Alice in Wonderland Drink Me Giveaway

09 Feb, 2010 by in etsy, mootsie 44 comments

Our giveaway today is from Etsy seller Mootsie!

Hi, my name is Audrey, I attended art school way back in the 80’s…. I studied graphic design & textile design, I worked in the field for 18 years. I grew up in Illinois where my quest for an artful life started at age 10. I enjoy the simple things in life such as playing with my kids, gardening, & making stuff. I love my job as a substitute teacher and look forward to going back to school for teaching. I’m a beach kinda girl, not snow, I wear my flip-flops till Oct. Thanks for stopping in & visiting my shop.


She is gifting our winner this beautiful necklace…Alice Drink Me Pendant is made from vintage clip-art, A vintage antiqued brass finding 18 x 25 cab. Hangs from a 16″ Antiqued Brass Chain. Lewis Carrolls Alice in Wonderland was originally released in 1865 and illustrated by Sir John Tenniel. This illustration by Tenniel of Alice finding the bottle.

To enter to win the Alice in Wonderland necklace

leave your name and email address below:

Additional entries

+2 go to her shop and comment on your favorite item by pasting the link

+2 go to Etsy and heart her shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/mootsie

+3 tweet this contest-leave the link

+5 post it on your blog or facebook- leave the link

+5 add our button to your blog

+3 follow us on twitter @FireIcePhotos

+2 visit our Etsy shop and pick your favorite item http://www.etsy.com/shop/HeatherZahnGardner

Add your entries up and leave the total in your comment Contest ends March 8th and is open to International Entries. Good Luck!

Mom’s Monday "Purplicious"

08 Feb, 2010 by in purplicious, Victoria Kann 3 comments

Product Details
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (October 16, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061244058
5 stars

Product Description
It’s purple Pinkalicious!

Pinkalicious loves the color pink, but all the girls at school like black. They tease her, saying that pink stinks and pink is for babies. But Pinkalicious doesn’t think so…that is, until her friends stop playing with her. Now Pinkalicious has a case of the blues. But could she ever turn her back on her favorite color?

In the follow-up to the bestselling Pinkalicious, a young girl remains true to herself and discovers that pink isn’t only a pretty color, but also a powerful one.

About the Author
Victoria Kann’s award-winning artwork has graced the covers and pages of many magazines, newspapers, and books. She is the illustrator and coauthor with Elizabeth Kann of Pinkalicious and Purplicious, which were both New York Times bestsellers. They also wrote Pinkalicious: The Musical, which premiered in New York City to sold-out audiences. Victoria teaches at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Recently she built a tree house for her Princess Pinkerbelles. She often hears galloping in the house and wonders if it’s Goldilicious or just her Pinkerbelles.

The first book we read by Victoria Kann was the prequel, “Pinkaliacious.” When we saw a new Purple sister edition in the series, we scooped it right up at our school book fair. The cover has raised glitter lettering and the inside treats readers to a tale about true friendship and fitting in. It’s okay not to love black! Popularity and confroming to the crowd does not = happiness. Be who you are and explore new things. My girls LOVE this book and we gave it 5 stars!

Authorpalooza 2010 and TDD Giveaway

08 Feb, 2010 by in utah authors 15 comments

Barnes and Noble hosted Authorpalooza this weekend with 40 authors there to sign their books. I have added them all to my sidebar for you to check out! I took my daughter along with me and she was in awe! My husband claims I am turning her into a geek, but I say Hooray! I was a book worm and she can be too. We got a few books autographed and picked up a lot of bookmarks and trading cards. But really we just wish we were millionaires. There were so many books we wanted to buy, but didn’t have the money. Fellow Utah book bloggers @SueySays

@mawbooks and @meow_mix85 were there, as well as Brodi Ashton. We did also happen to snag a bottle of Bree Despain’s nail polish from The Dark Divine, which we are giving away to a lucky winner! Enter in the comments below…

