babymoon boutique

Coming soon!

2009-08-08T12:57:00.001-07:00

Here's just a sneak peek of some neat little things that are on their way into my etsy shop!

Check back soon!!

Thanks for peeking!

Small town fun, AKA, we don't get out much around here

2009-05-08T13:46:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of this guy, the man going across from Tennessee to Arizona in a mule-drawn wagon? Today we just happened to be coming home from the post office and Braum's when traffic in our little downtown slowed way down to yield to John McComsey and his two mules! How fun! The kids were so excited (which was good because they had been crabby after running errands all afternoon!) and we figured he just might keep going straight and go right by our house. Since we were not being drawn by horses we rushed home, threw the groceries in the fridge real quick, and my oldest pulled up his website so we could double check that it wasn't just a crazy kook and something worth getting excited about.

Sure enough, John McComsey isn't a kook :-), and is making his way slowly across the country to visit his sister and her husband in Arizona, and their daughter, his neice, who has Multiple Sclerosis. And he's apparently having a good time with it, too!

Anyway, it was a delight to see him drive past - his mules are so patient as the cars zipped around him (carefully, I hope!) We all went outside and waved - it was like our own private parade this afternoon! We wish you the best, Mr. McComsey! And safe travels and a happy reunion with your family!

Just a little new news

2009-03-03T19:56:00.000-08:00

What? I haven't said it here? Oh, a thousand pardons. Here, is our special announcement, then.

We think there's something in the water. Ha!

A new little one to share our lives with is expected to make his or her appearance sometime late September 2009. That's good, because I don't have any birthday parties in September to plan for yet!

Baby number seven we can't wait to hold you in our arms! The Lord continues to pour out His blessings on us!

As close to a fancy lollipop as we get around here

2009-02-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

I've been a terrible slacker mom lately, letting the technology parent the children while I clean, pack, clean, pack, clean, and pack. Since most everything is clean and packed now, I can relax and start to DO some things with my kids instead of just keeping them busy so I can get my own stuff done!

This afternoon (after I had a nap, of course!) we made these great cookies. The original recipe is from here. Surprisingly, after making the dough (a double batch, because I have a double batch of kids!) they were able to do most of the work! The rolled the balls, then after the dough balls chilled a bit, they rolled them together three at a time into multicolored ropes that they coiled into "lollipops". I suppose that cookie sticks could have been shoved into the cookies as they were cooking, but with my bunch I didn't think they'd last long enough to enjoy them standing up in an arrangement! Still a great big hit all around! Even the little one was available to make sure that any cookie dough didn't fall to the floor. Man, she's a quick one!

Dolly for a sweet girl

2009-01-30T22:13:00.000-08:00

I made this little dolly with pretty rainbow hair for one of my daughter's friends. My 8 year old picked out the dress fabric because she loves turquoise and brown together, and wanted to use brown hair because the birthday girl has long brown hair. But one of the neighbor children was ready to play, so she didn't want to have to go to Hobby Lobby for brown yarn for hair. All the yarn in my stash is multicolored for some reason and I just this afternoon realized that! So my daughter was thrilled with Rainbow Hair Dolly, and I think she came out brilliantly! Hopefully the party girl will enjoy her as well! Doll is loosely based on the tutorial here

CPSIA Blog In Day

2009-01-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

This is so well written from a fellow Etsian that I wanted to share with you.

(It's my first blog-in! I guess I'm a real hippie now, not just a wanna-be!)

As parents and concerned citizens I’m sure most of us at one time or another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. But have you asked yourself what your government is doing to protect your children from lead contained in toys? The answer? They're banning toys, taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families, killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an even greater depression than we've seen in decades. I'd like to introduce you to their solution: the CPSIA.

Do you know about the CPSIA? No? Then I ask you to take a few minutes to find out about it.

The CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of laws that will come into effect on 10 February, 2009 and will impact many, many people in a negative way. Make no mistake, this is very real. View it for yourself. If Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too.

