Maggie's Memos: Giveaway Results

After a week of waiting, it's time to announce the winner of our 2 Year Blogoversary Giveaway!  We had a total of 12 entries.  We wrote all of the names down and put them in a bowl:

We enlisted Mama's help, so she drew one name out without looking.  The name chosen was:

Jenny!!

Congratulations, Jenny!  We'll be sending you an email shortly.  Remember, you'll have one week to respond  to our email.  If we don't hear from you by one week from today, a new winner will be chosen.  

Thanks for entering, everyone!  We'll be back later next week with another post. :)

Tess's Tidbits: Only One More Day to Enter Our Giveaway!

Hello everyone!  I just wanted to remind you that tomorrow is the very last day to enter our giveaway.  For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, click HERE to see our giveaway post and instructions for entering. :)

We only have 7 entries so far, so your chances of winning are pretty large at this point.  Of course, we'd love to have more of you involved, so please be sure to enter if you haven't yet!

Also, Maggie and I decided that since we hit 65 followers (and even gained an extra follower for good measure, bringing us up to 66), we're going to be adding another prize to the pile.  Not only will the winner of the giveaway receive all of the things that we mentioned in our previous post, but he or she will also receive a brand new set of Littlest Pet Shop Teensies! :)

We all love these (well, except for Maggie). ;)  They're the perfect size for doll hands and make great knick-knacks for us.  We hope our winner enjoys them just as much as we do.

So, now that you have a little added incentive, don't forget to enter, everyone! :)

P.S.  We haven't done much posting this week because the new doll rooms that Mama's dad has been working on are all done!  Mama helped her dad paint them yesterday, and today she's been working on getting them all set up.  We should have some pictures up for you soon, either on our blog or Mama's, so keep checking back. :)

Our Two Year Blogoversary Giveaway (A Post By Tess and Maggie)

So, as promised, here we are with our 2 Year Blogoversary Giveaway!  (If you don't know what I'm talking about, click HERE to see where it all started.)  Since both Tess and I wanted to be a part of this post, we decided to pull a Charlie and Rachel and use 2 different colors of text to show who's writing.  So all of my stuff will be in Blue (my favorite color), and all of Tess's words will be in Purple (her favorite color).  

Like this...got it?  Before we get into the giveaway itself, though, I have to ask...

What, Maggie?

Why are we still in these stuffy, itchy dresses?!  I'm seriously going crazy here!!

We're still in them because it's fun to dress up.

Uh-huh.  For some.

We should probably get on with the giveaway, Maggie.  Our readers our waiting!

You're enjoying this, aren't you?

Well, perhaps just a bit. ;)

So here we are in our lovely, itchy dresses with all of the giveaway goodies. :}  All 8 of us donated at least one item to use for the prizes.  

Now, even though Maggie used "prizes" in the plural, we've decided that we'll only be doing one random drawing.  In other words, we'll be awarding one fortunate person or doll with all of the "loot", so to speak. ;)

We came up with some cool stuff (at least, most of it is cool).  Here's a closer look at what the winner of this giveaway will receive:

Pretty awesome, huh?  Oh, and in case you're wondering, all of the items are either brand new or in excellent used condition.  Still want a closer look?  Well, just keep reading!

This Littlest Pet Shop bulldog was part of Tess's figurine collection.

Emma had a spare "Tangled" bottle cap pendant from Factory Twenty 9 (the picture on the bottle cap is nice and clear...the camera just didn't focus on it very well).  We love using these for necklaces, but they work for human necklaces too.

There's even a hole drilled in the top already so it can be attached to a necklace, although you'll need some sort of metal ring to attach it to the chain.

Rachel donated this totally amazing Captain America figurine.  Now this is a prize worth winning. 

As you can see, he's the perfect size for a doll's collection.

I donated this really nifty light bulb bug, hand made by Mama's dad.  He's cool and quirky and a good conversation piece...the bug, not her dad. ;)

Charlie donated one of her extra Buzz Lightyears.  Out of all of the items, Buzz is the most used.  His helmet has a few small smudges because he's shared many adventures with Charlie...and she's not exactly the best at keeping her stuff in mint condition. ;)

Hayden very generously donated 3 mini plastic horses from her horse collection.  

Emma found this spare Belle journal and thought it might be good for the giveaway (although a Disney Princess journal is the LAST thing on my wishlist!).

It used to be a key chain, but Mama removed the key chain part so that it would be easier to write in.  

