Giveaway: Fizz Candy Jewelry

And the giveaways continue! I love hosting these giveaways from independent, Etsy shop owners because then they are able to gain some exposure and more people learn about their products.

Take this week's giveaway, FizzCandy. I was amazed when I heard that the jewelry in the store is created by Payton, a middle school student. I think it's great that Payton already has started her own business. Even better, the jewelry she creates is outstanding!

All of my followers know how obsessed I am when it comes to jewelry. However, I struggle to find jewelry appropriate for a college student--some pieces seem too young for me, while some seem too old.

Payton has managed to create classic, elegant pieces that are appropriate for any age group. I haven't seen any Etsy jewelry store yet that appeals to all demographics--hers is a first! She has colorful pieces as well as ones that are more muted.

Payton says that her signature pieces are her stackable bracelets.  I can see adding a few of these to my stack! The bracelets pictured above are (starting from the top left and going down):
--Watermelon Tourmaline Slices bracelet
--Signature Multistrand Pearl bracelet
--Tin Cup Silver Chain and Freshwater Pearl Double Bracelet

The green bracelet in the middle is the Green Watermelon Tourmaline Slice bracelet and the other is the  Starfish Charm bracelet.

She also creates unique necklaces, like this Robin's Egg Blue Teardrop necklace. What I found so unique about this piece is that Payton mixed materials--Chrysoprase and pearls--to create something I've never seen before. The drop necklace would look great with any fall sweater or turtleneck.

Above are a few other necklaces that I love. They are, starting from the lower lefthand corner and going clockwise:
--Smoky Brown Quartz Pendant Necklace
--Freshwater Pondslime Baroque Pearl Necklace
--Orange Sardonyx Firestone Necklace
--Focal Angelskin Coral Necklace

Finally, Payton also sells earrings. For anyone wanting to venture from their worn-out pearl studs, Payton's earrings would be perfect for you! I love these Kasumi-style Pearl Earrings--they remind me of Japan for some reason, even though I've never been there! Maybe it's the gorgeous black and red beads attached to the pearls, which resemble the colors of the Japanese flag to me.

I also like these orange coral teardrop earrings. The colors are gorgeous and perfect for fall. The shades of orange, brown and beige remind me of falling leaves.

Payton has been kind enough to offer one of my readers a signature bracelet of hers, this "Crazy Lampwork Bead Bracelet. I just love the variety of beads used in this bracelet. And look at the cute packaging the bracelet comes in! The fizzy candy adds a nice touch, and goes great with the theme of the shop.

Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below. The giveaway ends a week from today (September 14th) at 12:01 A.M. As always, I will contact the randomly-drawn winner, who has seven days to get back to me before I choose a different winner. The giveaway is also open to only US residents only (sorry!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Fizz Candy currently offers free shipping on everything. So what are you waiting for? Enter the giveaway contest and go to Fizz Candy right away to see all of the jewelry this inspiring entrepreneur (and artist!) has created!

Also, Fizz Candy is offering Preppy Premed readers 15% off for the month of September. Just enter the code "preppy" at checkout! 

Giveaway: Pritchett Prints

With a lot of us going back to college or redecorating our homes for the fall, art is a necessity to brighten up any room. Why buy the usual cliched college poster when you can buy something completely unique from Prichett Prints?

Prichett Prints is an Etsy shop that showcases the shop owner, Heather's, independent work as an artist. Heather has this to say about her shop: "After graduating from the Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach, CA, I began taking on freelance illustration work. I love my freelance work, it's always interesting and challenging, but Etsy is where I showcase my work done just for me."

I have to say, I was taken aback when I first saw Heather's art. Her prints are absolutely outstanding! To see what I mean, here are some examples of her work.

I love this series of Heather's because she focuses on the realism and intricacy of animal eyes. 

• On the upper lefthand corner, she shows us the eyes of a leopard in her Leopard Eyes Painting.

• Next to it is the eye of a tabby cat. You can really see how unique a cat's eye is compared to the other eyes in the set. That print can be found here: Tabby Cat Eye Gouache Painting.

• Underneath that are the eyes of a cheetah, looking almost a little sad. The light dancing off of the cheetah's fur is especially interesting. Here is the print: Cheetah Eyes Painting

• The painting on the bottom right is that of a bird's eye. I love how detailed this painting is--you can see the little turquoise bumps atop the bird's eyelid. The print is here: Detailed Bird Eye Painting.

Wouldn't these look amazing (and so unique) on your walls?

Not only does Heather do this type of artwork, but she also has pen and ink prints available. I have to give props to someone who is skilled in not only one art form, but two!

From upper left corner clockwise:

• Pen and Ink Owl Drawing - Sepia Spectacled Owl
• Pen and Ink Drawing - Stippled Monster Mask
• Pen and Ink Drawing Monster - Scoleciphobia
• Pen and Ink Drawing - Goldfish Duet Print

Something to note about PritchettPrints is that Heather will print her work to any size you want up to 12" by 18", without any extra charge! That way you can get the print just how you like it.

As an added bonus, Heather is offering a free print to one of my readers! She's also offering a bonus 15% off coupon code to all of you! Just enter the code PreppyPM at checkout. 

To enter the giveaway, use the Rafflecopter below. The giveaway will end at 12:01 AM on September 7th. (I will be going on a retreat that weekend, so I will contact the winner the following Monday). The winner has a week to reply to my email before I chose another winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What do you all think of Pritchett Prints? What's your favorite piece?

