Such Fun to Give

Hearts Should Be Free - Scribbleprints Stationery (2/29)

2012-02-16T23:59:00.003-06:00

I've been holding giveaways to raise awareness of modern slavery. This giveaway is for 20 pages of the stationery shown above.

When I first learned about slavery, I didn't realize that it happened here. Right here in America there have been men beaten and locked in a truck trailer and forced to pick tomotoes, women forced to braid hair in salon and not allowed to leave, others forced into prostitution against their will. And that's just the short list. Modern slavery, known as human trafficking, happens in places like Canada and the United Kindom, not just third world countries.

One thing we can do is be aware...know the signs. Here are just a few signs that someone might be a victim of human trafficking.

Shows signs of abuse (bruises, injuries, untreated medical problems)
Is fearful, anxious, depressed, submissive, tense, or nervous/paranoid
Is not in control of his/her own identification documents
Does not control of his/her own income--has no financial records or bank account.
Lives in the same place he/she works
Workplace or living place has heavy security (bars on windows, barbed wire, isolated location, etc)
Is not free to leave or come and go as he/she wishes

Read More Sings Here - Or Here

If you suspect that someone is is a victim of human trafficking, you can call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline below:

1-888-3737-888

Or to e-mail visit this page!

HOW TO ENTER
To enter add the phone number above to your contact or write it down and put it in your wallet, then fill out the rafflecopter form below. Sometimes the form take a minute or two to load. There's extra entries too!

STATIONERY ON SALE - PROCEEDS TO CHARITY
I am going to be selling some of the stationery above and donate the proceeds to an organization which fights modern slavery or helps human trafficking victims. I havn't yet decided on the organization or the price, and need to check on how much shipping would be. If you would be interested in being notified when I get this posted up for sale, please e-mail me at ecarian at yahoo com or leave a comment with you e-mail below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

2012-02-16T16:43:00.000-06:00

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Question for Squidooers

Anyone have a Spring Themed Quest? I'm still looking for a lens to like for the Spring Fever Quest. I've already gotten one for the "Grouch" quest. If you need one for that, this might work:

Squidoo Wishlist

(Lots of Grouching Going On Here)

Win What I Won

2012-02-16T11:44:00.000-06:00

Robby Wash Laundry Ball

I love the Robby Wash Ball I won! It's been nearly a year and its' still going strong. What a lot of money this can save (not to mention space)! Here's some places you can enter to win one:

Robby Wash Ball - 1 Busy Moma (2/18)

Robby Wash Ball - Grandma Bonnie's Closet (2/23)

Robby Wash Ball - 17 Sirens (2/28)

Neat-Oh Zip Bins

These play-mats you can fold into bins are so cool! They have backpacks too! So great for keeping the room clean (or providing easy clean up play at grandma's ).

Zip Bin - Mom After God's Own Heart (2/27)

Easy Wins: Low Entry Giveaways

2012-02-16T10:47:00.000-06:00

The cool thing about blog giveaways is you can usually tell now many people are entered. The less entered, the better your chances to win. Here's some I found with low entries ending soon.

February 16

Book: Burdens Do the Body Good (5 entered)

February 17

Book: Cooper and Me and the Military (81 entered)*

$25 Visa Card for You and a Friend (19 entered)

*Yeah, I usually only list items under 60 comments, but I reserve the right to break my own rules.

If you have a giveaway with less than 60 entries per prize ending in the next 5 days, please click here to submit it.

Please Also Visit Our Giveaway Event

to spread awareness about modern slavery!

Hearts Should Be Free - 3G Cell Phone Case Giveaway

2012-02-14T18:50:00.004-06:00

I won the 3G iPhone cell phone case from CafePress pictures above in a giveaway last year. Never used it and thought it would be a great item to give away for the Hearts Should Be Free event.

Hearts Should Be Free is a giveaway event to spread awareness of modern slavery. Many people don't realize that slavery still exists today, yet there are as many as 27 million people enslaved today around the world.

Today I want to talk about how slave labor contributes to many of the products we find on our store shelves. Sadly, forced labor contributes to many of the products we use and much of the produce that we buy. In recent years slave labor has been used for making clothes, for mining diamonds, mining gold and other minerals (including those used in our electronics), farming coffee beans and cocoa, harvesting tomatoes (right here in America), and many, many other areas of farming and manufacturing.

I want to be clear...it isn't that companies go out and seek out slave labor. But poor monitoring of a company's supply chain can allow forced labor to"sneak in" to the supply chain unnoticed. However, when large companies put in mechanisms to monitor and improve the working conditions throughout their supply chain, it can have a huge impact.

Since this giveaway is for an iPhone case (and I'll assume if you're entering you have an iphone), I'd like to share a couple related aps you can download to your phone.

The Fair Trade App
When you buy Fair Trade you know that you are buying a product that provides a living wage to workers all down the supply chain and that monitors it's working conditions. This also helps guarantee that these products are not made with the work of slaves. The Fair Trade App helps you find Fair Trade items near you, and allows you to help build their database by adding fair trade items you find for sale in your area.

The Free2Work App
This app allows you to look up products to see how they rate on to trafficking and other labor abuses. Though it only has a few hundred products listed so far, and though the bar code scanning is a little buggy, I still like this app as it allows you to browse companies by category to see their rating, and so is a great way to find some of the companies who are already doing things to help rid their supply chain of slavery.

I'd also encourage you to visit Chain Store Reaction, a website where you can write letters to companies urging them to take a stand against slavery, and can see their responses.

I'd also like to point you towards a couple articles related to Apple and it's labor policies....

Should Apple Make a Conflict Free Minerals iPhone
Slavery is rampant in the Congo, where revenue from the mines funds the militias which are a war there. This Forbes article questions whether abstaining from buying conflict minerals is the best course of action, and highlights the complexities of this issue well.

Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory
While this program by This American Life (through NPR) is NOT about slavery, I felt it was relavant and wanted to include it. This three act look at labor policies in China is EXCELLENT and, yes, even entertaining. This program is in three section, or "acts, " which can be listened to together or separately. While it doesn't deal with slavery directly (all the workers in the factory Mr. Daisey visited were payed a salary and could quit any time they wanted) it does highlight the importance of workplace monitoring, and the third act contains insightful commentary on workers rights and labor conditions around the world.

