Cordless 'Brand X' Roman Shade Giveaway - 5 winners

We're running this giveaway through Rafflecopter. There will be 5 winners and several ways to enter, each weighted differently. Each winner will receive a set of 2 'Brand X' cordless roman shades of their choice. Good luck to you all!

Return of the Roman Shades...

I still remember the day back in '09. I woke up one morning and all of my Roman Shade auctions on eBay had been canceled. How could this be? Roman Shades are so aesthetically pleasing, so practical, so...not illegal! I checked my email and to my surprise, eBay notified me that ALL 'Brand X' Roman Shades everywhere had been recalled.

"Huh?", I wondered. "What in the world could be unsafe about something hanging in a window?"

After a bit of research and a not so friendly call to eBay I found that there was an industry wide voluntary recall of Roman Shades and that from here on out, they were banned from eBay in their present form. Apparently, a child had gotten its neck caught in the cords of a roman shade somewhere and was seriously injured from it.

I had a few hundred shades in stock, but after hearing the reason for the recall and looking at the design of the shade it made sense to me. I have kids of my own, I wouldn't want anything in my home that could injure them.

But, what was I supposed to do with the few hundred shades I had in stock at the time?

My little dilemma couldn't compare to what the Roman Shade peeps at 'Brand X' must have been going through. My few hundred shades didn't compare to the tens of thousands of shades they must have had at the time of the recall. So, some heads must have gotten together and come up with a new system that could be an interim solution to this recall issue, while they came up with a permanent solution. The cordless clip system was born...

All the cords were cut and completely removed to prevent children, or people in general, from becoming strangled in the loops. Someone, who was obviously much smarter than I am, came up with these cool clips. The clips are adjusted manually, and while taking a little bit longer to adjust than the corded shades, they were safe. (When I say longer, a pull of the cord can take but a few seconds. The shade can be adjusted with the clips in less than 15.46 seconds.) The clips go through the loops where the cords once were and lock the loops into place to give the same 'Roman Shade-y' effect as the corded version gave...The gathering, the ruffling...call it what you may.

The solution was ingenious! It was also temporary though, while 'Brand X' came up with a more permanent, expensive solution. The permanent solution involves a roller shade, cordless system. They are completely and utterly amazing! They also range in price from $200-$300...each! Go buy some if you have that kind of cash laying around in this 'ruffled-up' economy. (pun intended)

Once this new system was in place, what was 'Brand X' to do with the thousands of shades they had in stock at the time...you know, the ones with the interim clip system? Well, these shades ended up on our shelves in our warehouse. Homeless. Cold. Lonely. Tired.

So, we're putting them up for adoption. They are in perfect condition, in their original boxes with all the mounting hardware you would need. The plastic clips are shiny and new. Detailed mounting instructions are included along with the ingenious interim clip system instructions. No cords to wrap around little necks in these babies! (pun not intended)

And here's what a few of them look like:

(Yes, we realize roman shades aren't mounted on the outside of homes, or in cool looking telephone booths. They are mounted inside your homes...! But don't let that stop you from being creative.)

Starting at $14.99, we are pricing these to move them. Once they are gone, they are gone...so don't delay. They are kid safe, parent friendly. So, go measure your windows and give these homeless interim roman shades a home!

"Ali Owl" Applique'd Ugly-Where Chair Giveaway! Create a Fire Escape Plan to Enter.

As many of you may know, our family recently experienced a pretty crazy house fire on President's Day. The exhaust system on our gas fireplace (inside our wall behind the fireplace mantel and drywall) was installed incorrectly...13 years ago! It was a "time-bomb" just waiting to happen. Luckily, it happened in the daytime when we weren't  home. Had this happened at night, we probably would have been having at least 4 funerals as a result of this fire. A lot was lost, but when you are put in this type situation you quickly realize that "stuff" doesn't have one ounce of importance as compared to a human life.

So, we want to raise awareness by doing a giveaway for an "Ali Owl" Applique'd Ugly-Where Chair and there is only one thing you can do to enter:

Create a "Fire Escape Plan" and present it to your children. You really have very little time before a house fills up with smoke and is shortly after that engulfed in flames. Children need to know what to do should this happen in the middle of the night, or any time for that matter. Our children's bedrooms were all upstairs and were totally engulfed in thick black smoke within minutes after the fire. Teach your children to get down on the floor and find their way to the nearest exit. Most deaths in house fires happen from the smoke, not the flames. Teach them to know what to do BEFORE it happens, so they will know what to do IF it happens. A great reference for a Fire Escape Plan can be found here:

Fire Safety Council Escape Plan

Use your status update on facebook or tweet something on Twitter to encourage others to create a "Fire Escape Plan" for their families. Encourage them to spread the word to others as well. (not about this contest, just about the "Fire Escape Plan" idea) We really don't care if we gain a single follower or future customer from this, we just understand how a little planning could help save someone's life. Fires are very very serious and little ones generally wouldn't know what to do to escape on their own. Thanks for your support and your help in 'spreadin' the word' about this serious matter!

UglySak AnyWhere Bean Bag Giveaway

So, we're having a new format for our giveaways. Facebook is great and all, but we wanted to create other ways for our peeps to enter our contests besides just sharing photos on your facebook wall. So, we are now using RaffleCopter to enter and choose our winners. Let us know what you think about the new format.

...and thanks again for all your help in 'spreadin' the word'!

So, here you go:

Second Bi-Annual World's Ugliest Sofa Contest

Yep, you read it correctly folks. It's time, once again, for the World's Ugliest Sofa contest. We believe we have the right to crown the world's ugliest sofa, since we have the domain name uglysofa.com and all. 

