Monday, April 23, 2012

Give Mia GIVEAWAY! Round 2!

Well this is really hard to believe because time just seems to fly by so fast anymore....but in just a few short weeks I will be celebrating the 1-year anniversary of Give Mia Cookie. 

It all started with the idea of making cookies for my own baby shower back in 2010.  It became my mission to start learning all about the cookie decorating world so that I could make something presentable enough to give as favors at my shower.  I was a pregnant lady on a mission....there was no stopping me. Rob bought me my first set of cookie cutters when we were at lake Chautauqua that summer.  It was a set of plastic Wilton animal cookie cutters...he bought me the entire set of 50 cutters just so I could have the 1 that I needed, the lamb.  What a great husband.

It's all pretty much a blur since then....except for a few snippets here and there.  I remember getting a set of 8 food colorings for Christmas (thanks to my awesome cuz, Sarah) and I remember thinking that it was such an awesome gift...one that I'll never forget because it was the start of my collection. I remember making Steeler cookies very early on and omg, they were so awful-looking.  But at the time I thought they were so good.  I remember going to my favorite cookie supply-site to order cookie cutters and thinking that it was so awesome because they were only like $1 a piece and I planned to spend $50 to get free shipping. I mean, how often do you get to add 50+ items to an online shopping cart? It was really fun.  The true whirlwind started right after that.  The facebook page was launched on May 10, 2011 with 15 cookie pictures and I did my first order on May 18th.  I remember framing my first dollar bill and feeling really really proud.  Then came the blog, then came my first trade show, then came "the binder" that holds it all together, and now....

Hundreds of cups of sugar, many many teaspoons of vanilla, a crazy amount of pounds of flour, and thousands (thousands!) of cookies later, here I am.  My life has changed dramatically since one year ago in so many ways but the best change of all has been watching my daughter grow into this funny, talkative, curious, and smart little girl.  I say to Rob all the time that I can't believe that we actually get to keep her!!  It feels like a dream.

So back to business.... want some free cookies????  I'm doing a giveaway in honor of my 1-year anniversary and the prize is...Your choice!....either $10 off your next order of cookies or a free dozen sent to you during the first week of May (the design will remain a surprise!)  Friends....family....you're all eligible to win so please enter!
 
To enter: 
 
Comment on this blog post and tell me what your all-time favorite Give Mia Cookie design has been from the past year.  You can see all of the pictures on the facebook page at www.facebook.com/givemiacookie  There are 5 albums of pictures to choose from!
 and don't forget to include your name and email address, too!!
 
Your entry should look(something) like this:
Rob Hogue
robhogue@hotmail.com
my favorite cookie design was the WVU cookies!  I have the best wife EVER!  And I'm going to do all of the laundry this week and every week for the rest of my life!
 
you know....something like that
 
Want a second chance to win?  Ok!  Leave another comment on this blog post and ask me any question that you might have about this crazy Give Mia Cookie world. 
(i.e. "How'd you come up with the name?" or "How many food colorings do you own?"
or "When do you find time to sleep?")
I'm planning to do a blog post in the coming weeks where I will answer some of the questions and let you into my world a little bit :)
and don't forget to include your name and email address, too!!
***The winner will be chosen randomly on Saturday, 4/28***
 

Here are the "official" guidelines for this giveaway:
  • Entries will be accepted from Monday 4/23 at 9:30 pm EST until Friday 4/27 at 12 midnight EST.   Entries received after the specific time period will not count. Sorry, procrastinators!
  • Prize:  Your choice....either $10 off your next order of cookies or a free dozen sent to you during the first week of May (the design will remain a surprise!)
  • How you will receive the prize:  If you live locally in the Pittsburgh area then we can set up a time where I can deliver the cookies or of course you could pick them up, too!  Otherwise, the cookies will be shipped via FedEx or Priority Mail. I can only ship to U.S. residents!
  • Only 2 entries allowed per person (see entry instructions above)
  • The winner will be notified via email, I'll post it on Give Mia Cookie's facebook page, and I'll post it on the blog, too.  Basically...I'll find you :)
  • Email addresses will not be used for any other purpose other than to notify the winner
  • The winner will be chosen randomly using http://www.random.org/ 
  • I reserve the right to delete any posts due to profanity, etc.

