The Beautiful Daughters

Towards the beginning of December, Nicole Baart, an author whose page I follow on Facebook, posted a request for applications for her "street team" to read advance copies of her not-yet-released book The Beautiful Daughters and then write a review of the book. Naturally, my reaction was "Free book?? Before anybody ELSE gets to read the book??? DREAMS DO COME TRUE!!" Also, she said she'd mail some gourmet chocolate and homemade organic soap along with the advance copy of the book, so, um... obviously I applied.

Then I got selected, and I suddenly got kind of nervous. Because, minor detail, I had never actually read any of the other books she's written, so I wasn't entirely sure that I even liked this author's books. If you didn't like her book, she wasn't expecting you to lie and say you did or anything, but still, you know, I didn't want to be like, "thanks for the free book. It stunk." Then I read her book. And it was good. Really good. As in, despite the fact that I have woken up to nurse Calista at least once a night (but usually two or three times) every night for four months and am chronically sleep-deprived, I still willingly stayed up past midnight to finish reading it. Two nights in a row. (I'll give you all a moment to pick yourselves up off the floor, as I assume you've fallen out of your chairs at this shocking revelation.)

So here's the scoop: The Beautiful Daughters is the story of Adri (short for Adrienne) and Harper. (Side note - how cute is the name Adri? If I'd read it before I had Calista, I probably would've suggested the name Adri to Dan as a possible name for our own beautiful daughter. And he would've said no. Moving on...) Adri and Harper are two former best friends who have been separated by time, a whole heck of a lot of miles, and one tragic event. It's equal parts suspense, mystery (from pretty early on you're told who committed a crime, but not how or when or why,) best friend story, romantic fiction, and a bunch of other goodies. Parts of the book are told from Adri's perspective and other parts from Harper's, so you see some of the same events and people through two different sets of eyes. Both main characters are well-developed and likable, and very early on you'll find yourself rooting for them to reconnect (all while trying to figure out why on earth they've been separated in the first place.)

The novel deals with some pretty intense themes, but without being too graphic, and the love stories are romantic but not sappy. Nicole Baart has absolutely mastered the art of writing vivid descriptions that allow you to visualize a person or place without being so overly detailed that you're thinking, "could you please stop describing a table and just move on with the story?" Overall, I loved the book, and now I'm planning to buy Nicole Baart's other books because I really like her writing style.

If you'd like to read this novel before you can buy it, you can win my Advance Reader Copy (autographed by the author) for your very own!! Not only will you get to read it before everybody else does (it's due to be released April 28,) it's also entirely possibly that if you take it with you to a doctor's appointment and have it sitting next to you in the examination room, the doctor might happen to notice that it's an advance copy and be impressed and then recommend some other good books you'll like. I'm not promising this will happen, but it has happened to 100% of the people who have read this particular copy of the book (although, to be fair, I'm the only one who has read this copy before, so...)

Wanna win it? (Of course you do.) Visit my Facebook page or check out the Facebook post below to enter (and check out the complete rules under the picture of my beautiful daughter with The Beautiful Daughters.)

Post by I was promised more naps.

This book comes with my 100% personal guarantee that Calista did not spit up on it.

Complete contest rules and details:
Open to residents of the United States age 18 and over. Contest ends 1/21/2015 at 11:59pm. Up to two entries allowed per person. Please do not comment more than two times on the Facebook contest post!

Requirements for the first entry: 
1. "Like" Nicole Baart's Facebook page.  
2. "Like" I was promised more naps' Facebook page. 
3. Leave a comment on the contest post on Facebook letting me know that you've liked both pages.

Requirements for the second entry:
In a SEPARATE comment on the Facebook contest post, tag at least two friends (or as many more as you wish) who you think might be interested in entering the contest to win a free book.

One person will be randomly selected to win an autographed Advance Uncorrected Proof copy of The Beautiful Daughters by Nicole Baart and will be notified of their win via Facebook. The winner is responsible for providing me with a mailing address within 72 hours of being notified. If the winner does not contact me within that time frame, the prize will be forfeited, and an alternate winner will be chosen.

This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by or associated with Facebook. By entering, you agree to release Facebook of all liability pertaining to said contest. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. This prize has no assigned value as advanced reader book copies are not available for retail sale.

Ginger Mail: Review and Giveaway!

Specialty subscription services have come a long way since Clark Griswald got a subscription to the Jelly of the Month Club as a Christmas gift from his boss. (Please tell me you all know what I'm talking about. If not, click here.)

