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Friday, August 19, 2011

Catching up.

Ah, August.  School starts back, and in some parts of the country the weather cools down.  Stores have already starting stocking Halloween items.  In the past two months, we've been busy.  Jake went to Afghanistan for a predeployment trip, and while he was over there, I took a pregnancy test and it came out positive.  I followed it with a blood test the next day.  I am now 11 weeks along.  As a result, I'm trying to slow down a little.  Do more computer work, and a  little less sewing, while still maintaing the house.  I'm still stocking at Creative Mamas so if you care to stop by and take a look (maybe even find something that you must have), please do.  www.hyenacart.com/creativemamas

I'm limiting my custom order slots to those that request the customs specifically, to try not to get overloaded.  Jake is going to try to convert my snap press into a foot press so that I can still do OS and snap diaper while he's deployed.  We have roughly a year apart facing us starting sometime Sept/October, or whenever the Army decides it is time.  In the meantime, I'm planning out outfits for the boys, and getting James to and from school and his karate class.  My 5 year old will be going for his purple belt this month. 

So, to close this posting out, I'm going to post some photos of orders that I've done recently or received photos for.


Monday, June 13, 2011

It' been a while.

It's been longer than I'd like since the last post, but there has been quite a bit going on.  To start, I got overwhelmed with orders, and have spent a lot of time catching up.  Then, Jake went to LTP where he fell and fractured his skull.  He came home after being discharged from a hospital in Vegas, and spent a week recovering at home.  He was plauged by constant migranes for the better part of that week, then they let up just in time for him to get Strepthroat.  He wasn't even at work for a full day when he got sent home for that.  He seems much better now, which is wonderful.

So, in the meantime, I've been taking care of him and the boys, and trying to get orders done and maintain the house.  Jake had his first full week back to work, so I'm mostly caught up on orders now, but need to get the house picked up a bit more (it's not bad, but not up to my satisfaction.  Jake helped me this weekend with the dishes, so that was a big plus.

So, now onto what I've been working on.  A friend of mine who did the business cards and web design for Creative Mamas did a trade with me for my web design and  a registration card for my Mei Tai.  As a result, I made her a diaper cover with a coordinate with an embroidered shirt, and a size medium swing back dress is Boho Orchid (one of my favorites).

I've done, and sent out quite a few diapers and diaper covers lately as well.  Here's a look at some of what I've done.


Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Coming soon.. . .

I'm in the process of opening my store on Hyena Cart.  I have it all designed, I'm just trying to get the adertising banners made for it.  I have quite a few bibs, and diaper covers I will be stocking for the Grand Opening.  In the meantime, I've been very busy with custom orders.  To give you an idea of what I've been working on, here are some pictures.



















Thursday, April 7, 2011

Boy it's been busy around here.

The last time I posted, I was just getting ready for a Bazaar.  Well, the Bazaar went well over all.  I also got custom order during and from the Bazaar, which I am still catching up on. I've just about completed all the orders that came in during February, and am trying to clear out the ones from March, so that I can get to April.

At the end of this moth, I will be opening my own HC store, and will be stocking it will inventory I have in stock.  In the meantime, be sure to check out some of the items that were at the Bazaar.


Saturday, February 5, 2011

In keeping with the DCU theme. . .

I was recently asked to make a very special custom order.  My customer wanted a dress, pocket diaper and bib done in DCU.  Since this fabric is being discontinued by the military, it's not so easy to come by.  I happened to have one of my husbands old blouses (the one that went with the pants that made the bag in the previous post) and she was able to find an XXL blouse to send to me.  What came out of these blouses are the swing back dress trimmed with pink rick rack, the pocket diaper, and the bib.  I think they all turned out quite lovely, and it was rather nice working with these prints, as I haven't in the past.  So, enjoy the pictures.


Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The DCU Bag

Well, I wanted to make a purse out of one of Jake's old uniforms, but all I could find were BDU and DCU bottoms.  I have the ACU top, but can't find the bottom to it.  Since I was itching to make the purse anyway, I cut into a DCU bottom.  The purse itself turned out alright, and I'm pretty happy with it.  I will be making some modifications though.  Like I plan to add linning and some interfacing to it.  Overall, I think it turned out really nice.  So, here you go.  My latest project in the world of camo fabric.

Friday, January 28, 2011

My tribute to Valentine's Day

With Valentine's Day approaching, I wanted to make something fitting for the holiday.  As I was going through my fabric, I found that I had the pink and brown Ooga Booga print in both PUL and cotton interlock.  At that moment a lovely idea came to me, a One-Size diaper set.  The diaper is a one-size, so it will fit for quite a while.  The shirt is a 12-18 months with a heart applique of the cotton version of the print.  Overall, I think it turned out rather adorable.  So, now I'm off to make other lovely things, including a dress that will be modeled by an Ellie Bean model.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Two new additions (no not babies).

Last week, I had the Julia set modeled by an adorable newborn baby girl.  It turned out just as I had hoped, and it was so nice to see a little baby girl wearing that set.  Her name is Erin and she's a special assignment model from Ellie Bean models.


