Zazzle Business Cards, Invitations & More $25 Gift Card Giveaway 3/29 CLOSED WINNER

CONGRATULATIONS TO....

AILEEN!

An e-mail has been sent!  

*winner chosen by random.org and thanks to all those who entered!

Have you tried out Zazzle yet?  It's a really cool site that has tons of products that you can either make yourself or buy from existing sellers.  There is a guarantee on anything you buy so you don't have to worry about quality.

Many of the buyers like to choose business cards and invitations and when the political seasons heats up, political items are a big seller.

Cupcake Business Cards by jbranam
Make a custom printed business card on zazzle 

Cupcake Business Cards by jbranam
More Business Business Cards

Boy's Space Birthday Invitation by jbranam
View other Space Cards

The gift card can be used on any product or at any store!

To Enter:

Follow my blog!

Extra Entries (worth two entries each unless otherwise noted):

• Visit the Zazzle store and tell me something you would like to buy
• Subscribe to my blog
• Blog about this giveaway - five entries
• Tweet about this giveaway (can be done daily)
• Enter any of my other giveaways - five entries

Giveaway ends 3/29 at midnight and winner will be chosen by random.org

Good lucky!

Children's Furniture, Toys & More With Giveaway Coming Soon: Vote Now 3/1/10

With having two young children and one on the way, finding great sources for toys, furniture, bedding and more all in one spot is convenient and nice. AllChildrensFurniture.com not only has kids furniture but they have playtime items, decor and products for a nursery.  It's a one stop shop online store for all your needs if you have children or need to buy a gift for someone with children.

My expecting daughter has already picked out her nursery design and she has chosen a crib that provided a growing feature such as this Sorelle Isabella 4-in-1 Convertible Nursery Set which ships for free!

If she has a girl, this would be a great addition to the room to hold the dirty clothes.  It's a Lambs & Ivy Petals hamper priced at only $37.79.  It has a coordinating set for the entire nursery.

My oldest two kids like to draw and have fun with arts and crafts.  There is a huge selection of products under the arts and crafts category.  Microscopes to easels to aprons and much more.  I wished I had known about AllChildrensFurniture.com at Christmas but I have birthdays forthcoming and with my daughter's baby coming, it's will be perfect to shop.

Now it's your turn to vote, visit http://www.allchildrensfurniture.com/ and leave a comment on what you would like to see as a giveaway item for a chance for five pre-giveaway bonus entries. 

Note: Item must be no greater than $40.

Eligible bonus entries open until  March 1, 2010 so hurry!

Spring Time Fashions at AdorableBabyClothing.com w/ Coupon Code

Spring is coming along with Easter!  Time to start thinking about those spring time pictures too as if you are like me, anytime is an excuse to take pictures of your little ones!  Adorablebabyclothing.com is one of my favorites to shop for special occasions given how easy it is to find dresses in two sizes that are identical.  I spend so much time browsing stores trying to find the two sizes I need but with http://www.adorablebabyclothing.com/, the drop down box makes it so easy.

It's also a great place to buy gifts.  I just purchased a gift certificate to a friend who had never heard of them and she loved the selection from newborn to older children's sizes.  They carry formal wear, every day wear, gifts, personlized clothing and now have a huge selection of toys!

If you use SPRING15 when you check out, you can save 15%!

30% Off Special w/ Code at Flirty Aprons Extended to 3/4 Midnight

Great news! 

If you entered the Flirty Aprons giveaway and didn't win, they are offering 30% off with code 30coupon!

Coupon has been extended to 3/4 at midnight.

Flirty Aprons is offering this great 30% off coupon to thank everyone for their support!

Want to read my review on the adorable kid's cupcake apron, go here:

http://youthfultips.blogspot.com/2010/01/flirty-aprons-review-and-giveaway-214.html

Band of Brothers and The Pacific: Must Have's & Ready to Buy

I know this isn't exactly a topic for a blog dealing with health, beauty, children or family directly but indirectly, the story behind WWII is.  It's a lesson we must never forget and it's one that has to be retaught so we remember what happens when people do horrible things to others.