How will these new laws affect you? Well, here are a few examples:

To the Parents of Young Students:
Due to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket. While those paper clips weren't originally intended for your student to use, they will need to be tested now that your 11-year-old needs them for his school project. This law applies to any and all school supplies (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under 12.

To the Avid Reader:
Due to the new law, all children's books will be pulled from library and school shelves, as there is no exemption for them. That’s okay though, there's always television. Our children don’t need to learn the love of reading after all.
Article from the American Library Association http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322

To the Lover of All Things Handmade:
Due to the new law, you will now be given a cotton ball and an instruction manual so you can make it yourself since that blanket you originally had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it's passed testing. It won't even be the one-of-a-kind blanket you were hoping for. Items are destroyed in the testing process making one-of-a-kind items virtually impossible. So that gorgeous hand-knit hat you bought your child this past winter won’t be available next winter.

To the Environmentalist:
Due to the new law, all items in non-compliance will now be dumped into our already overflowing landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners, but the Big Box Stores as well. You can't sell it so you must toss it. Or be potentially sued for selling it. You can't even give them away. If you are caught, it is still a violation.

To the Second-Hand Shopper:
Due to the new law, you will now need to spend $20 for that brand new pair of jeans for your 2-year old, rather than shop at the Goodwill for second hand. Many resale shops are eliminating children's items all together to avoid future lawsuits.

To the Entrepreneur:
Due to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your unique products or discontinue to make and/or sell them. Small businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing and be forced to close up shop. Due to the current economic state, you'll have to hope for the best when it comes to finding a new job in Corporate America.

To the Antique Toy Collector:
Due to the new law, you'd better start buying now because it's all going to private collection and will no longer be available to purchase. “Because the new rules apply retroactively, toys and clothes already on the shelf will have to be thrown out if they aren't certified as safe.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189645948879745.html

To the American Economy:
Already struggling under an economy that hasn’t been this weak in decades, the American economy will be hit harder with the inevitable loss of jobs and revenues from suppliers, small businesses and consumers. The required testing is far too costly and restrictive for small businesses or individuals to undertake.

To the Worldwide Economy:
Due to this new law, many foreign manufacturers have already pulled out of the US market. You can imagine the impact of this on their businesses.

If you think this is exaggerating, here is a recent article from Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/16/cpsia-safety-toys-oped-cx_wo_0116olson.html

And for those of you prepared to be stupefied and boggled, The New Law
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html

Did you know? If this upsets or alarms you, please react.

2009-01-12T13:16:00.000-08:00

New regulations from the CPSC passed by Congress will prohibit many independent artists and designers from selling their work soon unless the act is amended quickly. Fellow etsy seller Shalom Shultz put together this great pamphlet detailing many of the items that you will no longer be able to purchase for your own children or make to sell.

As a parent, I am definitely concerned about lead in my children's toys, but I made a choice long ago to limit own own "consumption" of these plastic toys made by large companies for various other reasons anyway. To deny parents their own "choice" of making playthings for their children seems more than a little invasive. Please spread the word, contact your own congresspersons (I have) and let them know that while you support regulations monitoring what comes in to the USA from overseas factories with little quality control, you still think that what you make at home is safer for your family anyway. Thanks!

Stencil it!

2008-10-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

My friend Jessica came over tonight to show me how she turned a photograph into a larger than life stencil. She had done one of a cute couple of friends all kissy face, and is planning to spray paint them onto a background that includes lettering and random designs. I don't have many pictures of me and my husband together (usually because we're the ones with the camera at this stage of life!), but I have plenty of my kids. I've never gotten around to doing the cool silhouettes of them as babies, but this is just slightly cooler on the crafty scale. Here's what we did tonight.

We started with this picture, taken of Molly this summer at a birthday party - I just love her little scrunched up face!

In Picasa, because I'm lazy and haven't had time to really learn GIMP, we turned it black and white, then used the "sharpen" tools for a little more contrast and then turned up both the highlights and the shadows until her features stood out. I saved this image as a new file so I didn't lose my cute original.

