How To Be a Winner

Okay okay, you're all winners in my book. But some people have noticed that I tend to win a lot of giveaways. My mother-in-law makes fun of me because whenever she sees I have something new, my answer is almost always, "I won it in a giveaway."

But how do I win all this cool stuff? Well, today, I will tell you!

Here's my list of tips:

1. Enter A LOT of giveaways. You won't win anything if you don't try.
2. Enter low-entry giveaways. This is probably the reason I win--the odds are better. When I won the DonorsChoose gift card (my biggest win to date), I didn't know how many people entered. However, I knew that Bing Rewards didn't have a huge following yet (nowhere near as big as Swagbucks), and it was technically a raffle since it cost me a few points to enter. I could spare a few points, so it was worth it to me to enter. Raffles generally have better odds just due to the nature of them, but only you can decide if they are worth the sacrifice.
3. Only enter giveaways you actually want to win. If you don't want the prize and you can't think of anyone you would like to give it to, just save your time and skip it. (It took me over a year to figure this out, and I have an interesting re-gifting drawer because of it.)
4. If you like tweeting, make an alternate Twitter account. (You could do this with FB too, but it's technically against the TOS.) Most online giveaways will have you follow a handful of accounts, and if you actually like to use Twitter to 'talk' to people, it will soon get overwhelmed with all these companies hawking their wares. You can also easily get the extra entries given for tweeting, and that helps you keep track of what you have entered. If you don't use Twitter, you may want to think about joining just for entering giveaways.
5. Twitter parties. I've only won one thing from a Twitter party, and it was a small one (tip #2 again!), but they're fun anyway. I used to use TweetGrid for these, but now that it's defunct I don't do these so much any more because they're hard to follow. And use that alternate Twitter account so you don't tick off your Twitter regulars, especially if you're going to tweet a lot during it.
6. Follow a few key Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, or blogs that tell you when giveaways you care about are happening. This is how I find out about 90% of giveaways. When I won the Michael Bublé concert tickets, I found out about it because I followed a Twitter account linked to his tour. (Yes, I followed it on my main Twitter account. Follow your absolute faves on that one.) A best-kept secret blog is Tightwad in Utah, which lists low-entry giveaways (under 200 entries) every week. 

While I have indeed won a lot of giveaways, there is one type of giveaway that has consistently eluded me: cloth diapers. I've been trying since I was pregnant to win a cloth diaper, and those giveaways just seem to have so many entries that I never won and basically stopped trying. I haven't devoted much time to them lately since they weren't paying off. Now I only enter them if they're on a blog I actively follow.

My last piece of advice: karma. Give stuff to others and good things will happen to you. I worked with a woman who won lots of awesome stuff (including a trip to Vegas!), and someone mentioned to me that she is a generally nice person who would do anything for you if needed. I don't know how true this really is, but giving stuff to others is generally a good idea.

In that vein, I'm going to do a giveaway. Right now. And lucky for you, I don't have a huge readership, so this will probably be low-entry. (I haven't actually had a giveaway on here that had more than 300 entries.)

I'm giving away this Rachael Ray cookbook to one winner. Rachael Ray is awesome, but just not for me. This has been waiting to be passed on, and is in very good condition. I'll also throw in some hot cocoa packets, and based on what I can glean in way of details about the winner, I might even add in something random from the re-gifting drawer. Good luck, y'all!

Winner must be U.S. resident or APO/FPO address.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And if you want to feel like a winner without technically 'winning,' try to snag some freebies! Hip2Save.com is my favorite blog for finding freebies (and no, they don't pay me to say that--I just love it that much). Another place to look is reddit's freebies forum. I love getting those surprises in the mail that I had long forgotten about!

Giveaway: Vera Bradley Stuff!

I had the wonderful privilege of attending the Vera Bradley Outlet Sale this year, which you can read all about in yesterday's post. Now I am going to spread the love to my readers.

There will be TWO winners! This contest is in no way sponsored by Vera Bradley, and I don't make any money from my blog, so this is just out of the generosity of my own [Deco Daisy zip-around wallet] pocketbook.

Winner 1 will receive the small cosmetic bag in Priscilla Pink from the Cosmetic Trio. This is a fabulous little zip pouch, and I am almost having a hard time parting with it. I could just picture my little niece tucking her money and other fun finds (rocks, Barbie shoes, stickers) into this one. Or, you know, an adult could actually use it for, uh, cosmetics.

