Wow... it has been forever!!!

So, I was checking around and it's been forever since I last made a post! Holy cow!!

Well, so where shall we begin? First,

I'm pregnant with my second child (hence the reason why I haven't really been as active as I'd like to be) so I've been taking a hiatus from sewing and crafting. I just entered my seventh month (last trimester, woo hoo) so I'm getting super-excited about bringing home our new little girl... yes, I did say girl!

I took about a month and decided to create Baby Bird's room from scratch and I found this super-awesome fabric from BabyBirdDesign who is a true, top-notch Etsy seller. Her little red birds design can be printed on a super-soft organic sateen and absolutely rocks! It's a great mixture of fresh modern and classic cuteness. For those who have boys in their future (or just don't know), she has a ton of other unique designs (my other favorite is the sheep... how cute are they??!!).

So, what do you think about the stuff for Baby Bird's room?

After Baby Bird's room got finished, I was hard-pressed to get ready for Thanksgiving, Christmas and my son's 4th birthday (holy COW!!??)... I carved a pretty cool pirate cake and decorated it... I'll be including one picture now, but I'm thinking tomorrow I might update with instructions... so check back!!

Also, I'm listing a few items in my shop to help clear out some excess inventory since we weren't able to do any shows this year and it's looking weak for the early part of next year... They will be grab bag sales -- meaning HUGE discounts.... so if you want a cute burp cloth, bib or blanket at ridiculously cheap prices... check our items out!

Whew!

Ok, talk about craziness!!!

First things first -- I didn't realize that I would be sick so often once my son went to preschool!!! I think I've been sick more times in the past six months than I have in the past five years. I even came down with the nastiest case of the flu and it took me two full weeks to get over it.

Of course, everything had to happen in April and May, one of the busiest times of the year for our custom memory blankets! Ridiculous.

I just wanted to pop on and let everyone know that yes, we are still operating and yes, we'll be around for a while. Because of all the various personal issues (between illnesses and funerals... which I've been to three since February), we've taken a hiatus on doing local craft shows and, as such, we have a ton of leftover items from last year. The husband has issued a decree that no new items will be made until I've cleared out last year's stuff... SO....

SALE TIME :)

Yup, sale time... and a great sale, too. I'm starting off with burp cloths, though I'll be adding bibs and blankets later on this week. The sale is as follows:

*Grab Bags -- Buy three burp cloths for $9 (retail price $16.50)
*Free shipping on orders over $40
*All orders over $100 will receive a free gift (valued at no less than $20)

Oh, and check out a few of our custom tshirt memory quilts that we did for graduating seniors!

You know what's not an enjoyable alarm clock?

I just thought I'd start off the blog post with my wonderful alarm clock this morning -- the sound of my husband throwing up at 6 am. Yeah, that's not a great way to wake up on a Sunday. He's got some sort of stomach virus and he's been laid up all day today, poor guy.

We need some sort of well wishes our way -- I don't think my household has seen the sunny side of "healthy" in a month.

Speaking of months... February is starting off with a bang. I think I've had as many items sold in these past few days as I've sold in the past six months (including Christmas). Absolutely amazing!!

Oh, and my items? I put our Valentine's Day blanket up on Etsy and Art Fire this morning. I think it's awesome -- a large minky blanket with red applique hearts. It can be personalized with whatever saying you so choose -- let me know what you think about it.

I'll be adding a whole schmeal of stuff in the next few days -- burp cloths, bibs, blankets... awesome stuff, so check back often :)

Huge Liquidation Sale... CPSIA

Hey all! I'm starting my huge liquidation sale today. It sort of depresses me but it doesn't look like anything will be done before February 10th, so I might as well start selling off stuff now.

Everything I have will be thrown up online in the coming days. The savings on certain items (only certain items) will be 50% or more -- even on my popular Take-Me-Too blankets.

I reserve the right, if there are changes to the CPSIA, to pull these prices... so if you see something you like at a price you like, buy it quickly before I change my mind ;).

Jen

CPSIA Blog In -- What it means to you!

I've spoken a couple of times about the CPSIA and its effects on my business... but I wanted to take a few minutes and talk about how the CPSIA affects everyone. Not just me, not just you, but virtually anyone who lives in the United States. Take a second and become informed -- write your representatives and tell them you are worried about the impacts. Without Americans standing up and demanding change nothing will happen and you *will* be affected.

So, what is it?

