winner...

the winner of the wildblumen custom stationery giveaway is....

Lynsey!!

look for an email from me, lynsey!

and thank you to everyone that entered. 

don't forget to check out wildblumen on Facebook or 

email megan for a custom design at:

mtjohnson31@gmail.com

thanks, megan for sharing your talent with us! :-)

this is day 12 in the 31 day series, "31 days of honest effort"

 click HERE to see the series in it's entirety.

honest thank you's....

this is day seven and eight in the series "31 days of honest effort" 

(click the link to read all posts in the series) 

 one of the things i've been trying to put more effort into is telling people how much i appreciate them. i want to make sure others know how grateful i am for their presence in my life and the life of my family.   an easy way to do this is by sending "thank you" notes or even "just because" notes. in this day and age it's so easy to send a text, email, or even a facebook message, but i personally believe that nothing compares to a handwritten note. it's a lost art these days, but i'm trying my best to make sure my girls know the importance of writing handwritten notes.

that's why i'm so excited about today's post and giveaway! wildblumen (meaning wildflower in german) specializes in custom watercolor, art, design, and invitations. 

 megan is the creative artist behind wildblumen and her talent is out of this world!

y'all....i can't get over the fact that she PAINTS these! my watercolor knowledge does not extend past the little paint trays that flip open and make me crazy because i spend more time trying to get the colors not to mix and cleaning up water spills than actually painting anything. but i'm pretty postivite megan's watercolors are a bit more intricate. ;)

not only does wildblumen specialize in custom watercolor stationery and invitations, but also other art prints as well. send them a picture of your first home and have a watercolor portrait made of it.

how great would this be as a christmas gift for the grandparents?! or as a gift for a couple in their first home! such a precious keepsake!

if you're planning a  party or shower, have wildblumen make a custom design for you. you can use it as part of the decor (including invites, cupcake toppers, banners, prints, etc!) and after the event is over it becomes part of the decor of your home! win: win!

megan made these darling notecards for my girls and for one of our sweet little friends, bennett.  i sent megan a link to bennett's nursery and asked her to come up with something that reflected the theme of his room. i couldn't have been happier with her designs!

the possibilities are endless... send wildblumen a picture of your child's special "lovey" and have a watercolored keepsake of it for all time. a favorite outfit, a wedding portrait, a special place, anything!

there's nothing more meaningful than a personalized one of a kind gift!

megan, the talented artist behind wildblumen, has so generously offered to gift one of y'all with a custom set of stationery!! to be eligible to win, simply follow the steps below.

Entry-Form

so, if you're like me and trying to make an honest effort to let others know how much you love and appreciate them - contact megan at wildblumen today to order some stationery or watercolor designs of your own! thanks again, megan for your generosity and for sharing your talents! :) 

contact wildblumen:

wildblumen on TWITTER

wildblumen on FACEBOOK

email: mtjohnson31@gmail.com

"You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."

1 Peter 3:4

Minted Giveaway...

y'all know i love me some personalized paper products (and apparently some alliteration, too-ha!) so when minted contacted me about hosting a giveaway, i jumped at the chance. i've ordered from minted in the past... in fact, one of my favorite items are the "mommy calling cards" i ordered from minted last year. after meeting teachers, new friends, neighbors, and other acquaintances i'm almost out of my cards and i can guarantee you i'll be reordering as soon as possible. 

and in this pinterest obsessed world, i've seen wedding boards and ideas that would put the professionals to shame. many of the boards and ideas i've see have featured some of the wedding invites from minted. if i were getting married all over again (to jeffrey, of course!) i'd definitely look at minted for our wedding invites and other paper needs. 

call me crazy, but since i found out we're having another baby girl, i've been all over minted's website looking at birth announcements (and i may or may not be taking notes on some of the baby girl names used). 
the selection of birth announcements on the minted website ranges from traditional to modern and everything in between. if you can dream it up, chances are - it's already on their site. 

i love this sweet floral announcement - wouldn't it be perfect for a sweet baby tippins girl?! and even better, you can change the shape of the (flat) cards. how fun is that?! scalloped edges, square, frames, the possibilities are endless. i think one of my favorite features that minted currently offers is the FREE (that's right, FREE!) address assistant. you will receive free recipient address printing with the purchase of your birth announcements! boom. how's that for helping out a new mom?