The picture makes it look huge, but it's 5" by 4"

Winner 2 will receive a Tune In pouch in English Meadow, along with 4 blank note cards in various prints. The Tune In is a cute little pouch that has an ear bud organizer inside. I was able to fit my small mp3 player in  mine, but you could also use this little zippered pouch for any small treasures or a few tubes of chapstick.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lilla Rose Review and Giveaway

Lately I've been a one-trick pony when it comes to hair.  Yes, the "mom ponytail." Babies like to grab hair, and baby Cora likes to yank really hard (yowch!), so of course I need to keep it up and back.  I was trying to figure out other ways to do a bun that didn't take too long.  I recently received a Lilla Rose Flexi Clip that is perfect for keeping my hair up and looking stylish at the same time!

The Roman-Style Cross Flexi in Medium

 I chose size medium clip hoping it would be able to hold all my hair up, and it did!  It took a little bit of practice – and watching some styling videos on the Lilla Rose website – but I found three easy styles I could do in no time. I loved that this clip stayed in place allllllll day, which is pretty awesome when you realize how much moving around you do with a baby.  I even walked two miles then did 40 jumping jacks with it in, just to test it out.  Yes, it stayed in place!

The Flexi Clip is all one piece; this is the back of it.  The pin has little grooves so it can catch the clip part.

3 of the styles I can easily do with the clip. The third one (the tails-up) is my favorite!

Lilla Rose has other hair accessories including hair sticks, headbands, and you-pins.  I also got a set of these adorable bobby pins!

Flower of Hearts bobbies

One of you lucky readers will win a Lilla Rose accessory of your choice from Independent Consultant Linda Menke.  Check out the giveaway below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

In addition to my review, I wanted to mention that Lilla Rose Independent Consultant Linda Menke is sponsoring a special Mystery Hostess Party starting Sept 15 and ending at midnight on Sept 29. Everyone that orders will have a chance to be the Mystery Hostess and receive all the Hostess Rewards!  Due to a vendor swap also going on this month, the party is guaranteed to earn at least $450 in sales and all other orders will only increase that amount.  This is a great chance to order yourself a Flexi or start your Christmas shopping! (Check out the Flexi of the Month for Sept. – it’s beautiful) AND, if you are chosen as the Mystery Hostess, you can get lots of Lilla Rose loot for the holidays or for yourself.

To order from the party, Click Here.  Add yourself as a guest by entering your information under “New Guests Register Here.”  From there, simply shop and check-out. NOTE: Items ordered through the party will not ship until after the party closes on the 29^th. Items will probably ship by Oct. 2^nd. If you have problems or questions, please e-mail Linda at cliptomania@ymail.com.  Have Fun!

Also, please note while Lilla Rose does not ship outside of the US, Canada or Mexico, you can still order through my consultant! Please e-mail cliptomania@ymail.com for more information!

hooray hooray, a giveaway!

Well, I promised you a giveaway on Monday, so here ya go!

It's not much, but I think someone will like it:

Yup, $5 to Amazon to get whatever your little heart desires.  It will just be a code given through email that the winner can apply to their Amazon account.

There are two options on there for you to sign up for a site through my referral link for extra entries.  I figure I should probably give a little blurb about each site (and these are the sites that are helping me to give things like this away!)

Superpoints: Earn points by watching videos and clicking the SuperLucky button!  They also randomly send points to your email, usually once a day.  One of the easiest sites I've found.  You can also complete surveys and offers to earn.  Redeem your points for gift cards, PayPal cash, or other items.

Recyclebank: Another point-based website where you can receive points for your curbside recycling if your hauler participates; you can also earn by taking quizzes and pledges relating to living a greener life.  (I live in apartment and don't get any points for my recycling, but I still love this site).  Redeem points for high-value coupons (like $2 off one Kashi product), magazine subscriptions, gift cards, or donations.

Existing members of these sites get just as many entries in this giveaway :)

I'm using RaffleCopter as a host for the first time, since I've found it so easy to enter drawings with it. The giveaway will close Thursday night at midnight (Eastern), and the winner will be contacted on Friday.  Best of luck to everyone!

p.s. if the giveaway widget hasn't loaded for you after a minute, refresh the page.