So then, the other day I was chatting with the friendly folks at American Greetings PhotoWorks and I mentioned to them that you all like free stuff.

And they said, “Oh really?  Because sometimes we like to give away free stuff.”  And then I said, “Oh really?  Like how much?” And then they said, “Well, how about $50 of free stuff?” And then I said, “That would be great, because as it turns out, my readers like free $50 stuff.”  I drive a hard bargain.

I think most you are familiar with American Greetings – cards and stationary and thank you notes and that kind of stuff.  As some of you may know, I am a fanatic about thank you notes. I think the well written thank you note is what separates humans from the lesser species; the ones that cannot hold an ink pen or lick a stamp.  Which is to say, I love stationary, especially thank you notes and especially these.

If you would like to win $50 of spending money with PhotoWorks, leave a comment telling me the name of your first boyfriend/girlfriend and some fun factoid about that romance.

I’ll go first.

My first boyfriend was in kindergarten, back in 1965, and his name was Jeremiah (still is).  He was the 8^th of nine children and his family lived around the corner from my parents (they still do).  Jeremiah and I went all the way through 13 years of school together, starting with kindergarten.  However, after kindergarten, we decided that we should see other people but have always remained friends. I can’t say that about one other boyfriend.

Jeremiah went on to become a scientist while I remain fascinated with shiny objects.  Jeremiah, somewhat of an antique daddy himself, lives in that really big city in the mid-west with his lovely wife and two boys and sometimes reads this blog (Hi Jer!)

As always, I’ll use random.org to choose a winner later this week.

Your turn!

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Y’all are so funny and fascinating!  I lovelovelove your stories! I can’t quit reading them, which is bad because I’m really supposed to be working on a pressing matter.

First of all, thank you everyone for your comments and playing along.  Beyond the kindness and friendship that has come along with writing here, being able to give away something cool once in a while is one of the great perks of this blog.

Now then, congratulations to the lucky fotoflot winner –  Commenter #41, Kai who writes Thoughts From A Mind.   Yay Kai! Hope you’ll report back and show us all which photo you choose to flot!

Some of you asked to see my fotoflot. I have a larger wall fotoflot that is so incredibly sleek and striking, but this desk top photographed a little better.  I’ll work on getting a good shot of my bigger fotoflot for you to see.

Below you can see that there are two magnets on the back of the fotoflot which snap securely and precisely to the metal desk top frame, which is good because unlike my uber-precise husband, I’m not that fond of using a level. (The wall model works the same way – strong magnets that snap into a metal wall bracket.) So simple and brilliant that I can’t believe I didn’t think of it. Oh yes, now I remember. I’m simple, not brilliant.  Luckily the photography world does not rely on me for innovation.

Stay tuned because I happen to know that fotoflot has an extremely cool new product coming out very soon that is ideal for people like me who love to display photos of the kiddo but can’t decide which one.

Have a great Sunday y’all and go out and take some pictures!

Another fabulous give away! Y’all are going to love this…

Awhile back, I posted a photo essay and wrote about how I used Picasa (a free and super easy-to-use photo editing program by Google) to turn an unimpressive photo into something somewhat closer to impressive.   Shortly thereafter, I got an email from the fotoflot people, one of Picasa’s partners, offering to send me one of their products. All I had to do was go to their website, upload a photo and then wait by the mailbox.

So I went to their website and frankly, I didn’t quite get it.  I wasn’t even sure how to pronounce the product name.  At any rate, I uploaded a photo I had taken recently, one that I actually had intended to  have printed and framed.  I had no idea really what to expect, but about a week later, I got the fotoflot in the mail and I have been a fotoflot evangelist ever since.

So what the heck is a fotoflot you ask and why is it so cool? I’ll tell you.

What the heck is it? Basically these nice people take your photo and print it on professional grade photo paper and then fuse it onto a 1/8 inch piece of acrylic.  The edges are precision laser finished for a sleek and polished edge.  To the back, they add two magnets which snap to the mounting system (either a wall bracket or desk top easel or even an electrical panel!) making the photo appear to be floating an inch or so from the surface for a very clean and modern look.  (Photo below provided by fotoflot).

Why is it so cool? I like about 50 different things about this product, but the key things are that no frame means all the focus is on your fabulous photo and no glass means no glare.  fotoflots are light weight, so you can hang them nearly anywhere and they can be wiped down with a damp cloth if they get smudged or dusty, not that that ever happens at my house.  And the best part? You can pop out one photo and replace it with another in seconds.  Try that with a framed photo. I dare you.