Hailey very graciously decided to share 2 of her Hello Kitty Squinkies with us.  These are Hello Kitty's monkey friends...I believe their names are Timmy and Tammy.

Even Mama pitched in!  She found this cute little gift box at a thrift store and thought we'd enjoy using it for the giveaway.  It used to be a ring box for humans (this is the other item that's a bit more used than the others, but still really cute).

It's perfect for storage or for hiding a gift. :)

Jenna ended up with a Twilight Sparkle in one of her My Little Pony Blind Bags (although I'm ashamed to admit I even know what those are!), and since she's more into Rainbow Dash and Applejack (huh...they all look the same to me!), she thought she'd pass Twilight on to someone who would enjoy her more.  Sorry, we don't have her collector's card. 

Emma surpassed us all by donating 3 items, but that's just the giving type of doll she is. :)  This is her Royal Nursery Christmas Belle doll.  This little gal is absolutely adorable and would be perfect for any dolls who are fans of Disney Princesses or Beauty and the Beast. :)

I also had this sweet Madame Alexander doll that I never use.  She's practically brand new, and I thought someone might enjoy her as part of the giveaway.  

Oh, and Hailey remembered that she had a spare Hello Kitty poster just like the one hanging in her room, so she added that to the prizes as well.

And we figured we'd throw in one of our extra signed pictures.  These work great for posters in a doll room, by the way.  Spread the word about our awesomeness. ;)

Okay, so now for all of the boring stuff:  rules for the giveaway (typed in black for the sake of simplicity, narrated by Maggie...in case you care).

1.  The winner of this giveaway will receive all of the items above.  The winner will be selected in a random drawing.

2.  To enter, simply leave a comment on this post with your name or username and email address.  Comment moderation is on, so no one will see your email address except us.  Oh, and as always, if you're under 18, please get a parent or guardian's permission before entering, as we'll have to get your mailing address.

3.  The contest will be open to entrants until FRIDAY, AUGUST 17TH.  On Saturday, August 18th, we will pick our winner and contact them via email.  The winner will have ONE WEEK to respond to our email with their mailing address.  If we don't hear from the winner by Saturday, August 25th, a new winner will be chosen.

4.  We're very sorry, but this contest is only open to United States residents, as international shipping can be expensive and stressful. :{  

5.  No purchase necessary to enter.  Void where prohibited.  (Okay, sorry...I couldn't resist!) ;)

Okay, that should do it!  Have fun entering everyone.  And dude, could we please get another follower somewhere?  We're soooo close to 65!  And more would be okay, too. ;)

Um, Maggie, that's not really polite.  Really, having 64 followers is a huge honor.  We should be thankful for each one of them, especially since we haven't been very faithful bloggers recently.  And remember how close we came to quitting at the beginning?  Look how far we've come.

Thank you, Tess, for that lovely Pollyanna bit.  I'm totally thankful for all of our followers.  I'd just be even more thankful if we had 65.  I mean, come on, we've got to try to catch up to Mama!

We should probably quit and let everyone start entering, don't you think?

Good point.  Okay, peoples (and dolls), see you around!  We'll have the results for you next week. :)

Breaking News with Maggie: Announcing Our 60 Followers Giveaway Winner!!! :D

This is Maggie Wilson with an important announcement!  We have a winner, folks!  Out of 14 entries, our winner is...

CLAIRE!! (AND MIA, TOO) ;)

Congratulations, Claire!  We'll be sending you an email shortly to confirm your win.

Claire will have one week to respond and claim her prize.  If we don't hear from her by Saturday, February 4th, then we will hold another drawing and a new winner will be chosen.  

Thanks for entering, everyone!  We hope to bring you many more wonderful posts in the future.  Here's looking at 100 FOLLOWERS!!! (Hey, I can dream, can't I?)

Oh yes, and one other quick announcement...Tess, Emma and I wanted to wish Hayden a Happy Birthday!  Tomorrow is her 12th birthday...again (remember, we don't age?), and we most likely won't have a chance to be on the computer then.  Mama really wanted to give each of us a little celebration on our birthdays this year, so I think there may be a little party of some kind tomorrow.  If there is, we'll be sure to post pics later.

This is Maggie Wilson, signing off. ;)

Ummm...we just looked, and Claire, you didn't give us your email address.  Could you either leave a comment with your email or just email us at nevergrowup.beastsbelle@gmail.com?  You can just put "Attn:  Maggie and Tess" on it, and then Mama will know it's for us. Thanks!

