Twelve Days of Christmas Celebrations!

I absolutely LOVE Christmas. I loved it as a kid (what kid doesn't?) and I think I may even love it just a little bit more now as an adult. Of course the best part about Christmas is getting to spend it with family and the best part about that is seeing the kids rip through their presents like mini tornadoes, stopping every now and then for an "ooooh" or an "aaaah", so I decided that this year I'm going to be sharing some of that Christmas joy with my lovely facebook supporters.

I have had such an amazing time starting Monkey Hugs and Snugglebugs and have had the most wonderful good fortune to "meet" some truly gorgeous people. I thank each and every one of you for the encouragement, support and all-round "mushy" feelings that you have given me over the past few months. I hope you all have truly wondrous Christmases with your families and it makes me so happy to know that there will be quite a few monkeys out there hugging some of my dolls and softies this year.

So here goes.... Starting today and going through to the 12th of December I will be having my Twelve Days of Christmas Celebrations. Each morning a new photo will be added to the album with info on what the celebration is for that day. I'll be sharing with you some of my favourite family Christmas photos, so be prepared for some personal notes from me too :)

On some days I will be having specials, other days there will be giveaways or games and I may have a few very special listings as well, so make sure that you check back each day to be part of the fun.

Due to all of the facebook rules, the details will be uploaded here on this blog. As usual, this celebration and the giveaways/games are in no way affiliated with facebook.

Once again, thank you all and big *hugs* to everyone!

Sam xxx


DAY 1 - 15% off in my madeit store AND comment on the picture here for your chance to win a doll's dress (please note that dresses are sized to fit my dolls which are bigger than most other handmade dolls). DAY ONE WINNER - KARLA SITARZ - congratulations Karla :)
DAY 2 - 15% off in my madeit store AND pick a number to win a teeny tiny Christmas micro monkey :) DAY TWO WINNER - RENEE OLSEN - Congratulations Renee! Yay!

DAY 3 - Unfortunately I won't be around today or tonight for a giveaway, so today's celebrations include a super special price on our Christmas Hoos ruffle skirts (only 1 size 3 and 1 size 4 left!) and those super cute mini micro Christmas monkeys for sale :)

DAY 4 - Today's offer is just a little bit different and is perfect for those lovely ladies that seem to have just a little bit of a Monkey Hugs and Snugglebugs addiction (and of course I LOVE you all for that addiction!) The prize on offer today is VIP status with Monkey Hugs and Snugglebugs. Some of you may remember me talking about this previously - what VIP status entitles you to is a PERMANENT 5% off any order you make with me at any time from now until... forever (excluding postage costs). To be in the running to win this prize you need to comment under today's photo - here and tell me what is your favourite Monkey Hugs and Snugglebugs item. Is it the dolls? The mixed up monkeys? Something else? The winner will be drawn tonight at 7:00pm Qld time, so get commenting! DAY FOUR WINNER - JUDY BIRD! Congratulations Judy :)

DAY 5 - who's up for a game of BINGO? You have until 6:45pm tonight to comment under the photo with your 5 numbers (between 1 and 100) and then at 7:00pm we'll start! It will be first to get their five numbers and comment BINGO on the page who will win (I'll put a pic of the prize up just before we start - it's something a little bit different for me, so I hope you like it!)

DAY 6 - 15% off continues in my madeit store and my Christmas Hoos ruffle skirts are still on sale PLUS come back at 8:00pm tonight for a little treasure hunt! The winner scores a $20 store voucher :)

DAY 7 -
DAY 8 -
DAY 9 -
DAY 10 -
DAY 11 -
DAY 12 -

Announcing the winners!

Thank you all so much for entering the competition/celebration and for supporting Monkey Hugs and Snugglebugs.

I won't make you all read through a huge post just to find out who won, so let's get announcing!

Firstly, the winner of the $20 store voucher is....

Rebecca Parsons!

The winner of "Sam" the Snugglebug baby is....

Lara Motta!

and, finally, thank you to everyone who "referred a friend". The winner of the custom monkey spot is...