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was approved by Congress and signed into law in September of 2008. It states that, on February 10th, all children's items sold (all items intended for children under 12 years of age) must meet "acceptable" levels of lead -- 600 ppm. In August, that number will drop to 300 ppm. As it is retroactive, it applies to everything that HAS been made and everything that will be made.

Ok, but I don't make anything for children... so I'm not affected, right? Well... no... Let's take a second and see who IS affected by this legislation:

Do you purchase handmade items?

If you purchase handmade items, or items created by a small-scale manufacturer, you will see your options completely disappear come the 10th. Why? As the testing for lead is placed solely on the shoulders of the manufacturer (regardless of whether a supplier has already tested for lead), the costs for small-scale businesses will be astronomical. No handmade artisan can afford the testing (which runs $75 per component of the final product). As they cannot afford to test, as the law dictates, they will be forced to shut their doors. You will no longer be able to find handmade items on Etsy, Ebay, Art Fire or in your local craft fairs for children unless they are in direct violation of the law, which carries severe penalties.

Do you visit libraries?

It's not just handmade that's being affected -- as the law covers *anything* that's made for children it includes books. Libraries loan children's books, so they are liable for the mandatory testing as well. No library would be able to afford the cost of testing every book in their children's library so they will be faced with tough choices. They can either ban children from the library, test all children's books or thoroughly eliminate their children's section. As libraries will not be able to afford the testing the most logical consequence is that you'll see children's sections disappear.

Perhaps your child will appreciate War and Peace instead of the Berenstein Bears.

Do you shop in second-hand stores?

Do you, out of choice or necessity, visit the Salvation Army, Goodwill, or one of the countless other second-hand stores for your shopping needs? If so, you might just be affected. Second-hand stores, while under no strict obligation to test, still must be sure that the items they're selling for children are free of lead. They are just as liable as the original manufacturer if they sell something lead-tainted -- including vintage children's clothing.

Again, like the libraries, second-hand stores are faced with few good options. They can stop accepting donations of children's items, they can test or they accept the possibility that they could be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the words of the CPSC's former spokeswoman, they don't have to test... but they have to be sure the stuff they're selling is free of lead. Many second-hand stores will stop carrying children's items to avoid facing this kind of liability.

Do you support charities like Project Linus (a charity that accepts handmade blankets to give to sick children in hospitals)?

As the CPSIA applies to all things traded, loaned, sold or given away, logic would dictate that as it affect libraries, it will, too, affect charities. Perhaps we can all give some great made-in-China blankets to sick children instead of lovingly-handmade quilts.

Yeah.

In the end, the CPSIA affects you if: you've ever borrowed a children's book from a library, ever visited a children's story time hour at the library, plan on borrowing a children's book from the library, bought anything from a second-hand store, will buy anything from a second-hand store, appreciate handmade items, purchase organic (since many makers of organic items are handmade, small businesses), care about the economy (this will shut the doors of thousands of small businesses) or, essentially, live in the United States and are a parent/aunt/godparent/grandparent/etc of a child.

Please, please take the time to demand Congress and the CPSC amend the law. Ending lead in children's products is GREAT, but the law is poorly written and overly broad. It casts too wide of a net to catch the fish (essentially, cheaply made crap from overseas) and will destroy businesses where many of the owners are work-at-home mothers.

Take care everyone!

My husband is defective, can I return him? and other musings...

Some musings from the desk...

*I'm finally over the "big sick" !! Yay :)... What started way back on the 18th has finally reached its conclusion and everyone in the Made By Moms' household is finally better. Goodness, that took forever!

*Something happens to me in September -- I stop exercising... I'm not sure why, it could be the busy nature of the following three months (all three of our birthdays, our anniversary, my parents' anniversary, and three major holidays), or it could be the cold... but I stop running. Well, I started running this week and I feel AMAZING! I ran a personal best in the 5k -- 28 minutes -- and went 2.25 miles today in 20 minutes (before I stopped to go and lift weights). Holy cow, I forgot how good this feels!!!

*I'm running my first "official" 5 k at 9 am on Valentine's day. Wish me luck! I have a goal of making it in 25 minutes... I have my finger's crossed.

*My husband is, indeed, defective. I've wondered about it for years now but this morning I got official confirmation. I think a part of his brain is missing somewhere (he probably forgot it) because he is *so* oblivious. What did he do this time?

Well... we'll start by explaining that he's an eye doctor -- that's how we met (I know, sweet right? lol). I wanted to get a pair of prescription sunglasses and the frame rep gave me a great price on a pair of Brinkley sunglasses so I decided to get polarized lenses. To make a long story short, the lab who did my polarization screwed it up and it makes me nauseous. I need my husband to take the glasses back with him to work so the optician can send them back to the lab to fix their mistake.

