Changing Diapers, Changing Lives

Please join us in our goal to raise 10 million diapers with one simple $5 text- text BABY to 5200.

You can help change a baby’s life. Join our effort to donate 10 million diapers to low-income families and babies in need. Go to www.facebook.com/giftsinkind to learn more or simply text BABY to 52000 to make a $5 donation.

Recent studies show it can cost, on average, more than $11,000 a year to raise one child, yet one out of four children live in a home that makes less than $11,000 total in a year. This can be a huge struggle for the many families across the country who can’t afford the expense of diapers, forcing them to resort to extreme measures such as stuffing panties with newspapers to serve as a diaper.

Gifts In Kind International’s goal is to distribute 10 million Seventh Generation diapers for families in need through text donations from individuals. Help us by texting BABY to 52000 and give a one-time donation of $5.

Seventh Generation (www.facebook.com/seventhgeneration) is the official diaper partner for our campaign and will provide their chlorine-free, environmentally friendly diapers. Seventh Generation's mission is to inspire a more conscious and sustainable world by being an authentic force for positive change.

kids + Disney + cookies + frogs

Riley and I have been hard at work, creating and sending cards to terminally ill children all across the country. I could not be more impressed with both her creativity and compassion. A few days ago I bought some kid-friendly postage stamps, and came up with a new idea:: starting now, for every order sold through my Etsy site, we will send an additional card to a sick child. Your purchase will ensure a customized "cheer" card is made and mailed! Thanks in advance for your contribution.

Speaking of Etsy, I decided to branch out from only cards and am now selling some other paper crafts as well. I currently have 3 Disney princess cut-out packs for sale which you can check out HERE.

As for a personal update, I have tried to make the most of my four day weekend. The kids got haircuts yesterday, then had a playdate with Miss Kelsi. This morning I woke up and baked three types of cookies, including sugar, which my kids enjoyed frosting for Halloween with their buddy, Rylee. After baking, we went out for lunch, then they spent the afternoon playing outside. At one point I had to call my son in to capture wild frog that had decided to take up residence in our downstairs! Everyone knows I hate frogs. Luckily Noah saved the day!

Silver & Spoon Rings: modern jewelery from the 1800s

Not too long ago, I shared a post about the Regretsy site and it's failed homemade gifts. Today I would like to introduce you to Eric Bowley's Etsy site that is featuring one of the most unique items I have seen in a long time.

Check out http://www.etsy.com/shop/silverandspoon# where you can find an assortment of rings handcrafted from antique spoons. Check out what they have to say on their site:

Welcome to Silver & Spoon! We specialize in handcrafted vintage antique spoon rings. We take great pride in hunting for spoons that have beautiful patterns, most of which date from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s. By hand we transform old pieces of silver flatware into modern pieces of jewelry. These affordable and beautiful rings make great gifts or additions to anyone’s daily accessory routine.

We only use genuine vintage antique spoons in creating each of our rings. No reproductions.

THE BEST PART-- buy purchasing a spoon ring, you will be helping sick children. For each ring sold, Siver & Spoon makes a $2 donation to the Riley Hospital for Children.

Here are a few of my favorites:

My newest obsession: Box Tops. (God, I'm such a mom)

I can't stop clipping. Since my oldest child entered elementary school two years ago, I've made it a personal goal to donate as many box top to his school as possible. I prefer to buy several store brand products when I am grocery shopping, but those those Box Tops are becoming increasingly hard to pass up.

I wanted to know more about the Box Tops for Education program, and what exactly I was doing to help my kid's school, so I headed over to http://www.boxtops4education.com to see what they had to say:

"With your help, over $300 million has been raised for our schools through the Box Tops for Education program since 1996. All that clipping has resulted in much-needed supplies for over 90,000 schools across the country. Learn how you can raise money for school, and get those earnings even higher. 1 can truly make a difference."

