Baby Wears Prada features the up-to-the-minute 411 on the top designers and boutiques in the children’s fashion industry -- the trendiest, most fabulous products for babies, toddlers, and kids; coveted celebrity baby styles; and products that will make you the envy of the playground! Top that off with fabulous weekly giveaways...can you stand it! Up for grabs this week are three precious items, including your choice of a Dine.n.Doodle chalk mat.

Hurry on over to babywearsprada.com to enter!

SAVE HANDMADE!
Save Handmade with EtsyBABY & EtsyKids who provide a safe
handcrafted alternative for baby & children.
Promotion runs January 9 - February 9, 2009.

Starting TODAY! Visit ShopEtsyBABY.com/CPSC.htm for hundreds of special promotions on fabulous, unique, and safe items for your children from incredibly talented handcrafters. We hope this promotion will bring further awareness to the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which goes into effect on February 10, 2009. We all agree that we need safe products for our children; however, as it is written, this law will most certainly put thousands of small businesses and handcrafters out of business due to the certification and labeling requirements and exorbitant testing costs.

Show your support for handmade! This joint promotion offers discounts, free shipping, bogo, and more...with hundreds of EtsyBABY and EtsyKids shops participation. As part of the promotion, Dine.n.Doodles are 15% off! To receive your discount, shop my Etsy store, complete the sale transaction, type "SAVE HANDMADE" in the notes to seller, and savings will be refunded via PayPal. Voila!

Help Us Save Handmade!

(Graphic copyright Goldtone Designs http://goldtonedesigns.etsy.com)

PLEASE VOTE! This is the final round of voting to determine the top 10 rated ideas to announce during Change.org and the Case Foundations co-hosted event at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on January 16th. Together, they will be launching a national campaign behind each idea and will mobilize the collective energy of the millions of members of Change.org, MySpace, and partner organizations to ensure that each of the top 10 ideas get the full consideration of the President Obama's Administration and Congressional members.

Please vote to help handmade toys and other children's products remain legal in the United States. Thank you!

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia

I love the beginning of the new year. I've just finished enjoying a 2-week siesta with family and friends, got to sleep in late (you can't put a price on that!), and am now re-energized to do what it is I love doing --- creating! I have several new designs for both chalk mats and roll.n.go crayons to roll out in the coming weeks. I am thrilled beyond words to finally get to THAT pile of goodies in the corner of my sewing nook. Two new chalk mats are already available in my Etsy shop - Little Red Riding Hood and My Forest Friends.

Stay tuned for more! 2009 is going to be a fun and fabulous year!

Day 1 of the New Year and I'm off to a rockin' start: Said "rabbit" at the strike of mid-night. Check! Burning a bayberry candle. Check! Doing a load of laundry. Check! I still have to walk down a flight of stairs backwards, but rest assured, I will before mid-night comes. So, all of my New Year's Day traditions (and a few superstitions) are nearly complete. 'Tis going to be a terrific year, indeed!

Wishing you all a joyful year ahead! I have lots in my head and scribbled on paper that I'm energized to create and add to my Dine.n.Doodle collections this year -- fab new designs and cool new products! Welcome 2009!

I'm nearing the end of my second year in business, thankful for my wonderful customers and retail shops who have made 2008 such a delightful success. At the same time, I fear the ringing in of the new year because of legislation signed into law that goes into effect on February 10, 2009 - the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). This issue is dear to my heart as a mother and maker of products for children, but also how it affects all who make, sell, or buy products for children in the U.S.

The US Congress passed the CPSIA and on August 14th, President Bush signed the Act into law. The Act goes into effect on February 10, 2009 and puts much stricter safety regulations on products intended for the use of children ages 12 and under. While the intentions behind the law are unquestionably good, there are major problems with how the law is currently written. No one disagrees that we need to have measures in place to insure the safety of our children. The CPSIA imposes strict new regulations on testing for lead and phthalates, both of which are horrible substances that certainly should not be in products intended for children, or anyone.

All of these changes will be fairly easy for large, multinational toy manufacturers to comply with. Large manufacturers who make thousands of units of each toy have very little incremental cost to pay for testing and updating their molds to include batch labels. For small American, Canadian, and European toymakers, however, the costs of mandatory testing, to the tune of up to $4,000 per toy, will likely drive them out of business. And the handful of larger toy makers who still employ workers in the United States face increased costs to comply with the CPSIA, even though American-made toys had nothing to do with the toy safety problems of 2007. Toy makers won't be the only ones impacted by the CPSIA, the thousands of US businesses who offer clothing, jewelry and other gifts for children --in essence-- the entire children's industry will be as well.

The CPSIA simply forgot to exclude the class of toys that have earned and kept the public's trust. The result, unless the law is modified, is that handmade toys will no longer be legal in the US.

Thriving small businesses are crucial to the financial health of our nation. Let's amend the CPSIA so that all businesses - large and small - are able to comply and survive! I ask and urge you to please click the image above to read more and learn how you can help.

Etsy also wrote an open letter regarding the CPSIA, which I think captures the passion and urgency for home-based, handmade crafters like myself:
http://www.etsy.com/storque/craftivism/handmade-childrens-items-unintended-consquences-consumer-pr-3056/

If you would like to read the actual law, it can be found here:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpsia.pdf

The FAQ from the CPSC is located here:
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/faq.html

Jamie's Precious Peas, a delightful review site for children's and mom products, is midway through their "Countdown to Christmas" giveaways and now is your chance to win a Dine.n.Doodle chalk mat (your choice of design), not to mention enter to win other fantastic must-have's for your home and family.

Deadline to enter is 9pm EST on December 23rd. Visit Jamie's Precious Peas blog for all the fun details, especially how you can earn extra entries! Good luck!

The ladies at Coveiter are having a huge Christmas giveaway of children's items made by Etsy craftsmen, including a fabulous Dine.n.Doodle chalk mat and Roll.n.Go Crayons by moi. Total value is over $185! To enter, leave a comment on their blog by midnight CST on December 15th. The winner will be announced on the 16th.

Hurry! Don't miss this fantastic chance to win a bundle of adorable baby items and right before Christmas. Good luck! :)

FREE SHIPPING!
Yes, save on shipping costs - yay! Just purchase 2 or more items and receive free shipping. Please wait for an adjusted invoice prior to paying.
Special offer is valid today through Monday, December 1st.

SHOP FOR YOUR DINE.N.DOODLES NOW!
Perfect for holiday travels + they make super fun stocking stuffers!

I am thankful for...
My family: for their good health and daily happiness,
I am so fortunate to have a family so close and fun to be with!
My husband: for his always present love, support and encouragement,
My customers: for giving me the gift to stay at home with my daughter

I am thankful for...
My daughter's daily reminders
that even the simplest and smallest things in life
can be the super coolest things to discover (or rediscover!),
...and to giggle, smile, and hug each other all the time.
I am thankful she keeps me grounded
and gives me balance in this crazy world...
she reminds me daily of what matters most.

For all of this, I am truly thankful, grateful, and blessed.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!