Neighbour gifts {FREEBIE}

Now I know that you won't have your new printer before Christmas, but I wanted to share my first free printable with you anyway.

I live in a really great neighbourhood. People are really friendly and helpful around here, and I'm so glad that this is where we ended up buying our first home. With the holidays upon us, I wanted to make some goodies and wrap them up nicely, to share with my neighbours. This year, I made four things and didn't even really have to bake at all (I think the oven was used for a whopping 5 minutes, all told)! As usual, Pinterest and the Internet proved invaluable in making me look like a goddess in the kitchen... or something like that.

Here's what I made, and what you should make too -

Salted Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Bark - The Legume Loyalist

Buckeye Bark - Live Sigma Kappa

Mom's Best Peanut Brittle - allrecipes.com

Peppermint Bark - Martha Stewart

So far, these have been extremely well received, and I couldn't be happier! I like that I didn't absolutely kill myself making things, yet people are still pleased to receive them... that's the kind of holiday treats that I can get behind.

Furthermore, when one makes good treats, one is expected to share, share, share. As I said before, I put together tins for my neighbours to say; 'Thanks, for being a cool neighbour!' (Read: mowing our lawn and shoveling our driveway before we can get to it, all the time). I really should have started this a couple years ago, I missed sharing with a previous neighbour who was awesome... I don't even adapt well to change in my own community! Silly girl.

So check these out, cute right?

Are you making your own neighbour gifts? Will you be delivering the on the 25th? Would you like to use the labels too? (Grab them below)

My gift to you!

Don't forget to enter the printer giveaway, either. Time is running out!

Happy Holidays!

Find your own labels here!



**Labels for personal use only. Please contact for any other permissions.**

Brother "Business Smart Series" Printer Review + Giveaway!

 That was a mouthful, wasn't it?

The title says it all though, folks! We're having our very first giveaway here at la vie en fuchsia and it's very exciting!

I was very happy when I was contacted about the new "Business Smart Series" printer from Brother Canada, because the specs sounded exactly like something I'd want out of a printer. This unit is brand-new on the market, as it was released in November of this year and retails for $199.

The Brother website gives this description;

Brother is proud to introduce the Business Smart™ MFC-J4510DW colour inkjet all-in-one. It delivers the Ultimate Combination of fast print speeds, easy-to-use features, low cost printing and 11" x 17" printing in a compact design. This wireless all-in-one has a swipe 3.7" TouchScreen display plus TouchPanel that only shows you the keys you need, plus a new innovative print technology that allows you to store and feed paper in landscape orientation. Nobody said you can't have it all!

 

Features

• Fast print speeds - with speeds up to 35ppm black and 27ppm colour. ISO print speeds up to 20ppm black and 18ppm colour (ISO/IEC 24734).
• Easy to use 3.7" swipe TouchScreen display plus TouchPanel.
• Smallest in class up to 35% smaller footprint.
• Low cost printing. Help save more print more with replacement super high yield ink cartridges.
• 11" x 17" printing. Print high-impact easy-to-read documents up to 11" x 17".
• Mobile device printing. Wireless printing from your mobile device via: AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, Brother iPrint&Scan, Cortado Workplace and Wi-Fi Direct.
• Innovative Landscape Print Technology. Allows paper to be stored and fed in the machine in landscape orientation. This unique technology delivers the ultimate combination of features in a machine with a compact and sleek design.

...and I love it!

In the name of full disclosure, we certainly had some hiccups along the way. Minor hiccups like; saying that it wasn't connected to the network and yet a test print proved that it actually was, having to re-do the software load due to an error (which never really seemed to cause an error), and I also had some issues attempting to load pictures from memory card to a web service - but that's it! All minor really.

The good news is that the print is great! I actually used a brother printer for all the printables in Mini-Mister's nursery and was thrilled with the quality, speed and ink consumption. This printer is no different. I would do it all over again with this one if I had to. I tested this model by printing an assortment of pictures from various sources; directly from Facebook, Flickr, Picasa and my memory card - all great! I was able to connect, and modify the sizes/paper right on the touch screen.

*I did not have any actual photo paper in my possession at the time of testing the unit. The pictures printed all looked to be great quality for the type of paper that was used*

Another aspect that I tested was the remote printing function using mobile phones. Now, *I* use a Blackberry and no one (ok, almost no one) likes to work with Blackberries but the Mister has an Android phone and so I made him test out this functionality. I can't count how many times I've said 'I really wish that I could just send this {insert item here - email, coupon, photo...} directly to print from my phone.' Am I the only one? Oh. Ok. Well anyway, you CAN with this printer!! So now you may want to, right? We used the Brother™ iPrint&Scan App which he downloaded from Google Play and it worked seamlessly. So cool!

I'm excited to get this set up, and my 'office/craft space' all prettied up now. I have big plans to work on the Mini-Mister's first birthday party projects there in the new year. This printer is going to make things so much easier!

Now, let's get this giveaway started so that you can win your very own! I just want to add a little fine print, for those of you that won't read the fine print; this giveaway is open to Canadian residents who have reached the age of majority in their province of residence only (void where prohibited). Sorry! For more information, the terms and conditions are below.

 Once you've entered to win this awesome printer, check out my next post for my first free printable! 'Tis the season after all...

**Editor's note: I was sent this printer for review, however all opinions are my own.**

a Rafflecopter giveaway


GOOD LUCK!!