                                                              

Maggie's Memos: Last Day to Enter Our Giveaway!

What's up, everyone?  Just wanted to remind you that today is the very last day to enter our GIVEAWAY (click on the link if you're not sure what I'm talking about).  It's also the last day to get an extra entry for participating in our TRIVIA GAME (once again, click the link to see the game).

So far, we have 8 entrants (4 of them have played our trivia game and have an extra entry).  Tomorrow, we'll post the answers to our trivia game and let those of you who participated know how you did.  Then we'll hold our drawing and announce our winner. :)

Remember, you're playing for some (ick) sparkly Lisa Frank stencils, a (double ick) cutesy Lisa Frank kitty notepad, a doll-sized Mountain Dew (that's really lip gloss...gross!), and an autographed picture of Tess and me (finally, something worth having!).

We'd love to get some more entries for our giveaway, but hurry...it all ends tonight!

Breaking News with Maggie: Announcing Our 60 Followers Giveaway!

Hello, this is Maggie Wilson of "Breaking News with Maggie".  I'm here with my fellow blogger, Tess Prescott.  Tess, I understand you have an announcement to make?

T:  Um, yes.  But I thought we were making the announcement together.

M: (stage whisper) Tess, just play along, okay?  It's more interesting for our followers if we do this as a "Breaking News with Maggie" post!


T: (embarrassed) Oh, right. (clearing throat)  Yes, Maggie, I do have an announcement to make.  Here at Jane Austen and Unicorns, we have finally reached 60 followers!

M:  Yay for us!  And what are we going to do about that, Tess?

T:  We have a few things planned.  First, we have a special giveaway.

M:  A giveaway?  How exciting!  May I ask what the giveaway prizes are?

T:  Well, here, I've got them with me.  Can you help me hold them up?

M:  Sure.  Okay, so it looks like we have some stencils...

T:  Yes, four of them.  They're Lisa Frank glittery stencils.

M:  (dryly) Oh, joy.  Glitter just makes everything better.

T:  Some of us think it does.

M:  What else do we have?

T:  There's this really cute Lisa Frank kitten notepad...

M:  I'm sensing a theme here, and it's not a good one!

T:  Well, you might like this.  It's a Mountain Dew can, just our size!

M:  That's a little better.  Of course, you humans know what's in these, right?  CHAPSTICK!!  Yummy, I'm just gonna get a nice drink of thick, nasty inedible stuff...

T:  Maggie!

M: I 'm just sayin'...

T:  And lastly, we'll have an autographed picture of us that your dolls can use as a poster.

M:  Which is the most awesome part of this giveaway!

T:  Um...we also have a trivia game planned and then a post where we ask our readers what they would like to see on our blog.

M:  More Maggie posts, obviously!  I don't see why we even have to ask!

T:  (ignoring this answer)  Of course, we can't promise we'll be able to use all of the ideas, but we'd like to get some feedback on how we're doing.  I do hope to get some more "Tea with Tess" posts done (I've even got some ideas started!), and I know Maggie and Emma have some ideas as well, but we also want to hear from you, our readers! :)

M:  Well, this all sounds great!  What are we going to start with, Tess?

T:  I thought maybe we could start with the giveaway...if you think that's a good idea.

M:  Works for me.  But next time, I get to pick the giveaway prizes, okay?

T:  Uh...okay...as long as they're not all piratey or something.

M: (under her breath) It would even out the overly-pink giveaways this time around.

T:  What?

M:  Nothing...on to the Giveaway Rules!  Listen up, everyone!

1.  To enter our giveaway, leave a comment on this post with your name (or username) and email address.  We have comment moderation on, so we're the only ones who will see it (and Mama, of course).

2.  You may enter the Giveaway until Friday, January 27th.  On Saturday, January 28th, we will put all of the entrants' names in a hat and draw our winner.

3.  If you're under 18, please get a parent's permission before entering.  We will have to get your mailing address, and we want to make sure your parents are okay with that!

4.  Sorry, but we'd like to keep this contest within the USA, simply because of shipping costs.  We hope our out of country readers understand.

5.  There will be 1 winner...all of the giveaway prizes are going to be given together.

6.  The winner of the Giveaway will be notified via email and on this blog.  They will have one week to respond and claim their prize.  If we don't hear from them by Saturday, February 4th, then another winner will be chosen.

We hope you have fun entering the giveaway.  Our trivia game should be up shortly.  All participants (within the US) in the trivia game get AN EXTRA ENTRY in the giveaway. :)

This has been Breaking News with Maggie.  Stay tuned for more fun.  This is Maggie Wilson, signing off. (I love saying that!!)

