Friday Finds – July 20, 2007

— Stock up early on Halloween costumes. I’m a procrastinator, so I never buy stuff early. But I might grab up a costume or two from BuyCostumes.com in preparation for future costume needs (including dress-up, of course). This blowout sale includes clearance items up to 90% off. Check out that Hershey’s Kiss! Too freakin’ cute. Use code clear46 to get free shipping on orders of $70 or more.

—Oh England, don’t get your knickers in a knot. With The Simpsons Movie due to open next Friday (yesssss), those wacky marketing folks are out in full force, turning 7-11s into Kwik-E-Marts and making mock chalk drawings of Homer in the English countryside. And man, are the English pissed about it. That just makes it funnier.

— Let’s get ready to OnRamp! The latest entry in the working mom networking arena, Your OnRamp, is a place where women can network, talk about issues from business to lifestyle, and find flexible work opportunities. It’s decent, but Work It, Mom! and Maya’s Mom are still my top faves. Be sure to check out the Career Coach and the site’s blogs.

— Guest Friday Find from my good friend Michelle: “I just started sponsoring a woman in a war-torn country through Women for Women International. (They have a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, which means every dollar works hard.) For $27 a month—what I might easily spend on shoes, dinner or Netflix—a woman in a third world country gets job training to help her get back on her feet and have a fighting chance to support her family. These are countries torn apart by war, and these women are often struggling to feed four or five children with little or no resources. This program puts them on the path to self-sufficiency. It gives them the chance to become working moms and support their families. I bet I won’t even miss the $27—but it’s going to make a drastic difference to someone in another part of the world.”

Thanks for the find, Michelle. I’m in!

Cara’s Friday Finds

—SimpsonizeMe.com. Speaking of The Simpsons Movie, I just tried to make a Simpson of myself. You need just the right photo for it to work. But once it does, you can order your Simpson character printed on a T-shirt, mug, apron, or more. Pretty cool!

—Love Pottery Barn Kids? Check out the sale.

— Need something new to hang on the office wall? Check out The Rasterbator. It let’s you upload an photo, select the dimensions you want, then you can print individual sheets that you tile together to make a huge image. It’s like instant art.