Review + Giveaway:: Corner Bakery Cafe's BBLT + Arugula Salad

Recently Corner Bakery Cafe contacted me and asked me if I would like to try out their new BBLT (the two B's=double the amount of bacon!) and arugula salad. Even though I'm in Chicago and I see these restaurants all over the city, I've never actually been inside one. I was pleasantly surprised!

Via

The decor is vintage and looks like they're trying to model the cafes of the early 1900s. However, the atmosphere feels more modern: it reminded me of a Starbucks, yet it had a full breakfast and lunch menu. People were reading books, on their computers, and simply enjoying their time at the cafe. I brought my computer and hammered out an English essay while enjoying my meal.

The BBLT was AMAZING! The lettuce and tomatoes were fresh, the bread perfectly toasted, and the bacon was delicious. But it was the salad that was the best part of the meal. I've never tried arugula before and assumed it was just a fancy word for lettuce. It's not! I don't know how to describe it, but it's more like an herb. Usually I'm not a fan of tomatoes, but I loved the tomatoes on the salad--they tasted almost fruity.

The meal came with a complementary piece of fruit or cookie. Because I have a  sweet tooth, I had to choose the Monster Cookie--a chocolate chip cookie with mini M&Ms on top! It was to die for.

Now onto the giveaway part: I was given four vouchers for a Corner Bakery Cafe free BBLT & Arugula Salad Corner Combo. Therefore, 4 of my lucky readers will receive one of these vouchers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Let me know if you have any questions! This is my first time using Rafflecopter for a giveaway, so hopefully it'll all run smoothly. I will contact all the winners at the end of the contest and ask for their addresses to send the vouchers to. If there is no response within seven days, I will pick another winner.

Thanks everyone, and thanks to Corner Bakery Cafe for letting me promote their product!

*Product voucher provided by Corner Bakery Cafe; as always, all opinions are my own

GIVEAWAY: Crazy Dog T-Shirts $15 Giftcard

As bloggers, most of us spend our time writing up posts and making creations based on the latest fashion trends. One trend that we almost never talk about? Graphic tees!

 Recently I came across the company Crazy Dog T-Shirts, which has an outstanding number of graphic tees available on its website. From vintage tees to humorous tees to holiday tees (they have numerous Christmas and St. Patricks tees available!), there's a graphic t-shirt for everyone.

I was sent two shirts for review. The first thing I noticed immediately upon unwrapping my shirts was that the quality of them is outstanding.

They feel soft against the touch and they aren't too thin. C'mon girls, how many times have we tried on shirts like these, only to notice that our bra shows right through them? With the shirts I received, this wasn't a problem at all, which I was very happy about.

The first shirt I received was the Mr. DNA t-shirt, located in the Girls T-Shirts section of the Crazy Dog T-Shirts website. I chose the shirt because I'm a huge science nerd and I wanted a shirt that would give all of my fellow research lab workers a laugh.

As you can see, the shirt fits perfectly on my body. It's unlike most t-shirts I receive, which are usually unisex and simply hang there. This shirt slims right around your waist, making it very flattering.

Closeup of (backwards) Mr. DNA. Anyone remember what movie this is from?

The second shirt I received was actually from Crazy Dog T-Shirts' sister company, Nacho Mama Tees. It's the Never Forget T-Shirt located in the Girls T-Shirts section of Nacho Mama Tees.

As you can see, it has the same fit as the first shirt I tried on. The letters and the dinosaur imprinted on the shirt don't seem like they'll fade or fall apart anytime soon, something I've noticed other graphic tees have a tendency to do.

Why did I choose a dinosaur tee? Well...I'm kind of a dinosaur geek. Or used to be, as a kid. Land Before Time, Jurassic Park, that weird Disney movie with the computerized dinosaurs...guys, I watched all of them. Over and over again. Yeah, I was a cool kid.

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Here's my Polyvore set of Crazy Dog T-Shirts. I think many people have a hard time trying to find ways to wear graphic tees other than with jeans, so here are some ideas!

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And finally, the moment you've been waiting for: GIVEAWAY TIME! One lucky reader will receive a $15 gift card to Crazy Dog T-Shirts. Here's how to enter:

MANDATORY:
--Be a follower of Preppy Premed on GFC
--Comment below saying that you're entering the contest and which graphic tee you would buy from Crazy Dog T-Shirts if you win!

OPTIONAL (comment below telling me if you've completed these):
--Follow Crazy Dog T-Shirts on Twitter (+1 entry)
--Like Crazy Dog T-Shirts on Facebook (+1 entry)
--Pin a Crazy Dog T-Shirts tee on Pinterest (+1 entry)
--Follow Preppy Premed on Twitter (+1 entry)
--Follow Preppy Premed via email, RSS or Bloglovin (+1 entry)
--Follow Preppy Premed on Pinterest (+1 entry)
--Follow Preppy Premed on Instagram (+1 entry)
--Advertise this giveaway on your blog (+3 entries)

TERMS:
--Giveaway ends Monday, July 16th at 6:00 AM Central Standard Time
--Winner will be announced on this blog Tuesday, July 17th
--Winner will be notified via email and must reply within 7 days

Good luck everybody! You have until next Monday to enter the contest!
ETA 7/16/12: The giveaway has ended. Thank you for participating!

*Giveaway item and products given by Crazy Dog T-Shirts in exchange for a review; all opinions are my own