Sounds easy, right?

Not with my husband. I repeatedly remind him, only to find the sunglass case left on the kitchen counter each morning. I even put the sunglass case next to his keys, but it's been two full weeks and he hasn't brought them in. Last night I got the ingenious idea to actually stick his wallet INSIDE the sunglass case (it was sticking out slightly) and put his keys underneath the case.

What does my defective husband do? He takes the wallet OUT of the sunglass case, closes it, removes his keys from underneath and LEAVES IT ON THE COUNTER. Seriously, he's defective.

*We're getting closer and closer to February 10th, when I'll have to close my doors. It's making me a bit sad, but I'm getting frustrated at the attitude on the Etsy boards. What started out as a "let's band together and help each other out" has become a finger-pointing, venomous diatribe where people are starting to call others out for closing their doors/staying open.

Look, that type of attitude will get us nowhere. We need to support one another and stop labeling. Calm down, everyone.

If you're not familiar with the CPSIA, I'm going to be doing a piece on it later where I answer the most frequently asked questions to the best of my ability.

*My son is becoming a big boy. He started his second week of preschool and hasn't cried ONCE this week!! It's amazing to see the changes in him in just a few days. Plus, he's made me three necklaces in three days... so my jewelry collection is expanding at an unheard-of rate ;) I'll post some pictures of my beautiful creations tomorrow -- he's a budding designer :). I truly, truly love the preschool I found for him. It's five days a week, three hours a day -- that's perfect for my son's temperment. He couldn't deal with the day on, day off routine of most part-time preschools, so I'm pleased. His teachers are wonderful and they have a child-to-teacher ratio of 7-to-1, which is world's better than those daycares-disguised-as-preschools with a 15-to-1 ratio. Can you imagine having to take care of 15 three-year-olds? Holy cow, one is enough... 15 is a free-for-all. Plus, it's a Montessori and I love how he's learning by doing... he's having fun, refining his gross motor skills and learning to add by the simple process of playing with blocks. I *heart* Montessori :).

Anyway, not only is he going to preschool, but he's finally pooping on the potty! Oh my, you wouldn't know the struggle we've had over that. He's three years old and has been going number 1 on the potty for around4 months, but the number 2 has remained elusive. I've ignored him going poop in his underwear for 4 months (when I ditched all the daytime diapers)... it's so nice not to have to clean up poopy pants for once. *sigh*

Well, that's about it from my desk... my son has had enough of entertaining himself, so now it's time for his nap. I look forward to talking with everyone again, soon :)

Jen

We were featured!

Check out My Charmed Life for a feature on the CPSIA and how it will impact businesses like ours! Please comment and drum up support for changes. Thanks to Sara for featuring us and doing a great job on promoting awareness!

Made my day ! :)

Jen

I'm not giving up,but...

There's a loaded "but" ...

I'm not shutting down until the bitter end (if nothing gets changed), but I am no longer making new items as I'm not sure I'll be able to sell, trade or donate the finished items. At least I can sell the fabric on Ebay -- the finished products, not so much.

I guess you could say I'm in a holding pattern until the CPSIA is amended. I have contacted WFTV and WESH to see if I could drum up interest, we'll see. Mel Martinez sent me back a nice canned form letter, while Bill Nelson and Tom Feeney decided not to answer at all.

I will say this: if it hasn't been amended by February 3rd, I will be having a massive, massive sale. Below fabric cost kind of sale.

Jen

**Bangs head into wall ** Great, my Senator hates handmade....

Ok, folks, the deadline for the CPSIA is drawing closer and I'm not sure if I should be expanding advertising online right now. I'm really starting to wonder if the feds care about small businesses (well, I already knew they didn't... as small business owners get screwed often on taxation issues).

I wrote my senators and congressman (woman), not really expecting a response... and certainly not expecting the response I actually received. Here it is:

""Thank you for contacting me regarding the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). I appreciate hearing from you and would like to respond to your concerns.

On November 1, 2007, Representative Bobby Rush (D-IL) introduced the CPSC Reform Act (H.R. 4040). Besides increasing funding for the CPSC, this bill strengthens civil penalties for violations of the Consumer Product Safety Act, outlaws children's products containing lead, and makes it illegal for retailers to sell recalled products. Additionally, H.R. 4040 requires the commission to enforce whistleblower protections for employees of manufacturers, importers and CPSC workers. This measure was passed by the House of Representatives on December 19, 2007, without opposition. On July 31, 2008, the Senate passed H.R. 4040 with my full support by a vote 89 to 3. On August 14, 2008, the President signed this bill into law.

