Ameera R of Habeebee Homeschooling.

Mabrook Ameera! InshaAllah we will be emailing you soon with your $100 Minted Credit.

Huge thank you to everyone who entered and to Minted for making this possible.

I’d heard of Minted before but admittedly don’t use much in the way of paper goods (of course, as long as we aren’t counting the reams of coloring pages my children devour) so I’d never had a need to pay much attention to this sort of company beyond enjoying the designs on their website. However, Minted has recently developed a line of Eid cards and offered us this review opportunity which we are REALLY excited to bring you.

(Skip to the Giveaway)

I received my 5 samples (in a very timely manner) shipped in a very sturdy cardboard envelope so as to prevent bending. The cards themselves came in a thin plastic envelope also which I thought was a nice touch and offered extra protection for their joruney to me.

Minted offers 100% Recycled, Pearlescent (Shimmery) and Signature paper, I had expected to get a variety and was especially looking forward to reviewing the recycled paper option but unfortunately my samples all came on signature paper. That said, I have no complaints about the signature paper, it’s thick, textured, and the colors print bright and rich. I was unsure about what to expect with photo’s on this sort of paper but they came out gorgeous. Another thing I was expecting was traditional folded cards but these are actually flat, postcard type cards, which I prefer. I don’t see any folded style cards int he Eid section (although there are a few in other sections), which is something you might want to be aware of if you’re looking for a more traditional folded Eid card.

There is an optional design for the back of the cards at an additional charge, this is a great option (the designs are lovely and match the front in color and style) if you want to send out photo’s to family and friends with a nice greeting, but if you want to write on the cards you’ll want to skip that option. Each design comes with multiple color choices so you can find the best match for your photo before you order, they even have the option of custom colors, you’ll have to call them for that though.

Overall, I am highly impressed, I like to find faults with the things I review so my readers get an accurate picture, but the designers have done an amazing job, and Minted’s printing methods are stunning.  Another thing, Minted is not a Muslim company, which is even more reason to support them in their recognition of Eid by giving them your business. Besides, I don’t think you could find better Eid Cards, especially with this variety of choice.

Unfortunately my camera doesn’t do the cards justice, but you get an idea of the quality I hope. I will try to get a better picture up tonight inshaAllah (God Willing). The gorgeous people on the cards are not my family, these are just the sample photos, when you order yours, you’ll have your own family photos on your cards.

Giveaway

Winner has been announced. Thanks for entering.

Salam and Peace everyone,

I just wanted to let you know about an offer we are running right now.

We’ve teamed up with Halal Consumer magazine to give our readers a free subscription! Halal Consumer Mag is a comprehensive source of all things Halal in the US and abroad.

As a Muslimas Oasis reader, you can sign up online for a free subscription to Halal Consumer magazine, how cool is that? You can also request bulk copies to be sent to your local mosque or community center (don’t forget to let them know the # of copies you need).

The offer only stands until the end of February so if you’re interested, sign up now.

Questions? Email Naazish YarKhan at HalalPR@gmail.com with HC Subscriptions in your subject line. Sorry to our international readers, this offer is for US based readers only.

Alhamdolillah (praise be to God) we are having another giveaway!

To celebrate exceeding 1100 fans on Facebook we are going to give one of our fans their choice of 2 of the items in the collage below (with something yummy thrown in for good measure) click the image to see it bigger.

If you’d like 2 of these items, head over to the facebook page and describe yourself in 3 words or less.

Our giveaways are open to US residents only (inshaAllah we will be able to offer international giveaways in the future) and the winner will have 1 week (7 days, including weekends) to get back to me once I contact them.

Our 3 winners are (in no particular order)

Sølva Nabila

who answered on Facebook with this answer:

I can tell you what we do in connection to Eid! Here in my town, we are not so many reverts, but we are a little, tight group of around 10-12 of us.

On the Eid day, or following weekend, or something, whatever fits from time to time, we make a huge party at my place. Decorations, makeup, nice dresses, good food, cakes, and every woman buy presents for every child that comes. Nothing fancy or expensive, and some also share the costs like go two and two together and buy gifts.

We are usually somewhere between 5 and 10 women, and 10 kids or so, atleast. Sometimes even my neghbourkids come in too!

We do this so that the kids can sense a feeling of comunity, a sense of family, sisterhood, togetherness. We do this for ourselves, because we are all the muslim family we have got. We dont have any other muslim family most of us. Sure, some got husbands from other countries, but rarely have more family here at all actually. Its not a big city, and here, imigration is rather new, so we dont have big muslim families here.

I cant wait for the party each year, and I love it! It feels so good, and so cozy. Just a bunch of women and kids

This answer was chosen for the unity and family that these revert sisters have created in place of biological Muslim family that most of them don’t have.