So, let's do this thing. Who has the world's ugliest sofa?

Here's how it works:

• If you have an ugly sofa, all you really have to do is take a picture of it and post it on our facebook wall.  

• We want it to actually be YOUR sofa (or a friend or relative's sofa, who may be a little too timid to enter it into a contest), not just one you found on the internet somewhere. 

• So, we have you identify that it is yours in some way by putting an identifier somewhere in the photo. A lot of people will just put a sign in the picture, saying "We are entering this ugly sofa into the ugly sofa contest for uglysofa.com. And you better believe this thing is ugly!!!" Check this beauty out:

• Others, include themselves in the photo. If you are ugly and include yourself in the photo of the ugly sofa, you will have an extraordinary chance of winning. If you are not ugly and dress up like an ugly person and include yourself in the photo of the ugly sofa, you will have an absolutely stunning chance of winning or at least coming close to winning. Here are a couple of "non ugly people dressed up as ugly people" goodies from the last one we did:

 Fun right? 

• Then, you just get anyone you can to drop by our facebook page and "like" your photo of yourself dressed up ugly-ish with your ugly sofa.

• Get your facebook friends, family, neighbors, school mates, anyone else of  "liking" value to "like" your photo and you can be a winner of THINGS. Click on the "share" button under your photo to instantly blast your facebook friends and invite them to come and "like" your photo. Use other social media as well, such as Twitter, Pinterest, personal blogs, etc to bring people over to "like" your photo.

• The better your photo, the more non-friends will "like" your photo which will increase your chances of winning THINGS. Only the "likes" on the photo on our wall will count toward the final "like" count. Make sure your friends understand this and don't just like your comment.

(Of course, we all know it isn't really about winning something, it's about how foolish you can look to your peers and still get them to "like" what you are doing, right?)

Skillz, this game takes skillz.

So, here are the THINGS we will offer to the winners (ie, those with the most "likes"):

First Place: $100 Visa Gift Card + a "Brand X" slipcover

Second Place: $50 Visa Gift Card + a "Brand X" slipcover

Third Place: UglyWhere Chair Or UglySak Bean Bag

Fourth Place: "Brand X" slipcover

Fifth Place: "Brand X" slipcover

Everyone else, who enters the contest by submitting a photo and gets at least 50 "likes" will get a pat on the back and a small "Sorry you didn't win, but you can have this" kind of prize at the end. It will be either a "Brand X" cosmetic bag or a "Brand X" leather valet. OK, maybe it's not a crappy door prize after all. Just a little "somethin'" to thank you for introducing your friends to us ;)

So, have at it. Best of luck...make sure the photos are "G" rated. This contest will run for 1 week. The person with the world's ugliest sofa will be crowned on Friday, January 20th at noon MST. Start early for your best chance to win.

Jumbo Pencils...

Alright not everything is good for you super-sized, but how can a Jumbo colored pencil do you any  harm? In fact, I think it just might inspire you!

Our friend named Tanner is an expert woodworker otherwise known as Tanner the Woodsman. He is the Master Carpenter. He has every tool available. He even allowed us to sneak in and use his expensive equipment to do neat things. These jumbo pencils went through his belt sander,  leaving a smooth wood surface to work with. A little bit of taping, primer and chalkboard paint and voila....a reborn giant colored chalkboard pencil.

I am satisfied no delighted with the finished product!
I have always been a big fan of quotes and this was a perfect place to try out some of my favorites.
When an inspirational quote comes to mind, or  you just want to leave a little message of encouragement these pencils come in handy. 

They bring out our girls creativity and they like to write whatever motivates them.

Feel free to leave us with your favorite quote:)

Installing a "Brand X" T-Cushion Slipcover

1. Unfold the slipcover and locate the tag that says “back”. Stand behind your piece of furniture and loosely drape the slipcover over it, using the tag as a guideline.

2. Locate the two elastic loops on the underside seat area of your slipcover. Wrap the elastic loops around the back corners of the outer seat cushions. This will help secure your slipcover in place.

3. Determine the desired length of the front and back of the slipcover. Adjust the front and back length by accumulating all excelss fabric on the seat. Note: your slipcover is designed to fit a wide variety of furniture styles. As a result, there may be more fabric than you need.

4. Begin to customize the fit by centering the slipcover and aligning the slipcover arms to your furniture arms. Pull the slipcover snugly over the front ends and the top of the arms. Tuck loose fabric in the arm area of the slipcover at the bottom of the sofa arm. Then wrap and tuck the loose fabric on the lower portion of the slipcover under the outer edge of the t-cushion.

5. Tuck all excess fabric in the crevices of the furniture. Be sure to tuck between the arms and seat cushions, back and seat cushions, and between the arms and the back of the furniture. The tighter you tuck the excess fabric, the more fitted look you will achieve. (We recommend using the Loose-Fit tailoring set, which is sold separately, to secure your fabric in the crevices.

6. Center the slipcover skirt pleat with the middle of your furniture. Locate the straps on the slipcover skirt. Wrap the skirt tightly around the base of your furniture. Secure the straps in the back with the metal D-rings on the slipcover. Tighten the straps to create an attractive, finished look.

What about the wrinkles?

Your slipcover no doubt got a bit wrinkly while in its packaging. The wrinkles will disappear over time, once you have fitted the slipcover. If you have a steamer, run the steamer slowly over the slipcover after it is installed and smooth away the wrinkles.  A warm iron can be run over the slipcover to smooth out the wrinkles as well.