Cath Dee! and Cath, you should thank Lee-Ann van Deventer  as it was her comment (number 17) that random.org picked as the winning number!

Congratulations Rebecca, Lara and Cath and a reminder that I need to hear from you all by 7:30pm tomorrow night to claim your prizes (Rebecca, you don't have to spend the voucher straight away, just claim it!)

Thank you all again... until our next celebration! (maybe if we hit 1000?)


Sam xxx

The well and truly past 400 liker and nearly at 500 celebration!

Thank you all for your amazing support of Monkey Hugs and Snugglebugs. It was only a month ago that I opened the page for business and here we are already well over 400 likers and getting closer and closer to that 500 mark! I have had the pleasure of dealing with some wonderful ladies, both as customers and as general all round wonderful supporters of my page and I am ever so grateful to each and every one of you.

I promised a celebration when we hit 400 and have decided that since we are so close to that 500 liker mark, I will make our 400 liker celebration a bit of  double-header...

Firstly, we'll be having a "refer-a-friend" competition. To enter you must:
1) be a liker of Monkey Hugs and Snugglebugs facebook page
2) refer at least one liker and have them comment on the photo here  that you sent them (eg "Sent by Sam Gibson" or "Sam Gibson sent me").

You will receive one entry for each new person you refer. The winner will be chosen at random, so it will not necessarily be the person who has referred the most people, but the more referrals, the more chances to win and of course, the friends you refer are able to enter as well (as long as they refer another friend). The lucky winner of the refer-a-friend competition will receive one custom made monkey (made from the dolls and daydreams pattern) like this:

Please note that the monkeys in the picture are already sold and are just an example. I will work with the winner to create a special monkey just for them, so please be aware that it may take 2 to 3 weeks to complete. Regular postage within Australia is also included.

The second game of the double-header (does everyone get the baseball reference or is it just me being around my American, baseball-loving husband too much?) will be a tag to win competition. The prizes for the tag to win are:

1) a $20 store credit voucher, to be used towards any purchase or custom order (not including postage) and

2) Sam, the snugglebug baby (regular postage within Australia included in prize). Entry for this one is easy, simply tag yourself in the pictures located here in the 400 plus liker folder and comment under the picture with your email address. You can tag yourself in both pictures and the winners will be drawn at random. You can only enter to win each prize once.

As always, entry is open to international likers also, but if you win, you will be required to pay the difference in postage for those prizes where postage is included.

Competition opens right now and you will have until 7:00pm (Qld time) on Friday 14th of October 2011 to enter. Winners will be drawn on Friday night and announced here on the blog. I will then email the winners and they will be given 24 hours to respond. If I have not heard from any winner by 7:30pm on Saturday 15th of October, that prize will be redrawn.

Thank you all and good luck!

Oh...and to make sure we don't get in trouble with Mr facebook - This give-away is in NO WAY sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook


Sam xxx

and the winner is....

A BIG Thank you to all of my likers and especially to everyone who entered.

Below is the list of names in the order I took them in (Blog comments first):

1. Decima Wilson
2. Hayley Curtis     
3. Leann Brennan
4. Michelle Brennan
5. Michelle Harris
6. Breezy Boo
7. Allison Owen
8. Lianne Penfold
9. Emily Larson
10. Sally-Ann Payne
11. Rebecca Parsons
12. Kerry Becker
13. Sarah Hawkins
14. Anna Rohde
15. Julie Ritchie
16. Jessica Chaplain
17. Lisa Blackman
18. Jackie Aarons
19. Suzi Cheshire
20. Caitlyn Curtis
21. Vanessa Newport
22. Chew Evonne
23. Kirste McDonald
24. Nicole White
25. Kylie Burath
26. Alicia Whitten
27. Melissa Aylett
28. Judy Bird
29. Amanda Begelhole
30. Cath Dee
31. Tallanya Morley
32. Lisa Mangan
33. Tracey Thomson
34. Vicki Fassoulis Bruneau
35. Kristin Klokkervold 
36. Ashleigh Black
37. Tara Kao
38. Emily Zerbst
39. Kylie Look
40. Erin Greenman
41. Janet Jones

and the random org generator: 

Congratulations MELISSA AYLETT!!!!!!!!!!

