Win Your Christmas Tree with a $100 Gift Certificate to Hayneedle.com

˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙

This giveaway is now CLOSED. Thanks so much to our wonderful sponsor Hayneedle.com! We look forward to working with you again! The winner is 'mamawj' (we post winner usernames for privacy) Remember: There are great giveaways active on the upper right hand side of the page!

˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙

Ascending Butterfly Holidays Buying Guide 2010, First Giveaway sponsored by:

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas! Santa's little butterfly elves have been in the workshop working feverishly to bring you an amazing buying guide this year! I'm sure some of you caught the not so subtle hint on Saturday and figured out that we'd be starting off our Annual Holidays Buying Guide with a Christmas Tree!

While I love 'Live' Trees, they don't quite fit into my urban dwelling lifestyle. I'm on a Fifth Floor Walkup with no elevator, so there is no way I'm lugging a Live Christmas Tree up here! I stick with the artificial ones, delivered by an express mail carrier (we won't name any specific one, they can pay to advertise!)

My former artificial tree was truly on it's last legs and it was time for a replacement. Another great reason for using artificial trees for me, is that I store them well and hold onto them usually well past their warranty, which makes them the greener option.

I also knew that I wanted to be true to my preferences about making sure I was working with someone who gives back, you know I simply can't resist 'shopping with a conscience'. I always try to find ways to give back with every purchase I make. I love finding ways to shop smarter not harder, stay on budget and still manage to give back.

While I did receive the opportunity to review an Artificial Christmas Tree that truly suited my needs and my preferences, I was also delighted to find out that when you purchase your Christmas Tree from Hayneedle, the Arbor Day Foundation will plant a live tree in one of our nation's needy forests. Their goal is to help plant up to 15,000 trees! I would definitely love to see them achieve that goal! Learn more about Hayneedle's goal to plant 15,000 trees. (Not only can you help but at minimal cost to you, READ ON!)

I didn't get a chance to take pictures every single step of the way, but here is a picture of the tree just after assembly, since it's a pre-lit, after I assembled the base, attached the bottom, middle and top tier, I plugged it in, and this is what it looked like:

It was a little weird working with a new tree after having had my old one for so long, it took a bit to get the shape the way I wanted to, and ultimately I did end up adding a bit more lights of my own to it. (I love alot of lights on the tree!)

Then I went on to the fun stuff, Decorating! After me and the butterfly elves got to working our magic and decorating the tree it looked like this:

For my fellow travel lovers with an observant eye, yes that is a picture of 'El Morro' (San Juan, Puerto Rico) in the background, taken by yours truly and blown up and framed!

Now don't get me wrong, Hayneedle is WAY more than just Christmas Trees! Hayneedle.com includes 220 stores and counting, each devoted to a single product category. Best of all, you can shop all of them with one global shopping cart! Who needs 'Brick and Mortar' when you can get it all done in your PJ's in your ahem 'Spare Time'.

Here is a sponsor image of the tree (you know I love the hi-res!)

Technical Tree Stats:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Shape: Full
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Base Width: 64-inches
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Number of Bulbs: 800
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Number of Tips: 2176
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Material: PVC
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Style: Pine Trees

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - When one light goes out, the rest will stay lit as long as the bulb remains in the circuit

Pros:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Pre-lit is super convenient, no more fighting with those 'string balls' of lights that are all tangled

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Base worked the first time! (for anyone who has had to fight with their Christmas Base - you know what I mean!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - The branches are long! This gives you room to play with, you can tilt them up if you have a narrow space, and spread them out full if you want a really wide look to it!