Here are the Utah Authors Who Attended

James Dashner “The Maze Runner” Jessica Day George “The Dragon Fire” Frank Cole“Hashbrown Winters” GG Vandagriff “The Last Waltz” Bree Despain “The Dark Divine” Jillayne Clements Wendy Paul “101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 minutes” Nichole Giles Cindy Beck “Mormon Mischief and Mishaps” Terri Ferran “Life’s Alphabet Soup”Rhonda Gibbs Hinrichson “Missing” Heather Justesen “The Ball’s in Her Court”Linda Chadwick “Second Chances” Berins Stephens, Dan Willis, Cory Paulson, Lisa Mangum “The Hourglass Door” Mette Ivie Harrison “The Princess and the Bear” Emily Wing Smith “The Way He Lived” Sharlee Glenn “Just What Mama Needs”Alvina Kwong “My Imagination” Kristyna Crow “Swamp at Bedtime” Carol Lynch Williams, Ann Cannon, Ann Dee Ellis , Kevin Hall Larry Myler , Mike O’Reilly, Zane Taylor Jack Nelson “To Die in Kanab” , Rebecca Lerwill “Relocating MIA” Kim Williams Justesen, Bobbie Pyron “The Ring” Aubry Mace “My Fairy Godmother” , Sydney Salter Nathan Hale “Calamity Jack” , Bron Bahlmann , Alan Bellows, Paul Genesse , Larry Correia

To win the Dark Divine Nail Polish

leave your name and email address below…Additional entries
1) Tell us which book you would buy from Authorpalooza +1
2) Visit a Utah author’s website and leave a comment-leave link +2
3) follow us @FireIcePhotos on Twitter +3
4) Retweet this contest +2
5) Follow our blog +3
6) Add our button to your site +5

Contest ends March 8th 2010, Good Luck!

KelseaEchoBazaar Alice in Wonderland Jewelry

06 Feb, 2010 by in etsy 14 comments

Our giveaway today is from KelseaEchoBazaar on Etsy. She is giving away a set of Alice in Wonderland “Eat Me, Drink Me” earrings and handmade necklace.

My name is Kelsea and I am a designer-in-progress based in Seattle. I am currently very busy with an unrelated 40-65 hr/week full-time job but I continue to run my etsy shop with zest, as it is my portal to the world of being an indie designer.
I love creating artwork. I’ve dabbled in all sorts of different arts/craft forms over the years, often to make gifts for those I love. Now, I like to mix them all up and create things on whim. I collect cool materials whenever I find them so they are usually very limited supply. I also like to reuse and create newer, cooler things out of older things, which makes for a lot of unique pieces.
Diverse materials, diverse subjects. That’s how I roll.
By the way, I live in a 100% smoke-free home.
Enjoy and thanks for taking a look around!
MY OTHER SHOPS:
Gemstones/SS/GF Findings: http://www.DeliciousGemstones.etsy.com/
Other Supplies Destash: http://www.KEsupplies.etsy.com/
To enter to win the necklace and earring set:
leave your name and email address below:
Additional entries
+2 go to her shop and comment on your favorite item by pasting the link
+2 go to Etsy and heart her shop
Become a fan of KelseaEcho on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelsea-Echo/279067647212
+3 tweet this contest-leave the link
+5 post it on your blog or facebook- leave the link
+5 add our button to your blog
+3 follow us on twitter @FireIcePhotos
+2 become a fan of Fire and Ice on facebook
+2 add us as friends on Goodreads
Add your entries up and leave the total in your comment
Contest ends March 13th and is open to International Entries. Good Luck!

Book Review-Wintergirls

06 Feb, 2010 by in book review, penguin USA, speak, Wintergirls 3 comments

Wintergirls
by Laurie Halse Anderson
published March 9th 2010 by Speak (first published March 19th 2009)
details Paperback, 288 pages
literary awards An ALA/YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2010), Cybils Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2009), An ALA Best Book for Young Adults (2010)
isbn 014241557X
“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.
“Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.
I am that girl.
I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.
Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend’s restless spirit.

In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the multiple-award-winning Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson explores Lia’s descent into the powerful vortex of anorexia, and her painful path toward recovery.

I read Wintergirls a couple of weeks ago and it took me a while to process. Laurie Halse Anderson does a wonderful job of taking her readers into the mind of an anorexic. Counting calories with each meal, feeling guilt and anger eat her from the inside out. Lia is born to a perfectionist physician mother who is cold and measures worth by her accomplishments. Her father isn’t quite sure how to handle the situation and step-mother is stuck in the role of weigh-in nurse. Lia’s thoughts become more and more erratic and disorganized as she spirals further into the pit of self-destruction, telling herself over and over again “must not eat.”
This is not a fun read by any means, nor a feel good fuzzy book. It has graphic descriptions of cutting, suicidal thought and anger. Wintergirls may not be a wise choice for any girls recently in recovery for eating disorders because of triggers to relapse.