So how do you go about getting a fotoflot of your very own?  Basically you upload a picture, either at their site,  or even easier, directly from one of their partners (Picasa, Kodak Gallery, SmugMug or Zenfolio), choose the size you want (they have about 28 different sizes and shapes including panoramics) and mounting system (wall or desk top) and then go wait by the mailbox.

If you would like to win a $70 gift certificate! (woo hoo!) from fotoflot, and you know you do, go take a look at their stuff and then come back here and tell me what you think.  I’m tellin’ ya, this is the best gift of the holiday season (and every occasion thereafter) in my opinion. Give this to your mom and she will finally like you better than your brother.

I’ll use random.org to choose a winner at some point over the weekend.

UPDATE:  The winner is commenter #4, Vickie from Kentucky! Congratulations and happy holidays Vickie!  Your gift card is in the mail!  Thanks to everyone for playing along.

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The Children’s Place contacted me awhile back and offered to send me some jammies to try out for Sean.  They did.  We did.  And of course, we love’em.

They also sent along a $30 gift certificate for you too.  Did you know The Children’s Place also carries sleepwear for grown-up children like yourself? It’s true. So you could totally spend this $30 on yourself and it could be our secret.  Of course Santa Claus would know too because nothing gets by him.

If you’d like a chance to win, leave a comment and I’ll draw a winner by the end of the day.

Welcome to Antique Mommy’s Homemade~Handmade Holiday Carnival featuring the best in hand crafted holiday gifts and decorations from around the world wide web!

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Today I have for you two super simple projects that can be used as ornaments or as package decorations.

For many of us, budget friendly is the operative word this holiday season.  Most of the stuff you’ll need for these two projects, you probably already have around the house or can pick up at your local craft store for just a dollar or two.

My first project is a bird nest.  I love to see a charming little bird nest hidden away among the boughs of a Christmas tree. I recently read that in Germany, placing a bird nest in a Christmas tree is suppose to bring a prosperous new year, so I say load’er up! We need some prosperity around here!

When Sean and I were at the park the other day, we found some little pods that had fallen off a tree and he suggested that they look like bird nests so we took them home and went to town making bird nests.

Here are two examples of what we made:

If you would like to make some of these, here’s what you need:  pods, Spanish moss, tiny plastic eggs and tiny birds (you can find these in the floral department), other greenery if you like, and a hot glue gun.

If you can work a hot glue gun, you can make one of these little bird nests. First I ran the pods under cold water to get off the dirt and bugs and whatever else might be lurking therein and then let them dry.

Then, using my trusty Thermogrip 208, I put a dab of hot glue in the bottom of the pod. Then I took some Spanish moss and rolled it up into a little ball and stuffed it into the center.  After that, I hot glued on a few little eggs and a tiny bird.  A tiny piece of holly or ivy would be a nice touch. But basically, that’s it.  If it were much harder than that, I wouldn’t do it.

Tuck this little nest somewhere among your holiday greenery and sit back and wait for prosperity to blow the doors down.

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The next ornament, a tiny jute wreath, is one that has a decidedly Southwestern flavor and one that I used to make many seasons ago.

Here’s what you will need:  heavy jute (you can even get this at the grocery store), little chili peppers, ribbon, other holiday greenery, a hot glue gun and a pair of scissors. I’ve used a bandanna print ribbon in the past which I think is a lot cuter, but I couldn’t find any this year, so I went with red and green gingham checked ribbon instead and it works fine.

Take a length of the jute and make two circles leaving an inch or two of slack at either end. Pinch at the top, as shown below and hot glue together at the top.

Make a small garland from the chili peppers and greenery (appropriate in size to the wreath) and hot glue that at the top of the circle.

Cut a length of ribbon and tie around the top of the circle into a festive bow to hide the garland stems and any hot glue.  Add a small bird at the bottom. Or not. Give each one it’s own personality.

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Handmade Homemade Holiday Participants

Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.

Phillip Done begins the first chapter of his book 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny with a list that begins, “I am a teacher…”  As I read through that list wherein he describes all the things he does in the name of teaching, I thought to myself that Phillip would make a very good mother.  And so, I’m totally ripping off honoring his marvelous idea and presenting you with a list of my own:

I am a mother.  I eat the broken cookies.  I have someone else’s boogers on my sleeve.  I laugh convincingly at knock knock jokes.  I have eyes in the back of my head.  I carry Purell and band-aids in my purse.  I jump up approximately 22 times during every meal to get something.  I kick the annoying toys under the sofa.   Dr. Seuss gives me a headache.  I would rip the head off of a bear or a bully to protect my child.  I am a mother.