Cons:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - If you are putting this up solo, the base piece is pretty heavy

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - It doesn't come in something to keep it safe, so be careful if using a box cutter to open the outer box, there is nothing in there to protect the pieces but bubble wrap. (My box arrived pretty banged up) I really wished the tree would have come inside a storage box or bag to keep it safe during transit.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - It does require time to get the 'shape'
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Would have loved more lights, but you can easily add your own, which I did

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - The instructions are a bit vague so make sure you line it up well so that when you connect each tier the plugs line up for the lights, you want each tier to have it's plugs in the back.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - WIN IT! - Ascending Butterfly and our friends at Hayneedle.com would like to provide 1 Ascending Butterfly Follower with a $100 Gift Card! - You can use the gift card to get a Christmas Tree, or on any item in their 220 stores!

Don't you just ♥ Hayneedle? (I know I Do!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - How to Win: (1) You must be a PUBLIC follower of Ascending Butterfly to be eligible for this and all giveaways. Indicate in your entry that you follow (if your 'comment name/user id' differs from your profile id, please let me know what name you follow under) and Mandatory Entry: (2) Visit Hayneedle.com and link me to what you would use your $100 Gift Card for. Remember you cannot link to the reviewed tree! (3) You must also leave your email address somewhere in your comment. (You can format it this way for security, example: ascendingbutterfly AT mail host DOT com). (If your email is clearly visible in your profile, you can just say so, that's OK!) Please follow the easy 1, 2, 3 steps to winning (or in this case, the A,B,C’s of winning!) This giveaway is open to USA residents who are 18 years of age or older. No PO Boxes.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Please follow directions or you will be disqualified! All comments are moderated, they may not appear on the site right away (comments like "I want this" or "I want to win" will not be entered). You have from Monday, November 15, 2010 until Monday, November 22, 2010 at 03:00 PM (EST) to comment and be entered for a chance to win. You will have 48 hours to confirm if we do not hear from you we will be forced to move on to an alternate. (We only notify winners DIRECTLY via email, so if your profile or your comment does not have an email your entry will not be processed)

EXTRA CREDIT:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Blog about this giveaway, linking to this giveaway post. Leave the URL in a comment. (If your blog post contains more than just a pic and link you'll get 5 extra credit entries!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - In the spirit of Christmas fun, how about an extra credit for sharing your favorite holiday movie?

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Grab our Button and put it on your Blog. Leave the URL where we can see it in a comment (if you already have our button, just let us know, you will still get extra credit!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @Tracy_Iglesias on Twitter (this is ascendingbutterfly’s editor) and give me your twitter ID in a comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Tweet this:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ #ascendingbutterfly + @hayneedle Holiday Buying Guide #Giveaways $100 Gift Certificate - http://tinyurl.com/2arpd9n

(Leave a comment with the tweet’s url so you can get a valid entry (click on the time your tweet was sent to get the direct URL and then copy and paste it here). You can Tweet TWICE per DAY. If you Tweet more than that, that entry will be disqualified.)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @hayneedle on Twitter

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Digg about this giveaway and leave your digg username in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Fave this blog on Technorati and leave your Technorati user name in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Facebook HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Hayneedle on Facebook (and remember to tell them 'Ascending Butterfly sent me') HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Networked Blogs HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Join Ascending Butterfly's NEW Community/Real Time Chat, Group HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Vote for Ascending Butterfly on: Fuel My Blog

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Have you entered another giveaway on Ascending Butterfly? Let me know which one and you’ll get more extra credit!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Have you commented on a non-giveaway entry? Let me know which one here and you’ll get more extra credit!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - I could use your vote (please leave me your voting number in the comment field for an extra credit) - http://www.itsthoughtful.com/gift-idea/2758/

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Press the button below and join, you get an extra entry for this giveaway and a shot at more great prizes, lets win together! (one time extra credit, will be verified before entry can be accepted)

˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙

FTC Disclosure Info for this Giveaway: This is not a paid insertion. This is a non-compensated post and all opinions regarding the product and the sponsor are my own experiences. I was provided product to facilitate the review & giveaway. The sponsor is fulfilling directly to prize winner(s), this in no way influenced my opinion of the product. Once a winner is selected and their information has been forwarded to the sponsor, the responsibility of prize fulfillment rests with the sponsor. BTW, I genuinely LOVE the holidays! =)