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Triple Give-Away: 3 $25 Gift Certificates for Threadless.Com!!!
Have you heard about RetailMeNot?
Yes? Well, then. You’re clearly a very smart shopper.
No? OK, I don’t want to alarm you, but your blood pressure is about to go through the roof when you add up all the money you may have thrown away over the past few years.
RetailMeNot is an incredible coupon website, and they are about to celebrate their 3rd anniversary on Friday, October 30th. In the three years RetailMeNot has been operating, they have offered more than 400,000 coupons for 80,000 retailers, restaurants, and brands. I can’t tell you how often I have used promo codes off their website in order to get great deals. Needless to say, I never shop online without checking out the current promotions at RetailMeNot.
In celebration of RetailMeNot’s upcoming anniversary on the 30th, I have been given* THREE $25 gift certificates for www.threadless.com! Have you checked out threadless.com yet? I LOVE their concept and the beautiful, funky, and unique t-shirts they sell. Mamas, have you seen their baby/toddler/kid size t-shirts? Too freakin’ cute for words. I’m a fan. There is a huge selection of t-shirts for all sizes and they make such a cool gift.
In order to WIN one of THREE $25 gift certificates, I’ll need you to do the following:
1. Post a comment! Tell me about RetailMeNot and your experience with their website and coupons. If you haven’t paid them a visit, do so now and let me know what you think.
2. For an extra entry, subscribe to Ain’t Yo Mama’s Blog and/or tweet, blog, or spread the news of this contest in some other way (Facebook, MySpace, etc…). Post an additional comment if you spread the word.
3. You have until 9pm PST on October 30th to enter this contest. Contest open for U.S. residents only. Sorry, Canadians.
4. I will generate 3 random comment numbers from Random.org. The THREE winners will be announced the morning of October 31st. The winners will receive codes via e-mail for the $25 gift certificate. No mailing address will be needed. Also, don’t worry about spam. I will only use your e-mail address for the purpose of sending the gift certificate code.
So, go on now, and check out RetailMeNot and threadless.com…and start commenting and spreading the word!
Good luck!
*Disclosure: RetailMeNot has provided me a $25 gift certificate for threadless.com for my own personal use. RetailMeNot did not request an endorsement in exchange for providing me with these coupons. As I have previously written before, I will always disclose if I receive compensation or free product in exchange for an endorsement.
23
Guest Post: Get Crafty With Lauren from The Little Goat!
Please welcome my first Guest Blogger: Lauren from the The Little Goat! Lauren is a fabulous and creative designer for all things baby. Check out her very cool Wunzees! I am loving her Halloween creations. Enjoy Lauren’s guest post and please check out her blog!
I was thrilled when Aimee asked me to write a guest blog on Ain’t Yo Mama’s blog. I mean…I’m not a veteran blogger by any stretch, but find it fun, and since I finally own my own domain now, I’ve been making a point to blog more frequently…but I digress. To start it off, a little about me. I’m not a mother (yet). Im not a wife (yet). However in the last year, I started sewing baby clothes and selling them on Etsy. Baby Clothes? Seriously? Why? You don’t even have kids! Well…I guess I’m nesting. That’s my only guess. With my nesting though I have automatic baby gifts to give for showers, and nowadays all of my friends or friends of friends are popping em out. My sales are mainly to my friends…and I’m totally OK with that.
Onesie prep
I don’t know if its giving away trade secrets if I let you in on my process, but I figure there are design blogs dedicated to sharing designs and craft ideas, so I wanted to let you in on how to customize your own blank onesie or t-shirt. I buy my onesies wholesale (there are a ton of vendors), but you can buy blank onesies in multi-packs and start from there.
I happen to have a lot of fabric lying around, so I am able to pick and choose what colors, etc I use, but if you are in the market for fabric, and want to put a little fabric of each color (onesies are small), I recommend using eBay. I buy charm packs that people sell for quilting. I find that 5″ squares are perfect, and I can buy the colors I need for my design of choice.