Now, on to the giveaway...

HOW TO ENTER
Just fill out the entry form below. Giveaway ends February 29. Open worldwide, 18+ only. Form may take a minute or two to load.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fair Trade Chocholate Giveaways

2012-02-13T17:35:00.009-06:00

This month I've been working to spread awareness of modern slavery through the Hearts Should Be Free Giveaway event. Many people don't realize that slave labor contributes to many of the products we buy. One of these is chocolate.

With Valentines coming up, it's sad to know that the cocoa in the chocolate we'll enjoy that day may have grown and harvested with slave labor. And though the chocolate industry is beginning to step up, there's still a long way to go.

Buying Fair Trade chocolate is one way to help. It supports companies who are already taking extra efforts to keep their supply chain slave free, and when they thrive, larger companies take note.

I thought I'd track down some Fair Trade Chocolate giveaways going on in the blogosphere and share them with you...it's a fun way to get to know about some of the fair trade options out there! A lot of these are low entry too!

Fair Trade Chocolate Giveaways

Organized by End Date

Ends February 17
The Body Shop Chocomania Gift Package
(Ok, so this chocolate is not to eat...
but it would make a chocholaty spa experience,
and doescontain fair trade items!)

Ends February 20
Whole Foods Chocolate Treats (Canada Only)

End Date Unknown
Dark Chocholate Quinoa
Fair Trade Rose Bouquet an Chocolate
Alter Echo Fair Trade Chocolate Quinoa Bar

Looking for a Fair Trade Chocolate at your local store?
Click here for an excellent article about the labels you may see
on chocolate (and other products...the article is actually about cofee)
and what they mean.)

And here's some more info about regular vs. fair trade chocolate:

Infographic by Fair Trade Vancouver and ethical ocean.

Creative Commons Chocolate Pictures by Hayouji.

The Chocolate Industry Begans to Step Up

2012-02-13T06:02:00.001-06:00

Several years ago a friend posted a link about how slavery contributes to much of the chocolate sold in stores today. It opened my eyes to labor slavery.

Since then many companies have made strides to change their practices to reduce slave labor in their supply chains. One hold-out was Hersheys. Well, late in January Hersheys made their first step towards addressing this problem. They have made a commitment to purchase Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa for all of its Bliss Chocolate products, starting later this year. While this is just one product, and this specific certification only requires 30% of the cocoa beans in a certified product to be fair trade...its still a step in the right direction.

Hersheys is following the lead of other companies which have made earlier steps, including...

Nestle has hired the Fair Labor Association, and organization which specializes in accountability, to investigate and document child labor on the farms of it's cocoa suppliers. Nestlé is the first food company to open up its supply chain to the FLA. Read More Here.

Mars committed to certify its Maltesers chocolate candy as Fairtrade in the UK and Ireland in 2012. While this is only one candy, this candy is the third largest brand in the UK and represents a 10% increase in total UK Fairtrade sales there. Read more here.

Barry Callebaut introduced three new fair trade chocolates into the US market in December 2011. Read more here.

Unilever announced that it will use Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa for its Magnum Ice Cream by 2015. From Article Here

Ben and Jerry's, another Unilever brand, announced that it intends to get Fair Trade Certification for all flavors for all products where fair trade certification is possible by 2013. From Article Here

In other good news, California passed a new law to bring more transparency to business supply chains.

Easy Wins

2012-02-03T08:25:00.006-06:00

The cool thing about blog giveaways is you can usually tell now many people are entered. The less entered, the better your chances to win. Here's some I found with low entries ending soon.

Ends February 4

Love Banner (2 entered)

Celtic Woman (17 entered)*

$15 Loopy Loop GC (16 entered)

Ends February 7

Valentines Bundle (36 entered)

Ends February 8

4 X 6 Art Print (33 entered)

*I got extra entries for blogging about starred giveaways.

If you have a giveaway with less than 60 entries per prize ending in the next 5 days, please click here to submit it.

Please Also Visit Our Giveaway Event

to spread awareness about modern slavery!

Aloha Friday/2 Question Thursday

2012-02-02T23:46:00.001-06:00

Every once and a while I participate in Aloha Friday, where I ask a simple question for you to answer (nothing that requires a lengthy response) and Two Question Thursday (same idea...only TWO questions). My questions for you today (which you can answer in the comments if you like ) are:

There are many problem in the world, and many good causes we can support. Is there a particular cause which is on your heart?

What have you done about it...or what do you plan to do?

There are various causes which I care about. If you've been following my blog at all the last couple weeks you can probably guess which one "gets to me" the most. When I first learned that slavery still existed I was horrified...but it was something "far away" and I was a poor college student and didn't see what I could do. Surprisingly I didn't hear more about this issue for several years...but then I started to stumble on articles here and there. I learned that it was very widespread...and that it didn't just happen across the world but that it happened here. I learned that men in Florida had been beaten and locked in a truck and forced to pick tomatoes for nothing, that women and young girls are forced to prostitute themselves by violent pimps on US streets daily, that 1,000s are trafficked into the US every year for forced work of one sort or another. I learned that forced labor (here and abroad) contributes to almost every product we buy. And I learned about the horrors of child sex trafficking, and how American pediphiles helped fuel the "sex tourism" industry in Asia.

I thought of what I could do, and I came up with an idea to use giveaways to spread awareness. In stead of asking someone to go check out a product to enter, I'd ask them to check out some info on human trafficking. I put this idea into practice this month in the Hearts Should Be Free Giveaway Event. And the response I've gotten is so encouraging. More people have entered these giveaways than any I've held here before, and the comments let me know people are really hearing.

So, whatever it is that's the cause of your heart....I want to encourage you that you can do something about it. Being part of the solution is not out of reach.

Tuesday Treasury: Lace Blossom Valentines Charity

2012-01-31T12:54:00.005-06:00

All these items benefit charity. Click on listing to see where and how much is donated. (Some items may list this info in the main page in stead). Check back every Tuesday for more hand-made gifts for charity!