T: (clearing throat) Ahem.

M:  Oh, right.  This is Maggie Wilson, and Tess Prescott, signing off.  Happy, Tess?

T:  Thanks, Maggie.

Maggie's Memos: Blogoversary Giveaway #7 Results

Yesterday was our very last Blogoversary Giveaway, and we had a unique situation.  We only had one entry!!  See, Tess?  I told you the silly Belle and Rapunzel poster was a bad idea!  The good news is, we're going to make our one entrant very happy.  ALEXIS, you're the winner of our Belle and Rapunzel mini doll poster! :)

Congratulations on being our very last Blogoversary winner!  Please get back to us within 24 hours with your mailing address so that we can get your prize off to you in the mail.

Wow, it's been quite a week!  Tess and I would like to thank all of you for joining in the fun.  Look, I know I'm not always the best at expressing gratitude, but I am thankful for all of you who have followed our blog, read our posts, and left great comments.  You've made this a great experience for Tess and me and all of our friends.  We can't wait to see where the next year takes us in our blogging adventures! :)

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Maggie and Tess

Tess's Tidbits: Blogoversary Giveaway #7!

Well, we had something kind of interesting happen this time around.  We only had 3 entries for yesterday's giveaway.  And it just so happened that we had 2 extra mini posters.  So, Maggie and I decided to make ALL THREE OF YOU winners! :D  Our winners are.................................

                                          CAELEN, ALISON, AND ANNE!!!

Congratulations!  As always, please contact us within 24 hours to claim your prize, or another winner will be chosen.  I'm not exactly sure who, since all of you were chosen.  Just please contact us so we can get your prizes to you. ;)  (And to those of you who are wondering, we realize that Anne already won a prize, but since there wasn't much interest in this particular giveaway, we made an exception.) :)

Okay, here it is:  our very last Blogoversary Giveaway!  It's been a great week, hasn't it? :)  Our final prize is a wallet-sized, fashion doll poster in muted sepia tones.  This poster depicts Belle and her best friend Rapunzel, and has "Belle's Bulletins" printed across the bottom.  As always, it has been printed on Costco's lustre finish photo paper.

Here, one last time, are the rules:

1. If you are under 14, please get a parent's permission before entering, as we will have to get your mailing address.

2. To enter, please leave a comment on this post. You'll need to leave us your name or username and an email address where we can reach you. We've already turned on comment moderation, so only Maggie, Mama and I will see your information. :)

3. You will have somewhere around 24 hours or so to comment.

4. The winner will be selected through a random drawing. We'll write all of the names down and put them in a hat (or something). :)

5. The winner of today's giveaway will be announced on tomorrow's post. We will also contact the winner via email. Remember, if you win, please respond to us within 24 hours, or we'll have to choose another winner. We know it's not a very long time to respond, but since we have so many giveaways going, we need to keep things moving. :)

6. Feel free to ask us any questions you may have about the giveaway. We'd like to keep this as easy as possible! :)

Hurry up and enter, everyone!  This is your last chance to win! :)



Maggie's Memos: Blogoversary Giveaway #6

Okay, out of 5 entries, the winner of the Ben and Belle poster is.................................................

                                                              CHLOE!!!!! :)

As we've said in every post before, you have 24 hours to get back to us or we'll have to choose another winner.  I don't know why you'd want to claim this particular prize, but since you entered for it, I guess you want it.  You know, it's a little scary how many Belle's Bulletins fans there are out there!

Now, for today's giveaway, we have a poster of Belle being a total ditz and trying to figure out which guy she should end up with (like we even care!).  For those of you who are interested in this kind of mush, this is the prize for you.  It's another wallet-sized, fashion doll poster on Costco's lustre photo paper. 



I don't see why we have to print the same dopey rules every day, but Tess insists we need to be consistent.  So, for the millionth time, here are our rules:

1. If you are under 14, please get a parent's permission before entering, as we will have to get your mailing address.

2. To enter, please leave a comment on this post. You'll need to leave us your name or username and an email address where we can reach you. We've already turned on comment moderation, so only Maggie, Mama and I will see your information. :)

3. You will have somewhere around 24 hours or so to comment.

4. The winner will be selected through a random drawing. We'll write all of the names down and put them in a bowl.

5. The winner of today's giveaway will be announced on tomorrow's giveaway post. We will also contact the winner via email. Remember, if you win, please respond to us within 24 hours, or we'll have to choose another winner. We know it's not a very long time to respond, but since we have so many giveaways going, we need to keep things moving. :)

6. Feel free to ask us any questions you may have about the giveaway. We'd like to keep this as easy as possible! :)


All righty, everyone!  Just one more giveaway left after today! :)


Tess's Tidbits: Blogversary Giveaway #5

Well, we've chosen the happiest Robby fan. :)  There were 5 people that entered yesterday's giveaway.  The winner is..............................................