Pin and Stitch
My process is pretty simple. I figure out what design I want (draw it out on paper first), and then either draw freehand or trace the pattern on to fabric. Football season is in full effect, so I went with a simple shaped football. I then take my pins and pin it down to the onesie. I thread my needle and handstitch all the way around. If more colors and patterns are necessary, I pin and stitch those too, and if I have pieces too small for thread only, I use fabric glue where it makes sense. A lot of folks use a fuseable interfacing under the fabric for extra stiffness, but I personally like the way the fabric lays without it.
Adorable! Finished onesie with matching beanie!
The best part of hand-stitching, is its ok if you slip on a stitch every once in a while, and contrasting stitches are fine! It makes it look more handmade. In this case I even did the same to a cute beanie to match!
The stuff you buy in the stores is cute, but if you want to add the personal touch, and a little flare, I highly recommend making your own. No sewing machine skills required.
-peas
Lauren | www.thelittlegoat.com
22
What’s Next For Ain’t Yo Mama’s Blog?
Hello Readers!
As I start blogging my way into a 2nd month of Ain’t Yo Mama’s Blog, I have some very exciting stuff coming up that I would love to share with you all.
Gimme Gimme!
First, I have more give-aways coming up! I know give-aways are quite popular (duh) and I enjoy them, too. Just like almost every other parent I know, I am a big consumer of all things kid-related. When I need to shop for my kid, especially if it’s for a big-ticket item, I depend on other parents for product reviews and feedback. I like to do the same for other parents. I have been a long-time reviewer on websites like www.yelp.com (two-time Elite!) and consumer websites like www.amazon.com, so writing reviews is nothing new to me. I have always loved spreading the word about an incredible restaurant, service, product, or company. I don’t believe that reviews and give-aways diminish the primary purpose and perspective of a blogger. I believe reviews and give-aways can actually enhance the content of a blog. To know me and my blog is to also know the stuff I like to buy and gift to others.
One final and very important note about that: in the few years I have been reviewing online, I have never ever ever been paid or sponsored in any way. Although, to be perfectly honest, I have been given free frozen yogurt as a thank you for a good review. If, in the future I am paid or sponsored, I will disclose that information. I will always be honest about the products I love and the products I despise. I didn’t start blogging to make a few bucks or get free stuff. However, I must admit that frozen yogurt usually works well. (continues…)
21
Warning: Parenting Is Hazardous to Your Health
Parenting should come with a warning label.
Let’s start with pregnancy. It’s been said that the physical strain of pregnancy and childbirth can take a year off your life. For some of us, that experience might have shaved off about five years. Remember that life sucking machine from the movie, Princess Bride? Well, that’s what labor felt like for me.
After the kid is born, it’s all about the kid. You barely have time to shower and throw on some lip-gloss let alone check in with your physical and mental well-being. Sure, you’re in and out of doctors offices all the time, but you rarely (if ever) see one for yourself. Oh, you’ve had a migraine for a week? A weird bump? A lingering cough? Who has time to check in with a real doctor? That’s why they invented WebMD.
When your kid starts preschool, it’s all downhill from there. Children become carriers for all things germy and disease-ridden. There is no doubt that you will get sick when you have kids. Often. If your child has a runny nose and cough, expect to wake up the next morning with the same problem. You’ll probably get even more sick than the kid, but you don’t have time to wallow in Kleenex-wrapped pity. Get back in the kitchen and make their lunch! And, speaking of lunch, who has time to eat it? You might serve your kid organic and nutritious meals, but you’re often relegated to live off saltines, canned chili, and whatever particles of food are left on the highchair. (continues…)
19
Time Is Not On Our Side. It Never Was.
Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
-Ferris Bueller
As a child, I would count down the days to school breaks or to family vacations. As a student, I would count down days until an exam or the end of a semester. Once I started working, I would still count down minutes, hours, and days - is it 5:00 yet? Is it happy hour yet? It’s only Monday? Ugh, I wish it was Friday. Time, it seemed, often consumed me and sometimes even paralyzed me.
I’m still consumed by time, but now I often wish the clock would just stop ticking. How I would love to recapture the feeling of too much time, but I fear it’s impossible. I’m much older and wiser now. I know better. My days fly by in the blink of an eye now. You can blame it on the busyness that adulthood and responsibility brings, but it’s much more simplistic than that. Simply put, life is too short. I just didn’t realize how short it was until I had a child. (continues…)