Anyway... the more that we communicate electronically, the more fun it is to get something in the mail that's not a bill or a catalog (or, in my case, mail that is actually supposed to be for my neighbor.) And if you like to get mail and you like to send mail (or if you scrapbook, or if you think you really should send more mail, or if you always put off buying greeting cards until the last minute, or if you just like paper...) Ginger Mail by Ginger P Designs is for you! Every six weeks, subscribers get a package stuffed with greeting cards, stationary, and other paper-y fabulousness (I made up that last part of the description myself, but they're welcome to use it in their marketing if they want to.) It only costs $15 per six weeks, and when you consider that one greeting card in the store can cost you more than $5, this is a really great deal! Each mailing revolves around a specific theme and has a card that tells you a little more about each item. You can sign up for one mailing, for a whole year, or for something in between.

When Ginger P Designs asked if I'd be interested in doing a review and giveaway of their new Ginger Mail service, I said, um, definitely yes. (Except I maybe said it more eloquently than that. Hopefully.) Because A- I never remember to buy cards or stationary for any event, ever, B - shopping for greeting cards with a toddler is not fun, and C- Dan and I sponsor three kids through Compassion International, and the only things we can mail to them (besides letters) are items made of paper, so I'm always on the lookout for awesome paper things I can mail to them.

The December Ginger Mail package showed up in this fun envelope:

And contained all of this exciting, paper-y goodness:

Greeting cards, gift tags, a December and January calendar,
a recipe for candied pecans (Ginger's mom's own recipe,) and a note pad.

My favorite thing in the package was this adorable little note pad:

"Making a list and checking it twice"

Everything in the envelope was well-made and really elegant; there weren't any throw-away items. I'm planning to use the little December calendar for a scrapbook page...

...and we already used some of the greeting cards (I told you I never remember to buy greeting cards.)

Ginger P Designs also has an Etsy shop, and when I went to check it out in order to write this post, I realized that I'd already shopped there, because almost a year ago, I purchased this card from Ginger P Designs to give to Dan for Valentine's Day:

"I am so glad we're stuck with each other for the rest of our lives!"

(Perfect for a man who's not particularly mushy.)

You can buy a Ginger Mail subscription for yourself or for someone else, and then you're guaranteed to get something in the mail that's not boring. And one lucky reader will win the newest packet of Ginger Mail for your very own! Enter below! (For the blog comment entry option, make sure you check out the Ginger P Designs Etsy shop and then comment letting me know which item in the shop is your favorite.)

Open to US residents, 18+

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Tips for hosting a successful giveaway on your blog

Here are a few things I learned from running my first eight giveaways on my blog. I'm still new to this, so don't be fooled into thinking I'm an expert! But I did learn a few things (and form a few opinions,) and I figured I'd share them. Let me know if you have any more to add to the list!

1. Don't rely on your blog's Facebook page as your only method of spreading the word about your giveaway(s), especially if you don't have a gigantic Facebook following. Facebook wants you to pay to promote your posts, so it doesn't show them to everyone unless you pay or get a lot of people to like or comment on each individual post. Every day of my giveaways, the posts were shown to fewer and fewer people, even though I got more new fans each day. So for my sixth giveaway, when I had 207 Facebook fans, I posted the link, and in almost two hours, Facebook showed it to one person... me. It wasn't until I was whining about it on my personal Facebook page and a few friends intentionally went to my blog's Facebook page to look at and like my post that it was made visible to more people.

And I had more than one Facebook fan online at the time. I checked.

2. Do submit your giveaway to as many giveaway lists as you can! Some of the lists that got a good amount of traffic for my giveaways were:

     - Money Saving Mom
     - Online-Sweepstakes.com
     - Tightwad in Utah (Only posts giveaways with fewer than 200 entries that end in one week or less.)

3. Don't host a giveaway for something that you wouldn't want to buy. Sometimes it's tempting to host a giveaway because you want more traffic and you can get a free product for yourself, but if it's not something that you'd want to spend money on, it's a hard sell as a giveaway. I've been contacted to do a handful of reviews and giveaways that I turned down, even though I would have gotten free stuff if I'd said yes, because I didn't feel like I could be honest and genuine when encouraging other people to buy the products. One company contacted me to do some reviews and giveaways of office supplies, but... I'm a stay-at-home mom. I don't buy office supplies, so I'm not going to try to convince anyone else to buy them or even enter to win them for free. When I set up my eight non-toy gift giveaways, I searched on Etsy for really cool products that I would genuinely want to buy, checked the reviews to make sure they were good, and only then did I ask the sellers to participate.