                                                           BREANNA!! :)

Congratulations!  Remember, Breanna has 24 hours to claim her prize and get us her mailing address or a new winner will have to be chosen.

By the way, you've all been great at getting back to us right away, so thanks!  That makes our job a lot easier! :)

Now, today's giveaway is for all of you Ben fans out there.  Today's winner will receive a wallet-sized fashion doll poster of Ben and Belle together.  It has their names printed on the photo (it is not autographed).  Just like all of the other posters, it is printed on Costco's lustre finish paper.

And once again, just as a reminder, here are our rules:

1. If you are under 14, please get a parent's permission before entering, as we will have to get your mailing address.

2. To enter, please leave a comment on this post. You'll need to leave us your name or username and an email address where we can reach you. We've already turned on comment moderation, so only Maggie, Mama and I will see your information. :)

3. You will have somewhere around 24 hours or so to comment.

4. The winner will be selected through a random drawing. We'll write all of the names down and put them in a hat (or bowl).

5. The winner of today's giveaway will be announced on tomorrow's giveaway post. We will also contact the winner via email. Remember, if you win, please respond to us within 24 hours, or we'll have to choose another winner. We know it's not a very long time to respond, but since we have so many giveaways going, we need to keep things moving. :)

6. Feel free to ask us any questions you may have about the giveaway. We'd like to keep this as easy as possible! :)

And, as always, if you want to refer back to our original giveaway post, you can click HERE. :)

I can't wait to see who our next winner is! :D



Maggie's Memos: Blogoversary Giveaway #4!

We have a winner for the poster of Charlie! :)  Out of  5 entrants, one was chosen.  The lucky winner is...............................................                                                                                                                

                                                         ANNE!!!! :)
Anne has 24 hours to respond and get us her mailing address.  If we don't hear from her by then, we'll have to choose a different winner.  So, Anne, get back to us soon!! :)

Today's giveaway features the first of the Belle's Bulletins posters.  Seriously, why are you guys even interested in entering for this?  Have you read her pages?  Ick!!  Sappy, sappy, sappy. 

All right, I'd better just can it and get on with the giveaway, or I'll never hear the end of it from Tess. :}  Today's winner will receive a Belle's Bulletins fashion doll-sized poster featuring Belle and Robby.  So all of you who are rooting for Robby will want to enter today.  Seriously, does anyone really care who Belle ends up with?

Just a reminder, this is a smaller poster (with fashion dolls in mind), but as Tess mentioned earlier, it works as a framed photo for us 18 inchers, too.  This is a WALLET-SIZED Costco photo with a lustre finish.  It is not autographed, but has Robby and Belle's names printed on the picture itself.

And here we go again with the same, boring old rules:

1. If you are under 14, please get a parent's permission before entering, as we will have to get your mailing address.

2. To enter, please leave a comment on this post. You'll need to leave us your name or username and an email address where we can reach you. We've already turned on comment moderation, so only Maggie, Mama and I will see your information. :)

3. You will have somewhere around 24 hours or so to comment.

4. The winner will be selected through a random drawing. We'll write all of the names down and put them in a hat (or bowl, or something along the same lines).

5. The winner of today's giveaway will be announced on tomorrow's giveaway post. We will also contact the winner via email. Remember, if you win, please respond to us within 24 hours, or we'll have to choose another winner. We know it's not a very long time to respond, but since we have so many giveaways going, we need to keep things moving. :)

6. Feel free to ask us any questions you may have about the giveaway. We'd like to keep this as easy as possible! :)

Have fun entering, everyone!  We'll talk to you all again tomorrow.



Tess's Tidbits: Blogoversary Giveaway #3! :)

Wow, thanks for all of the entries for yesterday's giveaway!  There were a total of 7 this time.  We have the results you're waiting for (once again, chosen in a random drawing).  The winner of the autographed doll poster of Emma and me is.......................

