Spreading Christmas Cheer + a $50 Giveaway!

One thing I LOVE LOVE LOVE about the Christmas season is the Christmas cards that fill my mail box! It’s so fun to see all the families who have grown and changed during the year and to get updates on families. It’s NEVER too early to start thinking about Christmas cards. In fact, I had a conversation on Twitter a couple weeks ago with a couple of about Christmas cards.
When it comes time to pick a card, I always peruse Shutterfly first. They always have tons of options for Christmas Cards. Not only are there many styles, contemporary, traditional, modern, but many of the cards have options for various numbers of pictures and some even offer various colors! Everyone can find something they love at Shutterfly!
One requirement for our card is that it says Merry Christmas or something of the sort. I do not like Happy Holidays. I don’t have anything against it, I just prefer ours to say Merry Christmas.
I have been browsing Shutterfly and making use of their favorite feature to save some of my favorites until I can narrow down to the one I love most! Once I narrow it down, I generally ask Zach if he has an opinion on any. He sometimes does, sometimes doesn’t.
Here are some of the ones I like this year!

Now, it will just be the problem of picking which one!!!
Shutterfly also has a special offers page found here http://www.shutterfly.com/special-offers. Be sure to check this out for deals on certain things. One of the things I love most about Shutterfly is that you can stack codes!! They don’t limit you to just one so if you have multiple codes, you can get AWESOME deals!
Shutterfly has graciously offered to give away a $50 credit to one of my readers!!! Wouldn’t that be a great help for Christmas cards?? The credit cannot be used to cover shipping and it cannot be combined with any other offers. If you are interested, you can enter using Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I was not compensated for this post. I was offered a discount code to use at a later date for Shutterfly products. The words and opinions are my own. 

Also, please remember to scroll down to see auction items to benefit the Turner family. You still have a few days to bid for this worthy cause! 
You can also start your Christmas shopping early by shopping my Pampered Chef Party - 75% of my profits will be donated to the Preslee Turner College Fund.  

Silent Auction Item – Pampered Chef Holiday Dots Square Bowl

This item is donated by me. I have never met Julee but pray that she is blessed beyond belief and comforted with the outpouring of love that has gone into this auction by SO SO many people. Thank you to all of the women who organized this as a way for us to show our support for her.
Also, I am hosting a party right now with Whitney Molder. To shop, go here. I will donate 75% of my commissions from this party to the Turners Memorial Fund.
And one more thing: the SWEETEST friend, Jill, is donating one of my products as well. If you go to her blog, you can bid on a Large Round Stone with Handles, one of Pampered Chef’s most popular products!!!!

Item: Holiday Dots Square Bowl

Estimated Value: $35.00 (including tax+shipping)
 
Description of Item: Festive red, green and white dots are the perfect background for holiday candies, cookies, nuts and snacks. This playful glass bowl coordinates perfectly with our previous limited-edition holiday tableware. Build your collection! 9 3/4" x 9 3/4". Microwave and dishwasher-safe.
This item can be shipped anywhere in the US.

How do you bid on this item? Place your bid in the comments. Please be sure to leave your name, email address, and bid. All bids must be made in $1 increments. If the last bid is $9, then your bid must be at least $10.
How/when is a winner chosen? Bidding will close on Friday night at 10:00pm(EST). The highest bid will be the winner of that item.
How will be payments be accepted? The coordinators of the auction will be notified of the winner and will send you a Paypal invoice for the amount. Once it’s paid, they’ll let us know so shipment can be arranged.
A FEW THINGS TO NOTE:
· All payments should be received by October 31, 2012.
· These payments are not considered tax deductible.
Thank you for your support and happy bidding!

Silent Auction Item - $15 Gift Certificate to Fashion Boutique

This item was donated by Fashion Boutique in Fort Smith, AR. Their facebook page can be found here. The donation was organized by Whitney Molder.

Item: $15 Gift Certificate to Fashion Boutique in Fort Smith, AR

Estimated Value: $15.00

Description of Item: A $15.00 gift certificate to be used on any item in the store. Per their facebook page, “We offer contemporary clothing at great prices from LA!!! We also have handbags & fashion jewelry. Not to mention, the very popular TANO handbags. A boutique without boutique prices!!!” Please visit their facebook page to see their wide variety of items!!!

Fashion Boutique offers shipping in the United States so you can bid even if you do not live in Arkansas.

How do you bid on this item? Place your bid in the comments. Please be sure to leave your name, email address, and bid. All bids must be made in $1 increments. If the last bid is $9, then your bid must be at least $10.
How/when is a winner chosen? Bidding will close on Friday night at 10:00pm(EST). The highest bid will be the winner of that item.
How will be payments be accepted? The coordinators of the auction will be notified of the winner and will send you a Paypal invoice for the amount. Once it’s paid, they’ll let us know so shipment can be arranged.

A FEW THINGS TO NOTE:

· All payments should be received by October 31, 2012.

· These payments are not considered tax deductible.

Thank you for your support and happy bidding!

Silent Auction Item – Thirty-One Super Organizing Tote

This item is being donated by Joyce Nabors, Thirty-One Director. In addition to this auction item, she is also donating 25% of her October commissions to the Turners fund.  Her website can be found here: https://www.mythirtyone.com/joycenabors and shop the party titled Fundraiser for Julee Turner.

