Happy Labor Day!

Wow I can't believe it's been months since I last posted! Life has been very busy for my family and me. I returned to work outside of the home. I am still running Little Piddles of course:) I never worked outside the home with 2 kids, so finding a way to balance work and home life took some adjustment time. In honor of Labor Day I'd like to offer all of you a Labor Day coupon for $5 off any purchase of $25 or more. Enter coupon code LABORDAY09 at checkout. Valid from now until 9/8/09. Have a safe and Happy Labor Day!

Take Care,
Jennifer

"Green" Ideas

With Earth Day soon approaching I thought it would be a good time to become more Eco friendly. Do you have any great tips you'd like to share? Any great ideas to get the kids involved? One of the reasons I love natural products in because it is not harmful for kids to be around. I'd love to learn new ways to have my kids help out and help make a difference. Below are some things that I do.

1. Wash laundry in cold water (except towels and sheets)
2. Use hand towel in dryer (helps absorb water which dries clothes faster)
3. Cut dryer sheets in half
4. Use natural laundry detergent
5. Use Borax for laundry softener and cleaning (love this stuff)
6. Use natural cleaning products...I used to use vinegar and water most of the time, but recently switched to a hydrogen peroxide and water mix and LOVE it! Cleans great and better yet no smell!
7. Online billing to save on paper waste
8. E-mail my newsletters to customer to save on paper
9. Use ceiling fans
10. Use natural soaps and lotions (Love, love, love my Ciao Bella line)
11. Buy fruit from local market (just started doing this a month ago)
12. Pass Miss K's clothes to Miss A or family and friends
13. Make my own natural products (make some of my own make-up, facial astringent, deep hair conditioner, etc..There are many more great recipes I have found online that I am itching to try out.)
14. Recycle, re-use and re-purpose (always trying to improve in this area)

Valentine's Day Sale & Review

As you can see by when my last blog entry was it's been a busy month. I made many changes to my STORE and there are still more to come. If you check out my STORE I changed how my categories are worded to make it easier for you to find what you're looking for. I also removed and added many products. Over the next few weeks I'll be adding lots more and also changing how my store looks. Time to kick it up a notch and give it a make-over.

Right now all bath & body products by Ciao Bella are 15% off in honor of Valentine's Day. Ciao Bella has the yummiest products. Some of my personal favorites are their Vegetable Soap, Hand & Body Lotion, Bamboo Sugar Scrub, and Body Scrub. Not only are they all natural, but they smell and feel wonderful on your skin.

If you pop over to My Colorful Treasures Blog you can read a little bit about me. Lisa will be featuring new women in business companies that she interviews on there often. I was fortunate to be interviewed by her this week. Thanks again Lisa!

Review and Giveaway

Leah over at Bookieboo just gave birth to her newest edition recently. As soon as I heard I asked her if I could do her birth announcements. She was very sweet and wrote a review on them on her blog. You can read it HERE. Also make sure to check out her other website HERE for great fitness tips.

Shera over at A Frog in My Soup is hosting a virtual baby shower for one lucky mom-to-be. She is also offering giveaways over the next few days so make sure to check often. Just a tip this Thursday, January 22nd the giveaway is for a pack of Bumpy Name Labels sponsored by yours truley. Today's giveway is for 25 Mommy Calling cards designed by her. So what are you waiting for pop over and enter for you chance to win.

Top 100 List Re-Vamped

I want to thank Lisa from My Colorful Treasures Custom Website and Graphic Designs. She just re-vamped my boring Top 100 List and made it elegant. As usual she was a pleasure to work with. I have worked with her many times now and the I highly recommend her for all your website design needs as well as jewelry. You can check out her sites below.

http://www.webdesign.mycolorfultreasures.com

http://mycolorfultreasures.com

If you want to check out my new Top 100 List click HERE

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

Cyber Monday Sale

Ever tried writing your child's name on their bottle or sippy cup in permanent marker only to have it come of in the next time you run it through the dishwasher. These BumpyName Orbit Labels will solve that problem.

Pre-Printed on sale for $6.95

Custom 1-Line on sale for $9.95

Custom 2-Lines on sale for $10.95

Sale Ends December 3, 3008

The Grove Furniture

Last winter my brother had me and Miss K in his furniture store commercial. Miss A was supposed to be in it too, but got stage fright. You can check out the commercial below. We're the ladies in it:)

Visit his store HERE

Uber Amazing Blog Award

I am so happy to be receiving the Uber Amazing Blog Award! Thank you Lisa from My Colorful Treasures for nominatign me.