Sweetheart Barrette / H... angelsandcraft... $5.95	Faith HumblePye $30.00	Hand for Haiti 8 x 10 thewheatfield $15.00
panda sleeping, size 12... BubbaluBaby $51.00	Christmas Flower Fancy ... greersjewelsof... $12.00	Kawaii Sticker Japanes... KawaiiTokyo $4.98
Darling Red and Aqua or... Sanguinaria $10.00	American Heart Angel ( ... angelsandcraft... $11.00	Aqua and Red Flowers iP... pippichick $23.99
Pretty in Red by Allie ... localhoneymark... $14.00	Catnip Toy Heart "... thedots $9.00	Valentine Card with Jap... Vamperstein $3.00
Set of 6 Blank Notes DragonflyPaper... $5.99	love birds in purple fo... BubbaluBaby $45.00	Cherry Blossom Coasters... LaMaisonLuxe $30.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Hearts Should Be Free - First Winner!

2012-01-31T12:15:00.000-06:00

I'm happy to announce the first winner of the Hearts Should Be Free giveaways!

Cerena Leigh won 20 Scribbleprints Valentines with her "Blog about Slavery" entry. She shared the 10 Facts about Modern Slavery on her blog, Ma Voix, Mes Mots, Ma Vie. Thanks so much for spreading awareness, Cerena!

There's more giveaways to be won going on still!
Click the button below to see them!

Hearts Should Be Free Giveaway - Tiggy's House

2012-01-26T10:46:00.004-06:00

At Tiggy's House Etsy Shop you'll find beautiful handmade jewelery. You'll also find a vision....a vision to help children who have been abused in the child sex trafficking industry; to give them a home and a place to heal.

Tiggy's House is named after Dana Harvey's young son, who died at 21 months of age. It is also the name that will be given to the children's home she is raising funds to build through Tiny Hands International, an organization which helps child victims of sex trafficking. 100% of the profits from her shop go to support this project.

The prices at Tiggy's House shop are really reasonable too. I was surprised to find many items for under $5, like the bracelet above.

You will have a chance to win an item of your choice from Tiggy's House. To enter, watch the short video below about Child Trafficking, and then fill out the Rafflecopter form below (sometimes the form takes a few minutes to load).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is just ONE of the items I'm giving away to spread awareness about modern slavery. I have more giveaways going RIGHT NOW, and later this month will have a multi-item giveaway which will include a bracelet from Tiggy's House.

Squidoo Blog Hop

2012-01-26T05:30:00.079-06:00

Hello, and welcome fellow Squido Lensmasters! For those who aren't travelling here by blog hop and don't know what Squidoo is, it's just a place where you can make nifty little web pages about any topic you choose, and maybe earn a little money for yourself or a charity in the process.

Got some exciting stuff to share this week!

I THINK I GOT ON THE FRONT PAGE OF SQUIDOO!
Last month I entered My Nazareth Lens (my only purple star) in the Purple Star Quest, a quest you could enter which gave you the chance to get on the Squidoo front page. On Jan 23 squidoo sent a note thanking me for entering and saying to "Stop by the Squidoo homepage during the week of 1/23/2012 to see if your lens was included in the rotation there." On the 23rd I started to get a bunch of likes and comments, and both my lensrank and my hits have shot up. In the last week I got 137 visits (usually get about 20 a week on that lens) and the lensrank, which was up to 12,000 something, is now down to 4,331. So, I MUST have been featured., though I've gone to the homepage gobs of times and can't find it.

NEW LENS AND AN EVENT TO FIGHT SLAVERY!

Some of you know about the event I'm holding here at this blog. It's a giveaway event to spread awareness of modern slavery, which affects as many as 27 million people today. One of the extra entry methods I'm offering for my giveaway is to blog about slavery, and I wanted to offer bloggers some resources...so I made a Squidoo Page with tips and tools people could use when they blogged about this issue. This is the second Squidoo lens I've made about modern slavery. The first was my Shop 2 Fight Slavery Lens. Another excellent lens on this subject (not by me) is Stop Human Trafficking.

Easy Wins: Low Entry Giveaways

2012-01-24T16:28:00.005-06:00

The cool thing about blog giveaways is you can usually tell now many people are entered. The less entered, the better your chances to win. Here's some I found with low entries ending soon.

Ends January 25

Mermaid Crown (10 entered)

Sanborn Western Adventure Camp (44 entered)

Ends January 27

Fit Moms For Life (37 entered)

Ends January 29
Amy's Organics (3 entries)

If you have a giveaway with less than 60 entries per prize ending in the next 5 days, please click here to submit it.

Please Also Visit Our Giveaway Event

to spread awareness about modern slavery!

Tuesday Treasury: Hearts 4 Charity

2012-01-24T14:54:00.002-06:00

Every Tuesday I feature a treasury of charity items from etsy. All of the hearts below benifit charity. To find about how much is donated and to where, click on the listing (a few of these shops list this info on their main shop page, not in individual listings...so try there next if you don't see it in the listing).

Love Christchurch Penda... cloudninecreat... $49.95	Pink Valentine Love Hea... LatreiaDesigns $15.00	Boo Boo Heart - Benefit... janiexy $18.00
Catnip Toy Heart "... thedots $10.00	Horse ornament - Charit... oneeyeddog $8.00	Chain of Love Hand Stam... MudballMermaid $15.00
Valentine heart jewelry... OneEyeCatStudi... $62.00	I LOVE Piano Music Char... ARTISANNE $14.00	Child's Painting fo... CowboyBallerin... $10.00
Heart Home Decor: Heart... EtsyItaliaTeam $10.00	Love Project Silver blojewelry $30.00	Little Pink Heart Plush... brokenbiscuits $6.50
Catnip Toy Heart &quo... thedots $9.00	Scissor / Key Fob, Ado... Tangerine8 $6.00	Red Hot Heart with Blac... PolymerClayfor... $10.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Please also visit the Hearts Can Be Free Event going on through February 23 to spread awareness of human trafficking (modern slavery).