My camera is set to take high resolution (which makes uploading them to the photoshop take FOREVER, but my prints usually turn out great, so it's a worthwhile trade off) and large, if I were just to print them out they are like 16x20 inches or something ridiculous like that, so I try to remember to scale them down for emailing, but I often forget and then clog up someone's email (sorry about that, too!) But it works out perfect for this! In Publisher, I opened a blank document and inserted the whacked out picture, which did not fit on the one little page that Publisher gave me. I set the printing to print actual size as a poster, then printed using "draft" mode, because I knew it was going to use a bunch of ink, and I had messed with the image enough to give me enough contrast to trace the major parts I wanted. Anyway, we got 4 regular sheets out and then taped them together.

Next, we looked for options since we were working without the sun on our side. Ordinarily, I might have hung this up on my bedroom closet doors (great big mirrors) like I do when tracing off patterns like Ottobre, but Jessica had brought posterboard, and the photo wasn't visible through the posterboard when it was held against a wall or a window or the mirror. So we ended up tracing the photo over a lamp. This worked amazingly well, but I probably won't be allowed to do it if hubby is here next time! We just traced very simply over Molly's features.

With an x-acto knife we cut away the lines that had been drawn in the tracing. Jessica's photos that she had turned into a stencil had people with darker features, but I figured with Molly's baby features and little curls we only needed to trim smaller sections out to emphasize her features. At some point early on Jessica told me, "Just cut out the line you drew," and at that point it made a lot of sense and went very quickly.

For some people, this may be easier to do if you turn the tracing upside down. I learned about myself that if I can turn whatever it is upside down, at least in my head, then I quit worrying so much about what it actually is and can draw it because I'm just focusing on the simple lines of whatever it is. So turning the stencil upside down sped things up for me because I wasn't worrying so much about all those cute little curls or the little pucker of her chin, and I could just cut away the lines.

Here is what it looks like with just a few of my lines cut away:

You can see my tablecloth through the stencil as we were cutting (there was a box top we were using to hold the posterboard away from the tabletop, but at the very end we found out the using a scrapbooking cutting mat worked really well).

Now Molly's all cut out! Jessica is holding her up against the wall (yes, my living room walls are red - my favorite!)

The parts that were cut out were all removed (and were all tasted by Miss Molly herself as they floated to the floor) and those will be the areas covered by paint when I figure out what to paint her onto. Not the walls, at least not in this house since it will possibly be going on the market soon. Maybe a big canvas covered with something else or just a wash of soft colors. I can see a whole series of these as a family gallery grouped together for a really dramatic presentation.

And again - another perspective just with a different contrast (sitting up on the couch) . Thanks again, Jessica, for showing me how!!

These are a few of my favorite things....

2008-09-26T22:44:00.000-07:00

Just a few of my new favorite handmade items I came across on Etsy:

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade
babymoon.etsy.com

Krylon Paint on sale at Hobby Lobby

2008-09-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

Hey, I just had to share this. At Hobby Lobby this week there is an internet coupon for Krylon Spray Paint. The FUSION is what I recommend for painting the pole of the Hobby Horse if you are making one from my pattern. I just thought I'd mention it because you can get that paint for 30% less with this coupon until this Saturday.

By the way, the FUSION is non-toxic when dry - I know that makes a big difference when we are talking about paint and children's toys!

Here's the direct link to the coupon.

What is a babymoon, you say?

2008-09-23T23:00:00.001-07:00

babymoon - (n.) The brief but happy period of time when a family welcomes a new baby to their world.

I know, it's not what wikipedia says, but traditionally, the babymoon is the time AFTER the baby is born, like the honeymoon is the short trip AFTER the wedding, see?

So it's the time for the new family to get adjust to their new lives together, to get to know the baby who has recently show his or her sweet face, and for mom to get her land legs back (if you've ever given birth you know what I'm talking about there!)

Sometimes I get weird looks when I tell my shop name, so I just wanted to put this out there to clarify for everyone what I mean.

