Black Friday Sale

I am having a sale in both my shops on both Etsy and Hyena Cart starting "Black Friday" and lasting through midnight "Cyber Monday." In both locations Mommy's Little Helper will have BUY 2 GET THE 3RD HALF OFF and Maddie & ME will have FREE SHIPPING FOR STOCK ITEMS.

Please note that Maddie & ME is no longer taking custom orders until after the holidays.

IF YOU ARE HAVING SALES IN YOUR SHOPS, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT AND A LINK SO MY MOST WONDERFUL AND FAITHFUL READERS KNOW!

NEW SERVICE OFFERED!

I am now offering Gift Wrapping and Drop Ship Service in both Maddie & ME and Mommy's Little Helper on both etsy and Hyena Cart. Here is a description of what I will do for you, my wonderful customer, to make your holiday's easier even if just by a bit!

I will gift wrap any purchase and ship it to the desired recipient for a small packaging fee. This is a standard service that I offer that I am upgrading for the Holiday Season.

Although I prefer kraft paper with beautiful ribbon I will also offer a small selection of gift wrap (photos of selection to be added). I will be using hand tied wire ribbon bows tied by me (as taught by my mother, and her by her mother) in either red, green, white or light blue as you select. Additionally I will even hand write a gift tag with any small (10 words or less) note for no extra charge.

I will be sure that all prices are removed off of all tags and corresponding paperwork. Attached I've shown pictures of the packaging styles I will use to gift wrap your very special Mommy's Little Helper gift or Maddie & ME dress / set for your very special Princess.

This package will be enclosed in a box or shipping envelope as required for shipping and I can and will even write "Do Not Open Until Christmas (or ____ day of Hanukkah)" on the outside if requested. This is a new offering for me and I'd love to accommodate my customers as much as possible. Please feel free to contact me with any requests and I'll do my best to fulfill them.

** Please note that for each gift wrap / drop ship even if going to the same location a separate listing must be purchased.

I've Been Featured!

Maddie & ME has been featured on the America's Handmade Homefront site. Please take a moment and read the lovely interview that was put together by our wonderful and fearless leader, Emily of EllaBearBowtique. Thanks!

Feature Seller - dawnberries

This is my first real featured seller. I came across dawnberries on Cafe Mom and am absolutely fascinated with her allergy jewelry. My child does not have food allergies, but 2 of her cousins do and so we are very sensitive to the issue. I decided to do my first interview with Dawn because I really wanted to feature what she makes and help promote the allergy jewelry. So, without further ado here is our interview:

-How did you come up with your shop name?

My name is Dawn Berry, and I thought dawnberries was funny because it sounds like my little fruits.

-What inspires you to create?

I've always made things. Since having my son, it has just changed to things like diapers and allergy jewelry. It's just something I have to do!

-How do you juggle time between family, friends, and running your shop?

I find this pretty tough, actually. My son sits on my lap sometimes while I'm on the computer. He loves to try to figure out how the sewing machine works. And his favorite thing of all is "sorting" my beads.

-Tell us what one of your products we shouldn't be without and why.

Here is my son in the first allergy necklace. We had got some of those stainless steel bracelets for him to wear when we were going to visit family in Africa. We wanted a reminder to them of what they mustn't feed him. Although they were somewhat interested in the bracelet he was wearing (& so made the effort to read it), I wanted something more obvious, nearer his face, and something cuter. Now, he always wears an allergy necklace when we go to a party or play date. He also has a couple of charms attached to his diaper bag with the names and phone numbers of his pediatrician and allergist, as well as all his allergies.

-What is unique/sets you apart from the rest about your products, materials, process?

Most of the other allergy alert items on the market are the old, metal, medical alert id bracelets. And they are geared toward medical personnel. Mine are more for people the child sees everyday. They are reminders for family, friends, and caregivers. And they are cute and stylish and use engraved wooden beads, along with things like natural amber beads (double duty for teething) and sterling silver findings.

-What is your favorite handmade possession?

It's got to be something from my grandma but I'm not sure which thing. I have beaded Xmas ornaments, crocheted-top tea towels, several knitted sweaters and an afghan. I cherish them all!

-Besides on etsy, where can we find your products?

I also have a store on hyenacart at www.hyenacart.com/dawnberries.

-What new items should we be on the look out for from your shop?

I have some anodized aluminum dog tags that will be listed very soon. They say "I have food allergies" on one side and can be personalized with the specific allergies on the other side. They come in a variety of colors and can be attached to almost anything. I have also been making leather wrist bands, both engraved and hand tooled, which are about to be listed and feature colorful plastic snaps.

If you want to add anything what so ever that you think would benefit this feature please feel free to do so.

I love to buy hand-made also, and have started some collaborations too. I have used some beautiful one of a kind, hand-made, glass lampwork beads made by The Purple Triangle to make some allergy charms. I am also currently working on a collaboration with another etsian, The Eli Monster, to make some silk-screened fabric badges that say FOOD ALLERGIES.

Hand & Body Cream Release

The newest product to be unveiled by Mommy's Little Helper will be released for purchase on Hyena Cart at NOON today, November 10th, 2008! Mommy's Little Helper will also release the same product for purchase on etsy later the same day. Please come to Hyena Cart to get the first available as it is first come first served. Once the first batch is sold out it will be about 5 days before the second release.

HAVE YOU ENTERED?

My friend, Smokey Mountain Scents is having a featured seller and give away on her blog! Since I'm not currently
giving anything away I thought I'd promote hers.

Go check it out at Smokey Mountain Scents and enter to win!
And since you're on my site looking I thought I'd show you a few
of my favorite items that "Smokey" makes.
Links provided, just click on the pictures!

