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Giveaway: The Ultimate Most Awesome Ever Bag of Swag

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Thirteen days after we left home for our “vacation,” we rolled back into the driveway.  We had done it and survived.  My six year old son, Zack, my almost two year old daughter, Emma, and myself trekked through 8 states and 6 cities.  There were lots of laughs, a few tears, and even some blood shed when Emma fell and skinned her little knee.  But in the end, we were all stronger for it.

I can’t say the same for our poor little rental car.  We put over 3300 miles on it, and the rental car company took it out of circulation for maintenance when we returned it.  No, we didn’t destroy it, but it was obviously overdue for an oil change.

We’ve actually been home for a few weeks now and are fully recovered from our trip.  I’ve painted a room.  We’ve gotten back into our regular schedule.  I’ve actually put the suitcases away.  I know, right?  Yours must sit out for weeks like mine do.

Even though our fun is over, that doesn’t mean that it has to be for you.  I’ve been teasing you for a month about the giveaway for the awesome Bag of Swag that would occur at the end of the trip.  Well, folks.  Today’s the day!

Introducing the Ultimate Most Awesome Ever Bag of Swag!  WHEEEEE!!!

Within this beautiful kraft paper bag, you’ll receive all sorts of trinkets and treasures from our trip.  Every city visited is represented…well, except for Destinations #4 and #6, because I forgot to buy something in those places.  So, 4 out of 6 places are represented by touristy, truck stop tschotskes.  I’m telling you, it’s the Ultimate Most Awesome Ever Bag of Swag.

What?  That’s not good enough for you?  You feel like I’ve been dragging this out for so long that it should be better.  Well, fine.  I’ll throw this in, too.

So, now your Ultimate Most Awesome Ever Bag of Swag has a $50 Visa Gift Card inside of it, too.  If I were you, I’d use it on gas for your next road trip.  But, if you want to use it to do something like buy new pillows or supplies to paint your own rug, feel free to do that, too.

I just wouldn’t use it to buy a new portable GPS unit….

…’cause you’re getting one of those, too!  TomTom is graciously sending the winner a brand new TomTom Start 45 TM GPS navigation unit.  My TomTom (I call her Janice) and I were best friends on this trip, and this one is even BETTER than the one I have.  You’ll be able to update traffic and map updates for free.  It also has some really cool stuff, including the ability to find the lowest gas prices on your route.

Okay, that’s all you get.  Don’t be greedy, m’kay?

Details:
To enter this giveaway, you need to leave a comment on this post giving your guesses for each city of our destination in the proper order.  If you are reading this post via email, please click the title of the post and come on over to my blog to leave your comment – emailed guesses can’t be accepted.

As a reminder, here are my hints about our destinations:
Destination #1
Destination #2 – nearest Metro area is okay
Destination #3
Destination #4 – nearest Metro area is okay
Destination #5
Destination #6

Read them.  Study them.  Answer correctly and your name will be added into a hat where the winner will be drawn.  I’m also issuing this warning – don’t just copy and paste what the commenter above you has said.  There have been lots and lots of wrong guesses so far, and I know you don’t want to cheat off of someone with the wrong answers!

Good luck!

Giveaway rules: Giveaway open until midnight CST on 8/8/2012.  No purchase necessary. Odds of winning are based on the number of entries.  One entry per person.  Open to US residents, 18 and older.  Winner will be randomly selected and notified by email.  If winner doesn’t respond in one week, another winner may be randomly drawn.

TomTom gave me a GPS unit to giveaway.  The TomTom unit I used on my road trip and the opinions represented here are my own.

How to Get Designer Finishes on Painted Furniture

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This post is sponsored by Altar’d.

One of the biggest questions I get here on the blog, through emails, and via Google searches is on the topic of painting furniture. You love it, I’m obsessed with it, and we all want to make sure we do it the right way so it will hold up for as long as we want it to.

Pretty much everything I know about painting furniture, I learned from Mandie Morris of Altar’d. She has a business here in Texas where she transforms gently loved furniture into works of art. A few years ago, she put out an eBook that was game changing in the furniture painting field. Techniques held close to the vest were no longer secrets, and the rest of us could refinish our furniture with confidence.

Tarnished Peacock finish by Altar’d

Over the past few years, Mandie’s business has grown and grown. She’s painted thousands of pieces of furniture and moved her business from her garage to a storefront. I have loved watching her success and seeing the amazing pieces she shares via her Facebook page and website.

Restoration finish by Altar’d

Mandie’s popularity lies within the fact that she doesn’t just paint furniture. She creates custom finishes that have depth and dimension. Her color selection is very in fashion, and her combination of colors, tinted glazes and metallic finishes just can’t be beat. Every time she posts a picture on Facebook, at least one person asks, “How did you do that?”

Samples of the most popular Altar’d finishes

Well, she’s finally showed us her cards. Mandie has put together an eBook on her “Most Wanted Finishes,” that includes 15 of her most requested, best selling finishes. She sent me a book to review, and my email back to her was something like, “Crap! This is book is amazing!” And I wasn’t lying.

Within the pages of the new eBook, Mandie gives you the exact formulas and brand names of her popular finishes. You can literally print out the page for the finish you like, take it to Home Depot, and hand it over to the folks behind the paint desk if you wanted to. She couldn’t make it more simple to achieve a gorgeous finish.

One of my favorites is her Tarnished Silver finish. I see this one in my very near future.

I just can’t give enough gushy love for Mandie’s new finishes eBook. It contains perfect blues, perfect whites, a perfect red (which is hard to find)…you’ll even learn the coolest “Anthropologie” styled finish ever.

The Altar’d Most Wanted Finishes eBook is $15 and can be purchased here.  You can also get the newly updated and still awesome How to Paint Furniture eBook ($10) and her great Decorative Finishes eBook ($10), as well.  After your purchase, you are able to download and read them instantly.

I know quite a few of you have bought one or both of Mandie’s first two books.  What do you think about them?

Disclaimer: I am an affiliate for the Altar’d eBooks, so that means I receive a small commission on each one sold through my site.  Of all of the affiliate requests I receive, Mandie is the only one I’ve ever decided to partner with.  That should tell you something about the quality of these eBooks.