Accessories are some of my very favorite things. Unfortunately, there are times in life when you think you look great with your load of accessories, but really… um… notsomuch.

I’m not sure if the neckwarmers, large amounts of teal and purple or the excessively sized sunglasses that threw us over the limit on accessories here, but something did it. I’m sure there was an alarm sounding somewhere.

That’s me on the far right with 2 of my besties from high school, Laura and Sarah. You wanna know something about our high school? There were only 31 of us in my graduating class, so we were tight. I’ve talked to both of these girls this week! I found this picture- circa 1994- on Sarah’s mom’s refrigerator in 2009 when I found this one.

Thankfully, there are MUCH cuter accessories out there these days and I have found some fun ones for giveaways for you!

The first giveaway is a $50 gift certificate to Silpada Jewelry!

Or, if you are from my neck of the woods in LA- Lower Alabama, of course- that would be pronounced “Jury”.

One of my nearest and dearest friends from college, Emily, is not only a talented photographer in the New Orleans area, but also she is a rep for Silpada! I’m certain you’ve heard of their beautiful JURY, but if not, you are in for a treat!! Emily’s site will show you all the details and they also have a great online catalog. I just spent 45 minutes over there trying to pick my favorite items to show you and there really isn’t a way to choose! But here are a few of my selections:

There are SO many beautiful pieces to choose from! Hop on over there and have fun finding your favorites. Come back here, leave a comment with your choices of fun picks and that will be your first entry.

The second giveaway is a $25 store credit to Eclectic Whatnot!

Isn’t that the most fun name for a store? Ruthanne is the owner, creator and lovely proprietor and we know each other through the blogging world! Here’s a little about her:

Ruthanne’s work at Eclectic Whatnot gives her the opportunity to combine two of her loves – photography and sewing. Her shop features shabby, chic and just plain fun camera strap covers. Her sewing is fueled by good coffee, streaming episodes of 24 and show tunes. When she’s not sewing, she’s either homeschooling her crew or stalking them with her camera. And sometimes she does both simultaneously.

Isn’t she awesome? Just wait until you see these camera strap covers:

This is totally the one I want-
 

Wait- Or this one-

This one is named Mint Julep and I think I might have to have it just for that reason!

She has SO many adorable covers over at her shop! Go check it out and let me know your favorite in the comment section for another chance to win. As you can imagine, a gal with all these adorable camera strap covers knows how to take some pictures- check out her blog for some beautiful shots! I’m mint julep green with envy….

For one more shot at this amazing giveaway with 2 great prizes, you can click on over to Ruthanne’s Eclectic Whatnot Facebook page and become a fan/ like it/ or whatever the FB Grand Poobah has named it these days.

OK. Let’s review.

Each comment is a separate entry to win these 2 awesome giveaways. One winner will be chosen for both (I feel like I need to have “Many will enter. Few will win” somewhere! ha!).

Entry/ Comment 1) Let me know your favorite Silpada Jewelry piece.

Entry/ Comment 2) Let me know your favorite camera strap cover at Eclectic Whatnot.

Entry/ Comment 3) Become a fan of Eclectic Whatnot on Facebook.

And, Emily and I talked about a special prize for a Silpada Jewelry Show hostess. If you’d like to host a Silpada Party (you can do it online!), Emily will throw in a special gift for you! These beautiful earrings-to-the-stars. You didn’t know earrings could be famous? Oh, yes, they can.

These

adorned Rachel’s ears and they can adorn yours, too! Just get in touch with Emily to set that up!

  but never came up with a definite plan. Aren’t you glad I’m so thorough like that? Em, talk to me in the morning and I will update this. If you want to host an online JURY party for your friends, Emily will make you a candy necklace with smartie-type things on it that make you have slobber on your neck. Or probably something much better.

You all know how to comment now, right? Let me know if you have any questions.

Random.org will pick a winner on Monday!

Don’t forget to enter all the other fantastic giveaways from Day 1 (Melissa Tash Studios), Day 2 (Gussy Sews and It’s Sew Sweet) and Day 3 (Zutano).

Hope you are having fun for my birthday week! One more day until I’m thirtyummm… well…30 something.

Back in March, when showing off my consignment sale finds, I mentioned that I loved Zutano brand clothes. Somehow, the Zutano folks read that, contacted me and offered me clothes for our new baby girl! I get a few offers from this lovely bloggity blog, but this one REALLY excited me! Because I already love their product and would be happy to try their new line! YAY!

I would like to mention here and now that I whole heartedly appreciate all that the federal reserve is doing with cold hard cash. If they would like to send me any to test and give my opinion on, I will happily be a test subject for them, as well.

Where was I? Oh yes- Zutano. They have a new line of clothes for newborns called Itzy Bitzy. You most likely already know and love their clothes for babies and toddlers, but check these out!

Don’t you want to snorkle this little babe?

And look at this cutie patootie outfit!
 

Just adorable! All of it!

But you’re not going to believe what happened next. After they contacted me, their warehouse BURNED (Burned, I say!). They are back up and running now, thank goodness, but they won’t be open for new orders online until October 1st. And guess who gets to order first? YOU DO!

Zutano is generously offering a $75 gift certificate to one lucky commenter for their new Itzy Bitzy line of clothes!

On another note, you have been waiting patiently for this poor child to have a name.

She is hence forth and evermore blog named Eliza (short for Elizabeth)!

