Freebies and Wins ~ April & May

It's time to look back on April and May's prizes and freebies! I love collecting my freebies and I enjoy entering competitions like a lot of people. I didn't do much comping in April so I only have 1 prize to write about but May has picked up a little.

Freebies in April

I printed off a coupon to get some free Arla Lactofree milk which the children really liked. I couldn't try it as I can't have any dairy at all but I was told by the rest of the family it's a very nice brand of milk. I had a collagen food supplement sample which tasted so, so disgusting I can't even talk about it but I really liked the bottle with the nice branding!

Coffee scrub anyone? I'm not a fan of coffee but I think this is really nice, it has lots of good reviews too. I got a cream sample for massaging into joints so I thought I'd pass it on to Mum who has bad knees. I got a freebie from Nescafe and like a lot of people I was hoping for a mug but was sent a set of sticky notes instead. They're pretty cool, I'll probably split them with my Dad as he appreciates a good sticky note as well as my pen pals.

There's this lovely woman who knocks every week for me, she's a Johovas witness and I enjoy talking to her, she knows my faith and I respect hers so we just sort of chat about random things, then the leaflets which I find interesting anyway and then off she goes. She brought round this lovely plant in April, she kept it especially for me when she saw me tidying my garden recently.

April's Prizes

Only one prize to shout about from April but I thought it was a great one. I entered a Twitter photo comp over 5 days and won one of the days with a funky welly photo which scored me a £50 online spend at LoveTheSales.com. I chose a cute onesie, a new sports bra and a new Weird Fish hoody which is pretty big for me but I've made it my 'super comfy' hoody for when I feel really cold, really tired or just a bit 'meh.' 

May's Freebies

Using Buzz Feed has been a slow start for me but I had the chance to review this pot noodle. Mr B said it was very tasty and I thought it smelled pretty good so I guess that's a winner. We don't by Pot Noodles because I don't think they're good for you and are too pricey but Mr B has been known to buy the cheaper brands of similar products. We got our Family and Friends railcard through from a newspaper. Luckily it was all online so I didn't have to buy the awful paper! Lastly, some seeds to attract bees to my garden.

I received a make your own jewellery set and this is to make a bracelet. I used to make earrings so luckily have all the jewellery making tools although if you don't, it doesn't appear to matter with this easy to make piece. 

I got some sparkly earrings too in May. I haven't had earrings in a long, long time so fancied paying the post and packaging without paying for the earrings. Not a straight forward freebie, and it could have been cheaper too but I'm happy.

I also got a really nice Lancome moisturiser, It's completely different from other moisturisers, for a start it's not a cream and it's so fresh, love it. 

May's Prizes

May has been good for comping, I've just been a bit more on the ball. I am waiting on 2 items to arrive. I got an instant BBQ through Twitter which was great (SO funny. I thought I'd won an actual BBQ, or at least a resuable one but the postman brought me the little box and I saw 'instant BBQ' written on it; I had such a giggle. All those people thinking they've won a BBQ every week and they have, but it won't be what they're expecting!) We had a lovely afternoon together on that instant BBQ so I am really not disappointed!

I've won a big bouncy ball (like an exercise ball but not an exercise ball) which we'll have some fun with, a LaLaLoopsy toy, not sure which one it is, one of their new toys I suspect but I haven't heard much as of yet. I also won a lovely cushion cover which I'm told should arrive soon. I chose an elephant cover so I can wrap it up as a birthday gift for someone special. 

What freebies and wins have you got to show off this month? 

Cupcake Mumma

Couponing and My 8 Tips for Writing to Companies

I've recently taken up 'couponing.' Over here, we call these little pieces of bar coded paper 'vouchers' but nothing sounds as good as couponing so from now on, I'll be running with that! I mostly print my coupons online which is time consuming and if I'm honest, slightly disappointing in the UK, we just don't do it that big over here (although if you shop at Asda you're in for a treat, there's often plenty about!) I google a lot, check out freebies sites like Magic Freebies and FreeStuffUK or Extreme Couponers UK. You can get coupons in store magazines and newspapers too.

One other way of enjoying the brands I love is by the written word. I don't mention that I blog or mention my social media so there's no PR going into these letters, it's just me, my pen and some serious praising. Here are 8 tips for writing to companies and hopefully getting a little something for your efforts.

1) Be genuine. Don't just write to every company you can think of, this may get you a few more coupons but it also may not, and you'll be broke from the cost of stamps! If you're a genuine costumer who loves their product the company can tell, it'll be evident in your writing and you'll be more likely to receive a reply with, you never know, a coupon or 2.

