Congratulations to our Magnet of the week winner!  Unfortunately, he who designed this must remain nameless.  This is top secret Gable family business.  All we know, is that there are about 52 of them meeting in Philly in 2012.  We speculate there will be ceremonies for the older folk, handshakes and embraces, perhaps even games and rituals.

My source tells me that this custom magnet is being given away to each member of the Gable family in some kind of “Goody Bag”, with many other offerings and favors. First rule about the Gable Family goody bag; you don’t talk about the goody bag.  This is a major surprise.  Well, you can’t talk about it until everyone has received one.  Then the Gable family can share what they received, be grateful for the effort involved and admire the design and quality of this prestigious magnet.

Congrats Gable family, sounds like it’s going to be a lot of fun!

You might be wondering what the science is behind having contests that require likes on Facebook or followers on Twitter. After all, how many friends do people really have, right? Well for us, the incentive is really about sharing good news.

And goodness, do we have good news for you!  Two pieces, in fact!

From now until July 4th, we’ve got some great discounts on our already low prices!

• Orders totaling $145 should use the promo code July10 for $10 off.
• Orders totaling $250 should use the promo code July25 for $25 off.
• Orders totaling $375 should use the promo code July40 for $40 off.
• Orders totaling $700 should use the promo code July90 for $90 off.

Need another reason to spread the word? Have you heard about our $50 4th of July Visa Gift Card contest?! If not, get in on the action! Just have at least five friends like us on Facebook or Twitter and we’ll enter you in a drawing to win a $50 Visa Gift Card.

Enjoy the holiday weekend, and have a bit of fun with Magnets.com

July 4th is all about friends, family and fun celebrating America’s independence.

Magnets.com wants to get in on the act by giving one special winner a $50 Visa Gift Card. From June 27th to July 5th, on Facebook, every person who invites 5 friends to like Magnets.com on Facebook will be entered into a drawing to win a $50 Visa Gift Card. To double your chances, have 5 people follow us on Twitter.

Welcome to #triviathursday! Today’s question actually comes from the magnets.com web site itself. There’s a Design Gallery on the magnets.com web site. In that design gallery, there are a variety of categories. Your trivia question today is to identify the total number of customized magnets between the restaurant, real estate and beauty/spa categories.

The first person to get the correct answer wins a $15 Starbucks Gift Card courtesy of magnets.com. In order to enter, post a comment on this blog post. Only comments on this blog post will be considered actual entries. We’ll announce the winner on Friday morning!

Good luck!

Have you been to the new magnets.com yet? We improved our home page to make it easier for you to find all of the best in customized magnets for wedding, real estate and lots more. Have suggestions or other ideas we should consider?

Feel free to leave a message in the comments and let us know.

Did you buy dear ol’ dad another tie for Father’s Day this year?

Instead of a tie, we decided to give you five of the best magnet ideas in case you hadn’t already picked something up for dad, granddad or whoever the special man in your life is.

1. Football Magnets: What better way than to let everyone in the house know when not to talk to dad. Gameday doesn’t have to just be for pro football either. It could be a schedule of junior’s football games or some other big way to signify love of the game.

2. Car Magnets: Fantasy sports fans might love a chance to showcase their favorite team’s logo on a team specific magnet. Magnets.com can make that happen! Sure, the neighbors will be confused when they see and might ask, “What team is that?” But think of the conversation starter!

3. School Magnets: Maybe a school play magnet? Or a school calendar magnet to remind day when to pick the little guy up from school? No matter, these school magnets are always a hit.

4. Baseball Magnets: If the dad in your life isn’t a football guy, how about a baseball magnet? They come in all shapes and sizes, too. Perhaps a baseball card magnet of dad’s favorite hometown slugger? The possibilities abound!

Who doesn’t love candy? Here at magnets.com HQ, candy is the fuel that keeps our team going throughout a long day. Candy magnets are just another way to remind of how tasty it is when the candy is all gone. And unlike a wrapper, you don’t have to lament missing out on the tasty treats. My mom used to have them on the fridge when we were kids.

These days, I visit the candy aisle at stores and see an array of candies I never knew existed. My personal favorite comes from Norway. Melkesjokolade is a Norwegian brand of chocolate (made by Kraft) that my best friend used to bring back to the states every summer after he’d visit there as a child. As an adult, I order myself a few bars each winter to give to people for holiday gifts and it’s always a hit. It tastes nothing like Hershey’s or anything like that and it’s the best chocolate I’ve had from anywhere in the world hands down.

Today’s contest? Go to our sister company’s Customized Stickers Facebook page and post a photo of a recent candy wrapper of your favorite candy. The first five people to post will win a handful of free magnets with their image of their choice!

Today is the Major League Baseball First-Year Draft. It’s not as big as the drafts in the other three major professional sports (football, hockey, basketball) because baseball players take so long to develop in the minor leagues relative to the other major sports. Still, it’s an exciting day for thousands of young men. Baseball’s draft is the longest of any other sports — it lasts 50 rounds — and it used to be

Once upon a time, baseball cards ruled the day. In an era before Playstations, iPods and cell phones galore, kids entertained themselves with their larger than life heroes on slabs of cardboard. Not only were baseball cards on cards in packs with gum, they also came in magnets. These days, these baseball card magnets are not available in modern cards. No big shock there, right? But you can find all sorts of older magnets on sites of all stripes which is surprising.  And forget not about baseball magnets!

Have you ever seen a baseball card magnet anywhere? Maybe you know the answer to our #triviatuesday question on Twitter, which pays homage to the baseball draft:

What was the last year the Major League Baseball draft went beyond 50 rounds?

Next in our “Inside Magnets.com Series” is a profile from Michael fom our art department.

He took the time to answer a few questions for us:

What’s the most challenging aspect about laying out the artwork prior to it being printed?

The greatest challenge to imposition layouts is maximizing the amount of live job/art space used per sheet. This, sometimes intricate puzzle work, reduces waste and allows us to offer a better price for our customers.

A well imposed sheet can also reduce further production time substantially.

How satisfying is it to be the first person to see the customer’s design being printed?

I think it’s great. Printing methods have come a long way over the last few years. Coming from an art background, its always great to see designs leave the press.

What advise can you give customers trying to design their artwork for the first time?

That’s a difficult question. Always leave a large margin, it will give your final piece room to breathe. Always let us know if you’re trying to match a particular color, as every press uses different color profiles.

Since you have seen thousands of designs since you’ve starting work at Magnets.com, what is your favorite color combination?

There are many appealing color combinations. I like simple solids with typography that really speaks. Cool Grays and deep Reds seem to be popular at the moment.

When did you start? And I hear you have a newborn daughter?! How old is she?

I started working here in May of last year. Before magnets.com, I was Art Director/Production Manager for a MinuteMan Press. My daughter (Paisley) is 8 months old.