Pittsburgh Area Meet & Greet Recap #ovbloggers

Ohio Valley Blogger Meet & Greet 2013

I recently attended a local (Ohio Valley/Pittsburgh) blogger Meet & Greet at IKEA. (#ovbloggers on Instagram/Twitter)

 photo OVBLOGGERMeetGreet-Thebusybudgetingmama_zpscb07cf07.png

I attached my business cards to the DIY mini chalkboard clips for cute little presents for my new friends.

DIY chalkboard souvenir clips

I came home with so many much swag from vendors and bloggers! Christmas in July. For real. Take a look…it’s like a dream I spy game of goodies!

ovbloggers swag

and the food – so good that I forgot to get a picture!

and I wanted to introduce you to these awesome Pittsburgh area women bloggers too! Do you know any of them? A group of super sweet creative ladies! Be sure to visit these fabulous blogs!PIttsburgh bloggers, Kim Kacia Roeshel Natalie

Kim/Reposhture, Kacia/Coconut Robot, Roeshel/DIY Show Off, Natalie/The Busy Budgeting Mama (thanks for organizing such a fun event, Natalie!)

More local Pittsburgh area blog buddies:

Alison and Roeshel

Pittsburgh bloggers, Roeshel and Angelique

Unfortunately, I didn’t get pictures (but would have loved to! Next time!) with these great girls:

Can’t forget these ladies too: Alyssa, Hayley and Kate!

Kim from Reposhture and I teaming up for a silly Pic Hunt Instagram game at Ikea Pittsburgh…

ovblogger fun ikea pittsburgh

Thanks to these amazing sponsors: Threads by the Shine Project, Unique Me, IKEA Pittsburgh, Molly Suzanne, Dr. Smith’s, GoGo Squeez, NA Bear Co., She Does Justice, Skinit, the Sweeter Side, Everyday Party, Kim Fleischer Photography, Shop Sweet LuLu, Infinite Abyss, Walls Need Love, The Humble Lemon, Zoo Cutie Printables, The Influence Conference, CatPrints.

One thing I love about blogging is meeting (even “e-meeting”) others who share a passion for DIY and blogging. That includes you! So glad you’re here and that we’ve ‘met’! And now I’m counting down the days to the Haven Conference and the opportunity to see and meet MORE awesome blog friends face-to-face…yay! I’ll also be working on a local HomeTalk meet up towards the end of the summer so if you’re local – I’d love to see you there. More details coming soon!

Sponsor Thank You and Winners

In order to pull off THREE giveaways of this magnitude {I mean almost $15,000 of prizes doesn’t happen every day, right!?!?}, we teamed up with 16 amazing bloggers to knock your socks off and pull together the biggest giveaway in DIY blogger history. It was a lot of fun! 
Without further adieu, do you want to see the WINNERS!?!?

If you are a winner, you should have received an e-mail from allthingsthriftyassistant@gmail.com.
If you are a winner, you should have received an e-mail from allthingsthriftyassistant@gmail.com.
If you are a winner, you should have received an e-mail from allthingsthriftyassistant@gmail.com.

We each contacted our favorite companies and are so grateful to those that participated. Let’s show them just how amazing they are for sponsoring these events! Please visit their websites to show them our appreciation! 
 Thank you Silhouette for sponsoring our DIY giveaway and generously including two Silhouette CAMEOS in our prizes. If you don’t have a Silhouette craft cutting tool, it should definitely be on your list for Christmas. It is amazing!
 Big thanks to LoveFeast Table for supporting the blogging community by providing such an awesome prize for this epic giveaway! We adore you and your shop and want to send lots of love right back to you!

 A huge thank you to IKEA for sponsoring this amazing giveaway! Who doesn’t dream of winning a $500 gift card to IKEA {The Life Improvement Store}? Congrats to Mike. Have fun on your shopping spree 🙂

 A big, huge thank you to AZ Faux Beams for a generous gift of $1,000 worth of Old Timber or Sand Blasted beams!  AZ Faux Beams is a leading provider of decorative polyurethane architectural products.  Their beams are virtually maintenance free, have deep, crisp detail and add market value to any home.  They are easy to install and provide dependable solutions to architects, builders and homeowners. 
 As the #1 faucet brand in North America, Moen offers a diverse selection of thoughtfully designed kitchen and bath faucets, showerheads, accessories, bath safety products and kitchen sinks for residential and commercial applications each delivering the best possible combination of meaningful innovation, useful features, and lasting value.
 Thank you to Payless Decor for their generous donation of a $500 credit to their site.  Payless Decor is the internet’s premiere source for window blinds and rugs.  They are committed to provide you with the highest quality home decor products at an affordable price through dynamic customer service, knowledgeable staff and exceptional value.  With their free samples and free shipping, affordable window coverings will always be in style.