Hearts Should Be Free - Valentines Giveaway - CLOSED

2012-01-23T12:47:00.017-06:00

I'm holding this giveaway to spread awareness of modern slavery. You may think that slavery ended with the Civil War, but there are actually more people in slavery today than there was before emancipation.

You have a chance to win 20 Valentines Mini-Cards pictured above just for learning a little about slavery. To enter, read the 10 facts below and then fill out the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post.

10 Facts about Modern Slavery

There are more slaves today than in any other time in modern history--around 27 million.
Slavery is illegal everywhere, but nevertheless is extremely widespread. Slavery exists even in developed nations, like the United States.
The average cost of a slave around the world is $90.
The slave trade today is commonly called "human trafficking." Human trafficking includes trafficking for forced labor and forced prostitution.
Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, second in size only to drug dealing, with the illegal arms trade running alongside.
Around 80% of human trafficking victims are women and girls.
50% of human trafficking victims are under 18.
Worldwide, there are nearly two million children in the commercial sex trade.
After being forced into prostitution, the average life expectancy for a child prostitute is 7 years.
1,000s of victims are trafficked into the US every year.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SOURCES FOR 10 FACTS:
1. AlterNet 2. BBC Ethics Guide: Modern Slavery 3. DoSomething.org 4. Wikipedia 5 - 8. International Justice Mission's Sex Trafficking Fact Sheet 9. Traffic 911 10. Free The Slaves.

Easy Wins: Low Entry Giveaways Ending Soon!

2012-01-20T07:32:00.000-06:00

The cool thing about blog giveaways is you can usually tell now many people are entered. The less entered, the better your chances to win. Here's some I found with low entries ending soon.

Ends January 20

8x10 Photo from Kaylee Johnson Photography (37 entered)

Ends January 23

Jockey Sports Bra (49 entered)

Ends January 24

New Purex UltraPacks Laundry Detergent (15 entered)

Please also Visit the Hearts Should Be Free event page!

The giveaways for this event don't start until January 23, but you can sign up to help promote it (and help spread awareness about modern slavery in all its forms, including the horrible practice of children child slave labor and child prostitution).

If you have a giveaway with less than 60 entries per prize ending in the next 5 days, please click here to submit it.

Hearts Should Be Free - Giveaway Event

2012-01-17T17:27:00.053-06:00

Did you know that there are as many as 27 million people in slavery today? That's more than there were before the start of the civil war! There are people being kept illegally enslaved by fraud and threat of violence in every country around the world.

This giveaway event is meant to spread awareness about modern slavery (sometimes called human trafficking). So many are un-aware of this terrible injustice, and people who don't know about a problem can't do anything to change it.

To increase awareness, over the next few weeks I'll be giving away various items on this blog. To enter to you will be asked to read articles or watch short videos about slavery.

There will be at least 5 giveaways from various shops: prizes will include jewelry, Valentines, stationery, a cell phone cover, and more!

Open Giveaways!

3G Cell Phone Case (2/29)

Scribbleprints Stationery (2/29)

Coming Soon!

Bracelet From Tiggy's House

AND MORE!!!!

HSBF WINNERS

Scribbleprints Valentines
Winner: Cerena Leigh

Tiggy's House Item of Choice

Winner: Clenna Emery

Volunteers Wanted!
Do you care about the issues of slavery? Want to help spread the word about this event? I'm looking for people to help with the following:

Post The "Hearts Should Be Free" Event on Your Sidebar
You can find the blog button code on my sidebar. (I plant to give extra entries for this in most of the giveaways!)

Sign Up to Help Me Add The Giveaways to Linkies
I need people to help me spread the news about this giveaway by adding giveaways to linkies. Click here to learn more or sign up to volunteer..

Offer Extra Entries On Your Giveaways
If you host giveaways on your blog, you can help by offering extra entries to people who enter a Hearts Should Be Free giveaway. If you are interested in doing this please contact me at ecarian at yahoo dot com. I will be listing these giveaways so people can visit them. (Family friendly giveaways only please).

Sign Up As a Giveaway Sponor, Host, or Promoter for Next Year

I plan to make this an annual event. If you are interested in helping out in next years even, just send me an e-mail at ecarian at yahoo dot com and let me know how you'ld like to be involved. Next year I plan to widen this out and allow other blogs to participate. I promise not to use your e-mail for anything except coordinating how you'll participate and updating you on things realated to Hearts Should Be Free.

And of course, once the giveaways start, I'll need people to help share this on facebook, twitter, etc!

Thanks to Andrea Renee for her creative commons photo which was used to make the background for the button for this event.

More Giveaways To Be Posted Every Week!
(Through the End of February)
Learn More About Modern Slavery Here

Tuesday Treasury: Valentines 4 Charity

2012-01-17T11:54:00.004-06:00

The etsy artists who made the items below are donating all or a portion of their profits from these gifts to charity. Click the listing to see where and how much is donated (in some cases this info is in the shop home page, not the listing).

Valentine's Day Car... cardsforacause... $3.00	Red Velvet Heart Ice Cr... ElvenStarClayw... $10.00	The Ugly Heartling Neck... ElvenStarClayw... $16.00
Roses are Red my Love F... greersjewelsof... $12.00	Will you be my Valentin... ThreeMuttsBake... $12.00	Valentine's Day Gre... cardsforacause... $3.00
I love you card in brai... Petrascrafts $5.97	Red Heart Shaped Sugar ... ElvenStarClayw... $6.00	Roll on Perfume - Scent... EskimoKissez $10.00
Custom Hand Painted Ais... Cycling4aCure $75.00	Free Standing Lace Rose... ourspecialange... $7.00	Valentine Card with Jap... Vamperstein $3.00
Set of 10 Envelope Seal... vintagescrap $3.75	Valentine Love card, ha... made4aid $3.00	HOPE - Limited Edition ... GingerUrchin $25.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

My Top 5 Tips for Bloggers

2012-01-16T17:55:00.002-06:00

Listography is a linky with a new top 5 list every week. This time it's your top 5 blogging tips, and I wanted to get in on this one, even though I am by no means an "expert" blogger.

