Tag: free stuff

A Gorgeous Sign and Giveaway from Gifted Occasion

keane family signWe moved last year from the Jacksonville city suburbs to the coastal community of Atlantic Beach. We bought an older home that needed a lot of work, and we’ve put a lot into the renovations over the past year to where we are finally starting to decorate a bit. We completely changed our style, where our old house was bright reds and yellows – the new place is cool blues and grays. And of course we are going heavy on the coastal decor!

When GiftedOccasion.com contacted me about doing a review, I knew exactly what I wanted to look for. I am SO happy with the personalized wooden sign they sent me! It was the perfect addition to our living room. The letters are cut out of Baltic birch and mounted on maple plywood so they have a great 3-D effect. The wood comes stained and the hibiscus painted red. The stain on the wood is even more rich and pretty in person.

And they were nice enough to offer a giveaway so one lucky reader will can go shopping on their website with $100 gift card! See details below.

Keane-sign-2

Here’s How to Enter the GiftedOccasion.com $100 Gift Card Giveaway!

  1. US entries only please
  2. Winner is picked randomly by contest app, more entries = better chances
  3. Opportunities to enter:
    1. MUST DO ONE: Follow GiftedOccasion on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook  
    2. Pin a product from their website with the hashtag #giftedoccasion
    3. BONUS ENTRIES: Follow SewGeekMama on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook
  4. Very Important: Comment on this post with where your entries can be found. This makes it easy to verify everything and counts as another entry!
  5. Contest ends 3/30/2018. We need at least 10 entries by then or no winner will be chosen. So please share and tell your friends!

Side Hustle Saturday: Check Your Receipts for Free Stuff

img_9072If you just toss your receipts in the trash without looking at them closely, you could be tossing out free stuff and discounts!

A trend I’ve taken full advantage of is the receipt survey. Usually printed at the bottom of your receipt is a claim code and offer, and all you need to do is go to a website and answer some questions about your visit.

Examples of recent receipt bonuses I’ve claimed: $5 off groceries at Winn-Dixie, Free Chick-fil-A sandwich, Free Whopper at Burger King.

It takes less than 5 minutes and earns you an average of $5-$10 either in discounts or free stuff. It’s totally worth it if you go to that particular place all the time anyway.

So check those receipts! They aren’t always printed on every one. I get one maybe every other visit though, so the odds are pretty good!

* As a side note, I know barely anybody looks at the backs of their receipts because I once tried advertising my boutique on the receipts at Winn-Dixie. I did it for 3 months, with a full color photo and 15% discount on any item in the store. I had one person come in and they didn’t even buy anything! So unfortunately it was a total waste, but it did get me looking at my own receipts at least.

I Sold My Soul for a Free Pillow

sleep number pillowIt’s all fun and games until you turn it into work, and that’s exactly what I did when I signed up for this mission from Smiley360 and Sleep Number. I was having fun, sampling stuff left and right, but high on the prospect of free goodies I took on too much and that was my downfall.

I’m cool with the usual free stuff requirements – a blog or video and a few social shares. Something totally natural that you can work in without bugging people and looking like you totally sold out. And then, lured in by the promise of a free $90 pillow, I accepted the invitation to join the Sleep Number campaign.

Here’s what they want:

  1. Visit a Sleep Number store and get your number
  2. Share a photo to Facebook 4 times
  3. 2 Ad tweets
  4. 4 Photo shares to Twitter
  5. 2 Comments on Smiley360
  6. Report on sharing with 10 people face-to-face
  7. 2 Posts on Pinterest
  8. 2 Posts on Instagram

Visiting the store is quite a time investment for a busy mom. I was lucky they had a little Lego table set-up, but there were moments the toddler was zooming around the store squealing.

But the real killer is the social shares. One Facebook post, OK. People actually paid attention and posted their Sleep Number and it was kinda fun to see. But again and again…I’m probably losing friends and credibility with every post. Most of the time I feel like nobody is paying attention on Twitter so I loaded up my feed with as many tweets as I could.

And then this happened: In my rush to get it done, I tagged CrowdTap instead of Smiley360 and my posts were rejected! So not only did I already bug everybody, but I was going to have to do it AGAIN if I wanted to complete my mission. I had gone this far for the darn pillow, I wasn’t going to let it go, so I did it with an added apology to friends that I had let this happen.

I’m still waiting to see if my last posts were accepted, so fingers crossed. This better be the most wonderful damn pillow in the world. (and maybe I will post a photo of it because I Want to this time)

Getting my number at the Sleep Number store
Now give me my fancy pillow!

My husband, the guinea pig

When Baldwin Men Care contacted me about doing a review for their Mens Nourishing Cream, I replied back that I wasn’t a man but I happen to have one that I’d happily subject to their product testing. They don’t test on animals, but willing husbands are free game!

I should note that my husband is a fan of fancy face cream. If he runs out then he dips into mine. So I knew he’d be into trying it, I just wasn’t sure how he’d be at giving me an in-depth review. He gave the anti-aging face cream a try, which is made with Dead Sea minerals, argan oil, jojoba oil, vitamin E, African shea oil and dunaliella extract.

I had our son model the manly face cream since I kept forgetting to get my husband to do it. He wore a hat and tie for the occasion:

So this is how it went the first night he tried it:

Me: How does it feel?

Hubs: Greasy

Me: Greasy? Like it didn’t soak in? or slimy?

Hubs: I think I used too much. It’s very fragrant. (he starts moving toward the bed and is still a good 12 feet away)

Me: I can smell you from here!!

Hubs continues to get into bed.

Me: (hiding under covers) I can still smell you! You need to try it again in the morning.

Hubs: But it says it’s for nighttime use!

The next day he left for a business trip and took his cream with him. He used it every night and continues to use it now. He said it just takes a little and it isn’t greasy. He did, in fact, use too much the first time. Getting a descriptive review out of him was not all that easy but he did say he liked it, his skin feels good, and he actually likes the smell. I’m very sensitive to smells so I still tell him to use it at least an hour before bed. The smell is one of those strong “manly aquatic” smells. It’s nice in small doses.

So the final test results are: Mens Nourishing Cream is good cream with a powerful manly cologne smell. It just takes a little, which means it will last a while. And you get to go to bed with a good smelling man with soft skin, so it’s a win-win all around. You can purchase it on Dead Sea Minerals Cosmetics and use code GeekMamas for 15% Off.

Like FREE Stuff? Enter to win a skincare combo worth $90!

Baldwin_combo_compactLike Baldwin Men Care on Facebook, Like this post and comment for a chance to win the Baldwin Men Combo:
Moisturizing Lotion
Nourishing Cream
Bath and Body Shower Gel
Shampoo

*Winner chosen at random, contacted by e-mail and prize is shipped directly from sponsor, US entries only please
PS – this post contains Amazon affiliate links so I could possibly make a few pennies if you purchase something.

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