A contest!

Hello friends!

If you're connected to me on Facebook, you might be sick of seeing this by now, but there is a giveaway in progress through December 14th. The main prize is a complete set of The Truth Chronicles, all autographed by Tim and me. Follow the link to my Facebook Author Page and click on the "Giveaway" tab to get started. http://tinyurl.com/ongwalm Be sure to share with your friends, too.

Also, just so you're aware, my main website/blog, www.jwexperience.com, now has an active store where you can purchase the books individually or in sets (the set option will be active this week) directly from me. They make great gifts for children ages 8-12 in particular, though many younger and older children as well as adults have enjoyed them, too. Read what one mother had to say:

"My 9-year-old was sent to bed at 7pm and instead stayed awake reading by flashlight until midnight, finishing the first two books of The Truth Chronicles series in one night! He came to me saying they are some of the best books he's ever read. I made him get some sleep before starting on the 3rd book in the series. We'll be sure to leave book reviews soon! Thank you soooo much for the books!!" ~ Tammy from Washington

If you get a chance to read these books, be sure to let me know what you think.

God bless, and have a wonderful day!

A Treat for our readers!

One of my favorite card companies, Treat, is giving away a million cards this summer! All new customers are invited to check out the site and choose any card from the vast selection available, customize it as they choose, and receive it in their mailbox absolutely FREE! All you have to do is click here or on the image above, and use the code TRTB9X8563 when placing your order. This promo expires on June 17, so make sure you grab your card in time!

If you've never ordered from Treat before, this is a fabulous opportunity to check out their great selection of gorgeous designs and to discover how easy the customization process is. The printing quality is great, and prices are very reasonable. Why buy a generic card at the store when you can so quickly put together something far more special and personal? :D

The fine print: Offer expires 6/17/2013 (11:59 P.M. PT).  Offer is good for one (1) free greeting card using the code TRTB9X8563  at checkout.  Postage may apply.  Customer must be a first-time Treat customer.   Offer is valid for one-time redemption per billing address.  Cannot be redeemed for cash or combined with other offers, discounts, promotions or credits.  Offer is not applicable to previously placed orders.  Offer is only valid on www.treat.com and does not apply to purchases made from the Treat Cards for iPhone app.  Offer is not applicable to Treat Card Club, gifts, or third party or partner websites.

And the winner is...

Well, all the entries are in now, and I used a random number generator to select which of you is the lucky winner of the free Shutterfly photobook. Congratulations to...

Catherine W.!

I will send your name and email address in to Shutterfly, Catherine, and they should be contacting you shortly with the codes to order your free book. Have fun! :D

Thanks to all who entered! Giveaways like this are a lot of fun, so hopefully Shutterfly will have another one before too long. I'll keep you posted!

Giveaway: Shutterfly photobook

Ooooh - anyone up for another fun giveaway post? I'm so thankful to the generous folks at Shutterfly for giving me a chance to participate in another giveaway. One of you folks is going to win a photobook!

 

Shutterfly Yearbooks seem to be pretty popular these days, and I can see why. A super-easy way to preserve school memories (or any other memories), they are also quite affordable when one considers how much it would cost to buy individual prints of all your photos, not to mention a photo album as well as any scrapbooking supplies. Get it all in one simple-to-design package with Shutterfly's high-quality printing!

Whether you homeschool or your kids go away to school, these books are a great way to "make it a school year to remember." Shutterfly also offers free tips and tricks for putting a yearbook together, as well as shortcuts and ideas. Also, be sure to check out their list of photo ideas for documenting a school year.

I haven't yet printed one of these books myself, but I'm guessing the templates offer a lot of versatility and could probably be used for documenting pretty much anything - not just a school year. I've been very pleased with everything else I've ordered from Shutterfly so far, and am looking forward to giving these books a try. They're giving me a free book as a thank you for hosting this giveaway: yay!

If you'd also like to check out the yearbooks, and to do so for FREE, just leave a comment here and tell me your current methods for preserving family memories: scrapbooking, digital albums, facebook, instagram...what works for you? Please be sure to include your email address if you're posting anonymously so I can get in touch with you if you win! :)

For a second entry, please share this post on Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, or your blog - then come back here and leave another comment letting me know.

Get your entries in by midnight March 23. I will randomly select one entry on March 24, and that person will win a FREE 8x8 20-page photobook (including FREE shipping)!

Thanks for participating, and I can't wait to see who will win! :D

Anyone up for a Treat?