not only does minted offer birth announcements, but they specialize in all personal stationery and invitations. y'all may not know this, but i'm a stickler for thank you notes. in this day and age, social media is used for everything, but in my opinion, nothing can take the place of a good, "old fashioned," handwritten, thank you note! i really want my girls to learn the art of writing thank you notes as well, so i stress how important it is every chance i get. libbi has already started to catch on and she LOVES writing notes to family members or mailing them random drawings or letters that's she working on. and what better way to encourage her than to provide her with some adorable stationery to write on?! i love these sweet and simple thank you notes from minted:

and this? this is probably one of the most creative cards i've ever seen and it's so perfectly appropriate for us! a drawing space for your child along with the description of their creation - genius!

minted has so kindly offered to give one of my readers a $50 credit towards anything on their site. i am so excited that one of y'all will have the chance to win this fabulous prize! (just make sure to tell me what you've ordered so i can have serious paper envy)

entering to win is easy! all you have to do is follow the prompts in the rafflecopter box below and you're good to go. thanks again to minted for their generosity...and their wonderful products!  
good luck, friends!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


*disclosure: this is a sponsored post. this post may contain affiliate ads. i was given a minted credit in exchange for hosting this giveaway; however, all opinions and text are mine.

sassy steals...

just a quick post this friday morning to tell y'all about a fun new site i've found - 

sassy steals. they're a great daily deal site that offers new "steals" each day. 

some of their past steals have been bauble necklaces, personalized halloween shirts, and gorgeous scarves. the steals featured each day range from jewelry to accessories to kids clothes, and even some home goods in between! 

make sure to head on over to sassy steals and sign up for daily emails (you can tell them i sent you, mrsamytippins@gmail.com) and while you're at it, be sure to "like" their facebook page, too!

sassy steals hosts a giveaway each friday for some fabulous prizes.  check out this weeks giveaway and all of the fun things you could win by entering!!! one lucky winner will win one of each of the following....

a Rafflecopter giveaway

and on top of all that, sassy steals has offered a discount to all of my readers. use the code TOTAL10 when checking out to receive 10% off the already great prices!!

happy "stealing!"

 i'll be back on monday with my "regularly scheduled" blogging and lots of recaps from our vaca! ;-)  

happy weekend, friends!

*disclaimer: this post features affiliate links, but all text/opinions are mine.

goat and lulu...

i'm so excited to share a little wednesday love for my newest sponsor - Goat & Lulu!
Goat and Lulu is THE cutest etsy shop run by the extremely talented amanda. 

amanda is the momma of two precious girls...with a baby boy on the way!! 
when asked to describe Goat & Lulu, amanda says, 
"I started my shop a few years ago, just for fun, but have recently gotten pretty serious about making it a source of income for my family! I am a stay at home mom with a love of creating, and as I was making bunches of cute shirts and accessories for my kids, I was inspired and encouraged to turn it into a business. So now, I am busy making unique handmade children's apparel and baby accessories, home decor and jewelry just for you!"

and she's not kidding, y'all! her shirts are adorable and different from the typical cookie cutter designs you see so often. amanda has an incredible sense of design and style and it really comes through in her work!

seriously...y'all know that i am not a fan of dogs. sorry...but it's true. HOWEVER, i am a fan of this appliqued onesie/shirt from Goat & Lulu. i would definitely change my  tune for this dog! 

and this onesie and burp cloth trio...adorable! 

these blankets....be still my bunting loving heart! 

and this fleece lined chevron blanket is both practical and stylish!! i love how it can be customized with so many different colors!!

the customization options are definitely one of my favorite aspects of Goat & Lulu. almost everything can be customized to fit your color scheme/theme. Amanda can use a variety of fabrics and patterns to make sure the design is exactly as you envision. all you have to do is ask! :)

take this onesie/shirt (which just so happens to be my personal favorite) for instance, it can be made in variety of fabrics and with any state! just try and tell me your little one wouldn't be the cutest thing sporting their own state pride shirt?! i'm thinking pink seersucker for my girls' georgia shirts!

and don't even get me started on the jewelry....there's something for us momma's, too! these birdie earrings and necklace are screaming my name!!

amanda has so generously offered to give one of y'all a chevron fleece lined stroller blanket!!! 

you have LOTS of chances to win. simply follow the instructions in the rafflecopter box below: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


not only is she giving away a chevron fleece blanket, but she is also offering a discount code to Goat & Lulu for all of my readers! visit her etsy shop by clicking HERE (or on any of the links in this post as well as her button in the sidebar) and enter in TTT20 when you checkout. this will give you a 20% discount - WOW!! 

did i mention amanda has a blog, too? be sure to check her out HERE. she is always posting lots of fun recipes, tutorials, and precious pictures of her little girlies :)

thanks again amanda for such a fun giveaway....now hurry on over to Goat & Lulu and show her some love!

