The Larson Lingo: 5 Year Blogoversary Giveaway!

8.08.2013

5 Year Blogoversary Giveaway!

5 years ago.

It was August 8, 2008.

I was 8 months pregnant with Claire & Kate was just 18 months old.

We were watching the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

I had been wanting to start a blog to document our family & I decided to finally start a blog that day because the date was cool 08-08-08 .

I am a math teacher & numbers nerd, bear with me ;)

Here I am 5 years later with a 6.5 year old, almost 5 year old & 1 year old baby boy (tomorrow!)

I had no idea how much blogging would enrich my life.
I have meet & become friends with people because of this blog.

It surprises me that people actually read my blog.
I am just a normal girl who loves Jesus, my husband, 2 girls & my sweet baby boy.

I appreciate the time you take out of your day to read & comment.

Thank you for reading my randomness!

In honor of my 5 year blogoversary, I have 10 giveaways as a thank you for reading my blog!

Many of these shops are women who I have met because of blogging and they are women who inspire me as moms & as small business owners!

There are 10 different things being given away & there will be 10 winners!

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Giveaway #1 - The Pleated Poppy

Meet Lindsey of The Pleated Poppy:

I am married to an incredibly supportive husband and am mom to 3 kids, 10 and under. my days are full of sewing, trying to enjoy home schooling, crafting, snuggling, avoiding the laundry, sneaking bites of chocolate, and wondering “will anyone notice if i just take a nap?”. i am also the fabric-hoarding, late-night working girl behind the pleated poppy, my little online shop where i get to create bits of goodness and send them out to customers far and wide.

Lindsey also hosts the weekly, "What I Wore Wednesdays" party.

Her shop is full of fun handmade products....bags, purses, pouches, clutches, buntings, ties, blankets & more!

{Scrappy Bunting}

{Covered Notebook}

Lindsey is giving away a $25 Shop Credit to one lucky winner!

Find Pleated Poppy here:

Blog * Shop * Facebook

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Giveaway #2 - Origami Owl

On my birthday this year, my blog friends Shay & Sheaffer sent me an Origami Owl locket & charms. Isn't that SO sweet? I love my necklace!

Origami Owl sells the Living Locket as their signature piece, but they also offer other great products through their Tagged line. You can mix tags and dangles with the locket or just where them as individual pieces.

Andrea from Origami Owl is giving away can giveaway a medium locket with crystals and a chain to go with it for one lucky reader!

Find Origami Owl here:

Shop * Facebook

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Giveaway #3 - Pen & Paint

Lindsay is the artist behind Pen and Paint.

She is the busy mama of 2 little boys.

She is a southern girl with a loud laugh, a sensitive heart and a little bit of sarcasm on the side. She likes to draw and paint, a lot.

In her shop you will find happy, handmade art for your walls.

I have this fun print:

Love this one...but the California version, of course :)

Lindsay is giving away a $30 shop credit to one lucky reader!

Find Pen and Paint here:

Blog * Shop * Facebook

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Giveaway #4 - Le Petit Bébé

Jessica is the creator of Le Petit Bébé. She focuses on modern and unique baby items, all handcrafted with special attention to detail. All items are available for custom monogramming, for the ultimate in personalization. She offers both ready to ship and custom items to meet a variety of needs.

Some of the cutest bibs & burp cloths I have seen!

I found her etsy shop while searching for a bib for Luke's birthday party.

Isn't it cute?

Love this set of girl bibs:

Jessica is giving away a bib with a custom monogram to one lucky reader!

Find Le Petit Bébé here:

Shop

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Giveaway #5 - Oh What Joy Banners

Jamie is the designer & creator of Oh What Joy.

She specializes in cardboard/paper buntings and banners.

Bunting is great for adding to baby showers, birthday parties or photo sessions.

Her versatile banners are perfect for parties, birthdays, weddings, and much more! Colors can be customized on her items.

Banners are made from recycled cardboard with chipboard letters and strung on twine allowing you to adjust the spacing to fit your needs.

Jamie is giving away one of her celebrate banners to one lucky reader!

Find Oh What Joy Banners here:

Shop * Facebook

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Giveaway #6 - Gussy Sews

Do you like ruffles? I LOVE ruffles & I love Gussy.

I have one of her laptop bags, but her shop is full of other fun ruffley goodness.

Tote Bags, Zippered Pouches, Camera Straps, Headbands & more!

All with that signature Gussy ruffle!

{Tote Bag}

{Camera Strap Cover}

Gussy is giving away a $30 shop credit to one lucky winner!

Find Gussy here:

Blog * Shop * Facebook

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Giveaway #7 - Glitter & Gloss

Heather is a blog friend turned real life friend. We met via our blogs 4 years ago & live about 20 minutes away from eachother. Our oldest girls are just 2 days apart.

Heather is a jewelry designer, but just launched her own Lipsick & Lip Gloss line last week.

I have the "Heather" lip gloss and LOVE it!