The funny thing is, since I have so many kids, I've gotten to have lots of babymoons! I am so thankful that I have a great family who helps out during the babymoon and super friends who go over and above to help with the kids who aren't always completely thrilled by the grittier aspects of the babymoon!

Top Ten Reasons to wear your baby in a sling

2008-09-22T09:35:00.001-07:00

1. Easy to feed your baby discreetly in public while wearing a sling. Even if baby is pulling up all your clothes, the tail of the sling can be used as a cover up, and you don't get that hiding-under-a-blanket feeling.

2. Carried babies are happier. Of course mom's arms get tired, so a baby sling keeps baby happy because he is carried, and mom's aching arms get a break because they are free!

3. When you are carrying your baby all the time you are essentially exercising MORE without doing more, simply because you have an extra 20 pounds or so strapped to you!

4. Baby slings hide the smears and drips of food that you (or your baby) got on your favorite shirt!

5. Baby slings hide the little baby fat tummy pooch that many new moms end up with!

6. Babies LIKE being held and they can see more up high with you than down in a stroller or cart.

7. If your baby is in a sling, he is less likely to be touching all the icky stuff on the floor or on the cart handles when shopping.

8. Babywearing keeps your baby close to you so that you get to know him better.

9. Babyslings are more economical than the gadgets available at the discount stores. In fact, many sling sellers are happy to tell you how to make one yourself from readily available materials, even if you don't sew!

10. Babywearing just looks cool and is FUN!

*wink wink - new babyslings are now in the shop! Thanks for taking a peek!*

Facebook and high heels (not related randomness!)

2008-08-11T09:02:00.000-07:00

I've had a rash of new friends on facebook - it's like a blast from the past and has been really fun to see what old friends have been up to. We recently went to my husband's 20-year high school reunion, which was fun, but I only knew a couple of people (actually only ONE other than my husband!) so it was more a people watching event more than anything. That, and I wore heels one night and I haven't worn them in 10 years, so I had a hard time walking (I really did walk around in the store before buying them - don't know what my problem was!) I'm just really out of practice with heels. They don't lend themselves well to chasing after kids and carrying a little chunk of baby!

Blog feature!

2008-08-06T20:06:00.001-07:00

Hey, this is cool - I just found out that my tutu overalls were featured on the coolcraftymom blog! How fun! Makes me feel both cool and crafty!

By the way, these can be made in any size, too! I love to upcycle overalls, especially the ones whose knees have seen better days, but I can also make them in new overalls as well.

Thanks for taking a little peek! XOXO!

Finally a shop update!

2008-08-01T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well, having a teething baby doesn't lend itself to getting a blog updated!

I put a bunch of new baby bibs up at my etsy shop and some new baby slings, then they sold before I could even say anything about them. Good problem, I suppose!

Anyway, I managed to update tonight with some new listings and more new listings while the teething one dozed on my lap - yay to both!

Hopefully my new items won't last long in my etsy shop!

Revolution Money Exchange

2008-05-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

I just signed up with RME to try it to see how it does with my etsy. Join by clicking through from here and you can get a $25 bonus and I get a $10 referral bonus! Only until May 15, so hurry!

Amber beads

2008-04-29T21:50:00.000-07:00

I heard about these amber bead necklaces that are used for helping teething babies from a friend at a recent La Leche League meeting. I've got a teething one right now and the drool is killing me. Supposedly the amber sap resin released tiny amounts of a something that helps with pain. So teething babies are supposed to feel better and not so grumpy. So I found these amber necklaces on from etsy seller InspiredbyFinn and ordered one and it came not even a whole 2 days later.

My baby wore it for two days and seemed to be doing better, so I did some more research on these beads and other things they were used for and thought I might let my son who gets an allergy headache just about everyday try it out. He says that he doesn't get a headache while wearing it, so I ordered a couple more so I could let the baby have hers back and have a spare in case someone misplaced theirs. They will all be here tomorrow so everyone can have their necklace back and get to feeling better at the same time!