4. Do realize that it's going to be more work than you think it will be. It sounds easy: you're giving things away for free. Everyone likes free, right? But getting people to find out about the giveaway and actually take the time to enter takes work. And writing quality posts, taking good pictures, and setting up the giveaways all take work, too. That's another reason you don't want to host a giveaway for something you wouldn't buy. You don't want to put hours of work into a giveaway if all you're going to get in return is a free can of creamed corn and one Facebook like. (Unless you really like creamed corn, I guess.)

5. Do stalk other blog giveaways to see what works and what doesn't.  This will give you a chance to check out the different options for having people enter your giveaways (I used Rafflecopter, but there are other great options out there, too.) Plus, you can get a feel for how people run their giveaways and what you like or don't like about them. Which brings me to my next point...

6. Don't offer too many entry options. While I was checking out other giveaways, I came across a giveaway that had 139 entry options. (Yes, I counted.) 30-something of the entry options were "liking" the Facebook pages of the people who contributed products to the giveaway. And I seriously, seriously doubt that many people (if any) liked all of the Facebook pages. Which means that the participants at the bottom of the list weren't really getting any exposure in exchange for the product they provided for the giveaway. Plus it's kind of overwhelming. I wanted a gift card and some free products, but not enough to do 139 different things to get them. Plus, some of the giveaway lists (like Tightwad in Utah) only allow you to list your giveaway if there are less than 200 entries (regardless of the number of entrants), so if you give people the option of getting lots of entries into your giveaway, you run the risk of not being able to list your giveaway on the low entry lists, even if you only have a handful of entrants. This is just my personal opinion, but I think you should try to keep it below 10 entry options.

7. Don't make liking a Facebook page the only entry option (or a mandatory entry option.) Believe it or not, there are people who don't have a Facebook account but who do want to enter online giveaways. One of my friends doesn't have a Facebook account, but she has three young kids and she still entered all of my giveaways. Several other people whom I don't know also entered using some of the options but not the Facebook ones, so it's possible they don't have Facebook accounts either. If you require people to have a Facebook page in order to enter, you're preventing some people who might be interested in the product from entering for a chance to win it. Even if one of your main goals in hosting a giveaway is getting more Facebook fans, you can still do that without requiring it.

8. Do have some friends enter your giveaway and provide you with feedback. Especially if you're new to giveaways and don't have a tried and true system yet. My friend Teri entered my first giveaway while she was on the phone with me and gave me feedback as she did it. Thanks to her, I realized that I needed to add a "Pin it" button to my photos (since pinning one of them was an entry option) and that some of my wording was a little confusing.

So there you have it. My non-expert advice on hosting a giveaway. For those of you who have done blog giveaways before, what advice would you add? And if you've entered blog giveaways, what do you (or don't you) like about some of the giveaways you've entered?

Wanna click the smiling lady to keep me in the top 25? Please and thank you!

Non-Toy Gift Giveaway Winners List!

Whew! The last giveaway has ended, and I need a nap! (Although I pretty much always need a nap, so that's nothing new.) All of the winners have been contacted, but if you're wondering who won, here's the complete list. Thank you so much to everyone who participated!

Click below if you're ever-so-slightly jealous of the winners. 

1. The winner of The Perfect Toddler Pillow is Karen P. Didn't win? You can still get 10% off a purchase of a Perfect Toddler Pillow (or any purchase of $33 or more from Sew Cinnamon) with the coupon code MORENAPS!

2. The winner of $20 in art from The Meek Boutique is Emily P! If you didn't win but still want some art, you can buy it from the Etsy shop here. Most of the art is only $5, and she designs Christmas cards, too!

3. The winner of the black and white cat ornament from Heart of Clay Girl is Billsn B! If you didn't win, but you want an awesome Christmas ornament, visit her shop here! She even makes custom ornaments if you want a specific breed or color of pet!

4. The winner of the personalized story book from Let's Read About Me is Kim B! Right now, Let's Read About Me is offering 10% off of all of their books for new customers, so if you didn't win, you can still go buy one at a discount for your little reader!

5. Jeanne D. won the personalized bookplates from Strawberry Street Designs! But everyone else can save 15% off of their entire purchase from Strawberry Street Designs with the coupon code HOLIDAY21013 from now until December 8!

6. The winner of the super hero cape from Pipsqueek Bowtique was Erica H! But if you didn't win, you don't need to cry! You can save 10% on your purchase from Pipsqueek Bowtique using the coupon code MORENAPS10. And it's good through November 1 of next year!