I never watched Band of Brothers until about two weeks ago and I became instantly hooked.  My favorite real life character is Dick Winters played by English actor, Damian Lewis.  I'm also a Damian Lewis fan now!  His portrayal of Winters was astounding in that he was able to capture the essence of an amazing brave, heroic, intelligent leader.  There are many more adjectives to describe this person and I could never do it justice. 

Throughout watching the series on DVD, I kept wondering why this wasn't part of a high school history curriculm but then they had to put in a tiny nudie sex scene with a woman on top.  Not sure why they did this one scene as the show was perfect to learn from.  The element to add the woman topless added nothing to the show so that was the only aspect I was disappointed in.

Tom Hanks and David Frankel directed the series which is on six discs (10 episodes).  If you never heard of Damian Lewis, he's been in a host of shows ranging from television to the theater.  The entire series is set up based on real people which adds to the appeal.  I did have a hard time watching Sobel given it was Ross from Friends but he did a good job and you loved to hate him.

If you haven't seen it, you owe yourself the chance to see what so many great men sacrificed for our freedom today.  I hope everyone gets a chance to see it.  The price of the DVD set has dropped dramatically.

I was so excited to see that a new series on HBO is coming out that focuses on The Pacific.  This is important to me because a couple of Christmas' ago, I compiled a hard bound book for my father-in-law on his father that served in the Pacific during WWII. 

The Pacific is based on a couple of books titled Helmet for my Pillow by Robert Leckie and With the Old Breed by E.B. Sledge.  The series starts March 14th.  The books are surpisingly inexpensive too so I'll have to buy a set for my husband and brother who are history buffs.

  

This hopeful great series is again presented by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg and I can't wait.  We're even going to subscribe to HBO just to see this.  Since my husband is deploying to Kuwait for a year in May, it's the least I can do.

If you want to know more about the series, click here. 

The book The Pacific will be released tomorrow and is ready to buy!

Free Nabisco Cookies Starting Today on Facebook

Free Nabisco Cookies today http://www.facebook.com/nabiscocookies when you purchase a bag of Nabisco cookies and a gallon of milk.

Free Winnie the Pooh Digital Book and MP3 Lullaby

Everyone loves Winnie the Pooh and no matter what the age, kids think he is adorable along with all his friends from the Hundred Acre Woods.

Right now, Clorox is offering:

• "The Original Story of Winnie the Pooh" with digital booklet
• "House at Pooh Corner" MP3 Lullaby

Just click here to get the code to download


Enjoy!

http://youthfultips.blogspot.com/

New Reader Loyalty $50 You Name It Gift Card Giveaway 4/1: CLOSED WINNERS

CONGRATULATIONS TO ....

KATHYL & WANDA

KathyL's entrants was the first random.org winner of the $50 GC of her choice and I had a Kroger $25 GC that I had recently received from a contest I entered so I decided to award to a second runner up.  Wanda's entry was chosen via random.org.

Both winners have been sent e-mails and have 48 hours to respond before new winner(s) will be selected.

Thanks to all those who entered and stay tuned for the next great giveaway!

It's not an Aprl's Fool joke and although it's a month long giveaway, I'm hoping to add to the value of the giveaway.

For this month's YouthfulTips' Reader Loyalty giveaway, you get to choose where you want your $50 gift card to come from.  The winner will choose and hopefully, there will be more things added as the month passes just like I did with the Misikko Hana Flat Iron with a surprise second winner.

To Enter:

Follow my blog and tell me where you would like the gift card to be from.