I am committed to providing the Consumer Produced Safety Commission with the tools and resources it needs to carry out its vital mission. As we proceed in the 111th Congress, I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind regarding any additional legislation involving the CPSC.

Again, thank you for sharing your views with me. If you have any additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me. In addition, for more information about issues and activities important to""

So, essentially, he took a full paragraph explaining the CPSIA to me and then told me to go jump off a bridge. I'm pretty sure I made it clear in my four paragraph essay that I understood the CPSIA I'm trying to figure out if he bothered to actually read my letter (like I read the CPSIA).

Ah well, if my Senator is typical of the federal government's reaction... then we're all in trouble.

Jen

**Who is slightly depressed now... I'm wondering this one thing... Am I correct to think it doesn't apply to in-state sales, only state-to-state?

Whew -- They're *done*

Ok, first, before I say anything else about my awesome organics that I'm about to showcase, I wanted to say one thing: Go Gators! It's truly a great time to be a Florida Gator -- especially with Tebow coming back next year (along with... maybe.... crosses fingers.... Harvin and Spikes?). Let's go for three out of four, boys!!! Just in case you didn't really know how much I love the Gators, here I am kissing a "bull gator" out in front of our 'new' (at least to me) football complex. Gator Nation at the top again, baby, and life couldn't be better!!!

Ok... now for those of you who aren't either a) a Gator fan or b) into college football, I am progressing well on our organic line. I've decided to name our line The Sun and Moon Collection, as the blue Harmony Art print is titled Moon and the Fields of Honey print is bright and sunny enough to pose as the sun. The only things I have left to work on are the lounge pants that will be made out of the same materials and the toy blocks. Let's take a look, shall we?

First up is our It's Sunny To Be Organic Bib (or just Sunny, if you'd like), sized in a large and closed with a pearl snap. It's made out of extremely soft and absorbant organic, beige fleece (back) and the Harmony Art Fields of Honey print on the front. It's sewn together with 100% natural, un-dyed cotton thread. With bold orange on a cheery, yellow background, this bib is sure to brighten everyone's day. I will be putting these on both Etsy and Art Fire within the next few days and they'll be priced at $12.00.

Next up is Sunny's sibling -- When Baby Loses His Diaper, There'll Be a Full Moon Organic Bib (or just Full Moon), is also sized in large (which, by the way is 8" x 12" and fits children up to toddler-hood) and closed with the same pearl snap. It's also backed with the super-soft fleece and sewn together twice for added durability (all of our bibs are). This will also be priced at $12.00 on our websites. Our bibs are prewashed with Seventh Generation natural, perfume-free detergent and tumble-dried without the use of a softener or dryer sheet.

No purchase is complete without one of our burp cloths. I had to tweak our burp cloths to eliminate the use of commercial cloth diapers but it doesn't mean these are substandard -- actually, I think they're better!! On the front side you have your choice of either our Sun or Moon motif while the back is a heavy-weight, organic flannel. Instead of a cloth diaper inside, we filled it with 100% all-natural, unbleached cotton batting and added an additional 4" strip down the center for hard-core babies. Our burp cloths are stitched three times -- we serge the inside -- for added durability. These have also been prewashed in Seventh Generation detergent. These will be priced at $14.00 each, or 2 for $25.00.

We're also offering the two fabrics in our small snuggle blanket line, which we've recently named Take-Me-Too. The front is a four-block arrangement with one block of sherpa, one block of fleece and two blocks of either the Moon flannel or Sun sateen prints. We back the blankets with a super-soft and thick organic flannel and stitch it twice with 100% natural, un-dyed cotton thread. Instead of using a traditional ribbon as a tag, we sewed together a tag out of the Harmony Art prints. They are wonderfullly soft, terrifically durable and super snuggly, and they're priced at $30.00.

Oh, don't forget our onesies!! We took the sun and moon theme one step farther by designing onesies that fit perfectly. Choose from either a crescent moon or a sun, and we'll applique it on to a onesie for you. We start with 100% organic onesies by Bella (retail $12.00), take the organic Harmony Art prints and sew them on with all-natural cotton thread. No glue or adhesives were used, in keeping with the organic theme. This means that the edges of your applique will fray a bit, but that's supposed to be part of the charm! Our onesies retail for $18.00 -- you can also choose our Earth applique, made entirely out of recycled felt.