7. The winner of the Minion hat by Bonnie is Brandon-Sabra M! If you still want a minion hat, you can email Bonnie at bonniemaematthews@gmail.com. They only cost $15 and are available in sizes infant through adult. And if you tell her you heard about her through my blog, she'll ship it to you for free!

8. The winner of the fabric chalkboard mat is Sarah G. If you didn't win but still really want one, Tammy's Sewing is offering free shipping through December 31 with the coupon code CHRISTMAS2013. Plus, they're only $12!

8 More Non-Toy Gifts for Kids!

My post 12 Non-Toy Gift Ideas for Kids is my most-visited post of all time. So here are eight more ideas, just in time for Christmas!

1. Pillows
A few years before Dan and I became parents, we had a Super Bowl party, and some of our friends were bringing their kids. Since we didn't have toys laying all around the house (like we do now,) we were kind of scrambling to find some things for the kids to play with, so we filled a basket with some random things like balls, crayons and coloring books, and two small pillows. Nobody even bothered to open the crayons or coloring books, the balls were thrown once and ignored, but the pillows never got put down. I think a few fights actually broke out over them. Kids love pillows. It's just one of those things. Need help finding a good pillow? Check out the Perfect Toddler Pillow from Sew Cinnamon. Plus, through December 12, you can get 10% off of a purchase of $33 or more by using the coupon code "MORENAPS."

2. Stuff for their Walls (aka - Art)
Everybody likes to have something fun on their walls. Especially kids! For awesome, creative word art for your kids' walls, visit The Meek Boutique!

3. Christmas Ornaments
Dan and I have a tradition of buying Christmas ornaments from any vacations or major events that happen throughout the year. Since Lucas came into our lives, we've added to that tradition by buying him a Christmas ornament and giving it to him every year on Christmas Eve (you know, for the one Christmas Lucas has been alive.) This year, we're giving him an awesome cat ornament from Heart of Clay Girl. Check out her shop for an ornament of your kid's favorite animal.

4. Personalized Books
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: there's no such thing as too many books! And what's better than a book with your child as the main character? Reading books to your child is one of the very best ways to increase their language skills and vocabulary, and even children who don't typically like books will be interested in a book with pictures of themselves with their favorite things, people or places. Let's Read About Me allows you to easily (very easily) customize a book with pictures and words about your child.

5. Bookplates (aka - Labels to put in their books)
So you've gotten them books... now get them adorable labels to put inside of them! Either wrap these to give as a gift on their own, or keep them and attach one to every new book you gift your child. For most kids, there's just something special about seeing their name printed on something (I can't be the only one who vividly remembers searching the racks of personalized license plates/magnets/keychains/ridiculously tiny mugs for her own name. Why was there always "Beth" and never "Bethany"??) Plus, bookplates look much nicer than writing their names in their books in pen. Check out Strawberry Street Designs for some adorable personalized bookplates and other personalized items.

6. Super Hero Cape
You already know your kid is super. Why not make it official? Capes are great for imaginative play AND for encouraging your kid to get some exercise (you can't wear a cape without running really fast to get it to billow out behind you. That's a well-known fact.) Pipsqueek Bowtique makes all sorts of super hero capes for less than $20, and they're offering 10% off of your entire purchase through November 1, 2014 using the coupon code MORENAPS10.

7. Hats
It's almost winter. If you live somewhere that it gets cold, you're going to make your kid wear a hat anyway, right? So it might as well be one that they love and actually want to wear! Bonnie makes all sorts of custom hats, including the fabulous minion hat below, and she's offering free shipping to all of my readers!

8. Chalkboard
I can't speak for your kid, but mine loves to color. And occasionally that means that we get crayon on the floor, the wall, the cabinets, and various pieces of furniture. So chalkboards are great. And fabric chalkboards that are light, portable, and won't break if your kids jump on them are even better!! You can buy one from Tammy's Sewing (with free shipping through December 31, 2013 using the coupon code CHRISTMAS2013.)

What non-toy gift ideas do you have??

Great Non-Toy Christmas Gift Giveaway #8 - Chalkboard!

It's the last non-toy gift giveaway (for now!), and it's my birthday!! (I'll pause for a moment, because I can only assume that you're all singing "Happy Birthday" to your computer screens... Thank you! That was beautiful.) And now onto the business at hand...

