February 17th, 2012

For the Love of Pinterest: Pin It to Win It Contest!

Attention readers, inspirers, crafters, and dreamers!

If you haven’t noticed already, the gals at RGS have been ever so Pinterest-inspired lately. We’ve been ooh-ing and ahh-ing in our cozy little nook over everything from classic reads and gorgeous locales, to our love for pastries and pastels. And from the looks of things, we’re not stopping anytime soon. We’ve certainly caught the Pinspiration bug and thought it was about time to spread the pinning love ♥

craft contestThe ladies at Reading Glasses Shopper have decided to dabble in our own shabby-chic Pinterest competition! Starting on 2/17 through 2/27, all you have to do is create a board with the following guidelines for the chance to win $100 in prizes, including:

a $25 gift card to Reading Glasses Shopper, $25 to Scarves.net, and a $50 gift card to Michael’s arts & crafts stores!

We will also repin our favorite entries and feature the loveliest of lovely boards on the Reading Glasses Shopper blog. Read on for the full list of easy-breezy details below, and good luck to all the fabulously creative visionaries out there!

HOW TO ENTER

  • STEP 1: Follow @Reading Glasses Shopper on Pinterest. If you’re not already an avid pinner, that’s a-okay! Just request an invitation in the comments below with your email address. Or, email Molly for an invitation to join. Click here for more information on how to use Pinterest.
  • STEP 2: Create a board titled “RGS All Things Lovely” and categorize under DIY & Crafts. Start pinning!
  • STEP 3: Make sure your board contains at least 1 of each of the 13 pins listed below (in no particular order). For each pin, include the corresponding number and contest description in the pin description.

Michaels contest

  • STEP 4: Email your board link for a chance to win $100 in prizes to mborter[at]oneclickventures[dot]com.
  • STEP 5: Need some inspiration? We’ve made our very own RGS All Things Lovely board to get the wheels turnin’!

Inspiration board

Official Rules:

  • Contest is open to residents of the United States and Canada only.
  • You must follow @Reading Glasses Shopper on Pinterest to enter.
  • Contest begins Friday, February 17th (2/17) through Monday, February 27th (2/27) at 9 a.m. EST.
  • Each pin must include a caption listing the pin number and description. You must have all 13 specified pins.
  • You can pin more than one of each required description; however, it will not improve your chances of winning.
  • Only one (1) entry board per person.
  • One (1) lucky participant will win one (1) $25 gift card to ReadingGlassesShopper.com, one (1) $25 gift card to Scarves.net, and one (1) $50 gift card to Michael’s, totaling $100 in gift cards.
  • Board will be judged based on composition, charm, creativity, and adherence to the guidelines.
  • This is a contest. The odds of winning are based on the number of eligible entries we receive.
  • One (1) winner will be announced on 2/27/12.
  • No purchase necessary to enter.

Pinterest books crafts style

The rules are simple, the prizes are splendid, and the possibilities to share your love for creativity are endless!

Happy pinning!

♥,

The RGS gals

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By Molly in Blogosphere, DIY, Fashion and Style, Pinterest Roundup, Quotes and Inspirations, Recipes, What We're Reading | Permalink | 3 Comments »

February 13th, 2012

Nearly-Perfect Nooks

Merriam-Webster defines a nook as: a : an interior angle formed by two meeting walls b : a secluded or sheltered place or part <searched every nook and cranny> c : a small often recessed section of a larger room <a breakfast nook>

To the gals at RGS, our version of a nook takes the form of all three of these definitions, and then some.  Our nook is our little work home away from home: it’s cozy, secluded, and a tad bit girly. It’s our small, nestled area of the office that inspires us to envision, create, motivate, write, and chat about our daily tasks and goals.

Here’s a picture of our nook, where we type away all day long with DIY decor and twinkling lights above our heads. What can I say, we’re dreamers.
office decorations

We also have a craft corner (more DIY posts like our Valentine’s Day treat bag coming soon!) and an inspiration wall to keep our brains turning with brilliant post ideas and resource topics. A couple of our latest resource projects include a gorgeous design revamping of our Eye Health Guide, which has a myriad of helpful tips on choosing the right reading glasses power and finding the pair that will make you look your absolute best. AND for all of our Pinners out there, my absolute favorite work-in-progress: We’re hosting a Pinterest contest starting later this week — more details to come! Can you spot my new favorite pair of reading glasses in the crafting chaos?

To accompany our Pinterest obsession and fab online inspirational finds, we’d like to share a couple of lovely nooks from around the web. From reading nooks to breakfast nooks, there’s a little something for just about everyone to swoon over.

All photo sources can be found by browsing this page on Pinterest.

Have a happy, cozy, and glorious Monday,  nooklings!

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By Molly in DIY, Fashion and Style, Quotes and Inspirations | Permalink | No Comments »

January 25th, 2012

Eye Heart You: Valentine’s Day Treats for Your Sweets

diy valentines

From department store decor, to red and pink fashion trends, to my lovely Pinterest feed, it seems like everyone’s itching for Valentine’s Day to get here as much as I am.

