Friday, February 21, 2014

It's Time for Some Friday Fun!



Hey! It's Friday! That means it's time for some fun. You'll surely find fun in these sweeps and giveaways!



Re-Fun Your Refund Sweepstakes


*Grand prize is winner's choice of the following vehicles:

2014 Toyota Sienna LE MSRP, ARV $32,000

2014 Highlander Plus, ARV $33,500

2014 RAV4 XLE, ARV $26,500

2014 Camry SE 4cyl, ARV $24,900,

2014 Corolla LE Eco Premium, ARV $22,300

2014 Prius Two, ARV $25,500.

If grand prize winner lives in Hawaii, Guam, or Puerto Rico, the cash equivalent will be awarded.

First prizes are as follows:

*200 First Place Winners will each receive one ASUS MeMo Pad HD 7, ARV $149.99

*1,200 First Place Winners will each receive a one year subscription of PS Plus, ARV $49.99

*4,000 First Place Winners will each receive one $5 Xbox gift card, ARV $5

*3,000 First Place Winners will each receive one $10 Xbox gift card, ARV $10.

*500 First Place Winners will each receive one Xbox Live Gold Membership, ARV $6

*4,000 First Place Winners will each receive one digital download of Empire Total War Collection, ARV $29.99

*150 First Place Winners will each receive one XO Four headset, ARV $99.99

*150 First Place Winners will each receive one PX4 headset, ARV $149.99


Daily entry, according to the official rules. Open to legal residents of the U.S. and D.C., Guam, and Puerto Rico, 18 or older with a valid driver's license and valid insurance. Entry also available to GameStop PowerUp Rewards members with a purchase of $75 or more. Ends March 23, 2014.


A Fun Giveaway Celebrates Friendship and Jeans!


Winners and best friends will receive J.Jill True Blue Affordable Denim

To enter, comment on the blog about one of your best friends. Winners selected each week through February 26, 2014.


Bonus Sweeps

For fun stuff for your school...
Win a Wireless Lab Sweepstakes


Truly just for the fun of it... well, and points, and a nice Web trophy, and some kudos : )
Question of the Day

For a fun time with I don't know what, but something fun, anyways...
Popchips Bring the Fun Sweepstakes

Good Luck!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Love a Good Book? Then You'll Love These Giveaways!


As any avid reader knows, you can never have enough books! Enter these giveaways for a chance to check out some good books, and possibly add some to your collection!


TCM's Book Corner Sweepstakes


*Fifteen Winners will each receive one copy of the book entitled "85 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards," written by Robert Osborne. ARV $75, each.

One entry per person/email/household per 24 hours. Open to legal U.S. residents 18 or older, who have internet access as of 09/30/13. Ends February 28, 2014.


Jubilee's Journey, by Bette Lee Crosby, Ebook Giveaway

*One winner will receive an ebook copy of "Jubilee's Journey." No value is stated.

You must specify what type of e-reader you use when you enter. Open internationally, to readers 15 or older. Raffelcopter entry. Ends March 1, 2014.


Michelle Major - "Her Accidental Engagement" Giveaway


*One winner will receive a copy of "Her Accidental Engagement," a Harlequin Special Edition series book. No value stated.

Open to U.S. residents. Rafflecopter entry. Ends March 4, 2014.


Bonus Sweeps


For a better understanding...

My Warp Speed Mind


For a sweeps that seems to have no end date, but does have a really cool prize...

Win the 2014 Collector Edition Tree of Life Book Stand


For a little soul...

Win A Copy Of Chicken Soup For The Soul: Think Positive For Kids!


Good Luck!

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Win a New Motorcycle!



Though it may seem like warm weather might never arrive, soon the warm sun will be shining. What better way to spend those warm summer days than cruisin' the open road, on a new motorcycle to boot? (An antique Harley would be just as fine... ; )

Allstate Motorcycle Sweepstakes


*Grand prize is a a 2013 Victory Motorcycle customized by Arlen Ness Enterprises. ARV $35,000.

One entry per person/email address. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C., 18 or older. Ends February 28, 2014.


Suzuki Giveaway


*Grand prize is a new 2014 Suzuki Hayabusa or 2014 Suzuki GSX-R600, no value is stated.

Open to legal U.S. residents of the 50 United States and D.C., 18 or older with a valid driver's license or motorcycle license. Ends March 17, 2014.

Bonus Sweeps

For the ride of a lifetime...

Cannonball Golden Ticket Sweepstakes


For numerous ways to enter... and a matching guitar!

Sturgis Rider Motorcycle and Guitar Sweepstakes

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Win Free Coffee, and More!



For many a coffee lover, the day just doesn't begin without that first morning cup. These sweepstakes will help you get up and running, ready to face your day!


Perfect Cup Sweepstakes


*Grand prize: A Keurig Platinum Single Cup Brewer, two 24-count boxes of Keurig Brewed K-Cup packs every four weeks for twelve months, and a $500 check. ARV $1,108.69.

Instant win prizes:

*First prize, one per week: One Keurig Platinum Single Cup Brewer. ARV $179.95.
*Second prize, one per day: One Green Mountain Coffee Regular Variety K-Cup Portion Pack Sampler. ARV $16.49.

