Memories — Page 4

Wow! $40 worth of Product FREE from Paper Coterie!

Paper Coterie is having a BIG Event going on right now!

Check out some of the really pretty paper products at Paper Coterie, choose $40 worth of your favorites, and check out with the coupon code BEGINANYWHERE to get it all for FREE! {You will have to pay your own shipping though, which is fair for all of those free goodies.} This coupon code is valid until August 31st.

Begin Anywhere Month

The late composer John Cage claimed “Not knowing where to start is the most common form of paralysis.” His advice? “Begin Anywhere.” I love it.

Super excited to create…

I have some work to do this morning, but then I’m going to make the super adorable A-Z Baby Girl Photo Book, and the 10 Things I Love About You Poster! Their products are so unique and creative, you’ll love it. Let me know what products you get with YOUR credit!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on August 3, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies, Shopping, Deals and Coupon Codes | 1 Comment

New Summer Photo Freebies and Codes

New {Limited Time} Summer Photo Deals:

Shutterfly has a deal until August 3rd…

Use coupon code BOOK40 at check-out to get 40% off Photo Books! Plus, most orders are getting Free Shipping right now too! {See Shutterfly for details!}

Vistaprint {one of my VERY favorites for awesome freebies} is having a great deal–

Get 6 FREE Photo Products! Upload from Picasa, Facebook and Flickr! The products are free, just pay shipping and processing…

Shipping starts at:
Calendar- $5.67
Flipbook – $5.89
Mug – $5.67
Mouse Pad- $4.41
T-shirt – $4.41
Magnets- $4.70

BUT… Many times they have deals going where you can get FREE shipping with a $20 or $30 order. So I stock up on all 6 freebies, then order more at their discount prices, and save them for holiday gifts. What grandparent doesn’t love photo gifts, right?

Canvas Print has their deal going still: Get a FREE 8×10 Classic Canvas Wall Art Print, or use the $50 promo credit towards upgrading to a larger size, or adding cool effects like my favorite, the Pop-Art!

Kodak has a really fun deal when you sign up to join the site… Buy one Photo Collage Wall Art, get another one FREE! These are amazing, and the kids LOVE seeing themselves blown up on posters.

Snapfish:

Visit their site, Snapfish.com, and if you’re a new member, you’ll get 20 FREE prints just for setting up an account! Then, use these promo codes:

BONUS200: Get 200 Free prints with a $15 purchase, or BONUS100 to get 100 free prints with a $10 purchase, expires August 2nd.

SUMMERFS20: Free shipping on orders over $20 until August 31st.

TRY3CARDS: Get 3 FREE customized greeting cards, until August 31st!

PURPLESNAPPY: Get 20% off on all stationary supplies, which are great for personalized school supplies for the kids.

So, gather up all of your favorite summer photos, get some fun prints and gifts made, and save a ton of money too! This is a great time to start making holiday photo gifts too.

{Share the love! Have friends that love freebies? Use the social buttons to share these sweet deals and codes with your Facebook or Twitter friends!}

Posted by Meagan Paullin on August 1, 2011 Filed Under: Deals and Coupon Codes, Freebies, Shopping | No Comments

{Mommy Thoughts} How to Pick a Baby Name

Picking a Baby Name…

How did you choose your baby’s name? I had such a hard time, since I am one of those people that can never make a decision. We agreed that if it was a boy, he’d be named after his daddy… But I got to pick a boy middle name. One day at work, some little boy yelled to his brother, and instantly, I knew that Wyatt was the middle name for my son. Done, just like that.

It’s a Girl!

When we found out that we were having a girl, it fell to me to choose the new name. {I was SOOO surprised to find out it was a girl, and thrilled. All of my friends and family only have baby boys… I had started to think baby’s only came in “boy”, lol}.

Searching for Inspiration…

I started out by browsing on baby names sites, to get ideas. I had never planned to become a mom, and had NEVER given any thought to names, {although I have friends who have planned names for whole herds of future babies…} I found a few that I liked… Olivia, but a friend of mine had a daughter with that name, so it was out. Isabella, but no one in the family liked it, and I have a friend with a dog named Bella. My mom wanted me to name baby after her, but Debbie didn’t seem like a very modern baby name. Dad shot down the name Lily, and Emma was out because that was his other daughters name.

