blog-warming party — Giving Up on Perfect

Blog-Warming Giveaway: Eclectic Whatnot

12:54 pm ByMary @ Giving Up on PerfectFiled UnderBlogging & Social Media, Photography, Scrapbooking & Crafts, Reviews & Giveaways, Uncategorized

Surprise! We have one more door prize to give away at this bloggy shindig! (And then you’re going to want to run, not walk, to (in)courage for their 30 Days of Giveaways! Woo-hoo!)

But, first, another Blog-Warming Giveaway. Sweet Ruthanne from Eclectic Whatnot offered to give a $25 shop credit to one of my lovely readers.

Do you love to take pictures? Are you a wannabe photographer (like moi)? Do you like pretty things? Well, then, you are going to love Ruthanne’s camera strap covers.

Ruthanne’s work at Eclectic Whatnot gives her the opportunity to combine two of her loves – photography and sewing. Her shop features shabby, chic and just plain fun camera strap covers. Her sewing is fueled by good coffee, streaming episodes of 24 and show tunes. When she’s not sewing, she’s either homeschooling her crew or stalking them with her camera. And sometimes she does both simultaneously.

You can read more about Ruthanne at her blog, Eclectic Whatnot, and see her beautiful creations at her Etsy shop.

To Enter the Giveaway:

Visit Ruthanne’s shop and tell me in the comments what you’d spend the shop credit on!
For additional entries, subscribe to Giving Up on Perfect, follow me on Twitter or join my Facebook page.
{Just to be clear, you can do any or all of these – just leave a separate comment for each. And if you already do these things, just say so in your (separate) comment.}

This giveaway will be open until midnight (CST) on Saturday, August 14. I’ll use Random.org to draw a winner and announce it next week. Good luck!

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Can’t get enough of Giving Up on Perfect? Subscribe here, follow me on Twitter and join my Facebook page.

Taggedblog-warming party, camera strap cover, eclectic whatnot, giveaway, photography 76 Comments

Blog-Warming Giveaway: Gussy

4:49 am ByMary @ Giving Up on PerfectFiled UnderBlogging & Social Media, Reviews & Giveaways

The third – and final – giveaway for my Blog-Warming Party comes from the adorable and amazing Gussy!

I met Maggie – or Gussy, as she’s known, well, everywhere – at Blissdom, and she is a blast! Not only that, but she’s also a motivated, determined businesswoman. The short version of her story is this: She decided that she wanted to sew, so she learned. Then she decided that she wanted to make it a full-time job, so she made it happen.

Seriously, she’s amazing! Here’s more (in her own words):

Gussy is a colorful line of ruffled accessories. Each ruffle is machine sewn free-hand style, making each ruffle unique. Almost two years ago I sat down at my kitchen table — I wanted to learn how to sew. And here I am now, offering zipped pouches of all sizes, laptop bags, tote/diaper bags, and wristlet/clutches (all with my signature ruffle) to those that love a little flair :) And, I’ve recently quit my day job to pursue Gussy full-time.

The Nester wrote, “Gussy has a juicy shop full of all kinds of wonderfulness, and her blog, Gussy has a lot to say, is quickly becoming a crafter’s headquarters where she features different crafters/artists and writes about her experience.”

About the Giveaway:

Gussy is giving $30 shop credit to be spent at www.shopgussy.com. [All baby blankets are exempt from giveaway credit.]
To enter the giveaway, visit Gussy’s shop and tell me in the comments what you’d spend the shop credit on!
For additional entries, subscribe to Giving Up on Perfect, follow me on Twitter or join my Facebook page.
{Just to be clear, you can do any or all of these – just leave a separate comment for each. And if you already do these things, just say so in your (separate) comment.}

This giveaway will be open until midnight (CST) on Friday, August 13. I’ll use Random.org to draw a winner and announce it next week. Good luck!

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Can’t get enough of Giving Up on Perfect? Subscribe here, follow me on Twitter and join my Facebook page.