Tag your posts. Especially anything that's weekly or monthly. You may have a blog where you talk about gardening, parenting, and poetry. The people who are interested in one topic may not be interested in another, and this lets them browse what they want to blog not what they don't. It also lets you send links to just those topics on your blog.
Forget About Right Click Blocker! And this is coming from someone who makes money off her art (see my other blog, Scribbleprints.) It's annoying to your readers, who can't open your links in other tabs, or who are trying to use right click to bookmark your link or send your link to a friend. What's worse is if they get a rude "Don't steal from me!" pop up message when they try (great way to offend your followers). And people can steal everything you're trying to protect very easily by some alternative methods (the simplest is highlighting and copying your whole post, pictures and all, right into blogger...so you are basically pissing off the honest readers while not doing much to stop the real theives). It's better to put copyright info on your blog or to watermark your images.
Learn Some HTML. (Or CSS). Yes, blogger does a lot of it for you...but I can't tell you how many times it's come in useful for me to tweak the HTML blogger provides. With just some basic html I can make pictures linkable, resize pictures, lay out my sidebar like I want, add code for people to copy paste to post my buttons, fix bad copy-paste code from other people's sites, etc.
Add Pictures! But don't break copyright. You can take your own pictures, or find Creative Commons or Public Domain images online. (Here's a list of my favorite places to find free graphics and photos to use). DON'T just grab anything off the web. That's stealing, and is both illegal and rude! If you want your photos to look really pretty, I also suggest downloading the Gimp or another good graphics program. It's helpful to be able to crop things at the very least, and you can use color correct to make dull photos really pop. (This comes into play more on my blog Texifornia then here).
Join Linky Parties or Blog Hops! I've gained more followers from this than anything else I've tried. You can get a more detailed description of what a linky party is here. They can be weekly, monthly, or one time events. There's a good list of giveaway linkies here (if you have giveaways on your site). I've started a list of one time linkies here.

Linky Volunteers Needed

2012-01-16T13:18:00.004-06:00

Sign Up to Help Me Add The Giveaways to Linkies
I need help promoting the Hearts Should Be Free giveaway event to spread awareness of modern slavery.

Adding giveaway to linkys is very simple...it just involves filling out a short form with the name and URL of the giveaway. When you sign up to be a linky volunteer you will be sent a list of 5 linkies to post to on the days you volunteer.

To volunteer please leave the following in the comments below, or send this info to me at ecarian@yahoo.com with HEARTS LINKY in the title.

1. Email where I can contact you.
2. Dates you would like to volunteer (any dates now through Feb 23)*. If you give me a range (any Mondays, Feb 12-15, etc.) please specify how many total days you want to volunteer.
3. How many linkies you'ld like to fill out per day (minimum of 5)
4. How many linkies you'ld like to fill out total.

*Most giveaway linkies are posted on a specific day of the week, which is why I am asking people to choose days. You will be sent a list of 5 linkies to post on for every date you choose. If you're date is already full I will send you a list of 5 ongoing linkies to post to in stead of weekly linkies.

Thanks so much!

Easy Wins: Low Entry Giveaways

2012-01-13T17:49:00.001-06:00

The cool thing about blog giveaways is you can usually tell now many people are entered. The less entered, the better your chances to win. Here's some I found with low entries ending soon.

Ends January 14

L'oreal Paris Dermo – Expertise Active Daily Moisture (4 prizes - 34 entered = ~9 entries per prize)

Ends January 15

Swarovsky Owl (28 comments)

Ends January 16

Blue Jackal Storybook App (9 entered/3 winners = 3 entries per prize)

If you have a giveaway with less than 60 entries per prize ending in the next 5 days, please click here to submit it.

What's New at Squidoo

2012-01-12T14:20:00.001-06:00

10 Low Entry Giveaways!

2012-01-10T14:37:00.000-06:00

Shaelyn has 12 giveaways going right now that have less than 60 comments - I think they all end TODAY!

Beatuful stuff...she caught me at a busy time and I don't have time to post pictures to all of them, or even link to them separately. But if you like artys Jewelery or Fantasy (expecially Tolkien Fantasy) you'll love exploring these.

Flower Key Chain (47 entries)

(not tagged with others)

Other 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways

Sunny Yellow Baby Gifts for Charity

2012-01-10T11:42:00.001-06:00

Some of these things are for baby...some of them are just baby cute. All of them benefit charity.

Yellow Newborn Hat - Or... KnitsForLife $40.00	Greyhound in disguise b... handmade4hound... $15.00	Yellow Bunny- plush toy... moyoworkshop $39.00
Over the Moon Flannel B... bluewhimsy $45.00	Baby Cardigan - Lemonad... GlenEchoDesign... $25.00	Coffee Fairy Birthday C... FairyCardmaker $4.50
Boston Beanies Knit Lem... BostonBeanies $28.00	0-3 Months. HOOTHAT in ... freckletree $25.00	Kimono Baby Booties - L... GlenEchoDesign... $18.00
White Daisy Headband SummerJadeBout... $4.50	Soft yellow, mint green... breTEAMinTRAIN... $40.00	SALE - Little Baby Prin... PolymerClayfor... $7.50
Lemon Verbena cold-proc... suds4strays $5.00	100% Charity, Adorable ... MoreThanSoup $4.00	Decorative yellow anima... breTEAMinTRAIN... $15.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Easy Wins: Low Entry Giveaways

2012-01-04T11:31:00.001-06:00

The cool thing about blog giveaways is you can usually tell now many people are entered. The less entered, the better your chances to win. Here's some I found with low entries ending soon.

Ends January 5

Natural Cleaning Products (6 entered)

Sister Schubert's Bread (19 entered)

Accessionary Men's T-Shirt (18 entered)

Ends January 8

Temari Ball (35 entered)

If you have a giveaway with less than 60 entries per prize ending in the next 5 days, please click here to submit it.

Fair Trade Giveaways

2012-01-04T11:24:00.002-06:00

When you buy Fair Trade you know you are buying products that provide a living wage to workers throughout their supply change, and are slavery-free.