Glitter and Gloss is your one-stop shop for all things pretty, specializing in gorgeous lipsticks, lip glosses and lip glazes. All Glitter and Gloss lip products are paraben free, rich with moisturizing vitamin e and antioxidants, and enhanced with natural vanilla for a light scent

Heather is giving away a lipstick (or gloss/glaze) of your choice to one lucky reader!

Find Glitter & Gloss here:

Blog * Shop * Facebook

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Giveaway #8 - Sew Vintage

Christy started her shop, Sew Vintage, selling some of the vintage pieces she had collected that were getting out of control and it's become so much more. She has now added some handmade stuff. Her favorite item is her personalized pillowcases.

Aren't they adorable!?!?!

She made one for each of my kids and I absolutely LOVE them.

Christy loves to make these, from picking out the fabric choices too custom requests she enjoys making these. You never know what you'll find in her shop.

A little bit about Christy:

A little about me, I am a Mother of two, a Medical Biller full time, Part time photographer, whom finds time to squeeze in bits of craftiness and hunting for vintage goodies. I love the thrill of seeking out vintage treasures. I love vintage linens.

Christy is giving away a personalized pillowcase for one lucky reader!

Find Sew Vintage here:

Shop * Blog

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Giveaway #9 - Much Ado About You

A little bit about Emmy, the creator of Much Ado About You Planners:

I'm a mother of two and wife to my high school sweetheart, living in Southern California where I was born and raised. I loves Jesus, my family, and creating things with paper... in that order.

In 2008 I was looking for a day planner to organize my busy life as a SAHM mom, but I couldn't find what I was looking for. So I made it myself. In 2008, I was a stay-at-home mom to my 5 year old son, I had started a small business as an Event Planner, and I was working part-time at a retail clothing shop. I was busy. I needed a good Day Planner to keep myself organized, but nothing I found quite fit what I was looking for. Running out of patience, I decided to just make one myself.

When some friends saw my planner they wanted one too. So I made a few more. Then their friends wanted some. So I made several more.
Then someone told me about this new website called Etsy where you could sell your handmade goods. In August of 2008 I opened my shop. At the time I was one of the only shops on Etsy selling handmade Day Planners. My business flourished! Without the support husband and amazing friends, this business would never have survived.
Over the years we worked hard to improve our product and streamline our process to keep up with the demand, all from the office of my little home. But last year, the demands of such a labor-intensive product got the best of me. I decided to take a break from my business and focus on my family.

I am super excited to have now found a professional printing company that can help alleviate my workload and get my planners back on the market.

I have one of Emmy's planners and I LOVE it.

Even though I have an i-Phone that has a calendar, I am still someone who prefers writing things down on paper & on a calendar! My Much Ado About You Planner is awesome.

Emmy is giving away a September 2013-August 2014 planner to one lucky reader!

Find Much Ado About You Planners here:

Shop * Blog * Facebook

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Giveaway #10 - Evy's Tree

A little bit about Amy, the designer and creator of Evy's Tree:

My name is Amy, and I am a 30-something-year-old 4th grade public school teacher morphed into a stay at home mom to two beautiful babies, Jacob and Evelyn. I am married to the most amazing man in the world, Brandon, who is a full time Youth Pastor and youth motivational speaker.

How Evy’s Tree came into my life is completely by accident; definitely what I would consider a God thing. When I decided to stay home with Jacob, money was VERY tight. In October of 2009, I was inspired by many wonderful and creative stay at home moms who could whip up these beautiful items for their families with practically no money. I felt like I couldn’t even take my kids’ hems up if I needed to, and that made me feel very inadequate as a mom for some strange reason :) It seemed like everyone I knew could sew. So I borrowed my mom’s sewing machine and attempted to learn. In fact, I did a big post on my family blog regarding my feelings about being crafty right after I brought the machine home. The post is a bit of a joke now as I complained how I wasn’t creative, and yet here I am- creating for a living!

I started sewing a little for myself and then I took on the task, with some help from some do it yourself blogs, of embellishing some hoodies from my closet for a trip to Disney World that my family was taking in December. I made three hoodies, The Love, The Hoot and The Rainbow {which are all semi- retired hoodies that now appear only occasionally}. I got gobs and gobs of compliments while in Florida, and my nieces begged me to make them some for Christmas. When I returned home I made them all The Hoot. My sister in law, whose nickname is Brilla, asked me to embellish her favorite hoodie for her and give it to her for Christmas. I made her the original Brilla, which is now my staple style. I took pictures of all the hoodies and put them on my blog after Christmas. Almost immediately I started receiving emails from people asking if they could purchase one. A couple of weeks later I put up a Paypal link on my blog and sold 15 in 30 minutes. And my business was born…

I get asked often how I came up with the name “Evy’s Tree”…we call Evelyn, “Evy” and on her bedroom wall we painted a beautiful white tree with an owl sitting on the branches. When I was sewing my first “Hoot” hoodie, Jacob walked up and saw the owl on the chest and asked, “Is that Evy’s Tree, Mama?” The name for the hoodies just stuck.