Sooo...hopefully none of you are getting tired of my review type posts here, since this one has a special goodie for you all. :D

Treat.com is a relatively new card-printing site that offers a huge variety of top-quality, designs for all occasions. Each can be personalized in a number of ways, creating a one-of-a-kind card sure to make your recipient smile. I've been really impressed with the quality of the designs (a rare compliment from me, as a picky designer myself!), and the printing is top-notch, too. Even the prices are very reasonable, especially when compared to retail prices on ordinary cards at Walmart or elsewhere.

Okay, enough preamble. ;) The best part is that Treat has given me permission to share a special code for a FREE card. Yay! There's no better way to actually get a feel for just how nice their cards are. This code is valid only on Monday and Tuesday (Nov. 19 and 20), so go check out their site right away and select a design from any of their many categories (choosing will be the hardest part!). Shipping is also free, unless you choose to have the card sent directly to your recipient - then you just pay the cost of a first-class stamp ($0.45). Can't beat that!

Here's the code to use to claim your free card: TREATBLOGR

Remember, this code is good only on Nov. 19 and 20, so hurry!

As the folks at Treat say, "Real friends send real cards." Who do you know who could use a cheery note in the mail today?

Giveaway winner!

Thanks to all who entered the Tiny Prints giveaway in my last post! I used a random number generator to select the winner, and it ended up being...

:drumroll:

Sara (sara2@......)!

You should be receiving an email from Tiny Prints soon, Sara, with the $50 code to Tiny Prints. Hope you have a grand time deciding which cards to order! :D

Hosting this giveaway was a lot of fun, and I hope to be able to do more of them in the future. Probably would help if I posted more on the blog to start with though, eh? Hmmmm...now to find time for that...

Christmas Photo Cards Giveaway: $50 credit to Tiny Prints!

Wow, can you believe we're already nearly to the end of October? This year has just been flying by for us, and here we are a mere 7 weeks from Baby Westbrook's due date. Eeeek! That's exciting and overwhelming all at once. :)

Today is an absolutely gorgeous autumn day here in Iowa, with crisp blue skies, a light breeze, and sunshine spilling everywhere. It's a shame Joe had to work this evening, as it would have been a perfect day for us to go out and take a few maternity pictures. I'm thinking ahead to our end-of-the-year newsletter and cards, and would like to have a nice pregnancy picture to include as well as (Lord willing!) pictures of our little family once Baby is born.

I'm definitely planning on having our cards printed through Tiny Prints again this year, and am super excited about the HUGE selection of designs they're offering. As a graphic designer, I tend to view designs with a fairly critical eye - and on most pre-designed card sites like this there is always something I wish I could tweak about the way a card is laid out or the fonts/color that were chosen. Not so with Tiny Prints! Seriously, they have some of the best card designs I've ever seen. Most come in several different color combinations, and there are usually a number of design options including text, font, photos, and more. I've been known to browse through their site just for creative inspiration...the designs are truly that good. :D

This is the design Joe and I used last year (with a different photo, of course!).

Intrigued yet? Check out this year's huge selection here: Christmas Photo Cards 

While you're over there, be sure to check out Tiny Prints' special offers and promotions page: it's a great place to catch a good deal!

Okay, and the best part? Tiny Prints offered to let me share a $50 giveaway with one of my blog readers. This is for a coupon code that gives you $50 off your total order (not including shipping). Tiny Prints' prices are very reasonable, especially considering the top-quality printing, and you'll be able to get a good-sized stack of cards for FREE if you win! Even for those of you who do not celebrate Christmas, there are plenty of designs that would work perfectly for an end-of-the-year greeting card, or just as a way to share photos with your loved ones.

Sound fun? All you have to do to enter is go to Tiny Prints' site (link above) and look through their designs. Then come back here and leave a comment, letting us know which card you would choose (good luck choosing only one, lol - that's the hardest part!). Be sure to include a valid email address so I can contact you if you win. To earn a second entry, please link to this post on your FB page or Twitter, then come back and comment saying that you've done so. All entries must be received by October 29! I'll randomly select one winner and will be in touch with your coupon code. Can't wait to see which of you will win! :D

For anyone who would like to check out Tiny Prints elsewhere in cyberspace, see these links:

• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tinyprints
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/tinyprints
• Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/tiny_prints/
• Instagram: Tiny Prints
• Google +: https://plus.google.com/+tinyprints/
• Blog: http://blog.tinyprints.com/

Disclaimer: Tiny Prints is giving me site credit in trade for spreading the word about their holiday card designs. When I saw the chance to share $50 with one of you I immediately knew I wanted to participate, even though I've been so busy of late that this blog has been sadly neglected otherwise. :) But rest assured that this is an honest review: I do I whole-heartedly recommend Tiny Prints' services and think they're doing a great job!