Friday, September 30, 2011

Giveaway: Fat Quarter Shop!!



I'm so excited to share this giveaway with you guys today!!!  You know how for the Handmade Christmas Quilt Along I told you I was going to make my quilts fit a 2 yd cut of Moda Snuggles?

Well, if you are going to do that to, you can enter today to maybe WIN the color of YOUR choice of a 2 yd cut of Moda Snuggles from the Fat Quarter Shop! 
would you like blue?

or maybe brown?

or look at this pretty pink...



I've been ordering from the Fat Quarter Shop for a few years now and have always had a great experience.  They are a sponsor of my blog, but that's not why I order from them. I order from them becuase they ship FAST and have an AWESOME selection of Moda Pre-Cuts!


Oh, how I love a brand new fresh stack of Fat Quarters!!! These are on my "wish list" right now.

I told Fat Quarter Shop about the Quilt Along that I'm doing on my blog and they generously offered to give away to one reader:

One 2 Yard Cut of Moda Snuggles in your choice of color! 

How cool is that?  It's already cut to the perfect size to make your quilt!!

To enter you've got 3 chances:

1- Leave a comment on this post, if your making stuff for Christmas/Holiday gifts, tell me what your making!

2-Like the Polkdadot Chair on Facebook

3- Like Fat Quarter Shop on Facebook

You can do one or all 3...You choose.  If you do all 3 make sure you leave 3 separate comments so you get 3 chances to win!

Giveaway open until Wednesday October 5th at Midnight Eastern Time
US Residents Only

Although Fat Quarter Shop is a sponsor of the Polkadot Chair blog, I did not receive any compensation to host this giveaway.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Win $100 Gift card to Dicks Sporting Goods!



It's the end of the game... you've spent the week driving carpool, picking up kids, washing uniforms & packing snacks... It was a tough game,  your sitting in the stands waiting for your kid to walk across the field and talk to you so you can all go home.

Your hoping for a face like this:


The "I'm so happy, I had a great game, worked hard and had fun with my team"  face... Hopefully you get that face.  

Sometimes you do... sometimes you don't.  Sometimes there are cheers and sometimes there are tears... such is the life with a teenage athlete. 



My oldest plays field hockey.  It's a tough sport, highly skilled and physical.  The games are usually low scoring, fast paced and quite aggressive.

I always hope for that "face" at the end of the game.  But what happens when you don't get that face? I've been thinking about that a lot this year. We have had our share of ups and downs when it comes to playing sports.  I can honestly say that my daughter has done more "growing up" playing that sport that almost anything we could have done.  She's learned to deal with disappointment. She's learned what it means to work on a team. She's learned to speak up for herself and most of all she's learned that rewards come from hard work.

Gatorade asked me to write a little bit about how I support my young athlete... I've been mulling on this thought for about a month. How do I support and encourage her?  I drive her to practice, make sure she has healthy food to eat, I try to be at all of her games... but what is it I could share here with YOU about I how support her.  Then I started thinking about it and realized one of my FAVORITE things to do to support and encourage them is with crafts... hey this is a crafty blog!

We've done a few crafty things with the team over the years.  Last year we had them over to make tie dyed t-shirts.... I made a photo album for the coaches last year... but my favorite job of all is as the team photographer!   (I'm just an amateur but they don't care).


You see, the girls work hard and they want photos of themselves "in action".  I love to go to the games patrol the sidelines and try to get that "perfect" shot of them.  It's become quite a fun challenge for me.  After the games,  I come home and upload the photos to facebook. The kids have fun tagging themselves & their friends, they make the photos their profile pictures and best of all, most of them "friend" me on facebook.

The season is just starting for us. After a summer full of 6 AM practices it's time to start playing Field Hockey!! I'll have my usual place on the sidelines, camera in hand but this year, I wanted to do something a little extra too. So I decided to make them all GAME DAY SURVIVAL KITS.



Since nutrition is so important to young athletes, I tried to pull together a bag of goodies for them to take to the game, full of things to help them be prepared to play!