Ohhhh

2008-04-21T20:13:00.000-07:00

I should have checked earlier, but I spend my etsy time either listing stuff (or editing my typos!) or searching the forums from pearls of wisdom from other etsy sellers.

So I thought I might sweep up a bit (many of my favorites have apparently expired as evidenced by empty boxes where listings once were) and check my feedback real quick. I am so glad I did because it just made me so happy to see that the people I have done business with are pleased with my work. Here's just a few of the really sweet things they have said:

Absolutely stunning! The fabric is beautiful the stitches are strong and well done. The Instructions are easy to follow. I love it thank you so much!!

super fast shipping and is so adorable

The necklaces are SOOO-O BEAUTIFUL! They are above and beyond my expections! Thank you so much for such beautiful products and excellent service!

Wow! Got a super impressive package from this seller today! As well as the cute clippies I bought, I got a pretty matching bonus item, nice decorated thank you business card, all in a gift box, safely packaged up in a plastic bag inside a bubble envelope! Who could ask for more! Babymoon was already on my favorites list and is staying there! Thank you!!!

Amazing! Just as ordered. Thanks so much.

Anyway, it just makes me all gushy! Now I'm off to make more wonderful things for you!! Thanks for the lovely feedback!

Make your own baby sling Fast and Easy

2008-04-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

I love to make and sell baby slings. It seems that all babies are happier if they are carried, but sometimes mama's arms get tired (amazing how heavy those tiny babies get!) Most of the time, though, I prefer to tell people how to make their own if they sew because they are so incredibly simple. Plus, if I tell you how to do it then I don't have to spend extra time sewing, packing, printing wearing instructions, and shipping them off.

Here for you today I am sharing how I make a baby sling. Granted, there are lots of other tutorials out there for making baby slings, but I'm not any good at following directions, so here is the way I do it.

1. Hem the long sides of a piece of fabric that is 42-45 inches wide by 2 and 1/2 yards using a narrow hem. The fabric I like best for slings is a slightly stretchy woven cotton poplin.

2. Hem one of the short sides.

3. Fold the unhemmed short side with pleating it across the width so that it ends up about 4 to 6 inches wide. Replace your needle with a size 14 or 16 sharp needle. Baste the pleating down. Serge across the end to neaten it up if you want.

4. Stuff that end into two welded stainless steel rings (get them at Lowes in the hardware aisle for $0.79 each, fold over and sew down with three lines of stitching. Go slow because there is a LOT of fabric under the needles here. You may consider wearing safety glasses. (Actually, my sewing machine manual recommends that I wear safety glasses anyway). Make sure everything is all smooth so that you don't sew extra tucks on the right side of the fabric.

So there you are. Put it on (there are some great sling wearing instructions here, as well as different ways to make other baby carriers) and then you're done!

New Pattern!

2008-03-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

I get so many comments on my hobby horses that I wrote a pattern up. I mean, to ship one of these guys in any kind of timely manner is about $20, and I know that you probably could spend that somewhere else besides the post office! So I wrote up a pattern that I listed in my etsy shop, so that you can make your own! Now don't get worried - it is really pretty simple, and I include step by step photographs so that you can see exactly how to put it all together. You can make your own hobby horse for about $15 in materials (or less if you put one together from what you already have on hand!). This pattern is 20 pages, with 36 color photos, and will come to you via a PDF file in an email attachment. You will love it! Your kids will love that you made them their own horse. I made a bunch of these for a Lone Ranger party we had, had a stick horse race, then the guests all took one home! What a great party favor! You can make it from really nice fabrics, then you don't have to touch all the acrylic stuff that the manufactured ones are made of. Or maybe I'm the only one who gets grossed out by the texture of fake fur! Anyway, you can get your own copy here and print it out and have your own hobby horse in about 1 hour and not even have to wait for the mailman!

Fun in the forums

2008-03-13T13:47:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when you can't sleep and you've read all the other crafty blogs and the baby doesn't want to sleep and no one else is awake to listen to all the fun things you did all day, there's always someone in the etsy forums!