Ends January 10

Noonday Necklace

Ends January 11

Slowcolor Scarf

Unsure of End Date

Fair Trade Sweeteners (Daily Entries)

If you know of another giveaway for Fair Trade items, I'm happy to share it! Please submit it here.

Wish You'ld Won?

2012-01-03T13:53:00.000-06:00

Gerbera Daisy Postage by WheatgrassDesigns

Did you miss out on winning the Sunny Holiday giveaway I hosted last month? Well, three of the shops in it have another giveaway going on! Click here to check it out.

Gifts for Good - True Blue for Joey's Eagles

2012-01-03T13:13:00.002-06:00

'Joey's Eagles are Etsy Angels' Angels!' by wildlifer78

It's 2012 and what better way to kick off a new year than to help a charity or organization! The Etsy Angels are raising funds for Joey's Eagles, an organization which to provides support for families with children and young adults facing cancer or other serious chronic illnesses.

Baby Bib, Purple with K... sewinggranny $5.00	choo-choo blue too - S... myminimocs $28.00	Kindle 3 eReader or Kin... ByNanasHands $23.00
Sapphire - Porcelain an... BeadedTail $13.00	Crocheted Blue Angry Bi... MamaJody54 $25.00	Dragonfly Hand Crochet ... crochetbymsa $23.95
Brilliant Blue polymer ... craftsbychris $13.00	This is one angry bird ... OohLeelaPets $35.00	LiL Hooter ArrivingAngels $8.50
Sparkling Blue Goldston... JewelryBargain... $14.00	Fold Over Zipper Clutch... handjstarcreat... $18.00	SALE Set of 3 ...Celebr... maranda $6.50
Mood Bead Necklace w/Gl... justByou $7.00	Vintage Baby Blue and G... silkcreekgalle... $16.50	Silver chain earrings w... mygifts2u $12.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

I had so much fun making my Christmas Charitable gift guide I decided to keep up a weekly post of charitable gifts. This week I didn't have time to make up one myself, but found this posted by the Etys Angels. Stop by every Tuesday to view the treasury!

Weekly Linkies

2012-01-03T08:06:00.013-06:00

Market Yourself Monday

Share it Friday

Easy Wins: Low Entry Giveaways Ending Soon!

2012-01-01T12:22:00.000-06:00

Oops! I accidently e-mailed the wrong link.

The link you're looking for is here...

Hearts Should Be Free

If you have a giveaway with less than 60 entries per prize ending in the next 5 days, please click here to submit it.

Recomended Giveaways!

2011-12-30T05:27:00.005-06:00

Here's some things that I own and love that I spotted giveaways for....

One Thousand Gifts (12/31)

A friend bought this for me, and it is one of the most beautiful and touching books I've ever read. I also love the author's blog...A Holy Experience.

Jingle the Husky Pup Story Buddy (1/5)

My youngest got this from his grandparents this Christmas, and it is SO NEAT! The cute little pup make soft barking, howling, and other doggy sounds as you read the story, in response to different parts. It's very soft, and doesn't interrupt the reading...and my son just lights up every time Jingle does something! AND, you can say some of the phrases when the story isn't going and he'll respond to you. For instance, "Jingle want to sing?" will make the puppy howl a Jingle Bells! :-)

Neat-O Zip Bin (1/5)

These bins fold out into a play mat and are just a neat way to keep your kids toys organized. They just fold the play mat up with everything on it when they're done playing with their toys. I won one earlier this year, which my older boys use for thier legos, and am thinking about getting one for my youngest's trains. :-)

Congrats to Melissa!

2011-12-29T15:38:00.002-06:00

Melissa, you won our Sunny Holiday Giveaway! I've sent you an e-mail to let you know!

For those that didn't win, I've still got some goodies for you...

Get a free card from Send Out Cards

(visit her site for details)

Get 20.12% off Your Order

at any of the Zazzle shops listed below

with coupon code 2012NEWYEARS

(Ends Jan 4)

abitosunshine

Wheatgrass Designs

Misty Dawn Photography

Scribbleprints

By the Becks

Squidoo Blog Hop

2011-12-29T13:59:00.003-06:00

Hello, and welcome fellow Squido Lensmasters! Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! I really enjoyed this Christmas, though it was busy. But this december I still managed to get a couple lenses done!

First one is a Scribbleprints Geek Gifts lens featuring goodies for geeks at my shops!

And the other is one I just finished that I hope you can all help me out with. Remember how there used to be a suggestion section in the Squidu Forums...then they got rid of it? Well, I just made a 2012 Squidoo Wishlist lens where people can share what they hope will be added, fixed and changed at Squidoo in 2012. I'm hoping if it's popular enough Squidoo staff will take notice! So I hope you'll visit and add and vote on wishes, but also let me know if there's anything you see that might need changing/improving! Thanks!

________________________________________________________________________
For those who aren't travelling here by blog hop and don't know what Squidoo is, it's just a place where you can make nifty little web pages about any topic you choose, and maybe earn a little money for yourself or a charity in the process.

Low Entry Giveaways

2011-12-27T17:07:00.007-06:00

The cool thing about blog giveaways is you can usually tell now many people are entered. The less entered, the better your chances to win. Here's some I found with low entries ending soon. Organized by End Date.

December 27

$25 Amazon Voucher (11 entered)

December 28

Tickets to the AAA Great Vacations EXPO in Columbus, Ohio

(5 winners/106 entered = about 21 entries per prize)

December 30

Advertising on Frugal Follies (42 entered)

If you have a giveaway with less than 60 entries per prize ending in the next 5 days, please click here to submit it.

Spanish Giveaways

2011-12-27T06:34:00.001-06:00

I'm trying to learn Spanish and teach my kids, so I'm always looking for language learning giveaways. Here's a few I found (organized by end date)...

12/28 - Little Pim*

1/3 - El Perro y El Gato

1/6 - Little Pim*

*You get extra entries for blogging about the starred ones...so guess what, I got extra entries! Yipee!

Looking Forward - Giving Forward - Calendars for Causes

2011-12-27T04:30:00.001-06:00

This December I featured a different treasury of Etsy items where a portion was donated to charity. I've decided to keep this up throughout the year featuring a different charitable treasury every Tuesday.