The search continues…

I looked at things like most popular baby names, celebrity names, and even used online tools like random name generators! Finally, I came across a name that just suddenly, just like the baby boy name, felt right….

ASL Letter a ASL Letter b ASL Letter i ASL Letter g ASL Letter l

Her name was Abigail! And we’d call her Abby :) As soon as the name was chosen, it just felt right, and I knew it was what I’d been looking for. It also changed the way I felt about my pregnancy… Suddenly, this baby was a real person. Instead of saying, “when the baby comes”, I could say “when Abby comes..”

How did YOU choose your baby’s name?

Did you use a baby name idea site to help you choose, or a book, or did you just use a family name?? I’d love to hear your stories, so share them in the comments below!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on July 7, 2011 Filed Under: Mommy Thoughts | No Comments

{More Baby Freebies!} Free Baby Book

Free Online Baby Books!

Create a free online baby book to privately share photos, movies, and more with friends and family. A great way to really keep your loved ones that live far away involved in baby’s life!

Make an Online Baby Book using TotSites, and have access to 80+ Cute Designs, with loads of customization options. Super fun, and super easy to use. And FREE! Private and secure, so you know your pictures are safe. Check it out!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on July 5, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies, Fun Stuff | No Comments

$15 + Holiday Weekend Photos = Amazing Art!

This is my print from Canvas People…

And I love it. I get SO many compliments when people come over, wondering where I got it. So, if you’ve got some great new family photos from the holiday weekend, this is a great way to save them and share them!

How it Works:

You pick your photo, then head over to Canvas People.
Then choose your size. Right now you get an 8×10 for FREE, and pay ONLY the $14.95 for shipping this large print. Or you can use a $50 credit towards a bigger size.
Choose a frame, or leave it Gallery Wrapped, which is what I did. This means that the canvas wraps around the side of the image and is secured to the back of a frame. The image wraps around the sides to make a lovely presentation. It looks really cool.
Next, choose your effects. You can add tons of stuff, to make the print into a cool piece of art.
Then your Canvas is sprayed for protection. They coat all canvas prints with an environmentally-friendly protective coating. This coating will help protect your canvas from moisture, humidity, abrasions, fingerprints, and more. Plus, it gives a really nice finish.

Some Creative Ideas:

We had just moved into a larger office & were in the process of redecorating. Instead of the usual company plaques to hang on the walls, we decided to display our logos on bright, modern canvases. They look so professional & other companies in our building have been asking where they can get their logos on canvas too! Rosie- New York.
My granddaughter is such a creative 10-year-old. She made a beautiful painting while I was visiting recently. She wanted me to keep it, but I didn’t want to ruin it by packing it up in my suitcase. Imagine my surprise when a few weeks later, her mom had taken a photo of the painting, ordered a canvas of it & sent it to me as a gift! Helene- Texas.
Anybody thinking twice about turning their photo into POP art – have no fear. When I say my daughter “flipped” when she saw it, I’m not exaggerating. She shows it to her friends like she’s a movie star! It’s in her bedroom now and she just loves it. Mike- Florida.

Read more from customers:

Check out the chat page on Canvas People to read more great comments, and learn more about how Canvas People works!

Trust me, you will NOT be disappointed with your purchase here. We were a little worried, thinking the quality might not be that great, but figured for less than $15, it should still be worth it. I was surprised to see that they had such great materials and workmanship… And they even touched up a couple of minor flaws in the photo, without us asking or paying extra!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on July 5, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies, Shopping, Fun Stuff | No Comments

{Giveaway} Win a FREE Photo Book from Mixbook!

It’s official, I love Mixbook!

I am a huge fan of any type of personalized product using photos… I love calendars customized with fun family photos, I think that creating personalized holiday cards with pic’s in so much better than buying one in a store, and I think that photo books make the most {AMAZING} keepsakes.