The Uber (synonym to Super) Amazing Blog Award is a blog award given to sites who:~ inspires you~ makes you smile and laugh~ or maybe gives amazing information~ a great read~ has an amazing design~ and any other reasons you can think of that makes them uber amazing! : )

The rules of this award are:* Put the logo on your blog or post.* Nominate at least 5 blogs (can be more) that for you are Uber Amazing!* Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog.

* Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from.

My nominations for the Uber Amazing Blog are:

My Colorful Treasures

Blonde Mom Blog

Savvy Housewife

Momma In Flip Flops 2

An Island Review

A Frog In My Soup

Bookieboo

The Mabelhood

Vote for Bookieboo

If you get a moment can you pop over to Divine Caroline and vote for one of my favorite blogs Bookieboo. The women over there are so nice especially Leah. So far they are at 66 votes and I know with your help we can blow that out of the water. And after you do that make sure to stop over at Bookieboo. They have great tips on fitness and always host many great giveaways. I won something from Milkshaxs recently and should be receiving it any day. I can't wait to give the adorable tee to my nephew when he's born. Bookieboo is free to join and lots of cool stores offer discounts to memebers, so what are you waiting for. Join today and you can check out there coupons page.

P.S. Today's my birthday! Don't worry about a present. Vote for my friends as your gift:)

Feel Your Boobies Week

I'm sure there are many of us where breast cancer has changed their lives in one way or another. Maybe it happened to you or a loved one. This month is Breast Cancer Awareness month. A self exam only takes a few seconds and can save your life. Please help others by passing this along.

Feel Your Boobies Website

NOTE: If you live in the San Diego, CA area there will be a
Race for the Cure on November 2, 2008 at Balboa Park. There will be approximately 15,000 attendees. The walk/ race is a 5K (3.1 miles).

Little Piddles Review

Ok so I'm posting a lot today I know, but I have lots to say! Last week Andrea from Momma In Flip Flops 2 did a review for my store. I sent her a few hair accessories and a crochet headband for her baby girl. Andrea does lots of reviews and giveaways. I love seeing what cool new items she's talking about each week. This weeks giveaway is for a swimsuit. If you check out her blog you'll see the coupon code for 15% off (excluding furniture) till the end of this month. The holidays will be here before you know it!

Stampin' Up Deomonstrator Website

So I finally took the plunge and now have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator website. They receontly now have it set up where you can place your order right online. I for one have been using their line for at least 10 years. Yes, I can get stamps at my local crafts stores, but the quality just isn't the same. SU stamps are more detailed. They also have a lot of coordinating stamp pads, cardstock, and lets not forget markers. Soon I'll be posting some projects I'll be working on. My brown vinyl just arrived and I can't wait to start creating. So if you are into stamping or scrapbooking please check it out.

My Demonstrator Website

Dr. MOZ Review

In case you haven't seen it yet on my online store I carry The Goodfather cd-roms by Dr. MOZ. It's a cd-rom that teaches baby lessons, lists lots of names to choose from, along with other great tips. I just discovered that the team at Dr. MOZ has a baby blog where they spotlight cool baby items they've found online. One of which is the My Plate-Mate. I got some great ideas already off of their blog and I'm sure you will too. Check it out when you get a chance.

http://www.deardrmoz.com/

Walking to School by Eve Bunting

I just got a copy of this book a few weeks ago called Walking to School that was written by Eve Bunting who has hundreds and hundreds of books published. On the cover is my sister-in-law Mrs. S and my niece Miss M. They are featured throughout the book especially Miss M. The illustrator was looking for a very Irish looking girl and who better then Miss M with her beautiful red hair and freckles. Miss M had to go to the illustrator's house (he lived near them) over the course of 4 months so he could take pictures of her to do the oil paintings. For those who know Miss M you'll notice she's younger in this book. These pictures were taken 4 years ago and the book was just released last month.

Needless to say Miss K and Miss A think it's so cool that their aunt and cousin are in a book!

JP Lizzy Sale!

Starting today select JP Lizzy items are on sale while supplies last. If you have any baby showers or are starting your holiday shopping you may want to check them out. I personally love the Tiffany in Blue and Tiffany in Pink purses. They are so cute! Start making you list!

Coupon code LABORDAY08 for FREE SHIPPING on orders over $25 ends tomorrow 9/4.