What's that, you say? You'd like to package this up and send it as a gift? If you purchase multiple organic items, you're entitled to a discount!!!

Buy two items, save 5%.
Buy three items, save 10%
Buy four items, save 15%
Buy five or more items, save 20%.

Simply contact us for a custom listing and mention you saw our promotion in our blog to receive your savings!

So, what do you think? Good, bad?

Organics will soon be here!

Hello everyone! I am SO EXCITED!! Why, you ask?

Well, my organic fabrics arrived a few days ago and they rock (well, with one exception). The Harmony Art prints are as soft as they are beautiful and they wash extremely well. The organic is thick and as soft as the fleece, which is fantastic. The fleece isn't as thick as I thought it would be -- it's not like the blizzard or anti-pill fleece you find in stores, but it's still a great fabric. The sherpa, though, is a whole 'nother beast. I can honestly say I hate it, hate it, hate it.

Oh, don't get me wrong... It's thick, soft and super snuggly, but it's a bear to work with. First, I wash it (in Seventh Generation 100% natural, perfume free soap with no fabric softener) and it shrinks an ungodly amount -- I lost something like 20% of the original amount. I ordered one yard, which was 54" x 36" and I *might* have been left with a width of 40" when the washing and drying (tumble dry low) was done. I was ok with that, but that stuff is monstrous to sew. Talk about distortion -- I thought minky was bad, but it doesn't hold a candle to the sherpa.


Want to see what I'm talking about? Look at that serious distortion -- I'm meticulous about cutting out my squares exactly, I pin things in place to keep them from shifting, I sew slowly and I'm just careful, overall, to ensure things are in place. Sewing cotton is easy-peasy, I don't even pin that... but minky stretches, so you've got to be careful if you're not using stabilizer or interfacing (which I don't). Ugh. I'm seriously rethinking the sherpa now because it's major effort to sew and I'm afraid it'll shrink *again* when someone washes it (hint: iron!). I'll post more pictures of these blankets once I put the flannel on the back -- they really are going to rock when they're done... I can't believe how soft all my materials are :).

Anyway, you should see the bibs! They're amazing and the burp cloths (filled with 100% natural cotton batting!!) are going to be fantastic. All I have to do is put the snaps on the bibs and they're done -- the snaps will be the *only* thing on the bib that isn't either organic or natural. My cotton thread is Gutermann's 100% natural cotton thread and the fabrics are certified organic.

Also, I'll be away from my computer until Saturday -- we're going up to Gainesville to hang out with college friends for the BCS National Championship game. Go Gators! :) :) :)

After Christmas Sale!!

Our Art Fire shop is having a huge after-Christmas sale to clear out all of our older inventory to make way for all the AWESOME new items coming up this year!!

We'll be discounting blankets anywhere from 50 - 75% in our efforts to clear some space in my home -- you simply can't beat these prices!! Today alone we listed six items up for clearance in our shop -- check out the links and descriptions below... Don't see something that strikes your fancy? We'll be adding quite a few more blankets over the next few days -- keep checking back :).

Blue Flowers Medium Snuggle Blanket -- Reg. $20, Clearance $10
Red Trains Medium Snuggle Blanket -- Reg. $20, Clearance $10
Flowers and Minky Blanket -- Reg. $25, Clearance $10
White Butterfly Brocade and Minky -- Reg. $40, Clearance $18
Blue and Green Mod Dot Silk and Minky -- Reg. $35, Clearance $15
Large (43" x 62") Green Swirl Quilt (channel quilted) -- Reg. $80, Clearance $30

If you have any questions about these blankets or their prices, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Take care and happy shopping!

Organics are Coming, Organics are Coming!!!

Just thought you guys would want to be the first to know -- it's official. Starting in mid-January we will be offering products made with only 100% certified organic materials (with the exception of the snaps we use to close our bibs). We'll have our snuggle blankets made out of flannel, sateen prints by Harmony Art, sherpa, fleece and terry cloth. They are going to be amazing!!! The organic fabrics we're purchasing are truly top-notch, premium quality, you're going to be astounded.

I can't wait to get them on the market!

If you'd like to pre-order, the two prints from
Harmony Art we're getting in are Fields of Honey (a sateen)...

and Moon (a lightweight flannel.






