{Giveaway} Win a custom, embroidered locket

Jennifer Shingelo is giving away a locket embroidered with a letter of your choice from her Etsy shop, Stella Saves the Day. Enter to win by answering in the comments below: Whose picture would you keep in a locket?

Lockets, all the rage during the Victorian era, haven’t quite fallen out of style, but they’ve fallen out of style. Let us explain. A recent search for “locket” on Google, turned up a most uninspiring collection of trinkets. That is, until we found Jennifer Shingelo’s Etsy shop, Stella Saves the Day. After we stopped oohing and ahhing of the hand-stitched designs, we wondered just who is Stella? And how does Jennifer craft these gorgeous, one-of-a-kind pieces?

Her collection is named after her great grandmother, Stella. Jenn was inspired to create lockets after years of adoring her grandmother’s jewelry box. “I opened my Etsy shop in 2009 and sold my first piece in 2011,” says Jenn, a trained sculptor. “In sculpting, you also make items that hold memory. I did that for a ten years but wanted to do something where I’d be interacting with people more. This business has been very touching and personal.” Jenn says her customers often share their personal stories. “A man just sent me pictures of his baby twin sons,” she says. “He wants them represented by two embroidered acorns in a locket for his wife.”

An advisor at the Pratt Institute of Design by day, Jennifer crafts the jewelry in her Brooklyn kitchen at night. (“Some day I’ll have a studio,” she says.) Her lockets are sourced from a small, father-daughter owned company in New England (“I actually have to pick up the phone and call them to place orders!” she says.) Jenn hand-embroiders inserts for the lockets using patterns she finds in antique Victorian books about locket making. “For me, it’s all about the history,” she explains.

Enter to win a locket embroidered with a letter of your choice by answering in the comments below: Whose picture would you keep in a locket?

Thank you for entering. This contest is now closed.

One FOF will win.

(See all our past winners, here.)
(See official rules, here.)

Contest closes December 1, 2011 at midnight E.S.T.

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{Giveaway} Carmen Marc Valvo Glasses

Carmen Marc Valvo is giving away glasses to four lucky FOFs. The winners can choose any pair of optical or sunglasses from this season’s line. Enter to win by answering in the comments below: Do you have good eyesight?

How has a 40-something male fashion designer become the go-to eyewear designer for FOF women? Just ask Carmen Marc Valvo. From the day he launched his line, in 1989, his designs have been a hit with FOFs, including Iman, Oprah, Jessica Lange and Kim Catrall. Perhaps it’s because Valvo got his start as a ready-to-wear designer for Nina Ricci, who started her wildly successful clothing line at age 49.
Carmen also knows what FOFs want, because he surrounds himself with them–Vanessa Williams is a long-time friend who he partnered with in 2008 on a public service campaign about the importance of colorectal cancer screenings (he was diagnosed with the disease in 2003). In 2005 he joined Katie Couric and the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance (NCCRA) for the Be Seen, Be Screened campaign.
Valvo launched his eyewear collection in 2007, with an emphasis on glasses that transition from day to evening. “I wear and work with the brand because it fits my lifestyle,” says FOF Renee Edelstein, Western Regional Sales Director for the company. “I can go from casual to formal and my eyewear works for both.”
To find a retailer of Carmen Marc Valvo eyewear in your area, visit www.SigEye.com.

Enter to win glasses from Carmen Marc Valvo by answering in the comments below: Do you have good eyesight?

Four FOFs will win. The winners can choose ANY pair of optical or sunglasses from this season’s line.

(See all our past winners, here.)
(See official rules, here.)

Contest closes November 17, 2011 at midnight E.S.T.

Thank you for entering. This contest is now closed.

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{Giveaway} W.H. Petronela python-skin wallet worth $200

FOFs Peggy Patterson and Judy Vojtech are giving away this stunning python-skin wallet from W.H. Petronela. Enter to win by answering in the comments below: Have you ever lost your wallet?

Thank you for entering. This contest is now closed.

Two Cleveland-based FOFriends, Peggy Patterson and Judy Vojtech, started a non-profit called H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Everyday) in 2008 with the mission of giving support to 18-22 year olds coming out of social services or the juvenile justice system. “Peggy and I were never blessed with kids, so our hearts were set on helping children. There’s one girl I’ve taken in as my ‘pretend daughter.’ She was born a heroin addict and she recently told me she finally realizes she has to be the one to take the stop and will do whatever it takes. It’s been very rewarding.”

Peggy and Judy ran the non-profit for a year, powered by their own money and some outside donations, but soon realized they needed to come up with other ways of fund-raising to truly fulfill their mission. “It’s tough to always count on family and friends for donations. We really need to do something,” says Judy.

In 2009, Peggy and Judy launched W.H. Petronela, a handbag label featuring timeless leather bags and accessories made from exotic skins. Peggy had always been an avid handbag collector, and Judy graduated from L.I.M. fashion school in New York.

They decided initially 10% of the profits from the handbags will support H.O.P.E., and they will up the percentage as they grow.

