Hallmark Moments and Milestones in Seattle {Interactive Story Buddy}

Earlier this month, I got to realize a life-long dream of mine and create a Hallmark greeting card with a group of other Seattle bloggers. Not only did we have a great group of bloggers {including Rachel from And Then, She Snapped, Kerri from The Maven of Social Media, and Sarah from The Will to See…tell me that’s not a dream team}, we also had a PRO-fessional on our side, the amazing Keion Jackson. While our card we created was just for our group and won’t be for sale anywhere, it was a really great way to spend a morning and it did lead to some pretty funny inside jokes about Mildred, Walt and the leopard print curtains.

The greeting card exercise was just part of the Moments and Milestones tour that came to Seattle on the 15th of March and brought together bloggers, the Hallmark team, and a trio of Hallmark writers in a delicious brunch at Local 360 on 1st Ave, affectionately labeled “’Sup, Seattle!”. The purpose of the brunch wasn’t to play with Hallmark’s new line of cards and gifts {although that would have also been fun, especially for the two little ones I had with me}, instead it was to celebrate all the things that make life a special occasion.

We started off the event by watching a video Hallmark made showcasing some letters from all the bloggers where we talked about finding the right words to tell loved ones what they need to hear. We then did an exercise where we all spoke of the things we would like to hear and even made shirts to share with the group. I’m not much of a public speaker, especially when I’m also entertaining a 1 year old and 3 year old simultaneously, but in this group I felt it was easy to share how I felt and even talk about some things most people don’t know about me.

But, the highlight of the event for me was just listening to the Hallmark writers and creative director talk about what they do, where they find inspiration, and what their favorite works were. It turns out you can get away with a lot more if animals are on the card instead of humans, and apparently everyone likes a good plumbers crack… who knew?

Maybe my dream of being a greeting card writer isn't unattainable, afterall.

After the event, my kids were in heaven with an interactive storybook and storybook buddy for them to share. Our little storybook buddy, Nugget, has been very well loved since my daughter spied him in the bag with the greeting cards and it was declared right then that she was going to sleep with him, and read to him, and love him, and hug him… {and repeat}. Not only is Nugget a new favorite toy, it just so happens that his book was written by one of the amazing women we met at the event, Molly Wigand!

{While I am kicking myself for not having her sign the book for the littles, you can enjoy these pictures of my daughter and Nugget}

One lucky reader will win Nugget, an interactive storybook and storybook buddy, from Hallmark!

To Enter: Visit http://www.hallmark.com/life and tell me one person you would like to tell what they mean to you {mandatory for entry}

And, as always, there are extra entries available! {Please leave a separate comment for each completed}

2 Extra Entries – Post on your Facebook wall about the giveaway { http://t.co/pLr24eZR} and tag Rave & Review and Hallmark on Facebook

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1 Extra Entry – "Like" Hallmark on Facebook

1 Extra Entry {daily} – Twitter. Retweet this tweet after following @HallmarkPR and @RaveAndReview

2 Extra Entries – Blogger Bonus. Blog about this giveaway linking back to this post and leave an address where I can find your writeup

1 Extra Entry – Comment love. Enter any of my other Giveaways and/or comment on any non-giveaway post!

1 Extra Entry – Pin and/or Like this post {use the buttons at the bottom of post to make it super easy! Can be done once per article by both methods}

On May 5th at 11:59pm PST a winner will be drawn, announced here and notified via email. Winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen. Open to US addresses only.

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered and congrats to:

#70 Janet W. said… tweet 4/15 https://twitter.com/#!/jwatson50/status/191473030323650562

A big thank you to Hallmark for having me {and my loud kiddos} to the event and for giving us some of the newests cards and gifts to share. All opinions are 100% ours and no form of monetary compensation was received in exchange for this Rave Review.