Extra Entries (worth one entry each unless otherwise noted):

• Subscribe to my blog
• Follow me on Twitter
• Blog about this giveaway (five entries)
• Tweet about this giveaway (can be done daily - worth one entry per day)
• Enter any of my other giveaways (on-going only) - (five entries)
• Add my button to your blog (five entries)
• Become a follower to http://angels4epilepsy.com/

Giveaway ends 4/1 at midnight (EST) and winner chosen by random.org

Oil of Olay Total Effects Body Wash

Skin feeling dry and under moisturized due to winter?  I have a problem trying to decide which product to buy as there are so many to choose from and each does something different.  Luckily, I tend to sometimes gravitate to name brands I know and one that I do know is Oil of Olay.  Oil of Olay's Total Effects Body Wash is a deep penetrating moisturizer that can help your skin look visibly younger with an appearance that's more resilient to aging.

Olay’s most advanced body wash, Total Effects goes beyond cleansing to deeply moisturize and fight seven signs of aging all over your body by helping to improve elasticity, relieve dryness, deeply moisturize, brighten dull skin, even skin tone, smooth rough skin, and minimize the appearance of dry lines.

With jojoba butter and VitaNiacin, Olay Total Effects Body Wash – Deep Penetrating Moisture can help you get soft, smooth skin in one shower, improved elasticity in one week, and young-looking, radiant skin in one month. Proven effective in fighting multiple signs of aging, the exclusive VitaNiacin formula helps rejuvenate and beautify your skin while improving the condition of the skin’s moisture barrier. Also available is the Olay Total Effects Body Wash – Exfoliating and Replenish, which has micro-derm beads and VitaNiacin to help keep you looking and feeling young.

To get your own sample of Oil of Olay Total Effects Body Wash, click here.

Get a $15 rebate when you purchase any 3 Olay Facial Moisturizers, Facial Treatments, Facial Cleansers, Hand & Body Lotions, Body Washes or 6+ Bar Soap Packs. All purchases must be made by March 12, 2010. Rebate submissions must be postmarked by March 26, 2010.


*Disclaimer:  I received a complimentary bottle of Oil of Olay Total Effects Body Wash and a $10 Walmart Gift Card from Oil of Olay through MyBlogSpark.

Expressiva Nursingwear Special Coupon & Giveaway Details

Expressiva Nursingwear is offering free priority shipping when you order at least one Lamaze bra.  Use code LAMAZE and also save on cozy sleepers.

Don't forget to enter my $35 Gift Card Giveaway to Expressiva Nursingwear that ends 3/17.

Holey Donuts Blog & Reader Winner

Good morning!  Unfortunately my blog nor did one of my reader get the Holey Donut prize!  I should have noted if I had won, I would have split the $500! 

We did good so a BIG thank you!  You all are wonderful!

The Holey Donut $500 Blog winner is


Michelle from Money Saving Madness

The Holey Donut blog reader winner is...........

Janae W. of

Julian, NC

Janae will receive 4 boxes of yummy Holey Donuts! low fat donut but a $250 store credit at Holey Donuts.

Break Down of Blogger Entrants:

Money Saving Madness : 620


Peanut Butter and Jenny : 295

The Fabulous Won : 202

Shooting Stars Mag : 196

The Bragging Mommy : 189

The B Keeps Us Honest : 128

Fab Find Foodie : 113

Born 2 Impress : 111

Mama's Money Savers : 86

Mommygaga : 86

Youthfultips.blogspot.com : 62

Mommy Blessings in Small Bundles : 55

A Wrestling Addicted Mommy : 54

Simply Sweet Home : 50

Simply Stacie : 45

Mommy's Memorandum : 43

Second Time Around : 36

Susan Heim On Parenting : 35

Cake Mom : 28

A Little of This and a Little of That : 17

Life More Simply : 14

Becca's Backyard : 13

Something To Talk About : 12

Shelley's Swag : 12

Starting Fresh : 11

Living Leena Loca : 11

The Penny-Pinching Mama : 10

A Pocket Full of Buttons : 8

A Simple Kinda Life : 7

For The Babes : 7

Healthful Bites : 7

Dallasmom : 5

Confessions of a Stay At Home Mom : 5

Pickles & Lollipops : 4

Snow White's Blog : 4

An Apple A Day : 4

The One Fantastical : 4

More Than Cents : 3

Gathering My Roses : 3

Cinnamon Hollow : 3

Maria's Space : 2

MommyB Knows Best : 2

Chaching Family : 2

Through Hazel Eyes : 1

Broken Teepee : 1

I Could Be Ordinary : 1

Hall of Fame Moms : 1

EasternShoreMom : 1

Etsy Seller Showcare: Simple Luxury

I'm always looking for nice or unique shops in Ety and actually found this one at "Life Requiers More Chocolate." Amen to that!  When I first visited Simple Luxury, I wished there were more items because they were cute, nice and simple.  They weren't overly blingy or flashy and were just really nice pieces of jewelry that would compliment any outfit.

My two favorites are the Kiss Me I'm Irish Lucky Charm Shamrock Bracelet at only $19 and the Heart Charm Anklet Bracelet at $15.

Another favorite of mine is the the Chic Handbag Wine Glass Charms priced at only $15 for six.

Simple Luxury's Bio:


We are long time friends and creative partners who enjoy creating things that enhance the quality of life of others ... simple luxuries.

We have years of experience of making and sharing our handmade items.

Check them out!

Children's Birthday Cooking Party Ideas & Invitations

Trying to decide what theme to use for your kid's birthday can be exciting or can give you anxiety.  I love planning birthday parties and take great joy in each and every one I get to plan.  Last year, we had a Ratatouille cooking party for my six year old.  It was loads of fun with coordinated invitations, cake, games and so much more.

I purchased child size inexpensive aprons and chef hats from Oriental Trading Company which served as station one to greet the kids when they arrived.  With the help of foam letter stickers and markers, each child was able to add their name to the apron and decorate both the hat and apron to uniquely fit their personality.  It also took time to allow everyone to arrive and they were able to take home their aprons and hats since their names made it easy to sort.

After the decorating, Ratatouille was playing on the big screen TV and I had Ratatouille decorations all over the house.  The second stage was the pizza making area.  I bought several toppings and frozen pizza dough from our local Publix.  Each girl had their own little rolling pin to take home and they were able to make their own little pizza.  Once they were done with that, they moved to the cupcake decorating station and I purchased boxes so they could take their cupcakes home.  We had many toppings and icing to make each one special.

While the pizza cooked and cooled, we went outside and played some games for prizes and broke open the pinata.  We then ate pizza and had a delicious Ratatouille cake that I had specially made from a local at home baker.

Opening presents ended the finale with each girl expressing how much fun it was and each parent telling me how brave I was.   It was great fun!

I customized my own invitations, t-shirts, posters and button from Zazzle.

Cooking Party Template: Black and White by jbranam
Postcards by zazzle

This is another example that you can create or purchase from Zazzle:

Kids Cooking Party Invitation Customize by jbranam
Shop for another greeting card online at zazzle

Etsy Seller Showcase

This is my tribute to the Etsy seller entrepreneurs who try to make a little extra spending money or use their sales to live off of. 

I have my store on Zazzle so I know how nice the extra here and there means.  With that, I want to use this space to promote unique, special or great products.  Know one that should be added, let me know!

The Etsy Spotlight:

Made at Nana's House - beautiful, trendy and cute clothes for kids and more.  Click here for my post.

TabbyCat13 - Creative and wonderful cakes, cookies and more.  Post coming soon!

Simple Luxury - Handcrafted jewerly, wine glass charms and more. Click here for my post for Simple Luxury.

HTM Designs - Special occasion wrappers, coloring pages and much more for parties and every day.  Click here for my post for HTM Designs.

Little Girl Creations - Hair bows, clothing for little girls and bottle cap creations.  Click here for my post for Little Girl Creations.

Creative Clam - Bags, purses, magnets, medical alerts, collectibles and much more.  Click here for my post for Creative Clam.

Tiny Trees - Hand crafted wood jewerly and Scrabble pendants.  Click here for my post for Tiny Trees.

