This review has been a long time coming, folks. Five months in the making.
Mommy blogger FAIL.
But now, the stars have aligned. Megan over at Penguin Personalization is ready, I’ve actually remembered to sit down and do this, and all systems are finally a go.
REWINDING… I had so many ideas in my head of what I wanted Nora’s birthday party to look like. I settled on an ice cream cone theme pretty early on, and started envisioning the details–the invitations, the food, the cake, a perfect sundae bar with fixings set up straight out of a magazine, the decor… and the birthday girl’s outfit, of course.
Because of the timing of our move, I had to let pretty much all of it go (except the outfit!). It was still a nice party and everything was cute–but it was thrown together last-minute and it just did not completely live up to my Martha Stewart-like expectations for myself. But I long ago decided to give myself a break given the circumstances, SO I DIGRESS.
Anyway, a week or so before the party, I realized that I hadn’t yet figured out what I was going to do for Nora’s outfit. I had found a cute jean skirt I wanted her to wear, but I was at a loss for the t-shirt. I had been searching for something that would tie into our ice cream theme, but hadn’t had much luck in stores. Online, I had pinned a number of options, but… I certainly hadn’t left myself very much time.
And then I remembered Megan, who started up her own little business, Penguin Personalization. Megan and I “met” 4+ years ago when we were both planning our June 2008 weddings–hers in Louisiana, mine in New York. I shot her a quick e-mail asking if she would be able to do a custom embroidered t-shirt for me, and she not only agreed to get it to me in time for Nora’s birthday (only about a week away), but also offered to give the shirt to me for a review AND sponsor a giveaway on my blog. That Megan; gotta love her. Seriously, though, at that time in my life I was possibly more stressed than I had ever been, so Megan was honestly a lifesaver. I almost cried. :)
So, point #1: Megan is flexible, friendly, and a doll to work with.
Once I described to Megan what I was looking for–a colorful shirt with an ice cream cone, perhaps Nora’s name, and I liked the idea of a cherry on top–she went to work, creating several custom designs for me. She e-mailed me the concepts, and I was really impressed with her creativity. For one of them, instead of just a plain ol’ cherry on top of the ice cream, she had made the “cherry” a #1! How cute is that? Of course, we picked that design.
Megan was also really helpful in determining the best size t-shirt to order for Nora. With inconsistent sizing among clothing brands, it can be really difficult to order things sight unseen, but Megan did her best to relay the brands and sizes to me in ways I could relate to (i.e. I was somewhat familiar with Walmart’s sizing, and Carter’s).
When the t-shirt arrived in the mail just a few days later, I was thrilled with the result. The applique/embroidery is of great quality, and done in a way that doesn’t cause any “puckering” or other unsightly problems with the t-shirt fabric. We couldn’t wait for Nora to wear it at her party.
As you might know by now, Nora’s party was a success, and we received many compliments on her t-shirt. She wore it several more times throughout September, and the embroidery held up just fine in the washing machine.
If you’re looking for custom t-shirts for your babes, I highly recommend Megan and Penguin Personalization.
And, she doesn’t JUST do t-shirts; Megan has a variety of personalized products available, such as hats, towels, blankets, bags, handkerchiefs, and more. Peruse her website and Facebook pages to see some of her work. If there’s something you’d like but don’t see, or it’s listed as out of stock, be sure to contact Megan directly at penguinpersonalization@gmail.com. One of the biggest advantages to working with her is that she can do pretty much anything (after all, it’s personalized, y’all). Here is just a selection of the things she can do:
THE GIVEAWAY
Now… Megan/Penguin Personalization has offered to give away a MINT (brand) Cosmo Bag with an embroidered initial to one lucky Heather Drive reader! These bags (shown below) are really versatile, as they can be used as a makeup bag, wipe case, purse organizer, a case for pens and pencils, etc. Surely you could find a use for it, or give it away as a gift!
Giveaway Prize:
(1) MINT Cosmo Bag, embroidered with an initial from Penguin Personalization
Please make sure to follow the entry instructions carefully. They’re not difficult, but you must follow the instructions in order to be eligible to win.
To enter, simply leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite item/design from Penguin Personalization’s website or Facebook page. Also, please leave an e-mail address where you can be contacted if you win.
Limitations:
Only one comment/entry per person. Giveaway open only to residents of the United States. (Sorry to all of my international readers!)
Deadline:
This giveaway will end at 8 p.m. EST on Friday, January 27. Entries left after the deadline will be ineligible to win.
Winner:
One winner will be chosen using random.org. The winner will be announced on my blog and will be e-mailed notification of the win. Winner has 72 hours to respond to my initial contact, or a new winner will be chosen.
Good luck!
Disclaimer: Penguin Personalization provided Nora’s custom birthday t-shirt at no cost to me, in exchange for my review of the product. However, opinions expressed within the review are my own. (I hope you know me well enough by now to know that I wouldn’t positively review a product that I wouldn’t back anyway, whether I paid for it or not!). Penguin Personalization is also sponsoring the MINT Cosmo Bag giveaway.
52 Responses to Penguin Personalization Review and Giveaway
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About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
Our little man needs a onesie with a tie on it. And something with his name. He will be 2 weeks old tomorrow!