Taggedblog-warming party, giveaway, gussy 99 Comments

Blog-Warming Giveaway: Stack of Books

12:04 pm ByMary @ Giving Up on PerfectFiled UnderBooks, TV, Music & Movies, Faith, Inspiration & Deep Thoughts, Reviews & Giveaways

Today’s blog-warming giveaway is a stack of great books – and what a variety, too! You’ve got a novel, a memoir and a Christian living book. (Okay, so yeah, they’re all Christian books. But they’re different kinds of Christian books. See?)

Just Between You & Me by Jenny B. Jones was just nominated for an ACFW award, and a blog post listing the nominees is what introduced me to this book in the first place. After reading it, I have to say I’d definitely vote for it. I’m actually giving it a full review this weekend, but for now, let me just say that if you’ve been turned off by fluffy, unrealistic Christian fiction, you should try this book. The Christian themes are unmistakable, but the author’s voice and characters are so authentic. It actually made me feel like I was reading a blog in places – and you know I like that.

Plus, she uses the word “crap.” So it has that going for it.

I first heard about The Me I Want to Be: Becoming God’s Best Version of You by John Ortberg in a Catalyst podcast with Ortberg. Then my friend Lindsey Nobles mentioned it on Twitter and said she would recommend it to every person she knows.

Now that I’m about halfway through the book, I’d definitely agree. It’s well-written, personable and funny – but it gets right to the heart of some issues that I have (and you just might have, too. Not because I think you have issues, but I think wanting to “find myself” is a pretty common thing.).

I’m going to be honest. I haven’t read Thin Places: A Memoir by Mary DeMuth. I’ve read amazing, moving reviews of it. I’ve read enough of Mary’s other work to know that it’s going to be amazing and moving. But I know this book – about the abuse Mary suffered as a child and how God has redeemed it all – is going to be hard. And so I haven’t picked it up yet.

You, however, CAN read it. If you win. (Or even if you don’t. You should buy it and read it. My friend Sarah Markley read it and said she was in awe of the author. She said “it’s that good.”)

How to Enter the Giveaway:

Leave a comment telling me the last good book you read.
For additional entries, subscribe to Giving Up on Perfect, follow me on Twitter or join my Facebook page.
{Just to be clear, you can do any or all of these – just leave a separate comment for each. And if you already do these things, just say so in your (separate) comment.}

This giveaway will be open until midnight (CST) on Friday, August 13. I’ll use Random.org to draw a winner and announce it next week. Good luck!

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Can’t get enough of Giving Up on Perfect? Subscribe here, follow me on Twitter and join my Facebook page.

Taggedblog-warming party, books, christian fiction, christianity, giveaway, jenny b. jones, john ortberg, mary demuth 90 Comments

Blog-Warming Giveaway: The Pleated Poppy

12:13 pm ByMary @ Giving Up on PerfectFiled UnderReviews & Giveaways

My first giveaway of the Blog-Warming Party comes from Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy. She makes all sorts of cute and useful products, from checkbook covers and sunglass cases to aprons, pins and hair clips.

And did I mention how cute they are?

I met Lindsey at Blissdom and after spending an evening laughing and eating nachos, I can tell you she is as fun as her products are cute. Not to mention, she’s incredibly generous. She brought – literally – hundreds of posy pins to give away at Blissdom. {Check out the girls wearing them up above!} And if all that wasn’t enough for me to partner with her, check out her tagline: Beautiful Imperfections of the Everyday.

Lindsey is married to an incredibly supportive husband and is mom to three littles – age 6 and under. Her days are full of sewing, home schooling, crafting, snuggling, avoiding the laundry, sneaking bites of chocolate and wondering, “Is it naptime yet?”

To help us celebrate my move to WordPress, Lindsey will give one reader a $25 shop credit. In addition, she’s giving a 10% discount to all of my readers. Just use the code PERFECT for 10% off your order.

How to Enter the Giveaway:

Visit The Pleated Poppy, then leave a comment telling us your favorite item.
For additional entries, subscribe to Giving Up on Perfect, follow me on Twitter or join my Facebook page.
{Just to be clear, you can do any or all of these – just leave a separate comment for each. And if you already do these things, just say so in your (separate) comment.}

This giveaway will be open until midnight (CST) on Friday, August 13. I’ll use Random.org to draw a winner and announce it next week. Good luck!

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Can’t get enough of Giving Up on Perfect? Subscribe here, follow me on Twitter and join my Facebook page.