Holiday Time Savers

So with all the holiday madness why not save a little time when we can. I put a few times saving tips below that might come in handy.

Not enough time to clean:
Drizzle a few drops of orange-scented Pine-Sol on a clean cloth and hide it in a bookcase. It’ll give the room that just-been scrubbed smell minus the work.

Way to share your holiday photos:
Do you take a lot of pictures and want to share with family and friends? A great way for them to feel like they live close by is to upload your digital pictures to a place like www.winkflash.come so they can view your pictures and order copies for themselves.

Craft to do while the kids are on vacation:
Tired of all those broken crayons? Instead of throwing them in the trash re-use them. First heat oven to 250 degrees (oven temperature may vary). Fill a mini muffin pan ½ way with broken crayons and bake until crayons appear to be completely melted. Allow to cool completely BEFORE removing from pan. Crayons should easily pop out when the bottom of pan is tapped. Experiment with color combinations! Also look for fun shape molds like hearts, they make great Valentine’s gifts for friends at school.

Need to make room for new toys:
Trying to eliminate toy clutter? Take all the toys you know your child hasn’t played with for a long time and put them in a pile. Allow your child to select 6 of those toys to keep. Also take your child with you when you donate the other toys and explain how less fortunate children will love their new toys. I did this with both my kids and even have cousins and friends come over and take toys home. Since I started this at a young age, they never cried about giving their toys away. Now when I want to get rid of old toys my girls actually jelp me. They also know that they need to make room foo new toys for Christmas so they are more than happy to help:)

Don't want to fight with the plastic wrap to cover left overs anymore:
Store plastic wrap in freezer to make pulling it out a cinch. This is one of my favorite time savers as I make my husband’s lunch 5 days a week for work so this saves me lots of agrivation…lol!

Extra potatoes from your holiday dinner:
Cut them in half and cut shapes out with cookie cutters. Your child can use fabric pant and decorate a custom shirt for themself. Great activity to do when your child is home from scool on vacation the next few days.

Help Save Handmade Products

The following is from an e-mail I received by my friend Angie from Made by Angie. She's a fellow WAHM who will be affected if the law below is passed. Many of us will go out of business if this law is passed. Please take a moment to read her e-mail and help us stop this law before it's passed. And if you need a stylish diaper case make sure you check out her website. She has many adorable fabrics to choose from:)

Thank you in advance for helping out!
Jennifer

*CORRECTION* Law is already passed. I put that it wasn't, sorry about that.

In 2007, we were shocked to learn that so many of the toys our children were (are) exposed to were tainted with lead and phthalates. Large toy manufacturers outsourcing to China and other developing countries sold numerous products within the US that simply put, made kids sick.

Rightfully reacting to this mess, the US Congress cracked down on the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) and passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August 2008. Essentially, this law requires mandatory safety testing for all toys and products g eared towards children ages 12 and under.

In theory, we as parents and consumers should be thrilled with this action. However, the law lacks specifics and without modification, the reality is that thousands of small businesses who produce handmade toys and children's products will be forced to close our doors because the testing procedures are prohibitively expensive. Does this really make sense for the cloth diaper business using 100% organic cotton materials? Or the craft fair artisan that sold you a hand chisled wooden train set? Or the adorable personalized hand appliqued birthday t-shirt you just ordered from etsy.com?

On February 10, 2009 (coined "National Bankruptcy Day")-- this law will go into effect, forcing us to provide certification of thousands of dollars spent on third-party testing. Testing for chemicals that don't exist to begin with in the materials we use. Now more than ever, with our economy hanging on by a thread we need these small businesses who provide innovative, unique and SAFE products and help to keep our handmade in the USA industry thriving.

Here's what you can do to help.

1. Start by forwarding this information to everyone you know. Parents of young children are not the only ones touched by this legislation. There is a "forward" button at the bottom of this email.

2. Vote for amending the law on Change.org. With enough votes it will be presented to President Obama in January!

3. Find your congress person and senators and write a letter like the sample here. Particularly if they serve on the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection or the House Committee on Small Business.
4. Send an email directly to the CPSC or contact chairperson Nancy Nord at 301-504-7923.

5. Sign this petition, to be submitted to the CPSC.

6. Check out these additional resources: Facebook -Help Save Handmade Toys from the CPSIA and Handmade Toy Alliance

Thank you for reading!

Cyber Monday Sale!

This weeks sale consists of Custom Photo Scrabble Tile Pendants and Vinyl Cell Phone Inital Decals made by yours truley. They are BUY 1 GET 1 FREE until this Wednesday December 17, 2008. Hurry and pop over to my STORE.

Happy Holidays!
Jennifer

Cyber Monday Sale - Select Jewelry

This week we have select jewelry on sale. Click HERE to view our store.

They make great gifts for:
Moms
Grandmothers
Aunts
Sisters
Neices
Cousins
Best Friends
Teachers
Bus Drivers
Babysitters

Start making your holiday list and check it twice. Grab these great deals before the sale ends on December 10, 2008

Stampin' Up! Special

So many of you already know I love crafts. I love scrapbooking, rubber stamping, and just about anything involved with a glue gun. So what do you think about my new craft obsession? Stampin' Up! came out with vinyl and I'm loving it! I decorated my plain looking candle with my last name and then added my inital to my cell phone to jazz it up. I even put my daughters names on their walls. Just think of all the possiblities you can do with vinyl. They are easy to apply and remove. The amount of gifts that you can take from plain jane to jazzed up are endless.

Many of us are busy buying for others and need to reward ourselves with a little treat. As a way to help you save a little from now until December 8, 2008 I am offering 10% OFF on all Stampin' Up! orders (tax and shipping still apply) placed through me via e-mail at Jennifer@LittlePiddles.com Don't have a catalog? No problem, just click HERE. Once you send me your order I will send you a PayPal request for the the amount owed. Please do not order through my demonstrator website. You need to place orders via e-mail to receive the 10% OFF!


Happy Holidays!
Jennifer

This offer is valid only through Jennifer Servis

My Demostrator Website