All or a portion of the proceeds for the sale of every calendar listed below goes to charity or another good cause. (The Sunset Calendar supports the artist's own medical bills, as he is battling Cancer).

Myths and Months of Spay and... SeeSpotPose $12.50	2012 wall Calendar Babies al... pamelacontrera... $20.00
St. Charles Humane Society 2... melismatic $5.00	Amsterdam NY 2012 Benefit Ca... paisleytreepre... $20.00
Silver Project Calendar- for... yecatssiwel $25.00	2012 Charity Pet Wall Calend... RlynnPhotograp... $17.00
2012 Sunsets Calendar - Prof... Comfortforacau... $20.00	Kids For a Cause Charity Cal... schmalz $20.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Safari for a Cause

2011-12-21T09:32:00.001-06:00

These Safari themed gifts all benifit charity. Click on the listing to see which charity and how much is donated. Some of the shops list this info on their main shop page, not on their listing.

Three Special Blessings... TheSparrowFund $15.00	wooden teething toys - ... SmilingTreeToy... $29.00	Black Leopard - Onyx an... BeadedTail $12.00
Runnin' Rhinos Card... sdunderkoffler $8.00	Cute Child's Lion S... AngsFiberArt $30.00	Giraffe Love 5x7 print sarahunderwood... $12.00
Safari Necklace by John... GaylsGoodies $18.00	Vintage Ethnic Ceramic ... LifeBound $20.00	Kente Cloth Inspired To... jodilea $25.00
Card, Coin Purse, PADDE... aHelpingHandBa... $5.99	Newborn Zebra Beanie (D... lizziebob555 $15.00	Polymer Clay Cheeetah B... MudballMermaid $17.00
Evening Elephant - phot... oceloteyes $20.00	Henrietta - Antique Bra... TheTwoLittleMo... $22.00	Bahasha Tote v1 zawadisha $25.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

For More Charitable Gifts Visit

Shop 4 Charity on Squidoo

Easy Wins: Low Entry Giveaways

2011-12-20T12:07:00.002-06:00

Ends December 20

I Caught Santa (33 entered)

Ends December 22

Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner (99 entered/5 prizes = about 20 entered per prize)

Ends December 23

I Caught Santa (0 entered)

Speekee Spanish for Kids (10 entered)

Dozen Cakeballs (0 entered)

Ends December 27
$25 Amazon Voucher (2 entered)

Ends December 28

$20 to Spend At 6 Fun Shops (30 entered)

I will not be accepting more giveaway submissions until after Christmas. Thanks!

Carpentry for Charity

2011-12-20T09:51:00.000-06:00

All these wonderful wooden creations contribute to some wonderful causes. Click to listing to see where and how much is donated.

Apple Tree Earrings OrganicArchite... $34.00	12 piece organic wood B... SmilingTreeToy... $15.00	Wood and silver campfir... LilahVintage $24.50
organic SWING and SEE-S... SmilingTreeToy... $54.00	circa 1900 wood-burning... NecktieParty $25.00	Organic Wood Earrings m... OrganicArchite... $34.00
baby RATTLE wood teethe... SmilingTreeToy... $26.00	12"x18" Recl... FromtheProject... $99.00	Kids Matching Tile Game... littlesaplingt... $26.00
SALE - Date Bracelet - ... PolymerClayfor... $11.25	Pig, Teapot, Fish, & Ty... jodilea $30.00	Antique Wooden Gamble B... UptownVintage $74.00
Balinese teak wood jewe... LilahVintage $9.00	natural wooden STACKING... SmilingTreeToy... $32.00	Handmade Inlay Peace Do... GradeDesigns $15.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

For More Charitable Gifts Visit

Shop 4 Charity on Squidoo

Men's Gifts Which Make a Difference

2011-12-17T16:55:00.001-06:00

Gifts for guys which benefit charity! Click on the listings to see how much is donated and to where.

1 Anatomical Heart - Re... BreadandBadger $24.00	Gut Aiderbichl Chimpanz... osha $65.00	BEYOND COURAGE CHILDHEL... 3littlegems $45.00
The Cowboy SweetScorpioDe... $150.00	skinny scarf - Black Ca... made4aid $20.00	FEATURED: Rescue pit bu... poppyvictoria1... $99.00
Chopper Sculpture from ... BrownDogWeldin... $140.00	Men's Brown Tweed K... crafting4critt... $22.00	tiger portrait in oils ... tagscats $300.00
DIEgrinder, Mr. Blasty ... BrownDogWeldin... $115.00	Dalmation Dog, Puppy in... hartart13 $900.00	12"x22" Recla... FromtheProject... $110.00
Gray Paracord Survival ... CrystalFyre $10.50	Wall-Mounted Wine Displ... RWKdesigns $20.00	Mustache Shaving Soap BlueRootsGoods $6.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

For More Charitable Gifts Visit

Shop 4 Charity on Squidoo

Gifts that Give Twice

2011-12-15T17:24:00.003-06:00

Give a gift from a shop that gives all or part of it's proceeds to charity. (This treasury was compiled by Beth of Tabachin.)

Lace Christmas Ornament... branchbound $17.99	YOU are in my HEART - ... sofiart $11.00	Soft and pretty as a pe... auroraborealis... $21.00
Cherry Blossom Festival... BlueRoseRetro $18.00	LOVE heals JAPAN - 8.5... planetmomeko $20.00	Japan Earthquake/tsunam... ApacheMoon $65.00
i heart you necklace - Salt City Design $5.00	Vintage English Setter ... theanimalsmagi... $8.00	Cup and Saucer / Norita... CTMercantile $15.00
Charity Donation 100%. ... SunAndRain $15.00	Photographer Mouse orna... TheHouseOfMous... $35.00	Painting-Lady of the Se... AbstractBedoui... $40.00
CHARITY DONATION ITEM 3... kcdestash $5.00	Blue Gingham Cat 100% C... forpawsandhome $10.00	Golden crystal pearl br... sue8261 $20.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

For More Charitable Gifts Visit

Shop 4 Charity on Squidoo

Giveaways for Good

2011-12-15T17:02:00.003-06:00

The following giveaways are for products from shops that give back,
or encourage entrants to do something good!