The website lists schools in your area where you can donate... and I am happy to accept any donations you may have. Here are a few products/brands that offer box tops on their packaging:

*Betty Crocker
*Avery
*Ziploc
*Cheerios
*Kleenex
*Hefty
*Juicy Juice
*Hamburger Helper

Find a complete list of products on the official site. Until then, happy box-topping!

TODAY is Miracle Treat Day!

Thursday, August 5, 2010 is Miracle Treat Day at Dairy Queen. Buy a Blizzard treat on this day and you will be helping sick and injured children in your area. For every Blizzard treat sold at participating DQ locations, on Miracle Treat Day, $1 or more will be donated to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Join Dairy Queen on August 5, 2010 and help make miracles happen for kids in need.

http://www.miracletreatday.com/

This Lady Means BUSINESS

"DONATE MONEY AND I’LL TATTOO WHATEVER ON ME!

I’m raising money for Third World orphanages. For every $10 you donate, your name gets entered into a drawing. Your name gets picked, you choose any tattoo for me to get. I get tattoo, kids get help, you get the glory of knowing there is a human out there with a tattoo of your face on it. Everyone’s happy. DONATE, read awful tattoo submissions and submit your own HERE!

* REBLOG - FOR EVERY REBLOG UP TO 3,000 MY DAD WILL DONATE $2

GUILT TRIP ALERT: $10 will give a classroom of kids education for one day or buy you two drinks at Starbucks."

Unique Charities.

In these unpredictable times, it’s likely that you’re paying close attention to where your money is going. When possible, however, we should strive to be generous with both our time, and our wallets. That being said, it can be difficult to choose which organization you’d like to contribute to.

After some lengthy research, I have compiled a list of unique and worthy causes that are waiting for a noble steed, such as yourself, to make a contribution. Enjoy.

For The Animal Lover in You:

***‘Save the Donkeys in the Holy Land’ is collecting donations to “provide help to the donkeys of Israel”. Check them out at http://www.safehaven4donkeys.org/

***“The Critter Connection, Inc. is a non-profit group dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of abandoned and neglected guinea pigs. Located in Durham, Connecticut, the rescue was started in Spring 2004 when our founder realized that abandoned guinea pigs in our state had nowhere to go.” (from their website) Head over to their site and see how you can help: http://www.squidoo.com/ctguineapigrescue

***‘Adopt a Donkey’ thanks its contributors with a gift-pack including a stuffed donkey and adoption certificate and photo. http://www.neddi.org/adopt-a-donkey/ for more info.

Feed the Hungry:

***Increase your vocabulary, and your generosity at www.freerice.com. Visitors of site can “win” rice grain donations by selecting the correct answers to academia-related questions. Each correct answer equals 10 gains of rice, totaling over 66 billion grains to date.

***In cities around the world, you can find teams of architect/engineer professionals and students competing vigorously for weeks, and even months, to build enormous structures out of canned food. These sculptures are displayed to the public, and the cans are donated to local food banks. Find photos of these artworks, and get info on how to join the cause at www.canstruction.org.

***DONATE MONEY AND I’LL TATTOO WHATEVER ON ME! I’m raising money for Third World orphanages. For every $10 you donate, your name gets entered into a drawing. Your name gets picked, you choose any tattoo for me to get. I get tattoo, kids get help, you get the glory of knowing there is a human out there with a tattoo of your face on it. Everyone’s happy. DONATE, read awful tattoo submissions and submit your own HERE!

Celebrity Charities:

***Dustin Diamond, formally Screech of Saved By The Bell, is selling t-shirts in an attempt to save his home from foreclosure. Shirts will run you $15, or you can request an autographed top for $20. http://getdshirts.com/

***Several of the hottest celebrities (and thier children!) have lent their artisitic skills to the Celebrity Mosaic Project, and their master pieces could be yours! Make a bid on one of their ocean-themed LEGO tiles and support the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps protect oceans and beaches. See the artwork and make a bid at http://sealifeus.com/node/114.

For the Sake of Our Planet:

(…to be continued)

This will serve as a running list, so check back for more ideas. Until then… happy contributing!