Lucas loves to color. So we often have crayons and paper strewn about our kitchen (and we have some crayon marks on our kitchen floor.) When we were at a friend's house, Lucas discovered the joy of drawing outside with sidewalk chalk, and I thought that a chalkboard would be perfect for him (and me, because chalk is easier to clean up than crayon.) Unfortunately, he likes to throw things, and I wasn't sure a chalkboard would stand up too well to being whipped across the room. And then I found fabric chalkboard mats from Tammy's Sewing!!

Each chalkboard comes with chalk and a little sponge in the built-in zippered pouch!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I read on the Etsy page that the chalkboard needed to be seasoned before use, but it turns out that all that involves is running a piece of chalk on its side over the whole thing and then wiping it off. Even I can handle that!

Let's all admire my chalk skills. Ooo. Ahh!

After I "prepped" the chalkboard mat, I gave it to Lucas and...

He loves it!!

I can't say enough good things about this chalkboard mat! It's quilted, so it's definitely designed to stand up well to little kids. And since it's heavier than a piece of paper or small coloring book, it's perfect for young toddlers who haven't yet mastered the skill of holding the paper still with one hand while coloring with the other.

Lucas thinks erasing it with the damp sponge is every bit as fun as drawing on it. And when it inevitably ended up on the floor and was subsequently jumped on (jumping is one of Lucas's favorite activities), it didn't crack or shatter like a regular chalkboard would've. After only the first day of using it, he switched his normal request of "Cowor? Cowor?" (Lucas for "color") to "Chock? Chock?" (which I first thought meant truck and then Chuck, which was confusing because he doesn't know anyone named Chuck, but it ended up being "chalk.")

Lucas really likes putting the chalk back into the little zippered pouch, too. He's not exactly gentle (he's a toddler boy, after all), so I was a little worried that he would tear the plastic of the pouch, but so far it's holding up really well!

This would be perfect for kids of any age on a long car trip (or flight); it's soft and light, and if some chalk ends up on the car windows, doors or seats, it's much easier to clean up than crayons or markers. (I think it would also be great for homeschooling moms who have younger, non-school-aged kids at home, too, especially if the older kids are using dry erase boards and/or markers, and you want the littles to feel included without you having to clean marker off of anyone's face.)

The chalkboard mats come in a variety of fabric colors and patterns, and they sell for only $12, so they're an inexpensive (and seriously awesome) gift for your own kids or for nieces, nephews, grandchildren, or any other child for whom you want to buy a nice gift without breaking the bank. And Tammy's Sewing is offering free shipping now through December 31 with the coupon code CHRISTMAS2013. 

And one of my great readers is going to win a chalkboard mat of his/her very own! (Although I imagine they'll probably want to share it with a child.) After you enter, remember to enter my seven other giveaways that are currently running!

Enter below the smiling lady, but if you want to click her first, go for it!

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US only, 18+  Please see complete Terms and Conditions above.

I was provided with a free chalkboard mat in exchange for my honest opinion.

Great Non-Toy Christmas Gift Giveaway #7 - Hats!

Guys, I just want to say two words...


MINION HAT!!!

When Bonnie contacted me about sending Lucas a hat for the giveaway, she gave me several different options for the style of hat. I spent an abnormally long time trying to decide between a few different hats. So finally I asked Dan, and he immediately voted for the minion. And I would just like to say publicly that he made an excellent choice (and that Bonnie made an EXCELLENT hat.) Because look!!

Seriously? Can you handle the cute? When we first put the hat on him, we couldn't get a good picture, because he kept wanting to take it off to look at it. But after he had a chance to look at himself in the mirror and see how cute it was on his head, he didn't want to take it off. We went to a dinner party, and he wouldn't let us take his hat off for at least an hour, so he elicited a lot of "aww"s running around wearing his hat. Also, the hosts had a toy minion...

They match!

Every time Lucas wears the hat, people comment on how much they love it. (And then I'm like, "Oh thank you! I'm giving it away! On my blog! I mean, not this one. A different one. And I'm not really giving it away. I mean, someone else is..." And then they inch slowly away from me, because apparently I make more sense when I type than when I speak.)

The hat is really well made, and it's even cuter in real life than in pictures! Bonnie can make this hat in sizes infant to large adult, and she sells them for $15 plus shipping. But for the awesome readers of my blog, because you clearly have such great taste, she's offering free shipping! And this isn't the only hat she makes.

These are all hats. Made by Bonnie. And look, you guys... beard hats!!!

