces, the first thing you think is “Oh, how cute”. Then it dawns on you that there’s something different about the material each piece is made out of. The best part is that all of her pieces are very reasonably priced.

I have to be honest in saying that I wasn’t too sure about jewelry made from hardware, but when I got my necklace in the mail I was WAY happy. The funniest part about the whole thing is that when my hubby saw my new necklace, he said he had a whole bucket of jewelry in the garage. LOL I love my necklace.

The best part is that I found out that I’d been selected as one of the winners on Monday and received my prize on Thursday. Now that’s service. But the part that set this lady apart from the crowd is the nice little note she sent along with my necklace. Thank you so much, Valerie. Now if you’ll all excuse me, I have to track down my daughter. I think she just stole my awesome necklace. LOL

Anyway, here’s the details of this giveaway. It’s not just one giveaway, it’s 7 giveaways. Whoo Hoo baby. 7 lucky people are going to get a little something from one of 7 different Etsy stores. And here’s the kicker, the prizes are the mystery. Yes my friends, that means that if you win something from one of these shops, you don’t get to know what you’re winning until you see it. Some people get a little freaked out about this, but I love the idea.

As a kid, I had a thing for mystery grab bags. We had a little store in my hometown that had a huge box full of little brown paper bags with mystery objects inside. For anywhere from 25 cents to a couple bucks, you could get yourself a grab bag. I probably spent a small fortune at that store, or anyway my mom did.

Anyway, back to this cool giveaway. The main entry requirement is to go to each of the stores and find one thing in each that you find most to your liking. Of course, that doesn’t mean that’s what you’ll win, it’s just the mandatory part of entering this giveaway. But I found a couple things I thought were way awesome. One of which is this beautiful Purple Hummingbird pin made from plexiglass.

The other is this awesome rubber stamp. Trust me, I’d use this on everything I own. LOL

So, I invite you to head on over to The Lost Earring and get in on this cool giveaway. With 7 different shops giving away prizes, you’ve got a lot better chance of winning. But, you’d better hurry as this giveaway ends on the 21st and the winner will be chosen on the 22nd.

That’s why giveaways like this one get me all giddy. If you run over to Mint Green With Envy, you can get in on this cool jewelry giveaway. In conjunction with the owner/designer at Sweeter Than Me Designs, you can win not one, but two pieces from her collection. I had to go check out some of the yummies and realized that choosing just 2 might be a little tougher than I thought. There are a lot of options, and they’re all way cool. But, they’re all limited too, so what you see today may not be there come tomorrow. If you find something you just can’t wait to win, you’ll need to jump in and buy it asap, or contact the owner and talk to her about putting the piece on hold.

As I went through, I found this killer pair of earrings. Being of Irish descent, and a lover of ancient myths, the Tree of Life is one of my favorite symbols. Most ancient cultures believed in the Tree of Life, and this is a beautiful rendition. My other favorite product isn’t so much a piece of jewelry, but a bag of loose beads. Seems the owner of the site is in dire need to reduce her bead inventory and I’d be more than happy to help her out.

If you want to get in on this giveaway, get over to Mint Green With Envy and put in your entries. This contest will run through February 25th, and a winner will be chosen on the 26th. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go get my entries in before you do, as I’m gonna fight for this one. LOL