Giveaway: Windows 8 PC & Fresh Paint App #WindowsChampions #Sponsored

Being a teacher, I like to be creative. I enjoy my job so much and really wouldn't trade it for anything. One of the subjects I get to teach my students is art. I taught at an arts-focused school for two years and loved everything about it. Now that I'm at an entrepreneurial-focused school, I have to get creative with my art lessons since I purchase all of the art supplies myself.

I love paint, but don't have any at home, where I do most of my planning. Since receiving my Microsoft Windows 8 Surface last year, I've been playing with the Fresh Paint app a lot to try out art projects without getting messy. While there's no true comparison to actually using real paint, Fresh Paint is an awesome way for me to try out different techniques quickly {and cleanly}.

I was sent a Nomad FLeX digital paintbrush to try out with the Fresh Paint app. It feels just like a regular paintbrush and magically works on any touchscreen device in the same way. I was able to easily transform an art project I found on Pinterest into my own creation, right in the comfort of my home - while sitting on my light tan couch, watching TV. Nothing to worry about, just stress releasing technological painting.

While experimenting with the digital paintbrush, I realized what an amazing app Fresh Paint is. How cool is it that you could easily take a Windows 8 phone or tablet with you for your kids to sit and paint in the car or at the doctor's office? They can use their fingers or a digital paintbrush. The app has templates that look like coloring pages for kids to use, too. Some are free, and others cost a few dollars.

My actual artwork - the texture is hard to see here since I had to shrink it for the post, but it looks great.

One of the coolest features in the Fresh Paint app is the ability to take a photograph and turn it into "wet paint". I was able to take a picture of a flower that I took while in Pennsylvania last month and turn it into a painting by simply using the digital paintbrush to "wet" the colors. Kids could really have a lot of fun with this, turning pictures of a family pet into a painted masterpiece.

Here's my wet paint flower...

Prize: ASUS VivoTab RT Windows 8 PC and Nomad FLeX Digital Paintbrush {$630 value}

Number of Winners: one

To Enter: You must use the Rafflecopter widget below. It's really easy to use and makes giveaways a lot easier for me to manage. The widget will tell you what your commenting topic is! (mandatory)

Giveaway Ends: Tuesday, August 27 @ 12:00 a.m. (Mountain Time). One winner will be chosen using the Rafflecopter widget. The winner will be announced on the widget and will be emailed to claim their prize. The winner has 48 hours to respond to my email to claim their prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway Giveaway Rules & Disclosure:

• You must be a follower (through Twitter, FB, GFC, or RSS/email) of The Nest Effect to win.
• The winners will be chosen by rafflecopter.com.
• This giveaway is open to readers in the USA.
• Please make sure your email is either linked in your profile or on your blog OR that you include it in your comment. If I can't find your email address, I can't contact you as the winner.
• You must comment as your first, mandatory entry. All entries will be verified when the winner is chosen.
• This giveaway is sponsored by Microsoft. 

Disclosure: I am a Windows Champions blogger and I received loan of a laptop and may receive other equipment from Microsoft to assist me in evaluating Microsoft products and services for my blogging activity. I received one digital paintbrush to facilitate this review.

Reader Appreciation Week: Giveaway #1 - Rubbermaid LunchBlox Sandwich Kit

Are you ready for the first giveaway?

Rubbermaid never ceases to amaze me. Every single time they send me something to review and giveaway, I am just SO excited.

I'm sure you've seen Rubbermaid's new LunchBlox Sandwich Kits in stores. The first time I saw them at Smith's, I knew I had to have it. Then, as luck had it, I received a message from Rubbermaid a day later asking if I was interested in reviewing and giving away a set. Yes, please!

I've been using my kit for the last week and a half to take to work. I use the bottom, larger container for salad, a sandwich, or pizza. In the two smallest containers I take fruit and veggies. And in the medium size container, I've been taking crackers or another snack. All of the pieces snap together on top of the large container's lid or the ice block. They all stay cold on my way to school AND I feel like I now have some portion control. I absolutely LOVE it.