This is my favorite review I read on the book http://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/nm_reviews/?detail=129276kd
Some really good quotes from the book
“I am beginning to measure myself in strength, not pounds. Sometimes in smiles. “

“Do I want to die from the inside out or the outside in?”
“I am angry that I starved my brain and that I sat shivering in my bed at night instead of dancing or reading poetry or eating ice cream or kissing a boy…”
“I don’t just use yarn from a store. I buy old sweaters from consignment shops. The older the better, and unravel them. There are countries of women in this scarf/shawl/blanket. Soon it will be big enough to keep me warm. ”
“I’m learning how to taste everything. ”
“There is no magic cure, no making it all go away forever. There are only small steps upward; an easier day, an unexpected laugh, a mirror that doesn’t matter anymore.

I am thawing. “
— Laurie Halse Anderson (Wintergirls)

Visit Laurie Halse Anderson’s website at http://www.wintergirls.net/ for a view inside the book, resources for teacher and other products
In this video Laurie talks about why she wrote the book and her conflicts in writing it…

Chouette’s Handmade Jewelry Giveaway

06 Feb, 2010 by in matryoska doll 33 comments


Today’s giveaway is from Etsy store Chouette’s!
What a fun little shop she has with vintage jewelry. And she makes my favorite items…matryoska doll charms.




Welcome to Chouettes, where you will find vintage, vintage inspired, estate, French inspired, Old Hollywood Style, and kawaii (cute) jewelry.

I will be adding many new items this week.

******************************************************

For more information about my jewelry and information about packaging, custom orders, rhinestone color charts, necklace lengths, and ear wires, please go to:
http://www.pentouffe.com/etsy.html

To enter to win a Babuska doll necklace or pair of vintage lucite polka dot earrings
leave your name and email address below:
Additional entries
+2 go to her shop and comment on your favorite item by pasting the link
+2 go to Etsy and heart her shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/chouettes
+3 tweet this contest-leave the link
+5 post it on your blog or facebook- leave the link
+5 add our button to your blog
+3 follow us on twitter @FireIcePhotos
+2 visit our Flickr gallery and pick your favorite photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/heatherzahngardner/galleries/
+2 add us as friends on Goodreads
Add your entries up and leave the total in your comment
Contest ends March 5th and is open to International Entries. Good Luck!

Book Review- Gone by Michael Grant

05 Feb, 2010 by in book review, Michael Grant 3 comments


Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 576 pages
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books; 1ST edition (June 24, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061448761
4 stars

Summary from Amazon:

In the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. GONE.

Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what’s happened.

Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day.

It’s a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else…

I received this book in the mail as part of a UK cover set from Egmont Books and I must say I prefer the English cover to the US one 😉 Gone throws a light on what would happen to the world if there were no adults and no accountability… starving children, bullies in the street, anarchy, rich kids against regular kids. As a reader you are pulled into a scene of chaos and wonder as teens and children fend for their lives against mutated forces of nature and residual nuclear fallout. You walk through the every day lives of each character as they search for an autistic brother, rescue a little girl from a burning building and cook food in an abandoned McDonald’s. I enjoyed the premise as well as the interaction between main boy Sam and smart girl Astrid. Super science fiction for young adults. Thanks again to Egmont for the thrilling read!
Book two, “Hunger” is out with part three, “Lies” to be released in May of 2010
Visit Michael Grant’s website at: http://www.thefayz.com/

If you are interested in reading “Gone” or “Hunger” as a part of the book tour, please send me an email at fireandice.heather@gmail.com and I will ship them out to you 🙂

Photography Friday

05 Feb, 2010 by in photography 1 comment


“Oogtsman” by Jar0d


“40 Watts of Bad Idea” by KPauli

” Doorway to the Past”
Serena Livingston CampCrazy Photography


“Guardian of Time” by Alice Popkorn


“Secret Room” by pareerica

These are the photographers currently giving things away in our blog!
Explore their photostreams on Flickr and enter to win…