Item: Thirty-One’s Super Organizing Tote

Estimated Value: $50.00

Description: Thirty-One’s Super Organizing Tote has 5 exterior pockets, 2 mesh side pockets & a zipper closure. It is approximately 14 inch tall, 19.5 inches wide. It can be used for cleaning products, clothing items, craft supplies, picnic materials and so much more!!

 

This item can be shipped to anywhere in the US.

How do you bid on this item? Place your bid in the comments. Please be sure to leave your name, email address, and bid. All bids must be made in $1 increments. If the last bid is $9, then your bid must be at least $10.
How/when is a winner chosen? Bidding will close on Friday night at 10:00pm(EST). The highest bid will be the winner of that item.
How will be payments be accepted? The coordinators of the auction will be notified of the winner and will send you a Paypal invoice for the amount. Once it’s paid, they’ll let us know so shipment can be arranged.
A FEW THINGS TO NOTE:

• All payments should be received by October 31, 2012.
• These payments are not considered tax deductible.

Thank you for your support and happy bidding!

Silent Auction Item – Custom High Chair

This item is being donated by Heather Maxey of Something Fancy.
Heather said: “I do not know Julee personally but I did know Matt thru my husband and the FCA. have only met Julee once. We attend Cross Church Fayetteville with them. My husband has known Matt for a few years and Matt has been involved some with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes showing his heart for not only athletics but the athletes themselves and sharing Christ with athletes. His legacy will live on thru so many. GOD BLESS JULEE AND PRESLEE. “

Item: Custom High Chair

Estimated Value: $150.00
Description of Item: antique wooden high chair painted in your choice of colors/design with name or monogram on the tray. These highchairs are a new twist on a timeless piece. I make sure to look closely at all to see that they are sturdy. Such a perfect baby gift, Christmas gift, first birthday gift. LOVE 1 year pictures in them. They have been Something Fancy's most popular item.
Picture of Item:
 
Due to the nature of this item, this item cannot be shipped. It is available for pickup in NWA or arrangements can be made to pick it up in the Little Rock area. If you are unable to do so, please do not bid on this item.

How do you bid on this item? Place your bid in the comments. Please be sure to leave your name, email address, and bid. All bids must be made in $1 increments. If the last bid is $9, then your bid must be at least $10.
How/when is a winner chosen? Bidding will close on Friday night at 10:00pm(EST). The highest bid will be the winner of that item.
How will be payments be accepted? The coordinators of the auction will be notified of the winner and will send you a Paypal invoice for the amount. Once it’s paid, they’ll let us know so shipment can be arranged.
A FEW THINGS TO NOTE:

• All payments should be received by October 31, 2012.
• These payments are not considered tax deductible.

Thank you for your support and happy bidding!

Project 366: Weeks 40 and 41

   

Reed’s Birthday Party

Since Reed’s birthday was on a Sunday, we got to spend the entire day with our little man! We had his party in the early afternoon and I think he had a great time! Here was the birthday boy waking up!

Part of our baby’s first year package from our photographer included a birthday invitation! A couple months before his birthday, I decided to change the theme from my original plan to Little Boy Blue. I think this fit Reed perfectly.

Here is the invite (minus the present sticker): 

We had the party in our home and it was PACKED. It was good to be surrounded by all of our family.

I didn’t do a ton as far as decorations just because I had limited space with so many people in our home. One thing I knew I wanted was pictures of Reed from birth. I love the look of square instagram photos and knew I wanted to use those. I waited until Tuesday to decide this and wasn’t sure I’d get it done. I used the Postal Pix app to order my photos. I ordered on Tuesday around 1:00 and got them on Friday!!!!!! I was SO happy with them, and how they turned out. They were SO fast and SO cheap too. I will be using this app to order photos again!!!!! I have so many photos on my phone and it was SO easy to use this app to order.I love how this turned out! I used tiny little blue clothespins to hold the photos up. I still have it up and have changed out with some other pictures I ordered. I love this differently way to display photos in the home. (I also love how Reed photobombed this pic!)

One thing I found one pinterest that kept popping in my mind was this backdrop. I just went with the blues and thought it turned out so cute. I knew I’d put Reed in front of this to do his cake. I also ordered this birthday banner from etsy.

It was SO cute for photos!! It was really easy to do too. Reed’s birthday shirt was made by SheSheMade.

Smash Cake 

We at lunch and then let Reed open his presents. He didn’t care about that at all! :) Ava stepped in and took care of that for him.

Attempt at a photo with the birthday boy

Then it was time for cake. He wasn’t sure what to think about everyone singing to him!

When he finally got going, he made a little icing handprint across his face that was the absolute cutest. My favorite pictures from the day! He did some pretty good damage to the cake!

We had a fun day celebrating, our healthy sweet boy. He enjoyed playing with some toys later that day, even though he played a little differently than is intended for the toy. Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate Reed. We are so grateful to all who came and appreciate you helping us enjoy this special day!

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I am hosting a Pampered Chef Party with my friend, Whitney. 75% of commission will be donated to the fund to help Julee and Preslee Turner. If you are in need of anything or are thinking ahead for Christmas, please help support this worthy cause. You can shop here.