Rubbermaid has also created other products in the LunchBlox line: salad kit, entree kit, and lunch bag. The LunchBlox Sandwich Kit is currently available for purchase at Rubbermaid.com, Target, Kmart, Kroger, Safeway, Bi-Lo, Winn-Dixie, HEB, other grocery stores, and select Wal-Mart stores.

 Prize: Rubbermaid LunchBlox Sandwich Kit

Number of Winners: one

To Enter: You must use the Rafflecopter widget below. It's really easy to use and makes giveaways a lot easier for me to manage. The widget will tell you what your commenting topic is! (mandatory)

Giveaway Ends: Monday, September 3 @ 12:01 a.m. (Eastern Time). One winner will be chosen using the Rafflecopter widget. The winner will be announced on this post and will be emailed to claim their prize. The winner has 48 hours to respond to my email to claim their prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway Rules & Disclosure:

• You must be a follower (through Twitter, FB, GFC, or RSS/email) of The Nest Effect to win.
• The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter.com.
• This giveaway is open to readers living in the U.S.
• Please make sure your email is either linked in your profile or on your blog OR that you include it in your comment. If I can't find your email address, I can't contact you as the winner.
• You must comment as your first, mandatory entry. All entries will be verified when the winner is chosen.
• One entry per method per person (3 total).
• This giveaway is sponsored. The prize, information, and giveaway have been provided by Rubbermaid. I was sent a product for free to review and give my honest opinion on. Any opinions about products stated in this post are completely honest and purely my own.

Review & Giveaway: Rubbermaid Clean & Dry Plunger

When I was contacted by Rubbermaid about reviewing and giving away their latest and greatest product, it made me laugh. A plunger. I just couldn't imagine how a plunger would fit in with The Nest Effect's whole...post topic themes. But then I saw the words "clean and dry" in the product title. Umm...excuse me, what? Clean and dry? How?!

Seriously, I never thought I'd be saying this, especially on my blog for the world to read, but this plunger is awesome. Despite my recent laziness that has taken over and created a mess in my home, I still feel I'm a bit of a clean freak in some ways. One is with water. I don't like it left all over the sink, floor, etc. anywhere in the apartment. So to think of why we use a plunger and how after using it, water can end up all over the floor, it just really rubs me the wrong way.

Enter Rubbermaid Clean and Dry Plunger. This product is seriously amazing. I didn't believe it when I received mine to test out for the review so I kept dunking it in the water. The water beads and rolls right off. No more water on the floor after use!

Check out this video!




My overall impression of the Rubbermaid Clean and Dry Plunger is perfectly positive. It does exactly what it advertises and is mess free. It works great like a standard plunger.

Prize: Rubbermaid Clean & Dry Plunger

Number of Winners: one

To Enter: You must use the Rafflecopter widget below. It's really easy to use and makes giveaways a lot easier for me to manage. The widget will tell you what your commenting topic is! (mandatory)

Giveaway Ends: Sunday, June 17 @ 12:01 a.m. (Eastern Time). One winner will be chosen using the Rafflecopter widget. The winner will be announced on this post and will be emailed to claim their prize. The winner has 48 hours to respond to my email to claim their prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway Rules & Disclosure:

• You must be a follower (through Twitter, FB, GFC, or RSS/email) of The Nest Effect to win.
• The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter.com.
• This giveaway is open to readers living in the U.S. and Canada.
• Please make sure your email is either linked in your profile or on your blog OR that you include it in your comment. If I can't find your email address, I can't contact you as the winner.
• You must comment as your first, mandatory entry. All entries will be verified when the winner is chosen.
• One entry per method per person (3 total).
• This giveaway is sponsored. The prize, information, and giveaway have been provided by Rubbermaid. I was sent a product for free to review and give my honest opinion on. Any opinions about products stated in this post are completely honest and purely my own.

