My Favorite Deal:

7-in-1 Travel Board Game Set with Chess Checkers Backgammon

This usually sells for $29.95, but you can get it for just $4.20. Plus free shipping! And if you use code HOLIDAY2011, you can save even more for a final price of $3.99. This would make a great stocking stuff or gift for someone who travels a lot. The pieces are magnetic and all zip up into the little pouch to make it great for being on the go.

Here are a few other deals that are really hot today (subject to availability):

Crock Pot SCR300-R 3 Quart 3 Lb Round Manual Slow Cooker

On sale for $24.15 plus use code HOLIDAY2011 to save an extra 5%.

KidKraft Hannah Wood Pretend Play Girls Dollhouse

Sold out on Amazon! Get this terrific Christmas gift for $94.99 when you use code HOLIDAY2011.

Haan GS-60 Upright Garment Clothing Steamer 212°F

Sale price $69.95.

Sunbeam Twin Electric Auto Heated Blanket- Mushroom

On sale for $36.95.

Check out all the current VMInnovations coupons and deals (plus get cash back from Sunshine Rewards)!

Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend but it doesn’t mean that she shouldn’t check out Emeralds, Rubies, Pearls, and Garnets as well. In fact, the most beautiful jewelry is that jewelry that is designed specially for you in whatever metals and gems you like best. There’s no better place to design that jewelry than Gemvara and we are lucky enough to be giving away a $150 gift certificate to their site!

I spent a little while on the Gemvara site today and was amazed. There are so many reasons to customize your own jewelry. Here are just a few that I came up with as I was playing around with their design tool:

• Create “family jewelry” such a s Mother’s pendant with the gemstones for everyone in the family–dad included.
• Create a special initial or birthstone piece for a daughter’s 16th birthday.
• Design a piece in the colors and metals that match most of your outfits so that you have a “go to” piece of jewelry that you can where almost any time.
• Create jewelry that matches a certain outfit that you really want to accessorize to wear to a wedding or reunion.
• Customize a piece of jewelry in such a way that it will fit your own personal budget.
• Create a family heirloom that can be passed down with a personal touch because it was created by the family.

I just love this site and I know that you will, too. Combine their beautiful jewelry with the Gemvara coupons and cash back that we offer on Sunshine Rewards and you will have an exquisite, high quality piece of art for yourself or a loved one that will be cherished over time. Watch the video below and see how you can get entered to win a $150 Gemvara gift certificate.

To enter:

1) Visit Gemvara and create your own piece of jewelry. Leave a comment below with the link to the piece that you design (one entry).

2) Post on Twitter about the contest and leave a comment below with your Tweet (one entry).

3) Blog about this contest or post the contest in your giveaway section and leave your link to the post below (two entries).

Drawing will take place November 15, 2011, at noon Eastern. Must be a US Resident, age 18 or older to enter. Winner will be notified via e-mail and have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

First of all, you can order in any quantity. You can personalize just one tin for one person or use the same design for hundreds or even thousands. The more that you order the less they cost per product. But even if you are only ordering one or two, the price is still reasonable. Second, the site was incredibly easy to use. I pulled a picture of my daughter after she got her braces off from my cell phone. Uploaded it and sized it in one minute. She chose a colored background and the colors of the Jelly Belly jelly beans that she wanted. Done!

I can think of so many uses for these. Looking for an inexpensive but personal way to thank teachers? Upload a picture of your kid holding a sign that says “thank you” and then choose jelly beans in the school colors. Need giveaways for a church group, scout troop, or other organization? Upload a logo or use one of their designs. So many ways to customize I can’t even tell you–jelly beans, mints, M&Ms. Tins, barrels, glass jars. It’s fun, creative, and unique.

Below is a video of my kids showing the Party Beans creations that we ordered for them. It probably took me about 10 minutes total to design both tins, including uploading the pictures. See what you think and then visit Sunshine Rewards for Party Beans cash back and deals!

Father’s Day is a little over a week away, which means that there is still time to order some great gifts for dad. Even if you are listening to our podcast a couple of days before Father’s Day, we’ve got some tips for gifts that will get to dad in time while not breaking your bank.