Jawharah

who answered on the post here at Muslimas Oasis with this answer:

Our Eid celebrations have evolved from the time I was a child til now. Back in the day, when I was around 6, my mom would make a big pot of biryani and sweet rice and my dad would buy a huge bag of tortilla chips and we’d go to the park, the zoo, or Sea World. After a while with my siblings in college and then me starting high school, ‘Eid became just a day where we’d dress up fancier than other days and chit chat for a bit before heading off to work or to take an exam. This last ‘Eid was the most fun we’ve had in a while. In Ramadan I suggested to buy my brother a gift he’d been desiring for a quite a while, and then it ended up turning into buying gifts for the whole family, gift wrapping them as well, which is something my family never does! Needless to say, my parents were rather amused to see the wrapped gifts, and surprised we even bought stuff for them. Now that I’ve grown up, I don’t really desire being with friends for ‘Eid, and my bestest friends are my siblings anyway so alhamdulillah I get to spend ‘Eid with them!

To all the reverts who spend the day alone: I love you dearly, and I pray that Allah blesses you’ll in the company of good Muslims in the ‘Eids to come!

This answer was chosen for the family closeness and simple traditions and how the Eid traditions were lost and then found again this past year.

Yvonne (My Halal Kitchen)

who answered on the post here at Muslimas Oasis with this answer:

As many of the sisters who posted, I am also a convert to Islam as well as my husband.
‘Eid was very hard on me the first few years I was a Muslim. We would go to other family’s homes to celebrate, if and when they invited us. Depending on their particular culture, that was the way we celebrated. Then one year, we decided to make it a special time, a special day for the two of us- festive and fun, even though we don’t have any Muslim family or any children of our own.
Beginning a few years ago, my husband and I instituted a sort of ritual where we get up for the earliest ‘Eid prayer, make sure our zakat/qurbani is taken care of. Then, we go to a really fun and unique place for brunch that we’d always wanted to try out. We spend the morning enjoying that and then go shopping for our ‘Eid gifts for one another. Recently, we even decided to start visiting sick Muslim patients at our local hospital since my husband initiated a program between our masjid and our local hospital. We figure they may or may not be as alone as we are on ‘Eid and it’s just a great way to feel good about how the day is spent.
Later on in the evening, we attend any events or dinners we’ve been invited to-but only after we’ve dedicated time to these important things we’ve begun doing.

This answer was chosen for the beautiful and unique traditions Yvonne and her fellow revert husband have created not least their inclusion of sick Muslims in their Eid celebrations.

Mabrook to our winners and Jazakom Allahu khairun (may Allah reward you) to all of those who took the time to answer. All of the answers were beautiful and special and i was not easy to choose only 3.

It’s that time again! I’m excited to announce another giveaway!

This is how our Eid al-Adha giveaway will work:

• I’ll ask a question (below)
• Myself and some sisters I like to call my shura team will choose the top 3 answers to receive a prize each.
• All 3 chosen answers will be featured in an article on MO with the reasons why they were chosen inshaAllah.

Each of the Three winners will receive 2 Hijabs of their choice and 1 other item of their choice (could be halal candy or an underscarf or a gorgeous hijab pin… anything) from The Souq.

The question is:

What is something you (or your family) do to make Eid (al-fitr or al-adha) special for yourself, your children and/or those around you?

Tips to have your answer chosen: Be honest, creative, original and stand out!

Winner will be announced November 20th (that’s in 2 weeks)

Don’t forget to check out our amazing sponsor ShopTheSouq.com (you have GOT to see their hijabs! MashaAllah!)

Psst: Don’t forget to make dua for those going on Hajj! And if you’re going, don’t forget to make dua for us!

To the sister who won! She’s been contacted and I’m waiting on her reply. In the case that she doesn’t want the prize (or doesn’t reply) I will re-draw another name inshaAllah!

Jazakom Allahu khairun for all your support and for all of those who signed up!

InshaAllah our next giveaway will be for Eid Al Adha! I’m brainstorming ideas of how to choose the winner!

See you there.

Update: Alhamdolillah she chose her hijab and it will be sent out very soon! Mabrook again sister Amina!

We’re partnered with ShopTheSouq.com to do giveaways!

And now, we’re celebrating! Here’s how to win:

• Become a member of the forum (or blog, registration with one will automatically register you for the other)
• Sign up for the newsletter

We’ll be randomly selecting one winner from among our newsletter subscribers and forum members to receive a free Hijab and matching Underscarf of your choice from The Souq!

What if you are a member of the forum AND subscribed to the newsletter? You get 2 chances to win!

We’ll be using an Excel method of choosing a random email from our subscribers (please see our privacy policy)

In support of Pink Hijab Day we will be announcing the winner on Wednesday October 28th (and on that note may we suggest The Souq’s Pink page)