Breaking News with Maggie: Our 1 Year Blogoversary (and Giveaways!!!) :)

Editorial Note:  This post ended up being A LOT longer than we originally intended.  So, if you'd like to skip the interview and head straight to the giveaway, simply scroll down and look for the words "GIVEAWAY INFO" in red print.  Thanks.  Hope you enjoy the post! :)            Tess and Maggie 

Hello, and welcome to Breaking News with Maggie.  I'm Maggie Wilson. 

Today, I'm proud to announce the arrival of our ONE YEAR BLOGOVERSARY!!!  Whoo hoo!!!!   Sorry, I know that wasn't very professional of me, but I just had to let that out. ;)  It's been quite a year.  I think my colleague, Tess Prescott, would agree with me when I say that we never expected our blog to last this long.  As of the time of this post, we have 45 followers and over 7,000 page views.  This post will be our 82nd post! 

Tess Prescott is here with me today and has agreed to help me with this special edition of Breaking News with Maggie.  Please join me in welcoming her.  (This is your cue to applaud, by the way.) ;)

M:  Miss Prescott, thank you for joining me today.

T:  Um...you're welcome.  Are we really going to do this whole post this formally?

M:  Well, it is a Breaking News with Maggie post.

T:  Oh, boy.

M:  Now, Miss Prescott, could you tell me a little bit about how this blog got started?

T:  Maggie...

M:  Come on, work with me here!

T: (sighing)  Okay, whatever you say, Miss Wilson.    

M: (smiling)  That's more like it!

T:  Our blog began one year ago, on August 5th, 2010.  Mama had started blogging just a week or so before, and since you and I were both so interested in writing, we wanted to try blogging too.  Mama helped us get started, and things just grew from there. 

M:  Now, Miss Prescott, wasn't there a time where the blog almost didn't make it?

T:  Yes, a few months after we began, we only had two followers and very few page views.  We started wondering if it was worth all of the effort we were putting into it since no one seemed to care.  Then, a month or so before Christmas, things started picking up.  We gained more followers, started getting comments and page views, and seemed to finally have dolls and people interested in what we were doing.  Looking back now, I'm so glad we stuck with it.  We've met so many wonderful friends through our blogging. :)  I've really enjoyed the writing experience it's given me, too.

M:  And, of course, it's given me a great opportunity to brush up on my journalism skills.

T:  (hiding a smile)  Of course.

M:  So, are there any special plans for our Blogoversary celebration?

T:  Maggie, this is really awkward.  Can't you just talk to me like you normally do?  You already know what our plans are!!

M: (in a stage whisper)  Tess, come on!  We talked about this.  It will be much more interesting for our readers if we do this post in an interview format.  I don't want our readers getting bored, do you?

T:  No, of course not!  But I also don't want it to get too confusing for them.

M:  Tess, I'm wearing a dress!!!  You got to have your costume party...so now I get to have my interview.  That was the deal, remember?

T:  All right, I'm sorry.  I did say that, didn't I?  By the way, you look lovely.

M: (briskly) Yeah, whatever.  Just enjoy the pictures, because I'm not planning on letting it happen again anytime soon!  Now, if we could get back to the topic at hand...

T:  Yes, our special Blogoversary plans.  Well, as you mentioned already, we started our celebration with a big dressy party.  Everyone...even you, Miss Wilson, got dressed up in their finest to pose for special pictures to commemorate the day.  They turned out so wonderfully.  Weren't we going to share them with our readers?

M:  I'd rather not.  Can't we just tell our readers about how "nice" we all looked?

T:  Maggie, no one's going to be happy with us if we don't even use the pictures.  Remember how long it took Mama to pose all of us?

M:  Oh, all right.  Here are some of the photos from the activities.  Of course, you've already seen the first one at the top of the post.

M:  This is our whole gang together.  Since Piper's sister Ruthie was visiting, she got to be in the picture too.

M:  And here's the Jane Austen Fan Club!  Actually, Tess and Emma are the real fans.  I think they just put Hailey and Katie up to it.

T:  Maggie!  We didn't make them wear those outfits...they chose them!

M:  All right, calm down!  Sheesh...you make one little comment...

T:  Here's my sister Hailey and I.  Mama wanted to get some family portraits done since we were all so dressed up. :)

T:  And here we are with our cousin, Katie.

M:  Awww, look at us!  Look at that ridiculous hairstyle! 

T:  I thought you liked my hairstyle.

M:  I was talking about mine.  I wish I could have worn my hat.  I can't believe Mama talked me into wearing that itchy, poofy dress!

T:  Well, it looked nice.

M:  And here's the traitor who said it would actually be FUN to wear party dresses!  Rachel, I thought you were my friend!

T:  I hope she knows you're kidding.  She might read this, you know.

M: (sighing)  Rachel, just in case you're as sensitive as my other bestie, I'm just kidding.  You know, it really ruins the joke when you have to apologize for it.

T:  Here's Charlie and Emma.  Aren't they sweet?

T:  And here's Ruthie and Piper.  They've been like two peas in a pod ever since Ruthie came over.  By the way, doesn't Piper look great as a colonial girl?

M:  How come I didn't get to be a colonial girl?  That would have been way better than that dress I wore!

M:  Here are all of the cousins together.  They're a pretty photogenic bunch, if I do say so myself. 

T:  Hailey and Charlie wanted to get their picture taken together, too.  They haven't had a best friend picture in a while. :)

M:  Wait, who's this?

T:  What?  You don't even know who she is?  She's been here for a week and a half! 

M:  Um...

T:  So much for getting the scoop...Maybe if she'd come in an Iron Man mask, you would have noticed.

M:  Hey now...