Show Notes:

• Electronics and Gadgets are still some of the most popular gifts for Father’s Day. You can get them quickly by using Amazon Prime or shopping online somewhere like Best Buy and picking up in-store. Roku is big in addition to Kindles. If you have a little more time, Paul’s TV has some amazing deals on televisions. Vann’s is also a good choice for a wide variety of gifts and great customer service.
• If dad is into gaming, check out Gamestop for some good deals on games.
• You can’t go wrong with food and drink gifts. Omaha Steaks is a favorite for most dads and you will get the most bang for your buck if you order one of the packages and meet the minimum for free shipping. Spend the extra money on food rather than FedEx. (Get our latest Omaha Steaks free shipping deal)
• Popcorn is popular and there are a wide variety of merchants to choose from depending on what you want to spend. Some of our favorites are Popcorn Factory, Popcornopolis, Dale and Thomas, and Garrett Popcorn.
• Coffees of Hawaii is a little more exotic for the coffee-drinking dad. Choose from one-time purchase or a coffee delivery service. (Sunshine Rewards has a limited time cash back increase plus Coffees of Hawaii coupons)
• Two of Ashleigh’s favorites are Harry & David and My Wines Direct. Both are featuring specials right now for Father’s Day.
• If dad is into sports, Football Fanatics does 3-day shipping on all of their orders for $4.99. Their merchandise is not limited to football, and you can find professional as well as college teams.
• Event tickets are great if he loves live sports. Plus, you are creating an experience or a memory out of the gift. Many of the merchants are not working with cash back or coupon sites anymore so it is harder to get “deals” but if you watch eBay, StubHub, and Ticket Liquidators frequently you might get lucky.

Don’t forget that you can get cash back and coupons from Sunshine Rewards for almost all of the merchants that we talked about in the podcast.

Tricia’s on vacation most of the rest of the month so watch for the next podcast in early July. Unbelievably, we will already be looking at back to school purchases.

(Find us online: Tricia Meyer and Ashleigh Ball of Sunshine Rewards)

Tiny Prints is running a terrific deal where you can get a personalized Father’s Day card starting at only $.99. The great thing about Tiny Prints is that you can either use their templates or create something entirely unique for the dad in your life. You can also choose whether you want the card sent directly to you or to the recipient. Choose from funny, sentimental, or serious cards. You can even upload pictures to make the card as personal as possible.

Below is a video that will show you how to get started creating cards at Tiny Prints. Visit Sunshine Rewards for Tiny Prints coupons and cash back shopping.

Mother’s Day is less than a week away but it is not too late to order terrific Mother’s Day gifts and have them arrive on time. Ashleigh and I shared our first podcast today to chat about our favorite options for last minute Mother’s Day gifts.

Show Notes:

• Flowers are obviously one of the first things that people think of for mom. Be sure that you understand the difference between flowers that are delivered via carrier and those that are same day delivery by local florists. Both are still available with plenty of time for delivery. Early delivery may be cheaper. Consider mixed bouquets or tulips rather than standard roses. (Get 1-800-FLOWERS coupons)
• Food and drinks are great for the moms who have everything. Mrs. Prindables has some great deals right now (Tricia’s favorite) including free shipping on select items. Another great choice is wine. You can get Cellars Wine Club deals plus they deliver to Indiana (and most other states). Other merchants mentioned: Harry & David, Fairytale Brownies, Cheryls, David’s Cookies.
• Jewelry is another standard choice but you can go traditional or bold with spring colors. Be sure to use Ice.com coupons or MyJewelryBox.com coupons because they can save you 20-25% off and both guarantee delivery by Mother’s Day still.
• Are gift certificates an appropriate gift for mom? They might be depending on the mom. If you do choose one, be sure that it is tailored specifically to her tastes so that she knows that you put some thought into it. Merchants mentioned: GiftCertificates.com, SpaWish, Spa Finder.

Don’t forget to check for coupons as well as cashback at all of the merchants above at Sunshine Rewards.

1-800-FLOWERS – Save 15% on Easter purchases with code EASTER15 plus get increased cash back this month.

Harry and David – Take 20% off order over $50 with code SPRING20 plus earn an increased 5% cash back for Easter.

Dayspring – Best source for Christian Easter gifts including children’s activity books for as low as $0.99. SPRING SPECIAL Save 25% through April on all items with our coupon code.

Fairytale Brownies – Gourmet Easter gifts starting at only $22.90.