You can see the hats available for custom order (in any size) here, and you can see some of the items she currently has available to ship out the door right this very minute here. (Bonnie also makes hats, clothes and accessories for American Girl-sized dolls, which you can see here.) You can also check out her other public photo albums for some other great things that she sells! Want to buy a hat?? (Of course you do!) You can contact her through Facebook or email her at bonniemaematthews@gmail.com. And don't forget to tell her you heard about her from my blog for free shipping!

And (you knew this was coming!) one reader will win a free minion hat (or hat of your choice from this album) in whatever size you need!! Yahoo! And don't forget to check out the six other giveaways that are currently running and come back tomorrow for the eighth giveaway!

If you click this, I will smile. I will also smile if you bring me chocolate.

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18+, US Only

I received a free hat in exchange for my honest opinion.

Great Non-Toy Christmas Gift Giveaway #6 - Super Hero Capes!

In my last non-toy gift list, I mentioned dress-up clothes. Like I said then, playing dress up isn't just for girls. And here is a perfect example of that!

Kristen and Nichole of Pipsqueek Bowtique sent me a Batman cape and mask for my little man, and holy fantastic costume, Batman - my child makes an incredibly adorable tiny superhero!

Please note his super-serious face in the middle.  Being the Little Dark Knight is serious business.

He wasn't so sure about the mask at first, but his little friend Tommy (who was at our house when the cape came in the mail, and who is four months older and therefore more aware of the inherent coolness of masks) was all about wearing it.

The back of the mask is soft, so it's comfortable for them to wear and doesn't irritate their skin. The logo on the cape is made of a reflective/shiny material, and the cape attaches at the neck with velcro. And most importantly, the cape billows perfectly when worn by a tiny, running superhero.

The neck of the cape was pretty loose on both of them, which I imagine means they'll be able to wear it for years and years before it's too small. Pipsqueek Bowtique sells capes from all of the popular caped superheroes, and they also make personalized capes with your child's initials on them! Their shop even has capes in more "girly" colors if you have a child who won't wear anything that's not pink. (They also make capes for adults, so if you're heading to a costume party or, you know, need some extra super powers to cope with a random Tuesday, you now know where to look.) 

If you're still trying to decide if this would make a good Christmas gift for your kid, picture this: Christmas morning, your child opens a present and becomes Superman. (I probably wouldn't let Santa take credit for that awesomeness.)

Most of the capes are $20 or less, and now through November 1, 2014, you can get 10% off any purchase from Pipsqueek Bowtique using the coupon code MORENAPS10. (Woo hoo!)

And one of you lovely, lovely people will win a cape and mask of your choice ($20 value or less)! So enter below, and may the best superhero win! (And don't forget to check out my previous five giveaways that are still looking for entries from clever folks like you!)

Wanna click here? Well, if you insist...

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US Only, 18+ - Click "Terms & Conditions" above for more details!

I was provided with a free cape and mask in exchange for my honest opinion.

Great Non-Toy Christmas Gift Giveaway #5 - Bookplates!

Lucas has a lot of books. Like, a whole, whole lot. And at some point I decided that I should give him a book for every major holiday. So he will continue to get a lot MORE books. Someday when he has a sibling, most of the books won't belong to either child but will be shared, but I thought it would be nice to label the books that were given as a gift to one child so that he (or maybe someday she) could have his own library of special books. And then I found these personalized bookplates from Strawberry Street Designs.

Laura from Strawberry Street Designs sent me two sets of personalized bookplates for Lucas: trains and rockets.

They're printed on a slightly glossy paper, so they're a little more liquid (ie, drool) resistant than if they were printed on a matte label. They're small enough to fit in the smaller board books, but large enough to cover up the name of a book's previous owner. (Can you tell I buy a lot of used books?) They come in a lot of different cute designs, too! In addition to the ones in the picture at the top of this page, there are at least 13 more designs on her page (you can check them out here.) They're only $6 for a set of 12 (plus s&h.) You can save them to put in every book you give to your child/grandchild/niece/nephew/whoever, or you can give the whole set as a gift so they can label their own books!

From now through December 8, you can get 15% off your entire order from Strawberry Street Designs by using the coupon code HOLIDAY2013. She also sells personalized gift tags, party invitations, thank you notes and some other fabulous products! 

You can see all of her awesome stuff here. 

And one lucky reader will win two sets of personalized bookplates of your choice (or another product of equal or lesser value.) You can enter under the smiling mommy below (but could you please click on her first?) Don't forget to check out my past four days of giveaways, and come back all week for more giveaways!

If you're a fan of the giveaways I've been hosting this week, please click this!

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US Only, 18+

I was provided with free bookplates in exchange for my honest opinion.