What a finish, folks!!!

Cheryl here to wrap up all this March Madness! BKRoot started the voting at 7:02 am this morning and the Texas Tidbit's UGallery.com led the way but then the earth quaked and woke the California Golden Girls up and their big idea of wine with recipe tag started to run away with the voting. Both teams rallied their friends to help out. It looked like Art was going to catch up near the end but just at the buzzer, Wine sealed the game with two more votes! Congratulations California Golden Girls!!!

Do we have some readers with big ideas or what? Highlowaha's Bid Idea March Madness gave us all some great ideas to utilize in 2009. From Animoto slide shows to Shutterfly Photobooks, Flashdrives and Elves for Shelves, Snuggies to Frownies there has been something for everyone.

The last two ideas from the Texas Tidbits were:

More ART with artist, Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson – a wonderful artist. She calls her work Paper Paintings. They are awesome pieces done only with paper. She has used Scrabble tiles in past pieces. I purchased a small piece over Christmas called Cherry-on-Top and I love it. I would love to own more of her pieces! Check out her blog. Here is a photo of my piece.

Book: YOU: Being Beautiful by Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen. Dr. Oz is the doctor that’s always on Oprah and full of all kinds of knowledge. The book goes through different parts of the body (face, hair, mouth, nails, etc..) and gives tips on things you can do to make them more beautiful. For example, in the skin/face section, it goes through every kind of vitamin, AHA, ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that’s in face creams and lays out what works and what doesn’t and why. Seriously, it’s the best book ever! The You Books also have a website. It’s also full of very useful info on health, nutrition, being beautiful, etc.



The final two ideas from the Champions were:
Giant Cupcake - What better birthday gift to give a friend than to feel like a kid again with a cake in the shape of a GIANT cupcake?! We love the new giant cupcake pans that have come out from companies like Wilton and Williams Sonoma. These cupcakes are about 8 inches in diameter and can happily feed a group of 8. These larger than life cupcakes are also super fun to decorate to fit all occasions! So don’t be shy with the frosting, giant sprinkles and candy to make your cakes festive. We love this website for fabulous design ideas- http://www.allthingscupcake.com/.

Dinner Club - Gather a group of friends who share a passion for food and fun and form a Dinner Club. Our group takes turn to host a dinner every other month or so depending on the group’s availability. The host sends out the invitation, prepares a gourmet dinner including appetizers, entrée and dessert. The guest comes dressed for the special themed dinner and a big appetite. Our dinner club even has a signature drink – Sangrias that is served at each dinner. It has been a lot of fun for each of us to plan an entire meal and enjoy each other’s cooking.

I'd like to thank all the teams that took the time to gather together, put together your favorite ideas of 2008 and share them with Highlowaha. This would not have been as much fun without all of you.

So, what did the California Golden Girls win? As team captain, Quynh will gather her Golden Girls and head off for Highlowaha's favorite coffee shop, Starbucks. And, while they are sipping on Carmel Macchiato's and Cinnamon Dolce Latte's they will learn more about each other playing the travel version of Cowgirls Ride the Trail of Truth that has been kindly furnished by the General Store at Cowgirls Ride the Trail of Truth. How fun is that?

Don't you wish you had a game of Cowgirls Ride the Trail of Truth? Well, you can win one right here at Highlowaha! They sent us two travels size games! Now that is fun.

How do you win? Submit your favorite idea from 2008 and be entered into a drawing!

Signing off until tomorrow...

March Madness - Final Round

Happy Monday, everybody. Cheryl here to present the final round for Highlowaha's very own March Madness. We started out with 8 teams and the two final competitors are the California Golden Girls and the Texas Tidbits. The competitions have been fierce! How did these two teams get here?

The California Golden Girl's Animoto idea started by running over the Derby City Darling's Shutterfly books- both great ideas. The Texas Tidbits HungryGirl.com ate up the Clevelands Creative's GoogleText. Both teams moved to the second round with more great ideas.

California Golden Girl's showed us how to make our flashdrives cuter than a rubber duck by squeaking out the win over the Iowa Big Idea Babe's Elf on the Shelf. Texas Tidbit's Frownies just barely defeated Wisconsin Cheese Hen's photo purse. Tough competitions, all of them. And today is no different!

Let's get ready to rrruuuummmmmbbbllee!!!

Today the battle comes down to big idea #3:

Ugallery.com
You can buy original art from students at half the price of what you would normally pay. You can shop by price, size, medium, etc. and you can even view the piece in a room! It’s a really cool way to start your own collection.

or

Wine Bottle and Gift Tag
Have you run out of unique gift ideas for dinner parties and/or housewarming gatherings? Well this is your opportunity to personalize that wine bottle that you would typically give to someone during those occasions. By just simply adding a one of a kind recipe card to the wine bottle you will create a gift that family and friends will enjoy and remember. Not only will they receive a great bottle of wine but they will also receive an excellent dinner idea. You may decorate your card as you desire, remember this is your opportunity to create a distinct recipe card.

So what's it going to be Idea Fans? Place your vote in the comment section for Art or Wine. Voting closes at 7pm CST.


Announcements:
Gift of 218: If you know of someone who needs the Gift of 218 please email us their story to highlowaha218@gmail.com.

Signing off until tomorrow... and the announcement of the Big Winner of March Madness!!!