47 comments:

  1. LOL at your example!!! hahahahaha!!
    Anyway, my entry:

    Ingrid Williames
    iawilliames@yahoo.com
    My favorite design was a more recent one: ALL the Easter ones (the eggs, the animals, the crosses (!!!), and the Easter baskets) were amazing!! But if I have to pick ONE, I would say the Easter baskets...they were so detailed and absolutely gorgeous!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really liked the communion cookies!
    Diana Messner
    dianamesssner@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ok my second entry:

    Ingrid Williames
    iawilliames@yahoo.com

    While I'd love to know the answers to how many food colorings you have, or how you have enough hours in the day or how many hours of sleep you get :), here is my question: Do you come up with most of the designs yourself or do you see them somewhere and take it as a challenge? (Apart from designs like "Elmo" of course, since that's a commercial one). And one more because I'm curious: where did you get your sugar cookie recipe from? Family recipe? Your own tweaking? Cookbook?

    That's all! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Trinity Truair
    trinity936@hotmail.com
    Favorite design is either the whales or the Elmo...if I have to choose one, I'd say Elmo, only because my youngest is obsessed and she likes looking at them, too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Trinity Truair
    trinity936@hotmail.com

    How on earth do you get your hands to stay so steady!?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jackie Larkin
    jlark7106@live.com
    My favorite design so far has been the Mickey Mouse cookies you made for my Zachary's 1st birthday!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jackie Larkin
    jlark7106@live.com

    Have you ever considered opening your own bakery?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Courtney Orth

    PAsweety99@aol.com

    My favorite cookies were the ones you made for the girls not simply because of the desig, but the meaning they had to them. The success of a year with twins and all the things they learned...,as you celebrate one year...,the girls will soon be two.

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  9. Courtney Orth

    PAsweety99@aol.com

    Have you thought about doing wedding cakes?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Brandi Budris
    Brandi0517@hotmail.com

    By far the Scrabble letters! I am a Scrabble fanatic and the only thing better than playing would be eating the letters after!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Brandi Budris
    Brandi0517@hotmail.com

    What is YOUR favorite cookie to eat?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Nicole Corson
    Adamnicole0617@aol.com

    Id have to say the hello kitty cookies/birthday cake for Makayla's birthday and the construction collection you did for Nickolas' 1st birthday. Both kids were thrilled with their special cookies and it was memorable to see their faces when they saw the cookies! Everyone ooo'd and aww'd over your creations! Thanks again for helping to make our special occassions even more special and of course YUMMY!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nicole Corson
    Adamnicole0617@aol.com

    So since I always ask you random ?s I am now finding it difficult to come up with a ? Lol....how are you able to get the details so precise and perfect?! I am still finding a hard time believing you had never done construction vehicles prior to Nickolas' party because they were so darn cute and perfect!! You are extremely talented.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Amy Mattila
    Themattila4@Gmail.com

    My favorites, of course, were the girls 1st birthday cookies! They were a HUGE hit and so thoughtful of you! Hoping to make them a birthday tradition :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Amy Mattila
    Themattila4@Gmail.com

    Have you ever thought about opening your own shop/bakery? Or doing cookie parties for kiddos? (I know, that's technically two!)

    ReplyDelete
  16. corcoran6033@gmail.com
    Kim Corcoran

    This really is a hard choice cause you do so well on all of them it's hard to pick but I'll have to say my favorite cookies have to be the princess crowns from Mallory's birthday. Just seeing her face when she saw them made my day. Thanks again Katie

    ReplyDelete
  17. corcoran6033@gmail.com
    Kim Corcoran

    How do you make the icing so perfect looking?

    ReplyDelete
  18. April Piccolo
    piccolos@verizon.net

    I have many favorites, but I really, really, love the barnyard animals. They all turned out so cute!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Leslie Blunkosky
    zoya.leslie@hotmail.com

    I have two favorites...the Mickey Mouse cookies that you made for our sons first birthday party and the chocolate sugar valentines day cookies I ordered weeks after his bday party because I was going through withdrawl from your cookies lol :-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Leslie Blunkosky
    zoya.leslie@hotmail.com

    What was your favorite/challenging cookie you have done?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Chrissy Mickolay

    cmickolay@gmail.com

    My favorite cookie was the Hello Kitty. My daughter would love that for her birthday!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Chrissy mickolay

    cmickolay@gmail.com

    What was the hardest cookie you had to design?

