{Giveaway} A set of friendship earrings (a pair for you and a friend!)

FOF is giving away one set of these gorgeous friendship earrings (a pair for you and a friend!) from Gorjana. Enter to win by commenting below and answering: Which earrings do you like best, the circles or the doves?

Thank you for entering. This contest is now closed.

When an FOF friend let us in on the collection of friendship earrings and jewelry from Gorjana, we were all ears. They’re reminiscent of the “Best Friends” baubles we used to swap with our childhood bestie, but much more grown-up. A physical reminder of an emotional connection with a friend is still so soothing after all of these years.

Each jewelry set comes cleverly packaged with a note card bearing a unique friendship quote.

We couldn’t decide which we loved more — the sophisticated interlocking circles or the friendship doves. Can you help us choose?

Enter to win by commenting below and answering: Which earrings do you like better, the circles or the doves?

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

Contest closes March 24, 2011

{Giveaway} Artist Palette Cheese Tray from Fishs Eddy

Say cheese and smile….because FOF is giving away this adorable Artist Palette Cheese Tray from Fishs Eddy. Enter to win by commenting below and answering: Do you have better taste in art or cheese?

Thank you for entering. This contest is now closed.

We think this artist palette cheese plate from Fishs Eddy is such a crafty idea, and it looks like a work of art in person! It’s a great conversation starter for any get together (and just perfect for this art-themed book club meeting). Your guests will be green (and blue and red and yellow) with envy.

Enter to win by commenting below and answering: Do you have better taste in art or cheese?

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

Contest closes March 17, 2011


{Giveaway} Win a tower of chocolate-drizzled popcorn!

FOFs Elaine Wyatt and Paula Kauffman are giving away this tower of chocolate-drizzled popcorn from their brilliant biz, b’drizzled. Enter to win by commenting below and answering: Do you prefer to snack on candy or popcorn when you go to the movies?

Thank you for entering. This contest is now closed.


Every holiday season for as long as they can remember, sisters-in-law and FOFs Elaine Wyatt and Paula Kauffman made their signature treat: double-drizzled chocolate popcorn. “Our family friends lovingly call it ‘crack corn’ because it’s so addicting,” says Elaine. “People love the sweet and salty combination of popcorn and candy when they go to the movies, and that’s exactly what our snack embodies.”

Elaine and Paula began to sell the treat at fundraisers to make money for their children’s student activities. “It sold great,” says Elaine. “People told us ‘you should take this into stores.'”

A longtime marketing consultant for high-end shopping centers, Elaine had an in with Hiller’s Markets, a Michigan-based gourmet chain. “We took it to their corporate headquarters for them to sample and they just loved it,” she remembers.

In 2006, Hiller’s Markets became the first stores to carry b’drizzled popcorn (the name Elaine and Paula decided on) and from there, business popped off.

Their popcorn is now sold in 30 gourmet markets in Michigan as well as Bed, Bath and Beyond stores in five states. Their bestsellers include “Double Chocolate Supreme,” “Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup,” and “Chocolate Cherry Cordial.” (Elaine’s favorite is Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup and Paula’s favorite is White Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream.) Elaine and Paula employ up to twenty employees at a time at their factory in Farmington Hills, Michigan, where they kettle pop and double-drizzle their premium popcorn each day.

Enter to win a b’drizzled popcorn tower, by answering this question in the comments, below: Do you prefer to snack on candy or popcorn when you go to the movies?

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

Contest closes March 3, 2011


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{Giveaway} Win 3 products invented by FOFs!

Meet 3 FOFs and enter to win their brilliant inventions.

To enter, answer in the comments, below: What invention has you constantly saying, “I wish I thought of that”?

Thank you for entering. This contest is now closed.

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Jill Fisher
Microdry Products

FOF Jill Fisher was the creative director at a brand development agency when she first came across the fabric that would become, Microdry. Her agency’s founder and CEO, Iain Scorgie, returned from China; after eighteen months developing towel-like material, which they would eventually patent; as it felt like velvet and was super absorbent.  Jill saw the potential: “Before then, towels were either soft or absorbent,” she remembers. She and her team named it Microdry, and used it to create a line of consumer products, starting with baby bathrobes in 2005. They were a hit. Today, the company manufactures adult robes, hair towels, bath pillows and their best-selling item to date…the Microdry memory foam bath mat.

Win: A trio of Jill’s super-soft, quick-dry Microdry bath products: a luxury hair turban, memory foam bath pillow and memory foam bath mat.
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Melanie Mayron
Mayron’s Goods

Twelve years ago, expectant mom and former thirtysomething actress Melanie Mayron was having difficulty finding chemical-free baby products. “No one was talkin’ ‘natural’ then,” says Melanie. She’s since spent over a decade developing her all-natural baby skincare line, Mayron’s Goods, with the help of her Dad, a pharmaceutical chemist, and her actress friends, who tested the products on their own children!  Our Best Barrier and Diaper Cream, was Melanie’s first bestseller… Newly launched are a body oil, body milk, chapped cheek and lip protector and more. “You don’t have to be a baby to use it. After all, we’re all somebody’s baby,” says Melanie. Read Melanie’s full story, here.

Win: A gift set of beauty products from Melanie’s all-natural skincare line, Mayron’s Goods

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Bonnie Steen
Roots Only

FOF Bonnie Steen spent years dying her hair at home to save money and time. Then a hairstylist friend told her she was seriously damaging her hair by repeatedly dying the whole shaft instead of just the roots. So she came up with an idea . . .

“I was combing out my tangles with a hair pick and suddenly thought ‘If this were hollow, you could attach a bottle of hair color to the handle and squeeze it out through the teeth,” says Bonnie. “You’d be able to comb and apply color to just the roots in one action.” Her husband Claude created the first prototype for the hair-color applicator comb in 1994. Now, Bonnie’s brainchild, Roots Only, is sold in over 4,000 Wal-Mart stores coast to coast. Read, Bonnie’s full (amazing) story, here.

Win: Roots Only, Bonnie’s hair color applicator comb.
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To enter to win these 3 products invented by FOFs, answer in the comments below: What invention has you saying, “I wish I thought of that”?

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

Contest closes February 24, 2011

{Business} Meet FOF Lauri Ward, founder of Use What You Have Interiors

In 1981, FOF Lauri Ward decided she wasn’t happy working in “conventional interior designer mode.”

“I didn’t feel comfortable telling my clients they had to buy expensive things to make their homes look beautiful,” says Lauri. She started her company, Use What You Have® and developed her own system of decorating, to help clients use what they already have in their home to create a fresher, updated and more elegant look for a starting flat fee of just $350 per room.

Over the past three decades, she’s trained hundreds of decorators and has formed a worldwide network called the Interior Redecorators Network®.

“Anybody should be able to have a beautiful home, not just wealthy people,” says Lauri.

The concept is simple but the instant gratification that a one-day room makeover delivers is what Lauri says has garnered major media attention (including Oprah, The Today Show, The New York Times and House Beautiful Magazine) and kept her company thriving for three decades.

“The comment we hear from everyone is ‘Gee, I never would have thought of that. I’ve tried this 10 different ways and none of it worked,” says Lauri. “We show them the 11th way.”

To enter to win the Reinvent Your Room makeover with a Use What You Have® decorator plus a $250 gift card to IKEA: The Life Improvement Store, click here.

Thank you for entering. This contest is now closed.

{Giveaway} Win a $350 bag!

This week: Win a Scout leather messenger bag valued at $350. Browse through the FabOverFifty Shop, then comment below and tell us: What are your 3 favorite items? This contest is now closed. Thanks to all who entered!