January 29, 2009

Giveaways for Good

The following give-aways do some good. They highlight a good cause, give away a product that benefits charity, or do good in some other way (ok...so just about all giveaways do some good to the person who wins them--but these do something a little extra good).

$20 for Charity Challenge - Win Victoria's Secret Lipgloss
The do-goodieness of this is less about the giveaway and more about the blog its on.

A Family Completed - Win Magnets
The prize is from Adopt a Magnet, where 50 cents out of every order goes to an animal charity.

And, of course, there's the Onesie giveaway below on this site to spread awareness about the CPSIA.

Know of another do-gooder-giveaway? Please share it here so I can share it with everyone else. Thanks!

Onesie Giveaway

We have a winner! Congrats Carrie !
(Choosen randomly using Random.org)







This giveaway is to raise awareness about the CPSIA. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was an act passed by congress to address the problem of unsafe levels of lead and phthalates in toys. Unfortunately, if it goes forward unchanged it will have the un-intended consequence of putting many small hand-crafters of children's products out of business--not because the crafts they are selling are un-safe, but because the testing required by the law is costly and not designed for people who make one of a kind items.


UPDATE: Good news! The CPSA has offered a stay of enforcement on most testing requirements until next year to give theie staff "more time to finalize four proposed rules which could relieve certain materials and products from lead testing and to issue more guidance on when testing is required and how it is to be conducted." Meanwhile, Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) is proposing a bill to amend the CPSIA on the floor of the Senate tomorrow (Feb 3) so it would be a great time to call your senators about this. Legally the CPSA is powerless to make some of the changes necessary to fix this bill without legislation saying that they can--so this is a step in the right direction. You can read more about these recent changes HERE.



Now, here's what I'm giving away.







This cute 0-3 month onesie from the shop Rainbow Swirls is just one example of products you might not be able to find on February 11th if the CPSIA goes forward unchanged. When I asked the shop-owner how this law would affect her she said "I am absolutely devestated by this..not so much for me selling children items because that is not what I specialize in...but not being able to buy. I have a 9 month old and have a serious addiction with buying her handmade. Makes me sad!"



If you would like to win one this onesie, do one the following (remembering to leave a way to contact you in your comments)...


IF this is the first time you've heard about the CPSIA and how it may affect handmade, please read ONE of the following two articles, then come back here and leave a comment:


Forbes Editorial on the CPSIA

Handmade Toy Alliance Article



OR if you are already familiar with this issue, just leave a comment below telling what you think about it.




FOR EXTRA ENTRIES do any of the following (please leave a separate comment for each of these you do). :



1. Blog about the CPSIA or this giveaway and then come back here and share the URL to your blog post in a comment.

2. E-mail your friends about the CPSIA, then come back here and leave a comment telling me you did.

3. Share about the CPSIA on a forum...and come back here and let me know what forum you posted on.

4. Join one of the CPSIA protest/awareness groups on Facebook (a search under CPSIA will bring up several) then comment telling me which one you joined.

5. Write your congressman...then make a comment sharing that you did.

6. Visit my CPSIA Squidoo about this subject and do ANY of the following then come back here and comment that you did: Rate it, Lensroll it, Leave a Flickr of a "Soon to be discontinued" item, Share a CPSIA prompted sale, or leave a comment in my Guestbook (at bottom).

7. Comment with a link to any CPSIA related giveaways you know of, so that I can include links to these here.

8. Go visit Rainbow Swirls then come back here and leave a positive comment about her shop. I bought this onsie from her for 20 cents and shipping as a PAY IT FORWARD, so this is one way I'd like to say THANK YOU.

Entries are only availble to US entrants (sorry bout that) because of shipping issues. You can enter through Feb 2nds, and on Feb 3rd I will choose the winner using a random number generator. You forfeit your prize if I can't reach you to get your address before Feb 6.

To find LOTS of other giveaways, visit the Carnival going on right now at the Bloggy Giveaways. Much fun!



January 27, 2009

Welcome!

Well, for several years now I've been having fun entering blog giveaways and even sponsoring a few on other people's blogs or through TEXIFORNIA. I had so much fun at it I decided to start my own blog for giveaways. I have no idea how frequently I'll do these...maybe only every time there;s a Bloggy Giveaway Carnival (that's the site that got me into this...a whole slew of blogs all doing giveaways at the same time. Too fun. REALLY, too fun...it can be a time gobbler if you're not careful.)

I also plan to do some posts about giving...giving in general...giving back.

Anyways...welcome to my blog! More to come soon!