Both will come with matching onesies, burp cloths and bibs, and all are available for pre-order. The reason we're offering pre-orders is to gauge the desire for these products. We only ordered a small amount of the fabric, so there will only be limited quantities available (at first). If the demand is high enough, we'll order more fabric. The pre-order will just be a reservation system -- you won't pay anything until I send you pictures of the completed items (**unless** it's something that I will only make on custom, like a large blanket). If you're interested in reserving yourself a blanket, bib, burp cloth or full set, check out the prices below!!

The prices for pre-orders will be a little less expensive than our regular price:

Small Snuggle Blankets (17 - 18") -- Backed with organic flannel, with squares of sherpa, fleece, and two panels of flannel/sateen print -- $27.00 (Reg Price = $30)

Medium Snuggle Blanket (20 - 21") -- Backed with organic flannel, with squares of sherpa, fleece and two panels of flannel/sateen print -- $32.50 (Reg Price = $36.00) ... These are custom orders only!

Large Blanket (30" x 36") -- One side flannel/sateen print, one side regular flannel -- $40.00 (Reg Price = $45) ... These are custom orders only!

Receiving Blanket (38" x 38") -- One piece of flannel bound by a binding of sateen or flannel print -- $48.00 (Reg Price = $55.00) ... These are custom orders only!

Premium Receiving Blanket (38" x 38") -- Two-sided blanket with one side flannel/sateen print and the other side regular flannel -- $60.00 (Reg Price = $70.00) ... These are custom orders only!

Bibs (large -- 8 x 12", snap closure) -- One side flannel/sateen print, one side flannel, fleece or terry cloth (won't be in until late February!) -- $10.00 (Reg Price -- $12.00)

Burp Cloths (11" x 18", eco-friendly batting inside instead of cloth diaper) -- One side flannel/sateen print, one side flannel/fleece/terry cloth/sherpa -- $11.00 (Reg Price = $14.00)

Organic Onesies (natural color, sizes 6-12, 12-18 and 18-24 in stock... name brand Bella onesies) -- Appliqued with either 100% recycled felt in an Earth design, the Moon flannel in a crescent moon, or the Fields of Honey in a flower design -- $18.00

All fabric will be pre-washed to prevent shrinkage at home (as organic fibers are rarely treated against shrinkage), in an all-natural wash from Seventh Generation. They will come shipped to you using the USPS's boxes made from 100% recycled materials with no tissue paper (unless requested) to save waste.

As always, your products will be handmade in a smoke-free (but pet-friendly!) home.

For our local customers, we hope to have these in the Evolve store (these will be a bit more than we charge online to cover consignment expenses) on Thornton Ave, by the end of January!

Take care and Merry Christmas :) :)

Jen

New Poll -- Please vote !!!!

Hey everyone -- I don't have much time this morning, but I wanted to post a new poll...

Would you (or do you know anyone who would) purchase 100% organic baby items if they cost more money?

The reason I'm asking is that we recently had some requests for more organic items, but the expense of purchasing organic fabrics like terry, fleece, sherpa, flannel and sateen prints is astronomical (we're talking in the ballpark of $20 a yard). This would mean our "Snuggle Blankets," which usually retail for $15 would have to retail for $30 - $35, our bibs would be $12 - $14 and our burp cloths would be around $11 - $13.

Even with the added expense, would you purchase those items? Is that important to you?

Please log your vote to the left and comment here with thoughts or suggestions!

Thanks a bunch and take care, all!!

Jen

PS: The poll will close on 1/01! Thanks :)

Homegrown for the Holidays -- a Wrap-Up

Whew! That really sums up today -- busy, stressful, long, but so rewarding! This was really a great show, one that I look forward to visiting again next year :).

First, I got there at 8:45 to set up, by myself! I didn't know where half my stuff was (as we haven't done a show since October), couldn't find my table cloths (I purchased two holiday cream ones on clearance from Target for $7) and was generally frazzled as I tried to get everything set up and looking pretty before showtime... I don't think I did too horribly bad on my own...


So, I get myself set up and decide to wander around and who do I see but some of my fellow Orlando Arts Team members -- Pinka, Le Petit Poussin, Raven's Repose Soaps, Baby Bow Madness, Bollinger and Surpreyes !!! Yay :), I love hanging out and chatting with friends :).

Since everyone but Surpreyes were across the way from me, I chatted with them first... their shop looked awesome when completed ! I love them all! I've used Raven's Repose soaps and they are fantastic -- the quality of Le Petit Poussin and Pinka's items are so high (oh, if it were only socially acceptable to stick my son in cute skirts... I'd have blown all the money I made. My husband is thankful).