 A big thank you to Flow Wall Systems, the leading seller of flexible home storage systems. Get your home and life organized with a FREE Flow Wall plan. They are on a quest to organize the world one room at a time! For both RST and Flow Wall the coupon code is: GIVETHANKS

Good for 15% off the entire order through October 31.
 And RST Outdoor, your source for quality and attractive outdoor furniture at affordable prices. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed. Add onto your home by making over an outdoor space with quality outdoor luxury. 
 Finally, thank you to Royal Design Studio, the premier source for home decor stencils. Why wallpaper when you can avoid the glue and mess with beautiful Royal Design Studio stencils at a fraction of the cost. They carry a wide variety of high quality stencils and are sure to have a design that meets your style. 
 Dremel has been a name I have known since childhood, and in my own family we’ve had a Dremel rotary tool in our DIY arsenal for 10 years now! It is great for various projects around the house. Now that the rotary tool is cordless the ease of using it has simply skyrocketed! Currently the tool that I am coveting in their Sawmax, compact and easy to use for cutting virtually any material! I am putting that on my list of awesome products to buy! Thanks Dremel for providing the great rotary tools for this giveaway!
-Cassity of Remodelaholic
 Thanks for the $500 donation for lovely home decor products from Kirkland’s! They have even been more generous to offer an exclusive blogger discount just four our readers! Use code BLOGGER at checkout for:
  • 20% off entire order of $150 or more
  • Online only
  • Valid 10/24-10/28
Online coupon is not valid in stores.  Qualifying purchase must be $149.99 or greater before shipping and taxes.  One coupon per customer.  Not valid on previous purchases.  May not be combined with an employee discount, designer advantage discount, any other coupon or applied to the purchase of gift cards.  No cash value.  Checkout code BLOGGER is valid on Kirklands.com only.  Offer valid Wednesday, 10/24/2012 through Sunday, 10/28/12 at 11:59pmCST.
 Thank you to Leen the Graphics Queen for giving away  a $200 gift certificate to her online store.  Leen the Graphics Queen.com is the place to find hundreds of designs, from fun children’s decals to elegant, meaningful wall sayings, from decals to help with home organization, to beautiful monogram and name decals.  They also now offer wrapped canvas wall art and Fabric Wall Decals! 
 Thank you to PSA Essentials for giving $250 in stamps and accessories!
 Homes.com inspires you to dream big. Through every phase of the home-buying process, from buying your first home to upgrades,DIY projects and more, Homes.com is thrilled to help you pick the perfect home and create the perfect living space for you and your family. Browse their idea gallery for inspiration tips on home decorentertaining, improving your home’s value and more!
 Thank you to Shaw Floors for generously giving away an HGTV area rug! 
 Utah Truffles are the BEST chocolates I have ever, EVER had in my life. You will get addicted I promise. I want to thank them for sponsoring this giveaway. Winning $100 worth of chocolate would make anyone’s day 🙂
A big thank you to Worth Home Products for a $500 credit towards any of their products which include a wide array of stylish pendants, drum shades and chandeliers that you can install anywhere you currently have a recessed light.  Simply screw it in and slide up the decorative canopy to hide the recessed light.  It’s as easy as changing a light bulb.
  Karran Sinks was the first to introduce a complete line of acrylic sinks that could be undermounted to laminate. They are the first, and only, company to develop a line of stainless steel sinks that could be seamlessly undermounted to laminate and solid surface.

 Black and Decker is one of my favorite companies, I am so glad they helped sponsor this giveaway. Not only are the employees kind and fun to hang out with, but there products are fabulous and their prices are so friendly! The very first tool purchase for our first home was a Black and Decker skill saw… and the first time I used it, was to begin the remodel of our first kitchen… ah those were the good days! Now, few years later, ahem, I have tried several of their tools and one of my favorites their gas free mowers. Be sure to check out their great selection of tools!
-Cassity of Remodelaholic
 Thanks so much to D. Lawless Hardware for supplying such great gift certificates. D Lawless is a great source for affordable hardware, from a cut glass drawer knobs to drawer slides for your homemade furniture. I found them almost 2 years ago when working on our built-in storage project and because of their great prices we were able to get both the hinges and the pulls that I wanted for a steal of a deal. The product that I am dying to buy is their Kitchen Aid lift kit…. great price and SO cool!
-Cassity of Remodelaholic
 Many thanks to Glidden for participating in this epic giveaway! We appreciate their generous support and presence in the blogging community and encourage all of our readers to check out Glidden’s great line of paint when you start your next project! Also be sure to check out the My Colortopia site for helpful painting tips and ideas from the My Colortopia bloggers!
 BIG thanks to FrogTape for the generous basket of FrogTape products and a $500 Visa gift card to one lucky winner who has the opportunity to create an awesome DIY paint project! FrogTape is the only painter’s tape treated with PaintBlock Technology. A DIY must to have for keeping paint lines sharp and inspiring creativity in DIY painting. Need some FrogTape project inspiration? The FrogTape blog squad shares DIY ideas, “like” FrogTape on Facebook or follow FrogTape on Twitter. ~Roeshel

 Huge thank you to HomeGoods for their $500 giftcard.  We are constantly inspired when we walk into their space.  Make sure you check out their incredible pin boards for things to inspire and excite you when you are inside your own space
 Thank you to Rustoleum for giving away a countertop transformation kit! 
 Thank you to Dee from Red Letter Words for giving away $350 worth of product (excluding custom orders) to her beautiful online store. Dee’s hope is that her faith inspired art connects people to the unchanging truth of God’s word and reminds them just how much God loves them. Red Letter Words takes its name from the words spoken by Jesus in the New Testament, which appear printed in red in some editions.

 Thank you to Mirror-Mate for participating in this giveaway by providing 3 frames. Mirror Mate allows you to Transform your bathroom mirror in minutes with a custom fit frame frame. They custom cut the frame and send you a complete kit. It’s easy! It’s the 20 Minute Mirror Makeover™ that gives your whole bath decorator style.