Gerbo Designs - Valentine day Card GIVEAWAY!

This giveaway is now CLOSED. Congratulations to :Marquel who said...

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With Valentines Day approaching, I decided I wanted to bring together a few 'V-day' related giveaways & bunch them together under the heading "Be My Valentine".
It's a fun way of gaining extra entries, to any giveaway sporting the banner. There will be a few different ways of entering these giveaways, just for the fun of it! (Fun questions for extra entries, what could be better, right?)
So without any further ado, the first giveaway!

Gerbo Designs

I recently had the pleasure of finding this company  and the owner, Sally Gerbo, graciously allowed me to review her products. She is the designer, owner & operator behind her store, and has immense talent and ability.
She sells everything from invitations, announcements and basically anything you could need, or think up, she will work with you to achieve your vision.

 I was lucky enough to be able to review her "Bird Calendar", which for me, was a definite bonus, as I love retro anything, especially birds, & the way this was designed was remarkable!
Each month features a different bird themed picture, all very classic and well put together. My favorite was April's theme.
What I immediately liked about Sallys style was you can place these calendars anywhere, they're most likely going to fit right into your decor. I have a "paris" themed kitchen, with rich colors, and my Bird calendar was right at home and held it's own, which I was pleased as I did not expect it to be able to do so, so well! (I thought it would have to be an "office" piece) but it went with everything!

To finish it all off, there is a ribbon adorning the top to hang it from, although you can also order the spiral bound instead. These would make great presents for any time of the year, and for anyone. I have several friends who would appreciate this, as well as my mother-in-law, or my childrens' teachers. They are that versatile,  I've definitely become a huge fan of Sallys store & what she has to offer.

Another interesting detail with my new Bird calendar was there are NO days. Which is perfect for those of us who love to keep things that can be used more than once.

"Keep a list in a special spot of all your loved ones birthdays and special events. Always up-to-date and never expired, each month
lists the numbered days without an associated year. Over time, your calendar becomes a precious historical record and family keepsake
to pass down to the next generation."

I asked Sally a few questions about herself, and I especially loved what she had to say about raising her children & working at home and being able to achieve it.

What got you interested in Graphic Design & starting a business with it?

I have always been passionate about communicating information creatively. When I was younger I worked on family newsletters with the
clipart program we had. Invitations were always the most obvious vehicle for my interest, but after college, I worked for a non-profit
company that exposed me to professional graphic design as well. It became more than a hobby and I’ve worked on learning and designing
ever since.
I always had a dream to work from home while raising children, and when I was pregnant with our first son, I was laid off from my job in marketing. My husband and decided that was the push I needed to expand my freelance hobby to a business. I’m going on 3 years now and loving the challenge!

Do you have a project that was a favorite for you to work on?

There have been so many projects that are inspiring! But I love to design invitations! Whether it’s a child’s birthday or shower, or a big party,
 I like that you can set the tone for the entire event with an invitation! I also enjoy infinite possibilities in design!

How long does it take you to think up a design?

It really depends on the project… if it’s my event, I usually have an idea right off the bat, When  I’m working for a client, their ideas set a
tone and then we work together to come up with the perfect communication for their event!


What design (in your portfolio, site or store, do you consider your best work?

I don’t know if I can pick just one! I am thrilled with the birthday calendars, especially the Birds! I’m offering it now with both a sweet

looped ribbon and spiral binding. The art for the calendar evolved in a really flowing, fun way and I’m proud of it! I also love the invitations!I particularly like to incorporate pictures of people into the design in creative ways! This gives the design a one-of-a-kind personalization. It’s also fun to incorporate invitation information into the image of something else, maybe unexpected, such as the poster, ticket or a coaster.

What I, personally,  loved most dealing with Sally at Gerbo Designs, was how much Sally can do for you. The customization, her designs and the selection of what you can purchase is incredible! And most of all, Sally herself, has been easy, responsive, and quick to ship her products.

I received my calendar almost immediately after she had sent it, that kind of personal, one-on-one care is hard to find nowadays, and I appreciate the time she took to involve herself with the customer care side of things.

And if that wasn't enough to impress you - 

Sally also donates her time & design to several non-profit organizations. The Center For Human Services is a non-profit, which provides

advocacy and services for youth and families to build a strong community.

Stanislaus Literacy Center, a non-profit organization that teaches adults and their families basic education skills – helps parents become their child’s first and best teacher and prepares a more productive workforce.

There is nothing this company cannot do for you!And with Valentines Day coming up, who better to design your cards for you? She has a selection of her beautifully designed Valentines Day cards in her Gerbo Designs store & today she has generously offered one lucky reader her "You're a Staple for Me!" set of 10 Valentines Day cards, that come complete with envelopes!

                                       

The first picture is closer to the actual 'color' of the cards, the 2nd picture is the card enhanced, in order to show the complete graphic design, without the flash reflecting off the cardstock. The color is more a pink/tan, which is gorgeous, with cream/white writing.

The "You're a Staple For Me" Valentines cards have rounded edges, giving them an even more personalized look, perfect to pass around to your friends & family.

They come wrapped with a bow, and are of the highest quality, which is what Gerbo Designs is basically all about.

(When I first saw these, I knew my husband would love them! We're both huge "Office Space" fans, and I could not resist the 'staple for me' reminder of the Swingline Stapler, that Milton coveted so much, lol!)

This product was graciously offered by Gerbo Designs owner, operator & face behind the scenes, Sally Gerbo, wife to one, mom of two. 

Gerbo Designs can be reached at any of the following locations:

Website: www.gerbodesigns.com
Store: www.etsy.com/shop/GerboDesigns
Facebook fanpage: Sally Gerbo, Custom Graphic Design 

WIN IT!

Mandatory entry:

In order to complete the mandatory entry for the pack of 10 Valentines Days cards, you must visit Gerbo Designs, and pick your favorite item or design that Sally creates, & leave your comment here.

Extra entries:

+1 Follow this blog via Google Friend Connect

+1 Become a Facebook Fan of Gerbo Designs & let her know that you're visiting from "20 to Life"

+1 What actor is your favorite Valentine?
+2 Heart Gerbo Designs on etsy

+1 Twitter follow me

+1 Tweet daily (up to 5x) about this giveaway.

WIN set of 10 professionally designed Valentines Day cards from GERBO DESIGNS & 20 to Life- http://bit.ly/cMr1ay -4 that someone special!

+2 Enter Half Crazy Mommies "Calabasas Candy Co." giveaway!

+3 Blog about this giveaway & link back to this site AND Gerbo Designs store, or website.

+1 Who is "TomKat's" offspring Valentine? (Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes)
+10 Purchase any of Sally's wonderful creations from Gerbo Designs (will need to be validated)

+1 Enter any of my other giveaways

This giveaway will run from 1/30 until midnight 2/7.
Winner will be drawn via Random.org & will have 48 hours to contact me or another winner will be drawn.

  


**I did not receive any monies nor compensation, other than the "Bird Calendar" for review purposes only! All opinions, recommendations & statements made are purely my own**

  Good Luck! 

**As a post note, please do not leave comments for me in the 'Giveaway' posts. Random.org does not differentiate between comment-love & giveaway entries, so in all fairness to the participants of any giveaway hosted on this blog, please leave comments in my posts that are anything but giveaways. And as I like to talk - there are plenty of those :D