(33) Young Artist Contest

(33) Young Artist Contest

Description

Does your child or grandchild love to draw? Would you like to have your favorite drawing of theirs made into a stuffed toy? Well here's your chance to have it done for FREE!

One child's drawing will be chosen to be recreated into their very own stuffed toy. Ages of child is limited to 3 to 7 yrs. From now until 2/29/ 2012 I will be accepting drawings via email: lori@ttykes.com
Or by mail:
Lori Sadowski
Trendy Tykes
20895 N. Uldriks Dr.
Battle Creek, MI 49017

PLEASE NOTE: Drawings can only be return by mail if a stamped self addressed envelope is included. The winner will be selected on or around March 5, 2012. Trendy Tykes reserves all rights to use the drawing. Your child will be given credit on all advertizing unless otherwise noted by guardian.

Hotmail - trendytykes@hotmail.com

 I think this is an important article to share with all small business owners who struggle with selling USA made goods in todays market. Hopefully the trend to buy cheap vs. quality made in the USA will continue and help create more jobs.

Selling to Independent Retailers Buying local vs the big box – In upstate New York, the community of Saranac had a very difficult decision, whether to allow the big boxes to come in or maintain their commitment to local stores.  Because of the size of the community, there were quite a few specialty stores, but they were missing a department store for the basics such as underwear and socks. Wal-Mart and other big boxes came with big promises of new developments and an economic boom. However, when the citizens looked at what would happen to the long-standing local stores, the citizens of Saranac decided to get creative. They started raising private investment money to build a store that would fill the needs of the community without competing against the current stores. Although it took a few years to raise the money to open the store, today it is thriving and complementing the other stores around it. This has been a boost to the local economy and has helped create a stronger sense of community. http://www.community-store.org/ What are the economics behind how local stores help the local economy? According to a study done in 2003 by the Institute of Local Self Reliance of eight businesses in Maine and their revenues and expenditures the numbers are quite convincing. The results were compared to a big box store and the amount of money that ends up staying in the state and local economy. The results were surprising. With the local businesses, their revenues amounted to $5.7M and employed 62 people. Of that $5.7M, 53.3% of the money stayed within the state. Comparing this to a big box store, only 14.1% of the money stayed within the State of Maine. The local business also paid a higher percentage of revenue to employees. The local stores paid their employees 28.1% of revenue compared to 14.1% for the national chains. Conclusion: local stores do more for their economy and their employees than the big box companies. Supporting these local businesses with independent brands creates jobs and strengthens the economies. Watch our video about how www.retailpitch.com can help independent brands and retailers grow revenues and expand their business. http://youtu.be/WDO9tuXhLTI www.retailpitch.com brad@retailpitch.com http://retailpitch.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/buying-from-local-retailers/ http://www.facebook.com/retailpitch

Get full access to our entire program for free. Sign up to get an email when our program goes live. Find, communicate and conduct commerce with brands and retailers around the world @ http://www.retailpitch.com

Heart Piggy Pouches

These Heart Piggy Pouches™ will make a great baby shower or newborn gift. Beautiful satin baby booties ballerina style. They have a soft pink embroidered heart on the toe that is encircled with hand sewn beads and are trimmed with satin lace. The satin ties are wrapped around the babies ankles and tied in a bow. Your baby will look exquisite in these.

 Just in time for Valentine's Day!

DIY Colorblock Earrings

I LOVE this DIY! What a great way to upcycle some old earrings.

DIY Colorblock Earrings

Eat Cake

So what does cake have to do with Trendy Tykes? Well I used to do cake decorating and I found a fantastic blog on the subject. You can find so many beautiful cakes, recipes and instructions on this site that I just had to share this. http://www.thecakeblog.com It's definitely worth checking out if you have a passion for cakes!

Win a Monster Jammerz™ of your choice!

Want a chance to win a Monster Jammerz™ of your choice? Like my page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trendy-Tykes/114341318608220 and enter to win either "Raz", "Umphf" or "Gurt"! Contest ends Jan. 31, 2012

New Website!

I now have a second website for my digitized embroidery designs, Trendy Tykes Designs. You will find quality designs for infants, toddlers and children. Some of the artwork is exclusively created for Trendy Tykes Designs. Please check out the new site at: http://www.ttykesdesigns.com

Please share the link with all your friends and family. I will be offering a 2 day only Grand Opening sale starting Sat., Dec. 3rd at 12:00 a.m. EST and ending Mon., Dec. 5th at 12:00 a.m. EST. You will save 20% on all purchased sets and 10% on all purchased single designs. Use the following coupon codes: "Sets" & "Singles" at check out.