Review & Giveaway: Rubbermaid 2-in-1 Recycler

This month we tackled organizing paper clutter. How are things going? Has this month's challenged helped you? I'd love to hear about your progress from the challenge!

Have you heard? Rubbermaid has a new product out, just in time for Earth Day (and the March Challenge: Paper Clutter)! Recycling has always been a pain for me because it takes up so much room when you need to sort it all out. I've truly been searching online, for the last 3 years, for something affordable and compact, yet able to hold quite a bit of material.

The Rubbermaid 2-in-1 Recycler is awesome. It holds two separate compartments of materials - both easily detachable from the unit so you can empty them at the recycling bin outside your home. Both compartments also have carrying handles that swing up for easy transportation.

If you don't need as much space for recyclables, you can use the bottom section for garbage. This section holds an 8-gallon trash bag and will hold the bag in place with Rubbermaid's Liner Lock™ system, making this recycler a dual-purpose bin that fits easily in your kitchen without taking up twice the space!

Rubbermaid sent a 2-in-1 Recycler to me to try out for myself. I decided to use mine by my desk and use the bottom half for garbage. I seriously throw out so much paper, it's terrible. This is definitely motivation for me to start recycling. We don't have a recycling bin at our apartment complex, so I'm going to have to take my recyclables to school with me - which is just fine because my school makes money off of the amount of materials we're recycling!

The 2-in-1 Recycler honestly makes me feel better about this month's challenge since I've been getting rid of so much paper clutter. This review/giveaway couldn't have had better timing!

Prize: Rubbermaid 2-in-1 Recycler

Number of Winners: one

To Enter: You must use the Rafflecopter widget below. It's really easy to use and makes giveaways a lot easier for me to manage. The widget will tell you what your commenting topic is! (mandatory)

Giveaway Ends: Friday, March 30 @ 12:01 a.m. (Eastern Time). One winner will be chosen using the Rafflecopter widget. The winner will be announced on this post and will be emailed to claim their prize. The winner has 48 hours to respond to my email to claim their prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway Rules & Disclosure:

• You must be a follower (through Twitter, FB, GFC, or RSS/email) of The Nest Effect to win.
• The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter.com.
• This giveaway is open to readers living in the U.S. and Canada.
• Please make sure your email is either linked in your profile or on your blog OR that you include it in your comment. If I can't find your email address, I can't contact you as the winner.
• You must comment as your first, mandatory entry. All entries will be verified when the winner is chosen.
• One entry per method per person (3 total).
• This giveaway is sponsored. The prize, information, and giveaway have been provided by Rubbermaid. I was sent a product for free to review and give my honest opinion on. Any opinions about products stated in this post are completely honest and purely my own.

Giveaway & Review: Buttoned Up Weekly.Agenda - CLOSED!

This giveaway has ended and commenting is closed. 

Chosen by the random integer generator at random.org, the winner is...

Congratulations to #85 Stezie88! (She did not respond.)

The new winner is...#55 Tami!

(Please check your email and respond within 48 hours to claim your prize!)

Thank you to Buttoned Up & everyone who entered! =]

* ------------------------------------------------------------------------- *

What organization loving woman doesn't love a planner? I've had an obsession with planners my whole life. I've even been known to purchase several different kinds at once, using all of them at the same time, just because I like them. Crazy? Absolutely.

A few weeks ago Buttoned Up asked me if I wanted to review and giveaway one of their Weekly.Agenda planners. Of course! (Yeah, I know...I do a lot of planner talking around here.)

Here are the highlights, that I truly find amazing...

• Size. It's 4.75" x 6.57" - perfect for my purse. The clasp on the side is magnetic, keeping everything crisp and clean on the inside when tossed in a bag.

• Bookmarks. Yes, plural. There are two. Two ribbons that you'll never lose because they're attached in the spine. Brilliant.

• To-Do & To Contact lists...for every week - with lots of space. Believe it. This is one thing I've been missing with my current planner.