Kind of a photo book pro…

I’ve used Snapfish and Shutterfly for most of my photo books, and they’re both pretty similar, and I’ve been really happy with both. When Mixbook approached me and offered me a chance to try out their site to make a new photo book, I assumed it would be pretty similar. Wow, was I wrong!

Mixbook ROCKS my SOCKS

Mixbook is {SUPER DUPER} cool. There are SO many more ways to customize your pages than either Snapfish or Shutterfly. You pick a Theme, and then upload your photos. But the pages and designs that they have are so creative and fun, and you can change background colors, lay-outs, and more. But the really cool part is that you can add custom stickers and embellishments to each page too! This allows you to get a really creative and unique look to each page, and I LOVE it.

Simple for Beginners, Advanced enough for Pro’s

The whole process of putting together a photo book is super simple. Even if you’ve never done it before. Even if you have VERY little computer knowledge. They have a quick video you can watch that’ll teach you the basics, and it’s really just point and click type of stuff. I promise, ANYONE can put together a basic photo book, and get a really great finished product with very little work. Easy peasy.

Want to try Mixbook for yourself? Well, those generous folks over there are giving all of my readers 20% off of their whole order! Use code SIPPY20 at check out to save!

If you are a more advanced user, and want to spend some extra time, then you will LOVE the extra tools and features available here. This is now seriously my favorite place to make photo books. Using the stickers to make each page my own was really fun. I’m almost done with my book, and I’m LOVIN’ it.

WIN A FREE PHOTO BOOK FROM MIXBOOK!

Sounds amazing, and you want one too? Well, it’s {possibly} you’re lucky day! One lucky Sunshine and Sippy Cups fan is going to WIN a FREE 20-page, 11×8.5 landscape, hardcover photo book with free US Ground shipping! {If the winner is from Canada, we’ll arrange for shipping costs for you too!} Super cool, right?

How to Enter:

Mandatory Entry

You must follow Sunshine and Sippy Cups by email or GFC to be eligible to win this giveaway. You can find both in the upper right corner, then just leave a comment telling me you did this entry. Trust me, you’ll love being a subscriber… You’ll get just one email update a day, with all of the best posts, so you never miss anything good!

Bonus Entries:

Follow Mixbook on Twitter and leave me a comment letting me know that you do!
Follow Sunshine and Sippy Cups on Twitter too, and leave me a new comment letting me know.
Like Mixbook on Facebook, and stay updated on their new products and promotion. Leave a new comment.
Like Sunshine and Sippy Cups on Facebook too! Leave another new comment to enter.
Check out the Mixbook website and let me know something else that you like! BONUS: use code SIPPY20 to get an extra 20% off of your order!!
Share this giveaway! You can use the social buttons to post to Twitter or Facebook, Stumble this, post on your own blog… Anywhere you share it, just leave me a comment letting me know! You can do this up to THREE times per day for more bonus entries!

Rules and all that:

This giveaway starts today and ends on July 15th at midnight. Winner will be chosen by Random.org on July 16th and notified by email. Winner will have 48 hours to confirm or an alternate will be chosen. Giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada residents, 18+. Each comment = one entry, so leave a new comment for each entry task completed.

{Disclaimer: I was compensated with a free photo book from mixbook to review, but all opinions are of course totally mine. I really do love Mixbook as much as I stated in the review, it’s true :)}

Posted by Meagan Paullin on July 1, 2011 Filed Under: Contests | 125 Comments

Two Great Photo Deals to Choose From!

Have you used Canvas People to get a FREE canvas yet?

This is the print that I got of my daughter… The quality really impressed us, and I am SO glad that I tried them out!

The photo is printed onto the canvas, and you can add different finishes or techniques if you’d like to jazz it up a bit. Then the canvas is stretched around a frame, so that the picture wraps around the sides, which looks really cool.

It even comes with a package with everything that you need to hang it, as a FREE bonus!

Right now you choose between two different deals at Canvas People. You can get the original 8×10 canvas FREE, or upgrade to a larger size, or add other stuff like sepia tones, and get a FREE $50 credit towards your final price.

These are SO worth getting, seriously. I get compliments on my print EVERY time someone comes to visit, and I’ve gotten a couple of these to give as gifts too.

Check them out and get YOUR free print too!