Hope you've enjoyed this little interlude. Since I haven't anything else worked up to blog about at this time it seemed reasonable to promote her work. After all she IS a friend.

HAND & BODY CREAM

"Intensive Therapy, Hardcore Moisture"

ALL NATURAL!

I don't need to say too much about how fabulous this new product is; I'll let my product testers tell you in their own words.

ArmyWifeWYO says: The hand cream was great it soaked right into my hands which is great for me, as it is so dry here in Wyoming. After about a hour I didn't have to reapply like I do other lotions which is great! I also like the fact that you didn't have to use very much to rub all over onto my hands! As for anything I don't like? ... nothing, this lotion is great!! And the best lotion I have had in a long time to help my rough dry hands!

TannerCustomCraft says: The healing hand and body lotion felt so good and creamy putting it on and smelled so refreshingly minty. It even reminded me of Doublemint gum!

TulipTreeBaby says: This has a very nice scent and is very moisturizing. My only complaint is that it has a slight greasy feel on my ultra dry finger tips. I am not sure how to accurately describe why this is, I think I would just like it a bit smoother. But it goes on much better after a shower or washing hands. It definitely makes a great night cream. I think I am going to try using the rest of it up by using it more frequently. I think part of my problem is washing my hands too many times during the day and not always putting lotion back on, because I haven't found a lotion yet that ever really heals the deep cracks. Based on that I would say that my review of your lotion is not as accurate as it could be. Other than that, I am really liking the lotion more and more as I use it. The smell is so refreshing and feels good on my upper hands and arms.

SMOX says: The lotion- LOVE it! You may want to let people know that it takes a little while for your skin to soak it all in... took about 5 minutes for me... but once it did... i was amazed. I have extremely dry skin, especially my hands. I often suffer from cracked knuckles and cuticles which is extremely painful, and even more difficult to combat! Within 5 minutes of using Mommy's Little Helper's Healing Hand and Body Cream my hands were supple and soft. I used it a couple times each day for the next couple days and saw marked improvement in my skin, even after washing a whole sink full of dishes! I may never go back to store brand lotion ever again!

GingerlyDressed says: Lovely hand cream! I love the scent, it's not too overpowering, yet lingers in a subtle way. A little greasy when first applied, but you'll notice you don't need to re-apply lots of times throughout the day. The oils settle in to give you a nice soft, moisturized feeling all day. And, even better, when we purchase we are supporting a military family, and a hard-working mother! That is worth the purchase in itself!

EllaBearBowtique says: A little bit of this goes such a long way! I truly love the smell and it keeps my hands super soft and moisturized for so long. Not only is it great on hands that are dried out but feet and heels as well. I started using it on my feet as soon as the weather turned colder and it has worked wonders for me.

Ali of Designs Etcetera says: I have used this for some time now. Sometimes once a day, sometimes twice a day. I like the way it makes my hands feel, smooth and silky. It is a little greasy at first but if you rub it in a bit more it will not be greasy for long. It also leaves a nice shine on my hands. I will definitely continue to use this through the winter.

I was asked by a friend HomemadeZen about it spoiling. Here is our discussion:
"Mommy, nice new item! Just wondering, does the cream spoil easily since it is all natural? Creams in an open jar usually goes bad pretty quickly in my experience (starting to smell funky)."
My response:
"Zen, I've kept my personal stash in an open ramekin for the past month and had no issues as of yet. I don't know how long it might take to spoil, but being left in the bathroom for a month with the steam, etc and it's still just as good as day one."

The container pictured is a 2 oz. and will be sold for $5 plus shipping. Each container will be labeled with the Mommy's Little Helper label as well as the basic product description. All of the hand creams are sealed with an inner seal for your protection as well as shrink wrapped.

Basic Ingredients: Soybean Oil, Cottonseed Oil, Bees Wax, Almond Oil, Spearmint and Lavender Essential Oils.

This product is set for release in my shops on both etsy and Hyena Cart on November 10th. I will take pre-orders (which is helpful to know how much product to make and have ready to ship on the release date). Please contact me at Mommy's Little Helper to place a pre-order.

Please note that these responses have only been edited for grammar and spelling, not content!

DON'T FORGET TO FALL BACK TONIGHT

Tonight is the night, don't forget to
set your clocks back one hour tonight!

Scrumptious Saturday, revisited!

OK, so I know its been a while since I've done a Scrumptious Saturday Recipe post. Its not that I've stopped cooking, I have even been taking pictures once in a while as I make a meal. I just haven't taken the time to post any in a while. Here is one that is super easy and can be mixed up in so many different ways. Without further ado:

Tortilla Soup with Home Made Tortilla Chips.

Fist you'll need this Bear Creek brand Tortilla Soup mix. They have so many wonderful different soups, I recommend trying a few different ones. This is definitely one of our favorites. I added a can of diced tomatoes with chili's, some plain corn and I made up a batch of taco seasoning meant for ground beef. I added 2 large cans of chicken to that and let it simmer for a bit to soak up the seasoning. So, simply follow the directions on the soup bag which is to boil 8 cups of water and add the soup mix. I add the tomatoes and corn as soon as I add the mix, but let the chicken simmer a bit while the soup thickens up.

To make the handmade tortilla chips the directions are on the soup package (I never said this was an original recipe). Just cut the tortillas into strips and drop them into a pan where you've heated about 1/2" deep of oil. Cook them ( I like to flip them personally) and then drain. I normally use a paper towel but found that we were out of them so I simply put a pie cooling rack on a plate and the oils just dripped down to the plate. I think this was better since it wasn't sitting in its own oil AND I didn't have to waste paper towels.

So once the soup has thickened add the chicken / taco seasoning and stir it well. Serve it with you choice of additions. We used sour cream and lots of shredded cheese, but guacamole is a good choice too. Enjoy!