Wine Bottles As Prizes ?!

The time has come, The Amy said, to talk of many things.

Namely, of PRIZES!!!

I've known that I wanted to do a blog giveaway forever, but I never knew exactly what to give. I felt lame giving away books. I wanted to give away a massive candy prize, but then I ate it all.

It came to me while I was making my aunt's birthday present the other week- why not make decopaged wine bottles featuring some kick-ass books?

And to be honest, I almost fell into the Trend Trap- I was going to do a few of my faves but make sure that I got one of each genre, just to appeal to more people. I was originally planning a Hunger Games bottle, but then I realized that I had never read it (DONT THROW ROCKS AT ME PLEEZ) and any good bottle would need to come from my heart, from books that I enjoyed and were inspired by.

Which brings me to introducing you to our panel of prizes today....


BOOKIE WINE BOTTLES! Weeeeee!

I'm going to tell you why I chose each bottle as well as give a mini description of them since my camera is crap and you can't exactly see all the details well enough. We have, in order: THE BELL JAR by Sylvia Plath, ANGELFIRE by Courtney Allison Moulton, THE DUFF by Kody Keplinger, BALLADS OF SUBURBIA by Stephanie Kuehnert, and THE VIRGIN SUICIDES by Jeffrey Eugenides.


Now, a more in depth look for each bottle, and most importantly, why I chose it.

THE BELL JAR by Sylvia Plath

The front of the bottle has the cover, watercolored paper strips, and glued on pieces of broken mirror. The back has a thorned swirl design over the watercolor strips and one of my very favorite quotes from the book: "I wondered what terrible thing it was that I had done." (Esther says the line as she is being shock therapied for the first time.) I chose to do this book because of how hard it hit me once she really started losing her mind, and how truly beautiful the writing is. I almost pasted little pictures of crab stuffed avacado halves all over it.

ANGELFIRE by Courtney Allison Moulton




The front of the book is the cover with Ellie's two swords that are glowing white with angelfire. The back features some amazing art (that I did not do) of Ellie and Will. No, this book hasn't come out yet. Yes, when it does, you should buy it. Yes, I'm friends with Courtney and love her to death. None of that has to do why I chose to make an ANGELFIRE bottle. When Courtney first let me read ANGELFIRE, I was a little nervous about if I'd like it or not- As much as I'd like to say that I read a wide range of genres, the truth is that I like to stick to my faves. This book changed how I feel about that- I absolutely LOVED it. Ellie is an amazing, strong character that is able to kick serious ass, as well as conjure up some laughs with her sarcastic nature. Her dialogue is so honest that I can almost hear her talking as I read. And, I'm usually not one to crush on book boys, but Will is too much to handle. He's kind, mysterious, and truly funny in his own way. And, DUH...he's freaking hot. Winged knight in shining armor, anyone?

THE DUFF by Kody Keplinger





The bottle features the cover, kissy marks, Cherry Coke cans, and a few bumblebees. There is a quote on the back: " 'Designated. Ugly. Fat. Friend,' he clarified. 'No offense, but that would be you.' " I went to THE DUFF release party and had the time of my life, but I first met Kody when I read a snippet of Chapter One from this book over on Absolute Write. I fell in love with it then, and watching it go from that stage to full on publication has been amazing for me because I'm so proud of Kody and her hard work. And, I'm so excited that girls who feel like The Duff of their groups can easier know that they aren't alone.

BALLADS OF SUBURBIA by Stephanie Kuehnert





The front of the bottle features the cover, some broken mirror pieces, and a quote that comes from my favorite ballad of the entire book, Maya's ballad. The lyric is from Hole: "If you live through this for me I swear that I will die for you." the back features a watercolor strip picture featuring Maya (my favorite character), a needle, a razor blade, music notes, hearts, and a dripping purple paint. The first time I read this book, I literally could not stop thinking about it. It was driving me to the point of madness and I got the courage to write Stephanie my first ever fan letter. I didn't expect her to reply, but she did and when I read her message I wanted to cry. (Okay, maybe I did just a little bit.) This book handles really tough issues including cutting and drug use. The characters are so alive that you KNOW them. The insight is breathtaking. I have a signed copy and I can honestly say that is one of my most prized possessions. The book itself had me crying at certain parts, which is really rare for me. I want to send a copy of this book to every person who has ever struggled with the things that Kara does. This book changed the way I write AND read, and I dream daily at the thought of relating to readers as strongly as Stephanie did here.

THE VIRGIN SUICIDES by Jeffrey Eugenides




The bottle features the cover with a bloody hand swipe, a picket fence dotted with blood, a storm cloud raining pills, a noose, and a circle of each sister's name: Cecilia, Lux, Mary, Bonnie, and Therese. I first read this book in high school and immediately became OBSESSED with it- I'm talking rereading it to the point of no return and highlighting lines and doing a book report on it in 9th grade. I specifically remember highlighting a particularly emo line from the book in class one day when this popular golf player leaned over and started teasing me. He called me Bookworm like it was such an embarassment, but I loved the 'insult.' This book is awesome in many ways- the story, the characters, the use of certain music lyrics. In fact, the music lyrics had me constantly running to the computer to hear the songs that I hadn't heard. To this day, THE VIRGIN SUICIDES is in my top three books of all time.


Wanna win one of these bottles? All you have to do is leave a comment and be a follower of this blog. None of that +1 for tweeting +2 for blogging stuff. (Although, I'd be lying if I said that I wouldn't really appreciate a few tweets about this to spread the word.) Depending on the reaction, I might actually hold another giveaway featuring different books.

However, I do want you to mention a few things in your comment. First off, specify which bottle/bottles that you'd like the most. If any of them would work, you can say that too. (I will definitely add your name to any of the drawings that you want, but if you somehow won two or more, which I doubt would happen, I'll give you the first choice.) FINALLY, AND MOST IMPORTANT: I want you to put what your favorite candy/chocolate is. I'm a candy fanatic, and when I get to know people it's one of the first questions I ask. I want to get to know you guys.

The contest will end October 7th, I'll throw all the entries into separate containers for each bottle and choose the winners randomly.

I want to say thank you SO MUCH to every follower of this blog.