If you leave a comment adding your own description of motherhood, I will randomly choose one lucky commenter at the end of the day to win one of Mr. Done’s books, autographed by the author himself — which let me tell you, will be a perfect holiday gift for any teacher in your life.  Now I haven’t exactly asked Mr. Done if he will go along with this, but he’s super nice so I think he will. And if not? Then I will send you my copy of his book autographed by me.

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Philip says he’s in! An autographed book for one lucky commenter!

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Winner! AggieMa Michelle – Congratulations girl! Your autographed and inscribed book is on the way!

Photo Temporarily Unavailable.

I heart the UPS guy. Not only is he a hunky piece o’ beefcake, he comes bearing gifts. What’s not to like. Friday morning, he brought me the above Lands End goodness, just as a cold front blew in. Coincidence? I think not. I’m on to ya’ Lands End!

So then, product review:

Ladies Travel Slippers: Squishy, comfy, cozy. All you could want in a slipper.

Mens Shearling Moc: (And here I quote AD): “oooo-ooh (insert happy little voice shiver) Ohhh-man!”

Kids Fleece PJ’s: Don’t buy these. If you do, you’ll end up spending all your time chasing your child around the house so you can scoop ‘em up in your arms and hug them like a teddy bear. You can’t be wasting your time like that. Incredibly soft and snuggly, not to mention cute.

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And the winner of the Lands End give away is Katy who writes Alpaca Farm Girl! Congrats Katy!

Y’all are gonna like this, especially with the holidays on the snowy horizon. Your choice of one of the following:

(Imagine me doing the Vanna gesture here.)

These lovely women’s slippers which come in four colors and with their very own matching bag.

These super cozy shearling-lined men’s slippers which come in two colors.

Or!

These darling children’s fleece PJ’s (girl styles available too!) which come in four color combos.

If you would like a chance to win one of the above (Vanna gesture), leave me a comment telling me this: If you were curled up on the sofa (wearing your Lands End slippers of course!) and re-reading your favorite book from childhood, which book would it be?  It’s hard to choose just one, but Sean and I recently read Charlotte’s Web. I had forgotten how much I loved it.  

At some point in the day on Friday (Nov. 14)  I’ll use Random.Org to choose a winner.

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I’m taking copious notes on your favorites titles.  I think I’ll compile a list and let you know which ones were most mentioned. I strongly  suspect it’s The Little House series followed by Anne of Green Gables. I love that you have brought to my attentions titles I had not heard and other that I had forgotten.

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Time’s up! Going to Random.org to choose a winner. Stay tuned!

And the winner is….. Commenter #7, Amy, who loved her Snoopy snow cone machine and Barbie dolls when she was growing up. Today she writes Blooming Where We Are Planted. Congratultations Amy!

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Recently, the Build-A-Bear people emailed me asking if they could send to Sean, Hal and Holly Moose, the latest addition to the Build-A-Bear family.  Of course I said yes because who turns away free moose? No one.  Free bison I would turn away, but not free moose.

So earlier in the week, the Fed Ex man delivered Hal and Holly to my doorstep. I especially love Holly because she wears sparkly red shoes just like Dorothy Gale and sassy red satin undies like, well, someone sassier than me.

Unfortunately, as it were, Sean was home when they arrived and he immediately fell in love with them thereby dashing any hopes I had of regifting finding them a better home.  And then he took off all their clothes.

PHOTOS TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE

There may be therapy in their future.  And mine.

And because the Build-A-Bear people are kindly folks, they sent along a little something for you too. Do you know a little person who likes Build-A-Bears?  Would you like to win a $25 Build-A-Bear gift certificate good at any of their stores or on-line?  If so, leave a comment telling me one of your favorite childhood toys and I’ll choose a name at random on Monday night.  Mine? Easy Bake Oven. Mine was blue.

Holly and Hal and their overly friendly care taker.

First, with further ado, I want to thank each and every one of you (381!) who left funny and sincere and hopeful comments in the name of Lands’ End fleece.  That was just delightful fun!  The only down side to these contests is that I want everyone to win.  If I were Oprah, or even if I were not Oprah and just stinkin’ rich, all y’all (that’s southern for all you guyses) would be getting Lands’ End fleece pullovers in the mail this afternoon.  And a car too.

Be that as it may, you still have time to go on-line and order one of those pullovers and get free shipping through the 20th (Code OUTERWEAR Pin 1013), so there’s that. That’s what I’m going to do since I didn’t win one either.

And now, without further ado, Random Org chose commenter #324, PastorMacs Ann, a homeschoolin’ mother of 7 and writer of It’s Always A Production - a lovely lovely lady and frequent commenter here at Antique Mommy for about as long as I can remember. Congratulations Ann!