This week, I've been working on a few projects, including a new household item.  ACU placemats.  These placemats are something I had been contemplating since before Christmas, when I made placemats and napkins for my sister-law's.   A friend suggested that I make some out of ACU, and since I'd been contemplating that already, I decided to go ahead and give it a shot.  These are listed on my Hyenacart store, www.hyenacart.com/creativemams, but will also be avaialble today on Etsy as a custom order.  On Etsy, you will be able to purchase the embroidery service as well, if you would like that option.  You would need to purchase 4 slots to have all four embroidered.

So, without further ado, here are the placemats:


Thursday, January 13, 2011

Support Handmade and small businesses by contacting your Congress person regarding the CPSIA

I copied this posting from another blog because I think it bears repeating.

Support Handmade and Small Businesses by contacting your congressman regarding the CPSIA!




You might have heard about the CPSIA and how it's affecting small and handmade businesses everywhere. But you may not know why it is or what it is.



The CPSIA is the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. It was designed to help protect children from harmful toxins and chemicals in cheaply made foreign toys that were being imported to the US by requiring expensive third party testing to be performed on each any every component used in the production of said toys. Although a good idea in theory, the rules and regulations of the CPSIA ended up encompassing more than just foreign made toys. It ended up requiring that all manufacturers of toys, clothes, cloth diapers, etc. to be used by any child under the age of 12 also be required to pay for this testing regardless of their history or track record having been providing quality, safe, handmade goods. The cost of this testing would shut down, and has already shut down, many small businesses.



Now the race is on to have the CPSIA amended and reformed. Small business owners and handcrafters need your support. Help save not only small cloth diaper manufacturers, but many other wahm and family run businesses by printing the letter below and sending it to your local congressperson so that they might take notice.



In support of Small Businesses please use the sample letter below and send to your congressman letting them know how important this issue is and how it will further affect our economy and the livelihood of many small family run businesses.



Sample Letter





From: [your name and address]



To: [your congress person or senator]



Re: The Consumer Product Improvement Act (CPSIA) will result in a drastic deepening of the economic crisis even more



Dear [your congress person or senator],

The economic crisis in our country is distressing to millions of Americans. That is why it concerns me that under the CPSIA, many small business owners will be driven out of business, deepening the crisis. The premise of self reliance and entrepreneurship on which this country was founded is in jeopardy.

Like many people, I was deeply concerned by the dangerous and poisonous toys that large Chinese toy manufacturers have been selling to our families. And, I was pleased that Congress acted quickly to protect America's children by enacting the CPSIA.



However, I am very concerned that the CPSIA's mandates for third party testing and labeling will have a dramatic and negative effect on small businesses whose safety record has always been exemplary. It will devastate small manufacturers and home businesses who create children's products such as clothes, handmade goods and toys for children, beautiful Native American artifacts, children's books, adaptive products for children with disabilities, and classroom and homeschool materials. These small businesses simply cannot afford the $300-$4,000 price tag per product that Third Party testers are charging.



With the economic crisis we find ourselves in, fewer families will be able to afford the higher costs of the goods that remain available. Any company that is able to remain in business will undoubtedly raise prices due to increased compliance costs. Everyone will have to pay more for the remaining available goods, deepening the effects of the economic crisis for millions of families.



I urge you to quickly request the Consumer Product Safety Commission to make some very reasonable exclusions in their interpretation of the law as they continue their rulemaking process. These include exempting books and uncoated fabrics from testing and allowing manufacturers to rely upon testing done by their materials suppliers instead of paying for redundant unit-based testing. I would also like to see an exemption to third party testing requirements for micro-businesses similar to the exemptions granted by the FDA for small producers under the food labeling laws. As the Wall Street Journal wrote, "The Commission needs to implement the rules without putting more companies out of business in an already tenuous economy."

These toy makers, crafters, publishers and small home based businesses have earned and kept the public's trust. They provide jobs for thousands and quality playthings and educational products for hundreds of thousands. Their unique businesses should be protected. Please visit www.handmadetoyalliance.org to learn more about this issue.



Thank you for your attention to this matter.



Sincerely,





[your name] 



*Much thanks to KT Steppers on FaceBook for providing this form letter. Please also repost the content of this post on your blog, tweet about it, post a link to it on facebook, etc. We need your help spreading the word.



For more information on the CPSIA please visit this page located at The Handmade Toy Alliance website.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

In the New Year

It's been over a month since the last time I blogged.  Part of that is due to being busy with the kids, custom orders, and Christmas presents.  We went home to Ohio for Christmas, and I took that time off from work so that I could enjoy myself on Christmas vacation.

Since I've been back, I've been steadily working on custom orders.  Today, I finally got the last item mailed out that was ordered during the Christmas break.  I'm currently working on a dress set to be modeled by a newborn Ella Bean model.  I'm very excited about this, and finishing up the dress this week.  I plan to mail out a diaper cover, head band, and soft soled shoes to complete the set.

I'm also going to be working on two other custom orders starting this week and going into next week.  I might be making a modification to some of my dresses though.  With the CPSIA extension ending next month, I'm reevaluating where I get my buttons.  If I can get certificates for the clay that is used, I will start using Tessa Anne buttons.  She make beautiful handmade buttons that I think will look darling with my dresses.  So, stay tuned to see what modifications I make to comply with the law.