I went down the hallway to where Surpreyes was creating her craft -- she was recently honered with a POW award and selected to go to the Craft & Hobby Association’s Indie Crafter booth!! Awesome! Her work truly is marvelous, I'm seriously in awe of her mad creating skills. This is Heather humoring me in her booth!

Oh, yeah, this is my Santa. Back off and no one gets hurt.

I'm thinking I might be able to sucker her into trading me that Santa for my OOAK vintage silk sari quilt -- what do you think?

One final shot -- her beautiful chakra dolls made from scraps of fabric... aren't they amazing?

Anyway, pretty much at 11 am, people starting coming. In droves! We were busy pretty much all day long. Not overwhelmingly, pull-your-hair-out busy, but pleasantly occupied. Everyone we met was fantastic -- from the fellow vendors to every customer. I've never been to a craft show yet where there wasn't one negative nancy, but *not* today. Maybe everyone was in the holiday spirit, the stars were aligned properly or the clientelle at this event draws from a happier segment of the population, but everyone smiled... many shook my hand, everyone stopped to chitchat, and no one was rude! Amazing! Anyway, we did really well today. The hubby stopped by with little man, and they played around with the "soap snow" and listened to the musicians and entertainers over by the Dandelion Cafe.

At 7 pm, it was time to close shop after a long 8 hours there. Honestly, I *wouldn't* have closed up, but my toddler was there and he was getting a little hungry... so I made the executive decision to close. We could have stayed open til 10 pm but the area we were in closed at 7 because the drum circle and dancing started next door.

We ate at the fantastic Dandelion Cafe (yummy vegan food... mmmm.....) and danced at bit at the Winter Solstice drum festival before leaving at around 9 pm. The toddler was *definitely* at the end of his rope (even though he wouldn't admit it to himself!).

All in all, a wonderful day. I got to sit outside in beautiful weather, meet fantastic people, chat a bit with friends, pet some fun dogs (including an adorable welsh corgi) and make some money. You can't ask for a better day than that, now can you?

Take care all and Merry Christmas if I can't get back to blog before then!

Jen

Pictures of my custom orders :)

Ok, so I promised you pictures and here they are:

The elephant burp cloth and bib set:





The University of Florida burp cloth and blanket set:





The paisley burp cloth, bib and blanket set:

Enjoy and let me know what you think!!!

Jen

New auctions on Ebay...

Ok, so I've held off on doing this for a while... but I feel like I need to try and sell on Ebay. I know, I know, the dark side with crushing fees, but so much stuff sells on there... I figured I'd splurge about $3.00 in fees and list two items.

One is my satin and cream blanket, listed here.

The other is a burp cloth, bib and blanket gift set in Michael Miller's Retro Rocket print, here.

Both auctions end around the same time -- December 16th at 12:50ish EST. So about 6 days and 22 hours, lol. With the satin blanket, we'll donate 10% (or minimum of $5) to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and with the gift set we'll donate 5%. We are also still doing the "Donate 1 can for every $5 you spend" promotion, so make sure to keep us in mind for holiday gifts.

Have a great day and don't forget to check those auctions out!!!

Jen

Sales and free shipping and new products, OH MY!

Alrighty folks, I'm starting to get into the holiday spirit and it's going to benefit all of you!!! :)

Right now we've got a bunch of great promotions going on in our Etsy store (and only our Etsy store!)... We're offering:

*FREE US SHIPPING (and discounted international shipping) on every order until Monday, December 1st

*FREE goodie bag with every purchase

*Free gift wrapping on orders over $25

**PLUS**

We just listed four new gift sets -- with items ranging from blankets to bib, burp cloths to onesies -- and they're ALL on sale until the end of December. All of our gift sets (regardless of cost) come gift wrapped, in a box, and I'll even fill out a little tag for you! Seriously, these are amazing deals when you factor in the free shipping!

But you have to hurry! The free shipping is going to end on Monday!!!

Take care,

Jen

PS: Here are the links for the new gift sets:

Here they are:

Pretty in Pink: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17798678

Red and Green Ladybug: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17800199

Retro Rocket: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17801025

Almond, Orange and Brown Aviary: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17801501

Day 3 without toddler...

This has certainly been an eventful day! I got my rainbow batik quilt finished and I started and finished four small sensory/security blankets, plus I made a Etsy treasury to showcase fun fall finds from the Florida Etsy Street Team. It's amazing what I can get done when I don't worry about cleaning (you should see my house, it's like a fabric store vomited in my living room).