I love the mint traveler! All of her items are adorable & Nora’s shirt is super cute!!
kayla5286@hotmail.com
I like the “cutest big brother” shirt. But I’m not pregnant nor will I be for a long while so we will have to wait on that. She did so great with Nora’s shirt! I bet she’d do a great tractor shirt too! basebell6@hotmail.com
I love the purple owl shirt on her Facebook page!
stephperk at hotmail dot com
I love the blue traveler. I need something small and durable just like that for my purse! She has great stuff, thank you for sharing!
I actually really love that mint bag!!
amowry @ elimitless . com
From her Facebook page, I love the basket with the personalized lining. I’m an organization fanatic and I think it’s such a smart idea to use the personalization to label what goes in the basket. Adorable and functional!
angelgirl_8416@hotmail.com
I think the little baby boxers are so cute.
The baby bath sack is adorable!
klhagen.23 (at) gmail.com
I really like the seersucker everything tote. All of the baby items are adorable! I really also like the baby gown.
Rbrady08@cox.net
I love the Mint Seersucker Everything Tote! So stylish, an upgrade from my Winnie the Pooh purse, I mean babybag ;) It’d also be very helpful for our frequent overnights!
tara.walencik@yahoo.com
This is so awesome! Her t-shirt was just the cutest! =) I love the shirt with the circle monogram on her facebook page!
Thanks for the giveaway!
Sending you sunshine,
Rachael @ You Me and Natalie
youmeandnatalie@live.com
:( wish I could enter! Those bags are so cute!
I LOVE all of the baby items!! I’m so glad you posted about Megan!! I’ll be contacting her when we finally are luck enough to be expecting #2 to get T a big sister shirt!!!!
Zickafoose2008 at live dot com
Love, LOVE the sundresses! Adorbs. I’m so excited to be having a little girl :)
And you know, I know the drawing is totally random, but your giveaway just so happens to end on my 30th birthday!;)
LesleyRuple@gmail.com
Ooh, I love the Mint Seersucker Everything Tote, although everything on the site is super cute!
jebarb08@yahoo.com
I will soon be on the hunt for a 1st birthday t-shirt, but I also love the Mint blankies.
jamielsully at hotmail dot com
I love the mint blankie in the turquoise color with the hot pink trim! It would match our stroller perfectly! Too cute! :o)
I love the MINT seersucker tote! It’s a perfect bag for rehearsals and shows.
michelle tuell at gmail dot come
I love the Mint Seersucker everything tote.
oceanlova717@gmail.com
I dig the tote. :)
phasethreeoflife at gmail dot com.
How cute! I love personalized things! All of the items are adorable, but I love the Mint Snack Square! Very different!
heathermarie322@gmail.com
I adore the personalized infant gown. My little son would look adorable coming home from the hospital in June in that little thing. :)
Oops – my email is
melissa (dot) ann (dot) lackey (at) gmail (dot) com
I love the Mint Seersucker Everything Tote – so cute!
ttrovin@gmail.com
The baby boxers are adorable!! I love the theme you came up with for Nora’s party and the shirt was perfect too!
Wgrassmuck at Gmail dot com
I love the seersucker everything tote. You can never have enough bags!
bonnie.la09(at)gmail.com
I love her birthday shirt! I always wondered where you got it from. Thank you for sharing!
I love that Nora’s shirt is on the front page of her website! I also love the baby bath sacks.
My email is Lucci04@gmail.com
I have to pick just one? :-) Love the beach towels, burp clothes and all of the Halloween stuff!
seralee5804@aol.com
I love the the owl shirts on her facebook page! For some reason, I’ve become obsessed with little baby owl clothes :)
cassiern124@gmail.com
I like all the mint items, especially the tote.
sillyjenn@gmail.com
I love all the big/little sister shirts. These would be adorable on my girls. Megan does great work and I might just have to contact her soon.
-Danielle
danisanborn@gmail.com
I love all of the seersucker everything totes! Awesome products!
krduttine at gmail dot com
I love the snack aquare. So cute and incredibly functional.
nmw471@gmail.com
I love the high heel aprons! They are so cute and would be great when I host Scentsy Parties!
mwheeler09@live.com
Loved the snack squares. So cute. Mirandaalamb (at) gmail (dot) com
I love the monogrammed sleep sack on her website! It’s so simple, but cute.
medcalf (dot) melissa (at) gmail (dot) com
I love the mini cube and the onesie for little one that is one the way.
I’m loving the blue stripped mint bag. It actually matches my purse and grad school”backpack” perfectly.
LOVE it all! All of it is so cute. I love personalized shirts!
I love the searsucker traveler!
keb270@gmail.com
My favorite would have to be the little lace bloomers! So cute!
hfsmith83 at gmail dot com
I am a sucker for anything personalized. I like the sundress for my daughter with her monogram :)
nealon at gmail dot com
I love the searsucker everything tote. So cute!
rachel2213@hotmail.com
Gosh – all her stuff is so cute. I think if I had to pick one, my favorite is the tulip shirt from her facebook page.
marygracei (at) gmail (dot) com
I love the little boys boxers! So stinking cute!!
bethany.raylynn@gmail.com
I also love the Mint Seersucker Everything Tote! So cute!
sarahmp2 (at) hotmail (dot)com
Everything is adorable but I love the robes! How cute!!!
I like the mint blankie best
Lauraebier at gmail.com
The robes are adorable! amycbrink@gmail.com
I love the big brother shirt! I think I’m gonna get it for when our little man becomes a big brother in June!
Danadevery@hotmail.com