1. 

200 liker give-away

We are getting ever so close to the 200 liker mark (only 4 away!) so as a thank you for all of your support, I will be giving away this little snugglebug baby (complete with sleeping bag suit) to one lucky liker.

The winner will be chosen at random (by random.org) and will also receive VIP status with Monkey Hugs and Snugglebugs (see the notes section here for what that means).

To be in the running to win (plus free regular post within Australia), you need to do the following:

1) Become a follower of this blog;
2) Be a "liker" of Monkey Hugs and Snugglebugs
3) Comment on the pic located here
4) Comment below this post with your facebook username (so I know that you have read this post!)

The competition will commence as soon as we hit 200 likers (I will announce when you can start commenting) and I will give everyone 2 days to enter. The lucky winner will then be drawn and announced here on my blog (due to facebook rules).

(International likers are welcome to enter, but will be required to pay the difference between regular postage within Australia and postage to their destination)

Good luck!

Sam

edit - I have removed the requirement to become a follower of the blog (step 1) because I know that some people have been having issues with that step. For those of you who have already completed that step, thank you, but now as long as you are a liker on facebook and comment both on the blog AND the picture on facebook, you will be included. Make sure to leave your name on your comment so I can count you!





This give-away is in NO WAY sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

The first song

It seems these days that if you have a facebook page, you need a blog to go with it, so welcome to the first post for the Monkey Huggers blog :)

I'll be using the blog for all those things that facebook won't let us do and for giving a bit of a personal insight into who I am and why I started Monkey Hugs and Snugglebugs. I'll try and make it interesting, but given my background in law, I have a tendency to waffle a bit sometimes, so feel free to ignore those parts!

So firstly, the basics - I'm 33, a mother of three beautiful children (2 girls and a boy - 12, 2 and 4 months) and married to my gorgeous husband, Warren. We live in Brisbane, Queensland, where I was born and have lived most of my life; however Warren is American and has only lived here in Australia since 2005 (the year we were married).

I decided from a very young age what I wanted to be when I grew up. Unlike most 7 year olds, I liked nothing more than watching old black and white episodes of Perry Mason on TV with my mum and from that time on, I wanted to be a lawyer... and not just any lawyer, I wanted to be a criminal defence lawyer.

Unfortunately, unlike Perry Mason, after studying for 6 years and practicing as a criminal defence lawyer for ten years, I have never once had one of those moments where I not only prove my client innocent, but also solve the crime and have the guilty party confess in the witness box. Reality just isn't like that. Sure, I had my share of innocent clients that were found to be so, but I had many more that came to me knowing they were guilty and just wanting me to get them the best possible sentence. I didn't mind that... it was my job. What did start to get to me was that it was the same clients I was seeing over and over again. I suppose I should be happy that they came back to me - obviously they felt I did a good job, but it becomes a little disheartening hearing the same promises over and over again (and having to pass those promises on to the Court like they actually might be true this time).

Over the past few years I had decided that I wanted to get out of law, but given that up until that time it had been the only thing I ever wanted to do, I had no idea what I wanted to do instead. Then, when I found out that I was pregnant with my third child and with changes occurring in Legal Aid and in criminal practice in general, I decided that when I went on maternity leave, I wouldn't be going back. I still had no real idea about what I wanted to do, but I knew that I could get a job if I needed one and I'd at least have 6 months to figure it out.

I'm now four months in to that six months and still don't really know what I want to do, but I do know that I love sewing. I think handmade is so much better than store-bought. I love fabric (I have an addiction... I'm not afraid to admit it). I love grabbing beautiful fabric and watching it transform into something that my kids can wear and I love the look on my daughter's face when I finish a doll or stuffed toy and she sees it for the first time. I love that I can make her day by saying "yes" when she asks if it's for her (I'm a sucker for her smiles) and I love the idea that there might be other little boys and girls out there that will get the same gorgeous looks on their faces when they are given one of my creations.

And I think that's enough waffling for my first post :)

Sam