• Perforated page corners. Get out of town. Back when I was in high school, my school planners had this sweet feature and I loved it. If the bookmark ever falls out of it's place, it's so easy/fast to find where you were, because the torn corners mark weeks of your past.

• Notes. I'm a list making girl...so this section is a must.

• Organizational tips. Shut up. No, seriously...I am in love with it. Get a tip every week (on the to-do list pages) and read tips in a section in the back. Just what I've always wanted. Reading material when I'm waiting at the doctor...and something that I'm into. *sigh*

• Shopping & errand lists...perforated, so you can take them on the go. I'm out of words at this point. Honest.

• Pockets. On the front and back cover. For real. Coupons, appointment cards, etc...never to be lost again. 

Don't you love it? I honestly couldn't believe my eyes when I received mine. I've seen it advertised online a bunch, but the plain cover never caught my eye like the other planners I love do...so I guess you could say I judged it by it's cover. My bad. The inside is amazing though. Want simple and budget friendly, yet organizationally savvy and fun inside? This is the planner for you.

Consider giving the gift of organization this holiday season with Buttoned Up products.

Buttoned Up has provided me with one Weekly.Agenda planner to giveaway to one lucky reader.

To enter...

• Leave a comment on this post (not Facebook and no email entries) answering the question:
• What feature(s) of the Weekly.Agenda planner would help you get organized in 2012?

Giveaway rules:

• You must be a follower (through Twitter, FB, GFC, or RSS/email) of The Nest Effect to win.
• The winner will be chosen by random.org.
• Please make sure your email is either linked in your profile or on your blog OR that you include it in your comment. If I can't find your email address, I can't contact you as the winner. 
• One entry per person - no extra entries for this giveaway.
• Giveaway ends December 10 @ 9 PM (MT).

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Buttoned Up. Everything written in this post is my own honest opinion. I was sent 2 Weekly.Agenda planners (one of which I'm giving away) to facilitate my review.

Review & Giveaway: Torani Syrup - 3 Winners! - CLOSED!

This giveaway has ended and commenting is closed. 

Chosen by the random integer generator at random.org, the winners are...

Congratulations to...

• #13 - Mandi @ Finding Home
• #4 - Sarah (scarr...@gmail)
• #17 - SalBug no email address left or linked to account, so I couldn't contact him/her
• #8 - Becca (beccaro...@gmail)

(Please check your email and respond within 48 hours to claim your prize!)

Thank you to SheSpeaks, Torani, & everyone who entered! =]

Every morning the first thing I do is start the coffee maker. When I don't have my coffee in the morning, I can't function for the first part of the day. I like to flavor my coffee and have only ever done so with flavored creamer. I prefer using sugar free creamer and Truvia in my coffee so it's as low-calorie and sugarless as possible. But the choices in flavor for sugar free creamer are limited, so I've been becoming gradually bored with my usual french vanilla flavor every morning.

When SheSpeaks asked me to be part of the Torani Blogger Program, I jumped on right away. I've never used syrup in my coffee before, but was very excited to try it. The flavors I was sent are Peppermint and Sugar Free Brown Sugar Cinnamon. The Peppermint syrup is so good in hot chocolate and the SF Brown Sugar Cinnamon is delicious in coffee.

There are so many great ways to use the syrups besides just coffee and hot chocolate. They can also be added to soft drinks, cocktails, iced tea, Italian soda, lemonade, smoothies, and more. The Torani website has tons of recipes that you can search through and try out with their syrups.

The next flavors I want to try are butterscotch, caramel, apple, creme de banana, honey vanilla, sugar free peach, sugar free Irish cream, and sugar free salted caramel. Yum!

You can purchase Torani syrups on their website and get a 10% discount by using coupon code shespeaks.

SheSpeaks and Torani have provided me with free product coupons to giveaway to my lovely readers.