Open to legal U.S. residents of the 50 United States and D.C., 18 or older. Enter daily. Ends March 31, 2014.


Get the Scoop Sweepstakes


Up to eight prizes will be awarded each week, with a total of 80 prizes being awarded. Winners announced every Friday.

*Each prize winner will receive one 11 ounce bag of Eight O’Clock Coffee, an Eight O’Clock Coffee branded scoop, and a $1.00 off coupon towards the purchase of Eight O’Clock Coffee. ARV of each prize is $9.99.

Facebook entry. Open to legal U.S. residents of the 50 United States and D.C., 18 or older. Enter Daily. Ends April 24, 2014.


Dunkin' Donuts Mug Up Contest


For this drawing, you must submit a photo of yourself with your mug of coffee. Photo must be in .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, or .png formats only, with a maximum size of 5MB. Entries are not judged.

*Three prizes are being awarded each month. Each prize winner will receive one Dunkin’ Donuts Gallon Mug, one $250 VISA gift card, and a year’s supply of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee (4 cases/24 bags to a case). ARV $375.00.

Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C., 18 or older. Enter daily. Ends June 2, 2014. Entry through Instagram also available.

Bonus Sweeps

For residents of the Houston area, who listen to KMJQ-FM radio...

Community Coffee for Your Office Sweepstakes

Good Luck!

Monday, February 17, 2014

Tips for Writing Winning Recipes


As much as we all still love those messy, hand-written recipe cards we use at home, these will not win a contest.


When entering recipe contests, the writing of the recipe can be the key to your successfully winning. Even if the recipe is still great tasting, and award winning in its components, if it doesn't make it past the initial phase, it wouldn't matter. So, this initial phase is generally just the submitting of one of your own favorite recipes that hasn't been published before, and is something of your own (most often, handed down by family members, etc., is fine). In writing the recipe properly you can be assured that it will get into the pool for the appropriate parties to preview.

Here are four very basic rules of thumb to writing winning recipes, that will work for most any recipe contest you'd wish to enter.

First, when writing your recipe, be sure to use the exact ingredients, with their correct names, that the sponsors may be asking for. For example, if the contest asks for a sweet potato as the main ingredient, be sure not to mistake these for yams, as these two can, and will at times, be mistaken for one another.

Secondly, use the exact measurements of each ingredient. You would want to use "1/4 cup oatmeal", as opposed to "a handful of oatmeal".

Third, when sending a recipe in hard-copy form (as opposed to an online entry form), make the recipe neat in its layout. This can help with the ease of passing through the contest in its various phases, and makes it easy for judges to skim through and get an initial idea of what the creation is.

Finally, make sure to, yes, once again, read through the official rules, and while doing so, pick out the subtle innuendos of what they may be looking for in it. These things may give you an edge, as most contests are searching for something done in a particular fashion that suits their advertising and other needs, which are often "clued" to us in the rules even more so than in the name of the sweepstakes.


Good Luck!

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Contests for Home Cooks!



Today's Sunday quickie is for that recipe that everyone raves about, every time you make it. They all want your recipe, of course. So, here's a way to spend your Sunday, and maybe earn some quick cash while you hand your recipe out to everybody!

Two Recipe Contests from Taste of Home


"Taste of Home" currently has two recipe contests running, both ending in April. You will need to create an account with "Taste of Home" in order to enter these, if you don't already have one.

Both contests use the same entry form, which you can access through the link above. You will need to specify which contest you wish to enter on the form. (As an added note, you can simply submit a recipe for publication from this form, as well, even if you don't want to enter.)


"10-20-30" contest

For this one, you will need to enter a recipe for a supper that can be served in 10, 20, or 30 minutes, with a maximum of 12 ingredients. The 12 prizes are as follows:

*Grand prize, $1,000
*First place, $400
*Second place, $200
*Third place, $100
*Eight honorable mentions, a book

All winning recipes will be published, with winner's names, in magazines and in cook books.

Open to legal U.S. and Canadian residents, excluding the Province of Quebec, 18 or older. Ends April 11, 2014.

13x9 Contest


This contest is open for recipes that you make in a 13x9 pan, again with a maximum of 12 ingredients. The 12 prizes are as follows:

*Grand prize, $500
*First place, $300
*Second place, $150
*Third place, $75
*8 runners up, a book

All winning recipes will be published, with winner's names, in magazines and in cook books.

Open to legal U.S. and Canadian residents, excluding the Province of Quebec, 18 or older. Ends April 14, 2014.

Entries for both contests are judged based on the following criteria:

Taste - 35%
Visual Appeal - 25%
Feasibility - 25%
Creativity/Uniqueness - 15%


In deciding which recipes you'd like to enter for either contest, keep in mind that it needs to be something that most anyone could make. Therefore, you'll want to keep it fairly easy, as well as tasty.

For these entries, you will also need a high resolution jpg image of your finished recipe at 300dpi, as well as one of yourself. File size no larger than 15 mb.

As always, your entry must be your own original work. Enter as many recipes as you wish.

They anticipate a total of 1,000 participants nationwide, in each of these two contests. Relatively speaking, that's some pretty good odds.


If you just want to enter a couple of sweeps...

Contests and Sweepstakes from Taste of Home


Good Luck!

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