I would like to rub it in a smidgen that we got a sneak peek of the new clothes. (This is baby Eliza’s sneaky face)

(Please excuse the quality of these pics. Again, my camera is BROKEN, DEAD, SIX FEET UNDER and I thought I might be getting a new one for my birthday, but apparently it’s a recession birthday. I’m working on it folks. I’m using an old point and shoot and my iPhone- so sad.)

Through the grains of this horrible picture, you can still see the cuteness of this adorable outfit (and newborn smile)! Notice, too, that we don’t take long to fatten up our kiddos. She started out skinny, but fits right in now.

It has THE CUTEST green gingham pantaloons that go with it and I have loved them! All their outfits are so soft, fit well, wash well and I love how they pair stripes or ginghams with floral and bright pops of color. Everything is just adorable!

Here’s how to enter for your chance at these wonderful clothes for your own children, grandchildren or a fantastic baby gift (or 2 or 3!):

1) Hop on over to the new Itzy Bitzy Zutano site and pick a favorite outfit. Then come back here and leave a comment with your picks.

2) Like/ become a fan of Zutano on Facebook. Then come back here and leave a comment letting me know you did that.

3) Follow Zutano on Twitter. If you don’t do “the Twitter” ( as Betty White says), then you should try it out! Then hop back over, leave another comment about the twitter and that will be your 3rd entry.

* The comment area requires an extra click. See the 3 tiny pictures below- underneath that where it says X comments in orange? CLICK THERE- NOT on facebook or anywhere else. If you are subscribing via email or a reader, you will need to come over to the actual site. You will leave your name, email address- it WON’T be published- and website if you have one. Then leave your comment in the big blank box.

Each comment is a separate entry.

So, three chances to be entered for this fabulous prize! 

Random.org will choose a winner on Monday, so enter until then and enjoy!

The best things in life are about the details, doncha think?
Like the caramel I get added to my coffee and the elastic in my maternity pants that I’m still (happily) wearing. Maybe that’s because I keep getting caramel in my coffee, but that’s neither here nor there.

Today I am delighted to giveaway two different gift certificates to one lucky winner! These 2 shop owners have so much in common, they were a natural fit! They are both super talented and creative women, detail- oriented and both love to sew.

As you most likely know, I opened a monogramming shop in May (and will be taking orders again starting tomorrow!) and quickly learned that attention to detail is what makes the store successful. These 2 sewing friends I’m highlighting today are wonderful examples of that!

I have a dear friend, Jenni, who lived in Huntsville her whole life and then up and moved (without even ASKING us!) to Kansas City a few months ago. Something about her husband’s job, but I’m still not quite over it.

Jenni runs a FANTASTIC designer fabric boutique online called It’s Sew Sweet. She features Michael Miller and Moda fabrics (my favorites) along with MANY others. The vast majority of my fabrics come from her shop and I email her with any and all designer fabric questions. (I’m sure she loves that.)

Here’s an example of how this happens. I pick many of her beautiful fabrics to purchase like this one:
 

Then I put it into a customized shirt, bag or anything that needs applique (these 3 shirts were made for triplets and each had different meaning)

See that middle shirt for Kate? I used the above fabric! Fun, huh? Actually every fabric in all 3 of these shirts was from It’s Sew Sweet. Jenni just has adorable fabric for any of your projects- even if you don’t think you’re crafty, they will inspire you!

# # # # # #

Gussy has THE. MOST. ADORABLE. ruffled accessories in the world. She is THE ruffle girl and I’m so happy she’s a friend. Gussy’s real name is Maggie, but I think everybody just calls her Gussy, so let’s go with that. She has a fantastic blog and an awesome site with all her original creations.  

Each ruffle she makes is machine sewn free-hand style, making each ruffle unique. Here’s a snippet of her story: “Almost 2 years ago I sat down at my kitchen table — I wanted to learn how to sew. And here I am now, offering zipped pouches of all sizes, laptop bags, tote/diaper bags, headbands, and wristlet/clutches (all with my signature ruffle) to those that love a little flair And, I’ve recently quit my day job to pursue Gussy full-time.”

Here are some of my favorite Gussy items:

The laptop bag:

The wristlet:
 

And an adorable selection of makeup bags:
 

What’s not to love?

On to the fun part!

Today’s giveaway features a $40 gift certificate to It’s Sew Sweet and a $30 gift certificate to Gussy Sews{The Shop}.

You have 4 different chances to win today! (And don’t be shy about entering 4 times. If someone offered you 4 free lottery tickets you wouldn’t just take one, would you? Have fun with it and make some new friends at these new sites!)

1) Visit Jenni’s store- It’s Sew Sweet- and leave a comment telling your favorite fabric or project you’d love to complete.

2) Sign up for the It’s Sew Sweet Newsletter (top right of her webpage) and leave a comment saying that you did.

3) Visit Gussy’s site and let me know your favorite Gussy item in the comment section.

4) Become a fan of Gussy Sews of Facebook and leave a comment letting me know you did.

* The comment area requires an extra click. See the 3 tiny pictures below- underneath that where it says X comments in orange? CLICK THERE- NOT on facebook or anywhere else. If you are subscribing via email or a reader, you will need to come over to the actual site. You will leave your name, email address- it WON’T be published- and website if you have one. Then leave your comment in the big blank box.

Each comment is a separate entry.

You have 4 chances to win this awesome giveaway!

I’ll have random.org choose one winner Friday of this week. Have fun!