3 lucky readers will each win one coupon good for one free bottle of any flavor Torani syrup ($8 value!). The coupon expires June 30, 2012 and will be mailed to the winners by me.

To enter...

• Leave a comment on this post (not Facebook and no email entries) answering the question:
• Visit Torani's website and tell me which flavor syrup you'd like to try.

Giveaway rules:

• You must be a follower (through Twitter, FB, GFC, or RSS/email) of The Nest Effect to win.
• The winners will be chosen by random.org.
• Please make sure your email is either linked in your profile or on your blog OR that you include it in your comment. If I can't find your email address, I can't contact you as the winner. 
• One entry per person - no extra entries for this giveaway.
• Giveaway ends November 18 @ 9 PM (MT).

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by SheSpeaks and Torani. Everything written in this post is my own honest opinion. You can read my full review on SheSpeaks here. I was sent 2 bottles of Torani syrup and free product coupons (which I'm giving away) to facilitate my review.

Giveaway: 25 Holiday Cards from Shutterfly - 3 Winners! - CLOSED!

This giveaway has ended and commenting is closed. Wanna know who won? Click here to find out!

Even though Chris and I have been together for almost 8 years now, I wanted to send a special holiday card since this is the first holiday season we've been married. I knew for sure I wanted to use a wedding picture as well. Back when I graduated in May, I created thank you cards with a graduation picture through Shutterfly and was just so thrilled with how they turned out. The quality was incredible and they shipped quickly.

When Shutterfly asked me to take part in their holiday card promotion, I didn't even have to think about it. I was absolutely thrilled to participate! Browsing through the card selection took some time and ended up being a comparison shopping hour. The nice thing about the card selector on Shutterfly is the "refine your choices" sidebar. This made things so much easier. After browsing and trying out a few samples with my pictures, I knew I wanted a flat card with only one picture and a 5x7 size. Here are the samples I'm really digging this year...

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You can search by Christmas cards or holiday cards. Because I'll be sending my cards to people of many different beliefs/religions, I decided to choose a holiday card rather than Christmas specific. After narrowing down my choices by using the "compare cards" feature, I asked Chris for his input on which card to go with and which picture to use. It was just too hard for me to choose. We both decided that Jazz, our dog, should be included, so we added his Christmas picture to the back. (haha) Creating the card was super simple - I just put in our names and added the pictures. It's that easy.

Want to see what I ended up ordering?

front

back

I am so excited to receive my cards in the mail, even though it's not even Halloween yet. =]

If you're looking for an idea for a Christmas gift -- especially if you have kids -- consider creating a photo book for family members. When I have kids I'm going to create photo books every Christmas to give to Chris' and my parents. I've ordered a few photo books from Shutterfly in the past and have never been disappointed. The color is beautiful and vibrant and the books are well made and durable. (To view a photo book I made a few years ago for my mom, click here.)

Shutterfly has been nice enough to give three readers each a coupon for 25 free holiday cards.

It's super simple to enter:

• You must be a follower (through Twitter, FB, GFC, or RSS/email) of The Nest Effect to win (I will verify this if you're chosen as the winner).
• The winners will be chosen by random.org.
• Please make sure your email is either linked in your profile or on your blog OR that you include it in your comment. If I can't find your email address, I can't contact you as the winner.
• Giveaway ends November 1 @ 9 PM (MT).

Mandatory entry:

• Leave a comment on this post (not Facebook and no email entries) answering the question:
• Visit Shutterfly's holiday or Christmas card selection and leave a comment telling me the name of one of the card designs you love.

Optional entries (leave a comment for each extra entry):

• be a "liker" of The Nest Effect on Facebook
• follow The Nest Effect on Twitter
• subscribe to updates via RSS or email
• share this giveaway via Twitter or Facebook (there are links at the bottom of the post to do so) -- let me know how you shared

Disclosure: This giveaway is sponsored by Shutterfly. Everything written in this post is my own honest opinion. I received free holiday cards to facilitate my review.