The other day was one of those days for me, so late late late at night some of the etsy sellers were running contests in the promotions section of the forums, where you had to be a certain number "poster" on their topic. I think there were only 4 or 5 people actually watching the same topic I was, so we were just jabbering on until the appointed post got closer and closer. Then bam, there it was, and I happened to post on the winning number!

Anyway, this was the prize, from Lori of Heartworks by Lori. It's so pretty! I have no idea how people make these things, but I love it!
Thanks again, Lori!

What you really need to know

2008-03-09T11:45:00.001-07:00

I got tagged by Jenny this morning to reveal seven random and personal things about myself and then pass it on to others.

Ok, I've never done one of these - now you all get to see how lame I really am!

1. My love for Stash Earl Grey tea is only second to a Starbucks mocha. I pretty much can't live without a cup of tea in the morning, morning being loosely defined as the period of time before hubby comes home from work. Everything is better after a cup of Earl Grey.

2. My wedding band has a garnet in it, not a diamond. We picked garnets because they are a symbol of love, faith, and constancy, as well as a reminder of the blood of Christ that paid for my sin. And I had a diamond once, long ago, and they really aren't forever, no matter what De Beers says.

3. I think Sandra Boynton is the funniest person ever. And then Jerry Seinfeld.

4. I freak out often about chemicals/pesticides/chlorinated water/non-organic food/refined sugar. But then eat out at Taco Cabana no matter what and at every opportunity. I'm pretty inconsistent like that.

5. I thought last summer that I needed reading glasses so I went out and bought two cute pairs. When my hubby sat down at my computer he saw that the screen was going out and making everything fuzzy. So it wasn't my eyes at all! Good thing I didn't spend too much on the reading glasses. But they are so cute I'm saving them for a future time when I might need them.

6. I have read all of War and Peace. But not Moby Dick.

7. I love to take the elevator all the way up and find a window to look out. In our tiny town the pediatrician's office is on the 5th floor of the professional building. The only other taller building is the adjacent hospital, which I avoid at all costs! But with kids, we often visit our pediatrician for something or other, so I love to look out. Yeah, I don't get out much.

Ok, so now I'm going to tag Texas Tesla, Lisa, and Bl Soaps. Thanks for playing!

I want to sell this rock (homeschool economics project)

2008-03-08T18:23:00.001-08:00

...that's what Jeremiah said to me the other day.

me: Hmmm, let's see. Not sure many people need a rock.

him: But it's so pretty, and look I washed it and it kind of sparkles.

me: Yes, it does sparkle a little bit. i could put it on ebay for you.

him: Yeah, and then we could sell it for one hundred dollars!

me: You think so?

him: No wait - you could sell it on Etsy!

me: well, the listing fees are cheaper...but it has to be handmade to go on Etsy. You could do something to it to sell it there.

him: can I paint it? Or I could put some glitter on it. And feathers. Do people buy stuff with feathers on it?

me: some do. Want me to research it for you?

him: Yeah - see if anyone will buy a rock.

me: maybe you could offer it customized. Like you sell it and they tell you what to put on it and then you can send it to them.

him: really? I get to pick?

me: no, you get to tell them what you're good at and then they pick what they want you to do to it.

him: Oh. Well can I sell it?

me: sure. Let me put out some feelers first and see what the market for custom-ordered rocks looks like, ok?

So here I am, putting out feelers for the custom-decorated rock market. And trying for the mom-of-the-moment award.

Indierepublic

2008-03-04T17:42:00.000-08:00

I just joined indierepublic. I need to spend a little bit of time to see how it all works and make myself a pretty page, but it looks fun! Are you on indierepublic? Add me as a friend because I haven't read far enough how to add you!

Visit Indiepublic

Featured Etsy seller Word4worddesign

2008-03-03T19:59:00.000-08:00

I just got this in the mail today from Etsy seller Word4worddesign. It is amazing! She has more in her store, different words, and even does custom orders. I think a set of these would be fantastic for bridesmaids, or daughters, or anyone really! It's simply gorgeous! Thanks again, Claire!