I worry a lot about my daughter eating right during sports season. I feel like I have to watch her so closely to make sure she is getting the proper amount of vitamins and protein.  Those kids work so hard and as her Mom, it's my responsibility to provide her with healthy things to eat.

I included some good carbs (apples, bananas, their favorite protein bar & trail mix) and a G Series Perform from Gatorade.

Did you know that G-series Perform is the best Gatorade for them to drink WHILE they are playing? I didn't... It helps athletes replace fluids, replenish electrolytes and refuel working muscles during exercise. I read a bit about it and think it's pretty cool that they have different formulas for different stages of play. And G -Series Prime from Gatorade is a good one for them to drink 15 minutes before they exercise because it provides pre-game fuel in the form of carbohydrates.

Also in the bag,  since it is field hockey, I included some bandages (for bumps and blisters), kleenex (incase of a hard defeat) and some cute hairbands (because it never hurts to be cute when you play). 

If you'd like to make your own SURVIVAL KIT- I've uploaded the graphic I made for the front of the bag online. You can download it (click here to download the PDF) and make your own (I've included some other color schemes and one without a field hockey stick).


So now you have a fun crafty idea to support them when they play but I've got a more serious question for ya'll ...  It's easy to think of what to say when they win and the game goes great, but...

"What do you say when things don't go their way?"

When they think the coach was mean, or the other team was unsportmanlike, or they are disappointed in how they played.  

Gatorade is thinking about this too: For more information and to encourage moms to support their athletes as they BECOME, Gatorade will donate one dollar up to $10,000 to the Women’s Sports Foundation for every pledge we receive at Gatorade Moms.

I've noticed with my kids that confidence is one of the greatest assets a young athlete can have. What has worked for you with your kids?

Leave a comment here and let me know your BEST MOM advice you'llx be entered to win a:

$100 Dicks Sporting Goods Gift Card!

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry
methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment
on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on
this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about
an alternate form of entry.

For more chances to win check out the Gatorade Round Up page at BlogHer!

Sweepstakes Dates from 8/29/11-9/30/11

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here .




Friday, August 12, 2011

Doodle Bugs Paper Giveaway!

Hey

Meet Kacey:


She is the owner and designer behind Doodle Bugs Paper



Here's a little bit about her and her cool company!


I started Doodle Bugs Paper in January 2003. 
Why? I love paper! 
And, I really love personalized paper. 
I started Doodle Bugs being a dealer for five major stationery chains. 
Quickly, I started designing and printing myself and turned the main focus of the business to my own line of stationery. 
My first sales were by word of mouth. 
I also started selling on ebay- and was amazed at how quickly my business grew.


this is a full time job BUT I also manage to get up everyday and go to work as a first grade teacher.
Why, I simply love those little kiddos!
(It's not for the money thats for sure.)
I started the business as a dream to stay home and work.
But, when the time came- I love being a teacher just as much as I love stationery!
So, I teach simple things like the alphabet and numbers by day
and run a business at night and on the weekends.

Life is good.



I absolutely adore Kacey's Shop....

Along with custom stationary she sells these really cool custom address stamps

The thing that is cool about them is you don't have to put your address on them you can use them for other things like

A custom gift tag!!  Wouldn't this be great to get one to stamp on your Christmas gifts?  Such fun ideas for neighbor gifts! (plus it would save you loads of time)



I love her line of back to school goodies.... A little "bribery" for the teacher on the first day of school can't be a bad thing right?

Some other cool stuff from her shop:


flat notes



kids thank you cards (such a great idea)


personalized folded notes


Today I'm so excited to be giving away a $35 GIFT CERTIFICATE to Doodle Bugs Paper!!  Who hoo!! Pick out your favorite product from Kacey's Store!!

To enter- we're keeping it easy here from now on...

Leave a comment on this post- tell me what your favorite product is at Doodlebugs Paper-  make sure you click over there and take a look- lot's of great eye candy!


Giveaway open until Monday August 15th at Midnight Eastern time.