2) Ditch templates! Get your pads and pens out and draft up letters if you're not a confident writer or sure what to say. I know several people who used templates from the Internet and of course it's obvious these are not genuine letters. It's even more obvious when you use these templates and so does someone else and then both send them to THE SAME company! So, give yourself some quiet time, pick a company you like and write a rough draft if you don't feel confident enough to dive straight in!

3) Write your address clearly! I write a return address at the top of my letters or on the left hand side if writing in a card. I also have address stickers or write a return address on the back of the envelope. Anything to make life easier.

4) Keep a list of companies you write to. It'll be a bit embarrassing to realise you've written to the same company twice and it'll definitely not look good! I have a notebook with a list of companies I love, a list with those I've written to and I've crossed off those I've received mail from (or not in a few cases)

5) Include the little ones. My most positive mail so far was the result of including one of the children in my coupon writing. Include a signature or a piece of lovely artwork, I'm sure it makes a letter of praise hard to resist when it has a sweet squiggle or a fab drawing included!

6) Don't ask for the free stuff. This is a personal one but for me? It's a no no. I write to my favourite and most used brands with words of praise and I've never included anything about myself (or my blog) and I've never asked for free stuff. I'd find it rude to ask and uncomfortable to read, I much prefer to compliment and see what happens!

7) Be different. So many people go for the plain A4 paper route or a quick email but I like to dig out my nice stationery or a card and as above, a little drawing from one of the children doesn't hurt either. You stand out and if nothing else, your card or sweet picture is bound to make someone smile.

8) Praise is good but genuine complaints should be considered too. Companies need to know when you've had a negative experience, maybe they can put it right? So instead of plastering your complaint all over Twitter or Facebook, write a letter! In my experience you often not only get a written response back but also coupons by way of apology. As I said though, it's always better to be positive but if you do have a complaint about a product, I'd always consider writing first.

Do you coupon? Have you had any success with writing to companies? I'd love to know if you have or if you think you'll give it a go!

Cupcake Mumma

Michael O Mara Colouring Books { Review}

Recently I've got into adult colouring books. I tried those really over the top patterned ones and then those colouring for mindfulness books but I got so bored with so much detail to fill in. After a few weeks I bought a Harry Potter colouring book online and I've enjoyed colouring a page here and there. I think it's because it's harry potter and I'm a big fan. I did see on Twitter @OMaraBooks was looking for someone to review their animal themed colouring books, they looked so unique and fun I snapped up the chance.

You can enjoy Doodle a Poodle or Colour a Cat plus plenty more from their site MomBooks (Michael O Mara Books) all very affordable. My favourite is Doodle a Poodle because I like dogs and I love to doodle, especially if I'm waiting for tax credits to pick up the phone...

Colour a cat was a lot of fun to try too. Who knew there were so many cat varieties? I didn't, must live under a rock perhaps? I guess you could even say I got a bit of an education while I doodled? Below are some of the pages I had a go out. Loving my pug in particular.

I love the artwork in these books and can't wait to find some more time to just be by myself and relax with colouring and doodling. Do check out the website for more amazing books if you're into colouring.

Cupcake Mumma

Recent Freebies, Bargains and Wins! #1

Happy New Year you lovely lot! I'll be writing up my Christmas post soon but I wanted my first post of 2016 to feature my most recent freebies, bargains and wins because I'm hoping to have the whole year full of cheap or free stuff to save money! Hope you enjoy!

Using magicfreebiesuk.co.uk, latestfreestuff.co.uk (you might recognise them from this weeks Dragons Den!) and keeping my eye out on Twitter (follow my other account here for comping and freebie finds!) I've had a nice few bits of free happy post pop through my door in December.

Olay was a great find on Twitter and I totally forgot about it! I was really pleased when it came in the post, love a surprise! This cream is retailing for £9.99 in my local Superdrug so a great freebie win. I've put it in my hamper which I've started again for birthdays throughout the year and Christmas. I got the Candy Crush perfume through my sister and it actually smells lovely. The cream was from a free stuff search and it's really nice.

I hit the sales after Boxing Day and wasn't disappointed. All these buys have been either put in the hamper or under the bed for 2 impending January birthdays! One box of M&M's may have already been eaten!

Before Christmas I was sent a hamper, I think a few people on social media got one and a few bloggers did too. It was a hamper with a Yorkshire theme from Plusnet and was a nice surprise through the door.

My most recent win (I haven't been lucky yet this month) is still from December and was a set of Sims games from a mumsnet Twitter competition, I was well chuffed!

Have you nabbed any freebies? Won any competitions or bagged any bargains recently? I want to know!

Happy (Frugal) New Year!

Cupcake Mumma