And my, are they growing! Last year their handbags were ‘discovered’ at a Henri Bendel open call for new designers. “We stood on line for three hours in the freezing cold and everyone was getting rejected,” says Judy. “Then, when they saw ours, they asked us to do a trunk show. They liked the price point, the impeccable quality and the real exotic skins we use such as crocodile, sting ray, python, lizard and ostrich.”

Since the trunk show at Bendel’s, they’ve received international orders, a boom in business and even got the opportunity to display their bags in the window at the Henri Bendel store on Fifth Avenue. “They said it was the highest grossing sales from a window display they’ve ever had,” said Judy.

“The bigger we get, the more we’d be able to donate to H.O.P.E.” she says. Doesn’t this story just tug on your purse-…er…heartstrings?

Enter to win a stunning python-skin wallet from W.H. Petronela by answering in the comments below: Have you ever lost your wallet?

(See all our past winners, here.)
(See official rules, here.)

Contest closes November 10, 2011 at midnight E.S.T.

{Giveaway} Win a custom painting!

FOF Linda McCoy is giving away a custom painting to celebrate the launch of her FOF Shop!

She’ll paint your pet, your home or a person you love–just in time for the holidays. To enter, visit Linda’s shop and then comment below with your answer to this question: What would you want Linda to paint?

Thank you for entering. This contest is now closed.


Comment to enter: What would you want Linda to paint?

(See all our past winners, here.) Contest closes November 2, 2010.


{Food} Top 5 FOF Cookbooks

We asked hundreds of FOFs for their favorite, no-fail cookbooks. The consensus: no book can replace years of trial and error. But, when referencing the basics in a pinch, FOFs tout these top kitchen tomes:


1. The Good Housekeeping Cookbook

FOF Shannon Darnell: “I have a Good Housekeeping cookbook that is approximately 25 years old. It has absolutely everything. From measurements to substitutions to setting your table for any occasion and endless recipes; it is like a mother in a book. I reference it all the time.”

FOF Lois Maassen: “I received Good Housekeeping for my tenth birthday in the sixties. I made oven-fried chicken–quite adventurous for a kid! It’s still my go-to for some family basics and traditions, like biscuits and popovers.”


2. The Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook

FOF Marie Miller: “My old Better Homes & Gardens is falling apart. I’ve had it since my wedding… 41 years ago! I refer to it a couple of times a week.”

FOF Wendi Dusek: “The checkerboard book always seems to have the answer for me!”


3. Betty Crocker’s Cookbook

FOF Kristie Godwin: “My mother gave it to me in the late 70s. I go back to it time and again when I can’t quite find what I want in my newer cookbooks. There’s a recipe for a cake called the “Dinette” that I’ve used for years. It’s easy, moist and tastes really great.”

FOF Hannah Beck: “I bought it over 40 years ago when I first got married and it was the only one I had for many years. My cookbook collection grew over time, but Betty still has a place of honor in my kitchen and I refer to it for all of my basic questions.”


4. The Joy of Cooking

FOF Alexandra: “It was the only American cookbook that my mother owned in Italy. She didn’t read English, so I would translate, and she would tweak the recipes with an Italian twist. Using the cookbook, she prepared the best apple pie, with the flakiest crust for my 16th birthday. All my friends were drooling over it. Years later I still think about it.”

FOF Rochelle Bitton: “It offers several options in its recipes so that you can easily vary a recipe depending on the ingredients that you have in the house.”


5. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook

FOF Donna O’Sullivan: “My mom’s is old and worn, with notes she made on some of the pages. When she and my father married, he gave it to her as a gift on their first Christmas together. She threw it at him! She was highly insulted that he thought she would need a cookbook!”

For a chance to win a premiere copy of the 125th Anniversary Edition of the Good Housekeeping cookbook tell us below: What’s the best time-saving cooking trick or gadget that you use in the kitchen?

{Contest ends Friday, September 10 at midnight E.S.T. U.S. and Canada residents only.}

Note: Cookbook will ship to winner upon release in October
Thank you for entering. This contest is now closed.

{Makeovers} The Makeover Finalists Have Arrived!

Below are three FOF finalists from last week’s makeover contest. One will win a makeover with stylist Sherrie Mathieson, author of the brilliant makeover book Steal This Style.

(Vote for the finalist that YOU think should win by commenting below. The finalist with the most comments by Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 5 p.m. (E.S.T.) wins.) Thank you for entering. This contest is now closed.

Francesca Kranzberg, Washington D.C.
Why she thinks she should win: “Because I just lost almost 50 pounds! Although I still have another 80 to go, it’s been so long since I have seen even a semblance of a shape that I simply do not know what to do! And while my daughters are far too kind to tell me I need help, my in-laws aren’t!”

Kathleen Silloway, Mohegan Lake, NY
Why she thinks she should win: “Because then my kids can’t criticize me for looking like a schlump!”

Cathy Wilson, Tuscon, AZ
Why she thinks she should win: “My daughter is a fashionista with a great sense of style. I share her love of clothes, fashion and shopping, but I just don’t have that knack of putting together a smashing outfit. Both my daughter and my son think I’m attractive and look young for my age, and they get frustrated with me when I dress like MY mother! I’m single, living in a new city, looking for a new job – in essence, starting over again – and I want to learn how to dress fabulously for my age and my figure.”