Anyway, my first picture is to show off my rainbow quilt... I love it!!! I picked out a bunch of fun batiks and created a nice melting effect -- the colors all seem to melt into one another. When you look at it, try to find some neat images (like a turtle) in the batiks. I couldn't find anything nice to make a border out of, so I just matched it with some natural cotton batting and a wonderfully soft cream fleece. It's perfect for the upcoming fall season.

The next four are our sensory security blankets -- they're some of the most popular items at our craft fairs. They have a variety of textures to stimulate baby's sense of touch and a little ribbon that allows you to clip the blanket to your stroller so you don't lose it. They aren't the best pictures (so sue me), but the blankets came out fantastic. The first one is a brown and pink paisley satin with plush pink minky, dark brown swirl fur and brown dot minky backed by pink chenille. Then we have a "jungle theme" with blue satin, blue chenille, and cream minky dot backed by green minky. My personal favorite is the "ABC" themed blanket with red minky dot, dark blue satin, white line minky and backed by the light blue chenille. Lastly is our baby sensory blanket because we only had a small scrap of the pink paisley left and I didn't want to waste it, it's a few inches smaller than the others but still just as cute! It's made with pink satin, plush pink minky and dark pink minky dot on the front and it's backed with pink chenille.

I'll be posting a few of these in our Etsy store soon... Keep an eye out because I'll also be having a contest and the winner will win a SUPER FANTASTIC Halloween-themed Florida Etsy Street Team Art pack (retails for $10 but valued at over $30!!).

:)

Jen

Day 2 without toddler...

I still miss him but at least I know he's having a blast with Grandma and Grandpa at Disney World. This morning he got to eat breakfast with his all-time favorite chick (Mommy is a different category, in case you're wondering) -- Snow White. Reports from my parents indicate he was so in shock that he didn't say a word to her when she talked to him... he just stared in awe. Funny thing is that he's never seen the movie, I've just read him the book... but he loves her all the same.

It comforts me to know he's enjoying himself, but it also makes me happy to hear a little voice on the phone go "Hi mommy!! I miss you..." :).

Anyway, I'm in the middle of redesigning my living room... Not changing the color or anything, but updating the drapes and adding a new picture to the wall (perhaps a few new pillows) and I'm so excited because I just finished my first-ever fully-lined drapery panel!!! YAY! I went out and bought some really beautiful black wooden sconces and finials for a drapery rod because I think these drapes came out fantastic. A long time ago (about... 6 years?) I purchased 10 yards of real dupioni silk on Ebay for $100 -- it was an amazing deal -- and it's sat in my closet because I haven't found anything to really do with it. I had black velvet curtains up there before but I'm trying to tie my new kitchen in with my living room (I repainted the kitchen last year in cream, brown and red), so I wanted red drapes and viola, a reason to use my silk. I still have three panels to go, but the first one came out amazingly well.

I purchased heavy-weight white drapery lining at around $3 a yard, so for around $150 (including tax and thread), I'll have four wide-length, lined 84" drapery panels. I just saw Bed, Bath and Beyond is selling essentially the same drapes I am making for a whopping $100 a piece. I love being able to sew. Seriously.

Also this morning I finished the quilt you all saw in yesterday's post. It took me wayyyyy longer than I thought it would because that's the way I roll.

First, it started with the thought:

I really want to put a bird applique in the center... Let me look online for good pictures of a dove.

So online I went... I found a good picture, made a drawing based off the photograph and decided I didn't like the way the dove was hunched over... so I went and found one of a dove standing straight up. This is what came out:

Once I had the bird drawn, I went to cut out an applique shape. This was a little more difficult than usual since I am out of iron-on backing, but I managed to do it. I sewed it on to the blanket (making one huge mistake -- my foot tension was on 1 because I sewed minky for the back earlier, so my stitches are sloppy... can you tell?) and had the next thought:

Hmmmm... I have to find a nice way to outline the wings and the eyes... I should embroider it...

Which then lead to me embroidering the dove and the branch it was standing on... an hour later I finally had that done and I could actually sew the back on. I made the back out of 12" strips of two different minkys (pink star and blue dot) and two heavy-weight chenilles (16 oz cream and brown) -- I think the effect rocks! Yay!! What do you guys think? The quilt is done except for the hand-tying and the fact I have to close the small opening.

Now moving on to my next quilt -- a batik rainbow :) :)...

Comment away, guys, and let me know what you think!!!!