Valentine’s Day to me isn’t about flower bouquets and expensive dinners; this day gives me a chance to tell all the loves of my life — from my sisters to my dog — how much they mean to me. In the craziness that is our daily lives, taking the time to tell others how much they mean to us can sometimes be overlooked or taken for granted. It’s important for all of us to make time to tell the gems in our life that they are just that.

Now, after reading my ramblings, you might be thinking that I’m one mushy-gushy gal (which I admit, I am!), but when it comes to your happiness, it truly is the people that surround you who make your life complete. And hopefully, once you get the hang of honoring those important people on Valentine’s Day, these random acts of loveliness will happen more often than once a year. Because the way I see it, V-Day should be every day.

So how will you express yourself this Valentine’s Day? That is completely up to you :) But as always, I am here to get you thinking of the perfect ways to do so. Here is what I’m doing this year for a few of  my Valentines.

My favorite gift to give others is a thoughtful note paired with some sweets. One of my go-to recipes that’s both low cost and amazingly easy is the popular Pretzel, Hershey’s Kiss, and Peanut M & M’s treat. These delicious snacks never fail to put a smile on my friends’/family’s/coworkers’ faces, because they really are that good. I’ve decided to get creative with this recipe, and added Valentine’s Day-themed toppings for a special touch of “me.”

Here’s how to make them:

STEP 1: Purchase Ingredients. You will need 1 bag of pretzels (any mini variety will do: round, twists, or waffle), a bag of Hershey’s Hugs (I love the white chocolate!), and Valentine’s toppings of your choosing (I chose candy hearts and red and pink M&M’s, but cute sprinkles would work well, too!).

pretzel candy ingredients

STEP 2: Preheat oven to 350°. While you’re waiting, line an oven-safe pan with aluminum foil, and lay out pretzels in rows on top of the pan.

how to make valentine pretzels

STEP 3: In a separate bowl, unwrap your Hershey’s Hugs. Place one Hug on top of each pretzel.

hershey's hugs for valentines day

STEP 4: Place your pan in the oven for 30 to 60 seconds until the Hugs are soft to the touch, but not completely melted. Be careful that you don’t keep the Hugs in the oven for too long or they’ll burn and taste funny.

hershey kiss pretzels

STEP 5: Once out of the oven, quickly (the chocolate hardens fast!) place/squish/sprinkle your Valentine’s day decor on top of your Hugs.

valentines day pretzel hershey kisses

STEP 6: Let your pretzel treats cool, and pop them in the refrigerator to allow them to set completely.

homemade valentine's day candies

And Voila! You have yourself the most adorable, salty-sweet treats in about 15 minutes or less!

For presentation, I grabbed a few inexpensive items from WalMart, and placed some treats in mini cupcake holders. Others I served on my beloved “You are Special Today” plate for any visitors; this plate has been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember.

homemade valentines candiesvalentines plate of candy

I wanted to give my mom a special batch, along with this ADORABLE pair of red polka dotted reading glasses that she’s been eyeing for months, so I bought this cute heart bag to hold the treats and glasses.

valentines reading glassesvalentines gift for mom reading glasses

See, Valentine’s Day gestures can be small, inexpensive, and completely meaningful. And don’t count out simply using your words to tell them how you feel, either. Get creative, trust in your crafting abilities, and have fun with it :)

Happy V-Day my loves!

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By Molly in DIY, Recipes, Uncategorized | Permalink | 2 Comments »

December 22nd, 2011

Skip the Wrapping Paper — Creative Gift Wrapping Ideas

It’s December 22, and I’m sure many of you are finishing up your holiday preparations: baking cookies, buying last-minute gifts, and wrapping presents and placing them under the tree. But what to do when that last roll of wrapping paper ends, and you still have more to wrap?You grab your reading glasses and get creative, of course! There’s tons of inspiration on the Internet on DIY gift wrapping. From simple ideas that are slightly outside of the box, to the more ambitious ones that you’ll need to plan for, here’s a roundup of my favorite creative ways to wrap a gift.

  • From the queen of creativity herself, Martha Stewart, this one really blew my mind.  Believe it or not, this gift was wrapped using a CHIP BAG!  It’s too good to be true, right?  According to Martha, you can just cut the bag open along the seam, wash and dry it, and like magic, you have a beautiful metallic wrapping paper.

chip bag wrapping paper

 

  • Another ingenious idea from Martha Stewart is using leftover scraps of fabric. If you plan ahead, you could use scarves as wrapping paper, which could serve as part of the gift.

faric wrappingp paer

  • We’ve all used a brown paper bag as wrapping paper, but rather than leave the paper plain brown, tie a colorful bow around it and stamp the recipient’s name on the paper.

brown paper wrapping paper

 

  • You can also use  newspaper or magazine print as wrapping paper. Tie a pretty string or bow around the paper to add a splash of color to the the black and white. In the same vein, I think that sheet music could make a great gift wrapping paper!

print wrapping paper

 Do you have any clever ways to wrap presents?

Happy Holidays from Reading Glasses Shopper!

Author Bio: Ashley is a senior at Indiana University.  She writes for Reading Glasses Shopper and works as holiday sales lead at Express.

 

 

 

 

 

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By Sarah B. in DIY | Permalink | No Comments »