Sweet Harvey's Shop - Wonderful cards and other great products.  Click here for my post on Sweet Harvey's.

Michellenstamps - Adorable cards and more. Click here for my post on Michellenstamps.

Intentions - Beautiful hand made soaps and more.  Click here for my post on Intentions.

The Preppy Peach Boutique - Amazing handmade baby hats and hats for others.  Click here for my post on the Preppy Peach Boutique.

Congratulations to Heather! Winning Sears $50 Gift Card & Reminder

Congratulations to "Heather!" as she was the random.org winner of my reader loyalty Sears gift card giveaway.

An e-mail has just been sent to her confirming her e-mail and she has responded!

Thanks to all those who entered and stay tuned for more great giveaways!

As a reminder, always check your spam box as half of my winners find my e-mails in there.  The other sure way of ensuring if you won is to subscribe or check back daily.

See Where Reader Loyalty Can Get You?

Great news as Jennifer (JK) contacted me for the surprise second place winner of Misikko's giveaway.  As a thank you to all those who entered, I bought Jennifer a Babyliss Pro Mini Flat Iron from Misikko that comes with a free heating mat and pouch.

Still waiting to hear back from Gina who won the Hana Flat Iron.

Thanks again to everyone who reads, comments and enters!  The more readers and entries I have, the more possibility I will have in securing more giveaways.

Last Day to Enter $50 Sears Gift Card Giveaway

Hurry as today is the last day to enter the $50 Sears Gift Card giveaway!  You have until midnight tonight (EST) with many options for extra entries.

Thanks for entering!

Next Reader Loyalty Giveaway for March: You Decide

What you would like to see as the next giveaway within reason!  In preparation for March's reader loyalty giveaway, what do you want to see?

$50 Gift Card to Amazon, Zazzle, Walmart, Paypal cash, etc?  Workout package of Wii games and more?  Beauty pack of surprises?

Misikko Hana & Babyliss WinnerS Announced

Thanks to all the great entrants and those that went above and entered via bonus entries!   This contest offered a secondary surprise prize!

Congratulations to Gina who won the Missiko Hana Flat Iron

and

Jennifer (JK) who won the Babyliss Pro Mini Flat Iron!

Both entrants have had e-mails sent and have 48 hours to respond before new winners will be selected.

Apologies for the delay but had sick kiddos and it took quite a bit of time to go through and ensure entrants were valid (followed the rules of the giveaway).

Thanks again to all those who entered and those who blogged, tweeted and entered other giveaways!  Every now and then, I like to throw in second winners so I hope everyone had fun with this giveaway.

Misikko Hana Winner Announced Tomorrow

For those of you waiting to see the winner, I've been busy tackling sick kids and ER's but promise to announce the winner tomorrow for the Hana Flat Iron.  It has taken a little time to sort through and ensure the mandatory entries were completed.

Thanks for your patience!

Holey Donuts February Review & Giveaway 2/28

Have you heard of Holey Donuts?  If you are on the blogosphere, you probably have!  They are a healthy way to enjoy what is normally little packed full sin pills of greatness for your taste buds but bad for your butt!  

The Review:

I received complimentary samples of Holey Donuts and was skeptical on how good donuts frozen and received in the mail could be good?  I was so wrong!

I received the Sampler Favorite B, Jumbo Reduced Fat Cinnamon Buns (Assortment #7) and Reduced Fat Vanilla Frosted Boston Cream (Assortment #17).

My favorites were the Jumbo Cinnamon Buns and the Vanilla Frosted Boston Cream donuts.  Both were tender, moist and amazingly good.  I can't seem to find a good Boston Cream donut where I live so this was such a treat!  The amount of filling was just right whereas some Boston Cream donuts are skimpy with the cream but these were perfect.  The Cinnamon Buns were flaky, tasty, moist and very good.  After they thawed out, I warmed them in the microwave and it was heavenly!

My children loved the ones with sprinkles and chocolate chips.  They wanted more so I guess I'll have to buy some!