                                                        RACHEL NOEL!!! :)


Congratulations!  Now, remember, you have 24 hours to contact us with your mailing info, or we'll be forced to choose another winner. :(

Thanks for participating, everyone.  And if you haven't won yet, don't be discouraged.  You still have 5 more chances to win! :)

On to today's giveaway! :)  Today's winner will receive a doll-sized, autographed poster of Emma's little sister Charlie.  It is a 5x7, printed at Costco on their lustre-finish photo paper. 

Now, we know this is repetitive, but we like to repeat the rules each day, just to make it easier for everyone. :)  So, here they are:

1. If you are under 14, please get a parent's permission before entering, as we will have to get your mailing address.

2. To enter, please leave a comment on this post. You'll need to leave us your name or username and an email address where we can reach you. We've already turned on comment moderation, so only Maggie, Mama and I will see your information. :)

3. You will have somewhere around 24 hours or so to comment.

4. The winner will be selected through a random drawing. We'll write all of the names down and put them in a hat (or bowl). ;)

5. The winner of today's giveaway will be announced on tomorrow's giveaway post. We will also contact the winner via email. Remember, if you win, please respond to us within 24 hours, or we'll have to choose another winner. We know it's not a very long time to respond, but since we have so many giveaways going, we need to keep things moving. :)

6. Feel free to ask us any questions you may have about the giveaway. We'd like to keep this as easy as possible! :)

As always, you can click HERE  to see our original post with all of the giveaway information for the week. :)

We can't wait to see who wins! :)

Maggie's Memos: Blogoversary Giveaway #2!

Okay, all of the entries for our first giveaway are in.  Thanks to all of you who entered. :)  We had a total of 5 entries.  They were all put in a bowl (it worked better than Papa's cowboy hat), and one winner was chosen.  The winner of our first giveaway is....................................

                                                               ELAINE!!!!!!! :)

Elaine will receive the doll-sized poster of Tess and me.  :D  Treat it with care:  it's autographed, and we might be famous someday. ;)  Elaine has 24 hours to contact us and get us her mailing address.  If we haven't heard from her by then, we'll choose another winner.

So now, on to giveaway #2!  Today's prize is the autographed doll-sized poster of Tess and Emma in their Jane Austen attire (why you'd want something like this for your wall is beyond me, but to each his...or her...own!).  This is a 5x7 doll poster printed at Costco on their lustre photo paper.

The rules are the same as before:

1. If you are under 14, please get a parent's permission before entering, as we will have to get your mailing address.

2. To enter, please leave a comment on this post. You'll need to leave us your name or username and an email address where we can reach you. We've already turned on comment moderation, so only Maggie, Mama and I will see your information. :)

3. You will have somewhere around 24 hours or so to comment.

4. The winner will be selected through a random drawing. We'll write all of the names down and put them in a hat.

5. The winner of today's giveaway will be announced on tomorrow's giveaway post. We will also contact the winner via email. Remember, if you win, please respond to us within 24 hours, or we'll have to choose another winner. We know it's not a very long time to respond, but since we have so many giveaways going, we need to keep things moving. :)

6. Feel free to ask us any questions you may have about the giveaway. We'd like to keep this as easy as possible! :)

If you'd like more information on our giveaway week, click HERE to go to our original Blogoversary post.   Have fun entering, everyone! :)



Tess's Tidbits: Blogoversary Giveaway #1

Hi everyone!  Here's our post for our first Blogoversary Giveaway. :)  (If you'd like more info about this, click HERE to view our previous post!)   Today's prize is an autographed poster of Maggie and me. :)  It is a 5x7 and was printed at Costco on lustre finish photo paper. 

So, just a few reminders:

1.  If you are under 14, please get a parent's permission before entering, as we will have to get your mailing address.

2.  To enter, please leave a comment on this post.  You'll need to leave us your name or username and an email address where we can reach you.  We've already turned on comment moderation, so only Maggie, Mama and I will see your information. :)

3.  You will have somewhere around 24 hours or so to comment.

4.  The winner will be selected through a random drawing.  We'll write all of the names down and put them in a hat.  

5.  The winner of today's giveaway will be announced on tomorrow's giveaway post.  We will also contact the winner via email.  Remember, if you win, please respond to us within 24 hours, or we'll have to choose another winner.  We know it's not a very long time to respond, but since we have so many giveaways going, we need to keep things moving. :)

6.  Feel free to ask us any questions you may have about the giveaway.  We'd like to keep this as easy as possible! :)

I think that's about it!  Have fun and good luck (for lack of a better word). :} 

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. ;)