'tis the season to GIVE!

*****comments are closed*****
We all know it's better to give than to receive which is why I am so excited about the opportunity from CSN Stores to give one of y'all a $35.00 gift certificate to one of their 200+ stores!

I recently ordered some of Libbi's Christmas gifts from CSN and I was SO impressed with how fast they arrived.  It was seriously no time at all!  I can't giveaway the surprise, but I'll let you know what we got her after Christmas :)

CSN has over 200 stores on their website housing everything from kid's backpacks, to baby furniture, to home accessories, and more!

I mean seriously, how cute is this?  I know one little "rambunctious" girl that would LOVE to carry this into church on Sundays. ;0)

To win the $35.00 credit to CSN Stores, all you have to do is leave a comment.  Easy, right?  You do not even have to have a blog - (just make sure if you don't, that you leave your email address so I can contact you if you win.)  I will use random.org to pick a winner on Tuesday, December 14th, so act quick!  If you win, I will email you the promotional code and you can order away to your heart's content :)

Have a great day and in the meantime, check out CSN Stores for all those Christmas gifts still on your list!

doodle bugs paper giveaway...

**The giveaway is now closed**


I have only offered a few giveaways on my blog before, because I mostly like to keep it about Libbi and our family....BUT....I just HAD to do this giveaway, because I seriously LOVE Doodle Bugs Paper!!

We have the Doodle Bugs Paper birthday tag labels and I kid you not....every birthday party we have been to, someone has asked where in the world we got the adorable gift tags. every.single.time! 

A sweet friend gave these to us and I immediately ordered more.  It makes gift wrapping so much easier (and cuter!)

I also have these precious kitchen labels.  

I use them when I bake goodies to take to another family, or to label some of my dishes when we go to a function/tailgate.  I've even used them when sharing a recipe!  They are the perfect size and oh so cute!

One of my favorite things about Doodle Bugs Paper is that Kacey (the owner) is a teacher, too!  Let me just tell you, I have the utmost respect for her, because when I was teaching, there was no way I would have been able to run a successful business as well! To find out more about Kacey, click here. Not only is she a teacher, but she shares my love (and many of yours!) for all things personalized - seriously, does it get any better?!?!

Oh wait....IT DOES!

Kacey has so generously offered to give one of y'all a $20.00 gift certificate to Doodle Bugs Paper!! 

Can you imagine the possibilities?!   

If you would like to win a $20.00 gift certificate to Doodle Bugs Paper (and honestly, who wouldn't?!) here are some easy ways to enter your name into this giveaway:

1. Go to Doodle Bugs Paper and come back and leave a comment telling me your favorite product (1 entry)

2.  Become a follower of my blog or let me know that you are already a follower (1 additional entry)

3.  Become a follower of the Doodle Bugs Paper Blog and leave a comment letting me know (1 additional entry)

4.  Add my button to your sidebar and leave a comment letting me know you have done so. (1 additional entry)

5. Add the Doodle Bugs Paper button to your sidebar and leave a comment letting me know you have done so. (1 additional entry)

6.  Finally, make a purchase from Doodle Bugs Paper and leave me a comment letting me know. (5 Additional Entries!)

Please make sure you leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry.  

The giveaway will be open until Monday, September 20th at 9:00am (EST) and I will post the winner sometime Monday afternoon/evening.  The winner will be chosen using Random.org.  

And, as if the products at Doodle Bugs Paper weren't already extremely affordable, Kacey has so generously offered a 10% discount to all of y'all while the giveaway is going on! When checking out at Doodle Bugs Paper, enter:
livelaughlove in the coupon box! 

Now, get to shopping friends!! :)