Smiley Cookies – Take 15% off any Easter item, including bunny shaped Smiley Cookies (code EASTER 15).

1-800-BASKETS.com – Save up to 20% on Easter baskets including items such as spiral sliced ham, truffle cake pops, brownies, and more.

Omaha Steaks – Free Ham with $99 purchase.

Personal Creations – Personalized Easter baskets up to 39% off.

See’s Candies – Easter gifts under $20 from a name you can trust.

So hop on over to the Easter shopping category at Sunshine Rewards to fill your Easter baskets and save while earning cash back.

Just because money is tight this Valentine’s Day, it doesn’t mean that you can’t treat your loved ones. Here are a few tips from Sunshine Rewards to create a memorable Valentine’s Day that doesn’t break the bank.

1) Look for free shipping offers. A number of our cookie, jewelry, and flower merchants are shipping for free with low or no minimums. Don’t waste money on the shipping…save it for the gift!

2) Check out Restaurant.com for a good value on a Valentine’s Day dinner. You can save as much as $50-100 on a meal. Use code LOVE before Valentine’s Day and get 80% off certificates.

3) Earn increased cash back plus save up to 30% at 1-800-FLOWERS when you order by February 12.

4) If you already have an Amazon Prime account, be sure to check out their selection of gift baskets and towers. If you don’t already have an Amazon Prime account, sign up for the free trial when you make your purchase.

5) Get $20 for $40 at FTD.com when you take advantage of the Groupon that expires Friday.

As someone who has used many different CD/DVD creation utilities and software packages, I can tell you the task can seem daunting.  However, if done right, the results can be fantastic.   Roxio Creator 2011 takes all the complex tasks and simplifies them so even novices can create breathtaking home video DVDs or photo CDs.  But the software isn’t just for video beginners – it has so many options, even an experienced video editor can agree the software is full featured and can be used for a wide variety of situations.

Creating photo CDs (especially for grandparents who live far away), is always a good idea but can be cumbersome and difficult.  Roxio helps you each step of the way to make amazing photo discs that can play on any DVD player or computer.  Also, new in this version of Creator is the ability to take your current photos and videos and turn them into 3D!  Imagine taking all those old photos and breathing new 3D life into them and reliving those experiences all over again.  No need to buy a special camera or anything else.   Roxio will take both your old photos and any new photos and make them 3D.

Creator is not just for visual media.   Use it to rip and catalog your CD collection and organize your music.  You can even use it to capture and clean the sound from old vinyl LPs.  Don’t let those LPs sit on the shelf any longer and possibly warp – protect them by digitizing them and make them sound great.  Once you have all your music, create a modern version of the mix-tape and create your own CD of your favorite tracks.

And last but not least, for those of us who “live in the cloud”, Roxio now offers a way that you can access your photos, videos, and music all remotely with any internet connected computer.  Traveling to a relatives?  No need to create photo CDs ahead of time and spending time putting specific photos on the disc!  Just use Creator 2011 and access every photo back on your home PC while you are traveling.

Don’t forget:  Roxio is available on SunshineRewards for Roxio cash back and coupons for many of their other products too!

Special Thanks to Roxio for donating a copy of Creator 2011 for a Sunshine Rewards Holiday contest!

We will be choosing two winners. If we choose your name and you are NOT a Sunshine Rewards member, you will receive a Zip It Clutch Denim Pencil/Makeup Pouch. If we choose your name and you ARE a Sunshine Rewards member, you will receive a Zip It Le Gym Large Shoulder Bag. They are both terrific prizes!

Check out the rules on how to enter as well as a great video showing you just how Zipit works. Don’t forget that the holidays are coming up and Zipits make a great unique gift for anyone on your list. Pick up a few in different colors and stash them away for your next vacation as well.

To Enter:

1) Visit Zipit and look at their bags. Leave a comment below telling us how you would use your Zip It (one entry).

2) Twitter about the contest and leave a comment below with your Tweet (one entry).

3) Post a link to this contest on your Facebook page and leave a comment with a link below (one entry).

4) Blog about this contest or post the contest in your giveaway section and leave your link to the post below (two entries).

Drawing will take place October 15 at noon Eastern. Must be a US or Canadian Resident, age 18 or older to enter. Winner will be notified via e-mail and have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.