Ends December 16

Heart of Haiti Giveaway

The Heart Of Haiti Collection has led to the employment of 450 Haitian artists

Ends December 18

X-Box 360 + $200 in Gift Cards
To enter this giveaway you have to join
a program to help schools when you shop.

Ends December 19

Headband from Resurrection Knits

All proceeds for Resurrection Knits go to International Justice Mission

to support their mission of rescuing slaves (yes, unfortunately, slavery still exists).

Ends December 21

$50 Gifts to Humanity Gift Card
Gifts to Humainty carries fair trade products from around the world.

Ends December 26

Beaded Necklace
Giveaway promotes World Vision, a charity which helps
families in poverty around the world.

Ends December 28

$20 You can Spend at 6 Shops..
...not all of which benefit charity, but 5% of purchase price of
items from the Breast Cancer Awareness section of By the Becks do!
Plus you get extra entries for playing a game for charity at Free Rice.

Know of another Giveaway for Good?
Please share it here!

Gifts for Kids...and a Cause!

2011-12-14T15:09:00.002-06:00

All these adorable gifts for kids also benefit charity. Click on the listing to find out how much is donated, and to where.

giclee art print Save t... faraharia $65.00	Red - Toddler TuTu - f... Psalm117 $15.00	Goolop Monster Child ... CowboyBallerin... $7.00
Agatha Girl Doll in Blu... TheSparrowFund $12.00	Mustache Whale Plush: B... wildflowermake... $30.00	Gingerbread Man Recycle... BigSisterDesig... $6.00
Onesie with striped sai... deardavy $15.99	Newborn Baby Slippers -... GlenEchoDesign... $18.00	3-6m. HOOTHAT "Ret... freckletree $25.00
Plinka the Shifty threeredtrees $47.00	Yellow Newborn Hat - Or... KnitsForLife $40.00	Eco Crayon and Pencil R... bugsella $16.20
Baby girl onesie with f... deardavy $15.99	SALE Space Cadets Crib ... bluewhimsy $60.00	Disney Winnie the Pooh ... cardsbyjane $40.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

For More Charitable Gifts Visit

Shop 4 Charity on Squidoo

Easy Wins: Low Entry Giveaways

2011-12-13T21:54:00.002-06:00

Ends Dec 14

20% Discount Coupon for San Disk Memory Vault (0 Entered/4 prizes)

Hot Cocoa and Marshmallow Gift Set (72 Entered)

Ends Dec 16

Handcrafted Julie Clark Bag and Coin Purse (8 entered) - Ends Noon

Ends Dec 17

Coupons (12 entered)

Please also come check out the giveaway I have going for a

$20 Shopping Spree at 6 Different Artsy Shops!

If you have a giveaway with less than 60 entries per prize ending in the next 5 days, please click here to submit it.

Red and Green for Charity

2011-12-13T10:03:00.021-06:00

All of these lovely gifts benifit charity! Click on the individual listing to see how much is donated and to where.

Christmas Ornament Earr... feralstrumpet $7.00	Relief - Green beaded o... EuropeForChari... $34.00	3 Hair Clips - you choo... SummerJadeDesi... $21.00
Peacock Eye Necklace, i... AllisonGraemeJ... $60.00	REDUCED - Hand Knit Rav... FoxyGknits $60.00	KITTY HAT, Green (croch... danadooleydesi... $20.00
Red Ribbon Charity Brac... vivatregina $7.00	Christmas Ornament- Wir... gulickkr $15.00	Red SweetScorpioDe... $150.00
Polygon Catnip toy (Inc... mrsmouse $2.50	100% CHARITY DONATION -... brightenyourda... $35.00	Key Plate handmadehopesh... $10.00
Adorable red suede buck... Dustythings $65.00	Paws for a Cause Soap -... ThePigAndThePe... $5.00	Charity Donation -- Red... DonationDesign... $22.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

'Holiday Gifts that Give' Treasury by IsabelSylvanPoetry

A wonderful collection of gifts that give twice!

Ruby Dangle Dazzle Earr... WillieandLu $28.00	Chunky Cabled Mittens -... GlenEchoDesign... $30.00	No Place Like Home char... jjbackman $13.95
Red Crochet Spiral Flow... yarntwisted $35.00	Cross Body Bag, Travel ... aHelpingHandBa... $40.99	PRINT - Celebrate/50% d... krize $19.00
CHARITY Chunky charm br... SassySpark $60.00	Litttle black shoes Le... LillyBeeLane $20.00	turkey earthquake relie... PureRoxInPrint $30.00
Eco friendly pink and r... linaloos $6.00	Joy To The World Santa ... sherrisscentsa... $4.00	Hope for Japan Bracelet... BossyMossyBead... $24.00
Red Ho Ho Ho Dog Collar caninedesign $8.00	Sale - Snowflake red an... Boitifole $45.00	Art Print - Wheaton Ter... inspiredpetpor... $20.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

For More Charitable Gifts Visit

Shop 4 Charity on Squidoo

Easy Wins: Low Entry Giveaways

2011-12-08T15:53:00.006-06:00

Ends Dec 9

2 $10 Mystery Items from the Something Store (27 entries)

Ends Dec 10

$25 Restaurant.com Gift Card (5 entries)

Hand-made Fleece Winter Hat, Dogbone, or Key Chain (4 entries)

Hand-Sew Clutch and Rossette Hair Clips (27 entries)

Ends Dec 11

$25 Sam's Club Card and Box of Chex Cereal (10 entries)

HandCrafted "Season of Love" Framed Vinyl Picture (13 entries)

Ends Dec 12

Curly Hair Care Package (4 entries)
Quilted Stocking (9 entries)

Ends Dec 13

Algebrator Educational Math Software (2 entries)

Mixed Bag with Journal, Chocholate, and more! (6 entries)

Please also come check out the giveaway I have going for a

$20 Shopping Spree at 6 Different Artsy Shops!

If you have a giveaway with less than 60 entries per prize ending in the next 5 days, please click here to submit it.