The shipping method allowed my donuts to arrive still frozen as they were meant to be.  The cooler is great in that it can be reused for bringing back something that needs to be kept cold or in the case of my husband, for fishing.

Holey Donuts offers a huge selection of donuts to appeal to any taste.  They are fresh, soft and aren't missing the taste of being reduced fat.  If you are a donut lover, you have to try these as they help to remove some of the guilt while leaving all of the pleasure!


The Giveaway:

In this round of giveaways, Holey Donuts is giving away a PRIZE PACK to one lucky reader!  Sound good?

The February Love Assortment consists of 4 boxes of their latest, best selling, super yummy Holey Donuts! Low Fat Treats and $250 Holey Donuts! store credit good for 1 year. 

It's easy to enter:

Go to http://www.holeydonuts.net/ and click on the "contact us" link. 
Enter YouthfulTips.blogspot.com in the subject line
Enter your name and email address and you are done!
Please only enter once and don't forget to sign up for their newsletter!

BONUS:  If you submit your information via the entry requirements and enter my blog name, you can have five bonus entries to any and all of my on-going giveaways!

A little about Holey Donut:

Did you know the average donut has 15-20 grams of fat and as much as 480 calories?

Our patented cooking process avoids deep frying, creating a light, fluffy donut with as little as 3-4 grams of fat and 150-250 calories. You'd actually have to eat 4 of our full-sized, delicious donuts to get the amount of fat in just one traditional donut. What's more amazing is that we do not use any artificial sweeteners or fat substitutes to make our great tasting donuts. Unlike other "lite" or low fat foods, nothing about these donuts tastes low fat.

Our donuts are hand-made, flash frozen and delivered via express mail to arrive at your door, picture perfect and delicious! Keep in your freezer for a great low fat and low calorie treat anytime!

Free shipping today, February 23, 2010!

• Order any 3 to 5 assortments of our award winning low fat donuts,100 calorie cinnamon bun middles or great tasting low fat donut holes and get FREE SHIPPING TODAY!
• Then in the coupon code box enter code FRSH hit recalculate and enjoy the savings!

*Disclaimer:  I received complimentary Holey Donuts to try from the sponsor.  The opinions reflected in my post are my own and no other form of compensation was provided.

The Beauty of Canned Foods

Using canned foods is an often overlooked luxery of cooking.  I think many might wonder about the cleansiness and toxic level of foods that are canned.  When TwitterMoms offered a chance to learn more and blog in conjunction with The Canned Food Alliance, I learned a lot. 

For example:

• Dry edible beans are dried in their pods naturally.
• Beans go through a seven step cleansing process and are sorted before going to the canning facility.
• Beans are high in fiber, fat free and can be used straight from the can. 
• The darker the bean, the more oxidants. 
• Tomatoes are picked at their prime to not lose nutrients and are cleaned prior to the canning process.
• Cans are reusable for life

What I love the most about canned foods are the convenience and variety.  One of my favorite uses of canned foods is chili because it's so easy to make and convenient.

Turkey Chili

• Chili seasoning mix (any brand)
• 1 can of tomatoes
• 2 cans of Bush's hot beans (love hot food)
• 1 can of tomato paste
• 1 med onion diced
• 1/2 t garlic
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 pound of ground turkey

In a large skillet, saute onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add ground turkey and cook until browned.

Add remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

It can't be much easier than that!  Serve it up with sour cream or cheese for some variety.



Watch the Field to Table Video

Canned Food Alliance

About Canned Food Alliance:

The Canned Food Alliance is a partnership of the American Iron and Steel Institute’s Steel Packaging Council, the Can Manufacturers Institute, select food processors and affiliate members. The CFA serves as a resource for information on the nutrition, convenience, contemporary appeal and versatility of canned food. The CFA is a proud supporter of the Produce for Better Health Foundation and the Fruits and Veggies More Matters program. For hundreds of mealtime solutions, visit www.mealtime.org.