Monday, April 11, 2011

Slow and steady wins the race

This is a sponsored post from BlogHer and Tropicana.

Hi there!!!

Guess what???? Tropicana is back and offering to give away a SECOND $100 Visa Gift card to a lucky reader!

To enter just help me answer the question....

"What are some of the simple things you do to keep your family healthy?"

I know that many times I am trying to think of something "big" and "grand" that will change the way we eat.... most times I don't come up with any viable solutions.... I think too BIG, which makes the idea not really practical for the way my family works.

What I've discovered lately is that it's much easier to find small things I can do on a daily basis to improve my family's health... You know, stick with the "slow and steady wins the race" mentality.

Now I will tell you I am no expert when it comes to healthy families. We have candy in our house, my kids ate take out pizza for dinner last night, and I will admit to a personal love of macaroni and cheese (especially the home made kind).  However I can tell you some of the things that we do that work for us. Maybe they will work for you too? Maybe not... but here are some.

-We try to lead by example. My husband and I exercise on a regular basis. Now neither of us is "super fit " but we do try to show a consistent effort to stay active.

-We also try to keep our kids involved in some type of extracurricular activity, my oldest daughter plays for her High Schools Field Hockey team and the little kids are always trying out new things.  We have yet to find something that will "stick" for my son, but we keep trying, and more importantly keep him active.

-We keep fresh food in the house.  I'll admit it's been hard this winter to keep fresh fruits and veggies around, but I'm buying what looks good at the supermarket. I always try to keep a basket of apples on the kitchen counter, and some baby carrots in the fridge.

-Kids will eat most anything if they can dip it! I found that a little bit of ranch dressing goes a long way towards getting a kid to eat some broccoli, carrots or celery!

-We try to use the rule of moderation.  I've never been a big believer of depriving yourself entirely of one type of food.  A few years ago we started "Sundaes on Sunday." Aptly named by my son, because he thought ANY dessert you have on Sunday is called a Sundae! The name stuck and it's become a fun tradition. We always try to have dessert on Sunday, then not so much the rest of the week. The kids (and me) look forward to our Sunday desserts and no one feels deprived.

I mentioned earlier on this blog that for the new year I was trying to eat protein at breakfast.  One of the ways that I've found to get protein in the morning is to make smoothies!  I especially like to do this for my teenage daughter since she is ALWAYS late in the morning, and she can drink it on her way to school.

Here's a recipe for one of favorites. It's a take off of the famous orange ones at the mall... (you know what I'm talking about)... but a healthier version. It also makes a great after school snack!

Ingredients

2 C. Tropicana Orange Juice
1 scoop vanilla  protein powder
dash of vanilla
2 scoops plain yogurt (get organic or something unsweetened if you can, yogurt sometimes has a lot of added sugar- you could also use vanilla yogurt, just eliminate the extra vanilla)
2 cups ice (fill up the blender with it)
If your kids are super picky and want something sweet, you can add in 1 T powdered sugar... it's up to you and how much you are watching your sugar intake.

Dump all the ingredients in a blender and mix well.

Now for the giveaway....

Tropicana is giving away a $100 Visa Gift card for one lucky reader!! To enter just let me know,

-What's something simple that you have done to make your family healthier?

I'd love to hear, I'm always on the look out for simple things with lots of impact!!

Pledge to squeeze more fruits and veggies into your day & Tropicana will
help kids in need. Tropicana will donate one 8-oz glass of orange juice to
the USDA School Breakfast and Summer Food Service programs, up to 184,375
8-oz glasses. 



Please pledge by going to http://bit.ly/gAU7Eq . Promo will end 12/31/11.

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry
methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to my question

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment
on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on
this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about
an alternate form of entry.

Giveaway dates from 4/11/11- 5/9/11
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be
selected.

The Official Rules are available here


Also be sure to check out Tropicana on the web!!




Check out what more bloggers are doing to put the good in mornings on BlogHer's round up page!