    ReplyDelete
  23. Debbie Staffen
    scdls5@comcast.net

    The popcorn is my favorite. Plus all the steps to complete - amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Julie Soose
    Juliesoose@verizon.net

    Even though I ordered the Hello Kitty cookies, I think my favorite one is the artist''s palette and paintbrush that you just posted this week. What a cute idea!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Julie Soose
    Juliesoose@verizon.net

    I can't imagine shopping for all of those ingredients every week in addition to your family's regular groceries...how much flour, sugar, butter, eggs do you go through in a typical month and where do you keep it all?

    ReplyDelete
  26. Allison Freeman
    allison.n.freeman@gmail.com

    I don't know how to choose a favorite cookie design, but I'm going to go with the summer design with the flip-flops. My backup favorite were the Halloween cookies!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Erin Klimkowski
    littlelovephoto@yahoo.com

    Your designs are amazing! Can you draw too?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry, of course my favorite cookie is the butterfly :)

      Delete
  28. Allison Freeman
    allison.n.freeman@gmail.com

    How many orders do you fill in a day, and how many hours do you have to work to fill the orders? AND how far in advance are you taking orders now?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Sarah Vierra
    Sarahvierra@hotmail.com

    My favorite cookies were Addie's birthday cookies this year - I just said "princess theme" and you totally went to town and gave us about 6 different designs - all BEAUTIFUL and so thoughtful. I've never been disappointed in an order, and my husband swears by your cookies (and he's picky!).

    ReplyDelete
  30. Sarah Vierra
    SarahVierra@hotmail.com

    What was your favorite cookie to design?

    ReplyDelete
  31. Stephanie Brining
    Brining@me.com
    My favorite cookie you made was the popcorn buckets you made for my daughters bday party!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Stephanie Brining
    Brining@me.com

    What was your most challenging cookie design and how long did it take to decorate?

    ReplyDelete
  33. Tracy Freyvogel
    TAFreyvogel@aol.com

    Seriously ALL of them!! AMAZING work! So hard to choose just one but the Easter egg ones with the names on them, really jump out at me so I guess those would be my #1 :)

    ReplyDelete
  34. Tracy Freyvogel
    TAFreyvogel@aol.com

    How many hours a day do you spend cookie making and do you bake and decorate all at once or bake then decorate later when you have more time?

    ReplyDelete
  35. Claire Giblin
    CMG75@pitt.edu

    My favorite design is definitely your ice cream cone cookie. I LOVE the look of the double-scoops with the sprinkles/jimmies on top! Too cute!!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Claire Giblin
    CMG75@pitt.edu

    How do you juggle being a mom with baking and decorating so many cookies (on top of running your own business)?! I have a 4 month old and I can't imagine how crazy it must be to design and create them all!

    ReplyDelete
  37. When do you get all the baking and decorating done? I mean a toddler is a fulltime day job and you gotta sleep sometime...lol

    Kathy Davis
    justme729@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  38. Kathy Davis
    justme729@gmail.com

    My favorite cookies are the daisies you did for Nicole-Shay's bridal shower last July. They were so cute, packaged beautifully and tasted yummy!!! Thank you, again!!!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Barb Pastor
    Bp1123@aol.com

    My favorite would have to be the Easter cookies. The basket you made was so precise and had so many details to it. I can't imagine how long those took to make.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Barb pastor
    Bp1123@aol.com

    How long did 1 of those basket cookies take?! Are there ever times where you actually get a break from making cookies?

    ReplyDelete
  41. Sarah Ogle
    ogle.sarahe@gmail.com
    It's so hard to choose a favorite. I'd probably have to go with any of the baby shape cookies. The teddy bear is probably my favorite in that group. The flip flops are a close second, especially since I want warmer weather right now!

    ReplyDelete
  42. How do you manage to have any time to do this with Mia running around? I know that Mia is a great kid, but she's a "pre-toddler" which does require a lot of energy. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  43. Amelia Hanna
    ahanna5@mix.wvu.edu

    My favorite cookie design would have to be a tie between the margaritas (YUM!) and the Mickey & Minnie Mouse cookies.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Amelia Hanna
    ahanna5@mix.wvu.edu

    What was the most challenging order of cookies you've ever taken on?

    ReplyDelete
  45. I am in love with all of your cookie designs, but I think the Hello Kitty cookies are latest favorite.

    Jen Majcher (also cousins with your cuz, Sarah!)
    sweet_pea926@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  46. 2nd entry:
    As a stay-at-home mom who also runs her own business, what do you do with Mia when you are making cookies? Especially as she gets older and her nap times must be getting shorter...

    Jen Majcher
    sweet_pea926@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete