Nifty Rain Boots ~ Join in the Kickstarter Fun and Win a Pair

Have you heard of Kickstarter? I don't know what planet I've been living on, but I hadn't heard of this most fantastically awesome concept until today. Somebody dig me out from the dust on planet Mars, please.

Earlier this morning, I unassumingly opened an email from an artist friend of ours to find my heart skipping a beat and nearly jumping out of my chest.

Rain boots? Kickstarter? What's this?

Jessica Swift is a remarkable woman living in Atlanta, GA spreading her message of love and empowerment through color, patterns and positive messages. Her artwork graces the walls of my home in two spots. I never tire of the whimsical cityscape that sets the tone for my living room.

Jess and I met a long time ago when she and my hubby worked together at the art museum in town. She moved away years ago to continue her pursuit as a full-time artist. Her smile will never leave my heart. It's contagious.

Besides her contagious smile and darling laugh, she is a highly talented artist with a deeply soulful spirit. Here's what she has to say about the mission behind her work:

We are all powerful human beings who deserve to be happy. We are each profoundly unique, and possess the ability to make our wildest dreams come true. And I believe that color and art are essential parts of living into our dreams and in experiencing life in a deeply happy and fulfilling way!

And with that, she's spreading the love in the form of Patterned Rain Boots with Secret Messages.

Now comes the cool part.

As with any dreamer who wants to make something out of nothing, start-up costs are necessary to bring the vision forth. This is where Kickstarter comes in. Jessica is funding her project by accepting donations through the Kickstarter program. The thing that makes Kickstarter so genius is their "all or nothing funding" rule. A project must reach its funding goal before time runs out or no money changes hands. Read more about this brilliant concept for funding creativity and the arts here.

And now the really cool part.

Jessica is giving away a pair of her most amazing rain boots to one lucky contributor to her Kickstarter project as a celebration for reaching her funding goal. The project will carry on! There will be beautiful rain boots on the streets! In the puddles! In the mud! I need me a pair of this goodness. You know how I like to splash in the rain.

Any and all contributors, even those contributing $1, will be entered into a random drawing for a pair of boots! To qualify, all contributions must be made before Thursday, July 21 at 8am.

Click here if you are so inclined to contribute to this fabulous creative project and take your chances at being a winner!

Go ahead now. Get used to seeing yourself in some sexy colorful rain boots. You deserve it!

Vintage Apron Giveaway

Giveaway UPDATE: 

So fun reading about all the great things you girls collect. I'm inspired to start a few collections of my own, beyond the dust bunnies that are currently at the top of my list. 

Congratulations to Lori who is our randomly selected winner of this vintage apron. Lori, contact me at judith@dancewhileyoucook.com to claim your prize. 

Happy May everyone!

Speaking of garage sale season, I stumbled upon this adorable vintage apron a few weeks ago on my regular Saturday morning outing.

It appears to be handmade from a bygone era. I feel in love with the darling strawberry applique on the breast. This is the perfect gift for a girl who loves vintage aprons.

Or at least I think it's an apron. It is not the traditional wrap around style. More like a dress really, with a zip up back. I find the most interesting feature of this little white and red number to be the itsy bitsy high waist line. It measures 20 inches around.

So, ever since I bought it, I've been trying to figure out who this was designed for. A housewife of a bygone era who measured 20 inches around? A tall chid? A life-size barbie doll?

Honestly, I can't figure it out. But I don't need to. I know that someone in your life collects vintage aprons, either to wear or display. I know you're thinking of her right now.

So go ahead, enter my contest to win this apron. Tell her to make a stop over to Dance While You Cook to enter for herself. Share this post on Facebook. Go ahead now. Don't be shy. I know there is a woman in your life who has a secret love affair with vintage aprons and she hasn't told you yet. So do her a favor and let her know about this giveaway.

Win it for display in your vintage kitchen. Win it for the dress-up box of your next door neighbor's daughter. Win it for yourself to fulfill all your homemaking fantasies. Leave a comment below and you'll be entered.

TO ENTER

For a chance to win this vintage apron, simply leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite thing to collect. Ceramic mugs? Shoes? Dust bunnies? Any answer of any kind will get you entered to win.

(And if you can't leave a comment—because sometimes the system won't let you—just email me at judith@dancewhileyoucook with your response and you'll be entered to win too.)

THE RULES

One entry per person, friends.

I will choose a winner at random on Monday morning May 2, 2011.

Check back on this post that morning to see if you've won!

24: Ring-Jing-A-Ling

UPDATE: Thanks for sharing your Christmas music favorites. Among them sound like some fabulous picks, all of which will soon be joining my family as we celebrate the holidays. Your favorites:

Sarah McLachlan - Wintersong
Uncle Daddy - An Uncle Daddy Christmas
Bonanza - Christmas on the Ponderosa
Nat King Cole - Christmas
Barenaked Ladies - Barenaked for the Holidays

The randomly selected winner of this Christmas music giveaway is sisterearthorganics. Please contact me at dancewhileyoucook (at) gmail (dot) com to claim your prize.

ORIGINAL POST:
Week 24's meal plan is long gone. I got overly consumed with the heavy math involved in yesterday's Round-Up post. So instead of showing you my meal plan for the week, I thought I'd expose you to one of my most favorite Christmas albums of all time. And do my first give-away! Read on for details.

Friction Bailey - The Silent Night

A friend gifted this to us years ago and it has since become the official music of Christmas Eve, Christmas morning, Christmas Eve's Eve and the day after Halloween. Of course the day after Halloween is the official Christmas music start date. At least that's how it goes around my house.

I love Christmas music. I would listen to it all year round if I wasn't so afraid of its specialness wearing off. I do, however, revel in the common occasion when iTunes rolls through the playlist and hits a Christmas album in July.

I don't change it. I let the music play much to the dismay of my fellow human beings in the room. I find most people like Christmas music at Christmas time. Oh well. Different strokes for different folks.

If you like Christmas music too and have been looking long and hard to add something delightful and fresh to your collection, please allow me to gift this to you.

TO ENTER

For a chance to win a MP3 copy of Friction Bailey's - The Silent Night, simply make a comment on this post telling me your favorite Christmas album. I need some new ones to add to the mix this year and I want to choose well. There's nothing more annoying than picking a bad Christmas album and trying to like it but really just feeling disappointed deep down inside. I trust you've got some good ones under your tree. Please do tell.

Let it by known that this giveaway is an MP3 which means that you will need iTunes or Windows Media Player to access the music.


THE RULES

One entry per person, friends.

I will choose a winner at random on Friday morning December 10th at 10am Pacific Time.

Check back on this post after that magic hour to see if you've won!