I wrote this post while participating in the Tropicana Pure Premium/BlogHer program on behalf of Tropicana Pure Premium. I received product information to facilitate my post and monetary compensation for the time to write my post.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Shabby Apple Giveaway

Enter to win this Dress!!- The Spanish Steps Dress
One of my favorite clothing companies, Shabby Apple contacted me about doing a giveaway for them.


I jumped right on it, then they told me I got to pick which dress to give away to ya'll... and I got even more excited, but a little bit stressed!  Picking clothes for someone else, that's a whole lotta pressure!!

Luckily there were many many cute ones to pick from.. I chose the one above, the "Spanish Steps"... it's from their new Romin Holiday line.. which I am TOTALLY in love with!


I was lucky to go to Rome a few years ago, and I love how their new line captures the spirit and style of the city!

Some of my favorite dresses are:



and


I've been a "fan" of Shabby Apple for a few years now, ever since my sister bought this dress..

and called and told me it's the BEST.  DRESS.  EVER...

Since then I'll admit to buying a "few" dresses from them, but my favorite one is this one:


I wear it with boots in the winter and cute heels in the fall and spring. 

I love their new lines and have added a few to my "Spring Wish List"...

You guys are LUCKY today becuase....

First:
Shabby Apple is giving Polkadot Chair blog readers and 10% discount!! Just enter the code "polkadotchair" when you check out to get your discount!

Second:
One of you is going to win the "Spanish Steps" dress pictured above!!!

To enter it's easy!!

- Visit their site and leave a comment here and let me know what your favorite Women's Shabby Apple dress is.

-For an extra entry head on over to Facebook- and "like" Shabby Apple

and for one more entry-

-Since you're already over on Facebook, "like" the Polkadot Chair for one more chance!!

Leave a seperate comment for each item that you do:

Rules
-Prize can be shipped to a US address only
-Contest open Sunday March 27th - March 31st at Midnight Eastern time.



Monday, March 14, 2011

Help me find the good in Mornings!

This is a sponsored post from BlogHer and Tropicana.

- This is a long post, but you'll want to read it all... at the end there is a chance to win a good prize!

Okay,
I have a confession to make:

I am NOT a morning person...

you may all gasp as I hang my head in shame.

{I had contemplated inserting a photo of me in the morning here, then I realized I'm not that brave}

With friends at one of our favorite morning haunts


Actually I think this is not much of a confession as I have shared this fact before here on my blog, but here I am sharing it again.

You see, the fact that I am not a morning person has bothered me ever since I can remember. You've all heard the saying I'm sure "early to rise makes a man healthy, wealth and wise."  Well not me.

It's one thing that I would like to change about myself, but have tired numerous times in the past and have come to the conclusion that I am wired to be a night owl. However I am not willing to give up.

It's okay...

Since I have become a Mom and my kids have gotten older I have noticed that I've gotten "better" at mornings.  I have a teenager that gets up every morning and goes to early morning seminary for church, (she is not a morning person either, I wonder where she inherited that trait ? *wink*) and 9 yr old twins that need to be up, dressed, fed and ready to go when the bus comes to pick them up.

I tell all of you this because, I've been asked to write about mornings AGAIN!  I have to laugh because I think that someone is trying to tell me something. So now for the 2nd time you get to hear about my struggles with the "a.m.".

Tropicana asked me to write a bit about how I put the "good" in mornings... Since I'm not a morning person I've had to make a little extra effort to make my mornings GOOD... I have 3 kids that need me at 6:30 am  so I had to figure something out.

Before I tell more about my mornings, I thought I'd share with you a couple of things I learned this week from the good folks at Tropicana...

-Did you know that every 59 ounce Tropicana bottle contains the juice of 16 oranges? I didn't...

-Did you know that the ONLY thing in Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice is ORANGE JUICE? I didn't know this... I was under the mistaken presumption that grocery store juices had loads of added sugar.. Tropicana does not.. there is NO added sugar or artificial sweeteners!!

-Did you know that it only costs .50 cents for an 8 ounce glass of Tropicana juice and that 8 ounces give you TWO servings of fruit for the day? I didn't know this either...I hate to admit but I rarely get all of my recommended fruit servings in per day. (I don't really like fruit, I'd rather drink it that eat it).

-Did you know that a glass of OJ contains, Vitamin C, Folate, Potassium, & Thiamin?  Yep, there is a FULL days supply of vitamin C,  and as much potassium as a banana.

Pretty cool I think... I was really most surprised about the no added sugar, and the fact that for only .50 cents you can give your family 2 of their servings  of fruit a day.

I thought I'd share just a bit of what our family likes to do for breakfast... then ask for your ideas and suggestions!

note the OJ in the photo

We LOVE to go out to breakfast... We are lucky that there are a couple of fun places where we live with excellent breakfasts.  Now it's not really practical to do this more than once every couple of months, but it makes for a fun weekend activity when we do get to go.

Christmas morning 2008
I also like to try to make breakfasts on Holidays extra special. We set the table, make a fun breakfast and all sit down and eat together. My husband makes great waffles! We also like to do this on Sundays when our church is not until the afternoon. It's a fun break from our normal "rush out of the house" morning routines!

So now here is where I need your help!

Not every day is a Holiday or practical for a breakfast out... so for those of you that ARE morning people, how do you do it? Please tell me, help a girl out!

What's your best tip for me to make for a good morning???   After I get the kids all off to school, I tend to crash a bit... so what's your trick or your routine? Do you make the beds, jump straight in the shower, or head to the gym?

What's the thing that you do to put the GOOD in morning???

Leave a comment HERE with your anwer and you will be entered to win a

$100 Visa Gift Card from Tropicana!!!

Rules:


No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry
methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment
on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on
this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about
an alternate form of entry.

Sweepstakes dates 3/14/11-4/11/11

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be
selected.
Official Rules


Also be sure to check out Tropicana on the web!!




Check out what more bloggers are doing to put the good in mornings on BlogHer's roundup page

Oh and keep an eye out here!! In two weeks there will be another opportunity to win a $100 Gift Card!


I wrote this post while participating in the Tropicana Pure Premium/BlogHer program on behalf of Tropicana Pure Premium. I received product information to facilitate my post and monetary compensation for the time to write my post.


Friday, January 21, 2011

Win a copy of Fresh Fabric Treats & A Fat Quarter Pack


Hey There!!!

I am so excited to be a part of the new Moda Bake Shop book, Fresh Fabric Treats! I wish I could share with you my fun project, but I can't yet... but I hope you will like it, I was so excited that I pulled it off!!


The other thing that I am so excited about is that I get to share it with you!!! The awesome folks at Moda Fabrics have generously offered to contribute to a very generous giveaway for my readers today!

There are 2 contests going on at the same time, the first one... Moda is donating for me to give away:

- A copy of Fresh Fabric Treats!!  

AND

-My favorite Moda pre cut- which just so happens to be a Fat Quarter pack!! (are you surprised, aren't I always sewing with fat quarters?)... What's even more exciting is that it will be in a yet to be named fabric line!! So a fun surprise for you!!

The second prize is pretty awesome too!

You know how I mentioned the "Progressive Dinner" going on right now? Well if you go around and leave a comment on EACH blog post, you will be entered to win:
- a copy of Fresh Fabric Treats
AND
-One of EACH Moda Precuts!! Yeah, that one charm pack, one fat quarter pack... you get the idea!

So here are the rules!

Leave a separate comment for each item you do:

-Leave  a comment here, say hi, let me know what project you'd love to see on Moda Bake Shop.
-Blog or Tweet about this giveaway and leave a link in your post (Facebook doesn't count as they do not want bloggers to use them as a forum for giveaways...)
-Follow or Subscribe to my blog, www.polkadotchair.com

A few other things:

-The book doesn't come out until May, so that's when your prize will arrive
-You MUST leave a way for me to contact you in your comment.  
-If I can't get a hold of you within 48 hrs a different winner will be chosen.


Giveaway Ends Friday January 28th at midnight Eastern Time.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

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