T:  That's Elena, Mama's Karito Kids doll.  She's pretty quiet.  I've only talked to her a couple of times.  She seems nice, though.  Mama wanted her to join the photo shoot even though she hasn't been on our blog yet. 

M:  Hmmm, Elena.  I guess I should introduce myself. 

T:  That would probably be a good idea.

M:  Okay, moving right along!  Now, Miss Prescott, I understand there will be some giveaways for our Blogoversary celebration?

T:  Yes.  We're going to have one giveaway each day for one week! :)  Due to financial issues, we don't have really impressive giveaway gifts, but I think our readers will enjoy them just the same.

M:  Can you tell us a little more?

T:  Why don't we stop the interview format for this part?  I want to make sure everyone gets what we're doing.

M:  (sigh)  I suppose, if you insist.

GIVEAWAY INFO:

Okay, Tess here.  We have so appreciated all of our followers and readers.  Thank you for sticking with us this past year as we've embarked on this blogging adventure together. :) 

We wanted to show our thanks in a special way.  Just like I mentioned earlier, we will be doing one giveaway per day for one week! :)  Our prizes and schedule are as follows:

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5TH:

The winner of today's giveaway will receive an autographed poster of Maggie and me. :)  This poster is a 5x7, printed on Costco's lustre photo paper.  It's the perfect size for all of you 18 inchers out there.  It would make a great addition to your doll room, and show all of your friends that you're a fan! :)  Here are some pics (Mama was obliging enough to hold them up for us):

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6TH:

Today's winner will receive an autographed poster of Emma and me. :)  Like the first day's prize, this poster is a 5x7, printed on Costco lustre paper.  It's one of my favorite pics of the two of us! :)



SUNDAY, AUGUST 7TH:

The winner of today's giveaway will receive an autographed poster of Emma's little sister Charlie.  This is one of the extra photos that Mama took while working on The Doll Wardrobe's photo contest.  Mama really likes how it turned out.  We thought that all of you Charlie fans out there might appreciate it too. :)  Charlie's poster is also a 5x7, printed on Costco's lustre photo paper. 

MONDAY, AUGUST 8TH:

Now we get to the prizes that will excite all of our "Belle's Bulletins" fans. :)  We have 4 different Belle's Bulletin's posters we'll be giving away, one per day.  Today's giveaway is for all of you Robby fans.  It's a mini poster of Belle and Robby together.  It's not actually autographed, but has Robby and Belle's names printed on it.  This poster was also printed at Costco, but it is WALLET SIZED, not 5x7, just so you know.  We figured it would be a better poster size for any fashion dolls following Belle's pages.  But don't worry, if you're an 18" doll, you can still use the poster.  Wallet sized pics make great framed photos for us. :)

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9TH:

Today's prize is for all of you Ben fans.  If you think Belle goes better with Ben, you can show it with this Ben and Belle poster.  This is the same size and quality as the Robby and Belle poster (Costco lustre in a wallet size).



 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10TH:

Now, for those of you who just can't decide which Prince should go with Belle, this is the poster for you.  This one simply says: "Belle's Bulletins" and has a picture of an indecisive Belle with both Robby and Ben behind her. :)  By the way, we're so sorry that Costco cut off one of Belle's hands.  The picture still looks okay...we're just frustrated because we didn't notice it would happen until it was too late! :( 

Once again, this is a wallet sized print on Costco lustre paper. :)

THURSDAY, AUGUST 11TH:

Our final prize is for those of you who don't care a thing about the men in Belle's life and just like to hear about her friendship with Rapunzel. :)  This poster is the same size and quality as the other Belle's Bulletins poster.  Oh, and just so you know, this mini poster is printed in slightly muted, sepia tones.  

(We didn't take a picture of the writing on the bottom since it was so clear in this photo.)



 So, now that you've seen the prizes, here are our rules. 

1.  If you are under 14 years of age, please get your parents' permission before entering, as we will have to get your mailing address.

2.  Each day, we will have a small post announcing which poster is being given away that day.  To enter, leave a comment in the post with your name or username and email address.  You will have approximately 24 hours to comment before the next giveaway starts.  Comment moderation will be on, so your information will not be seen by anyone but Maggie, Mama, and myself. :)

3.  All winners will be decided through a random drawing (we'll put all the names in a hat and draw one).  The winner for each day will be announced at the beginning of the following day's post.  For example, Friday's winner will be announced on Saturday's post for the next giveaway. 

4.  Feel free to enter only on certain days or every day, if you like.  However, once you win a poster, please do not enter again so that as many people as possible get a chance to win.  We want a different winner for each day.  If your name is chosen on another day after you've already won, we will choose a different entrant's name. 

5.  We realize this could get really confusing.  Please be aware that we may have to change things as we go.  For instance, we may have to extend some of the giveaways for more than a day if we don't have enough people interested in that particular poster, and so on.  Also, feel free to ask us any questions you may have!

6.  When you win, we will notify you by email as well as announcing it on the blog.  Please respond to us by email as soon as possible.  If we haven't heard from you by 24 hours after we first contact you, we will have to choose another winner.  This is a scenario we REALLY want to avoid, since we'll then be holding giveaways at the same time...yeah.  It just would get really confusing.

So, are you thoroughly confused yet?  Don't worry!  We'll do a special post each day to remind you which poster is being given away on which day.  Thanks for a great year.  We can't wait to see what the next year holds! :D      

M:  Hey, wait a minute!  I didn't get to sign off!

T:  Oh, I'm sorry...I forgot.  Take it away, Maggie!

M:  You've been reading Breaking News with Maggie.  This is Maggie Wilson, saying "thank you" and signing off. :)

T:  Very nice, Mags.

M:  Thanks.  You weren't so bad yourself. ;)