It's been a long time, and a lot has happened.

It has been quite a while since I have blogged.  The reason for this. . . I got pregnany unexpectedly.  While quite a blessing, also quite exhausting.  I held off for the longest time tell anyone outside of family and close friends.  After what happened with Julia, I was terrified to hope for a while.  I was assigned to a great high risk doctor  though, and Joseph Matthew arrived safely by induction on February 13th.  I was induced at 37 weeks because at 32 weeks he began showing signs of IUGR, and the doctor felt he was safter out that in at that point.  He has done very well since and it quite adorable.

While I was pregnant, I also discovered that you have to be licensed to legally make items using military fabric.  As a result, I pulled all my listings until that is settled.  I have been working on fulfilling the requirements, and am currently licensed by the Marines, and am working on the Army, Navy and AF as well still. 

Because of having a new baby, sleep is here and there, but I am still working on orders as they come in, and trying to catch up on house work that had fallen behind.  I'm also trying to catch up on homeschooling my 4 year old, and getting him ready to go to school with James next year.  He does do well with homeschooling, but has been asking to go to school with James for the last two years at least.  So, we're giving it a try.

In the meantime, I have been playing around with new patterns, and getting ready to consign with a store local to me, as well as the Little Bit of Bliss gift shop on post.  Stay tuned for more updates . . .

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

Now that Thanksgiving is over. . .

Well the week before Thanksgiving, James had double eye surgery.  The day before his surgery, I went to get him up for school, only to find that he had thrown up on his bed, the floor next to his bed, and his bedding.  I cleaned it up, and then called his school to let him know he wouldn't be coming that day.  Later when the hospital called to get all the early registration info, they said he should be fine if he didn't throw up the next morning.  So, he had his surgery, and it went well, but he still has to wear glasses.

Now, the result of him throwing up meant that I almost got behind on a custom order that I was in a rush to do.  That Monday I was going to go to JoAnn's and that obviously didn't happen.  Since James spent the rest of the week recovering, I didn't even make it out of the house until Saturday morning.   But, I managed to get the supplies I needed for the dress, and get all but the buttons and button holes done before leaving for Thanksgiving.  I got the dress finished right after we left.

The Saturday night before we left, I also managed to get most of a newborn ACU outift cut out as well (I'll post pics of that tomorrow), and a diaper cover embroidered.  My next task is to get a pocket diaper, and another diaper cover done.  Then onto a rather large order of an embroidered swingback dress with ruffles, instead of rick rack, and embroidery, with matching pants, diaper cover, dyed shirt, tights, and matching soft soled shoes.  I plan on starting on this Friday, and working heavily on it Saturday. 

Sunday will be spent working on Christmas presents.  I'm making placemats with matching napkins for my sister-in-law's, an apron for my borther-in-law, a messenger bag for my neice, . . . and I still haven't figured out what to get for my other brother-in-law, and my husbands parents.  My sister-in-law put in a request to Jake's mom for bamboo velour pillow cases, since she liked the ones I did last year, so I'm trying to decide whether to give them to my brother-in-law, or give them to her as a birthday present.  Either way, they go to the same house.

Handmade for the Holidays

About two Christmas' ago, a challenge came up on a forum I belong to.  The idea was to make a handmade Christmas.  I really liked the idea, so that year the majority of presents were hand made.  Last year I did it again, with embroidered shirts for nephews and a 2nd cousin.  I did bamboo velour pillow cases for my sister and brother in law, as well as hand made items for my other sister in law (had my husband handle the gift for my brother in laws in that case), and did handmade for my father in law, and mother in law.

This year I will once again be continuing the tradition.  I'm making items for the kitchen for all three sisters in law, and will either be making crayon rolls for my newphews, or doing a trade with a friend for treasure hunt bags. 

Typcially gifts are given in Chico bags, but with Julia passing, I lost track of the coops I would have ordered from, so this year, I will be making muslin bags as the gift wrap.  I know I love my muslin bags for grocery shopping when I get meat products, because I can wash them in hot water afterward to get rid of any contamination. 

Jake will be getting a home made snuggie with Cincinnati Bengals fleece.  He requested it last year, but I didn't have access until now.  I'll likely be sewing it at my mother-in-laws house though, as I'm not sure I'll find the fleece for it here.

For the boys, I'm thinking bed sheets and pajamas, as that is what James has been asking for, and Justin hasn't made any requests just yet.

It's been a rough week.

Well this week started with James having a stomach bug overnight Sunday to Monday, then eye surgery on Tuesday.  He needed an operation to align his eyes.  He seems to be doing alright now, but can't go back to school until after Thanksgiving. 

In the meantime, I've managed to get a diaper cover done, and apron, and lay out the fabric to make an NWU sundress.  I'm also going to try to cut a ACU newborn outfit today.  Work has been rough on Jake this week, since he had duty overnight Monday to Tuesday, then James' surgery, with a late night of work, and very little sleep.

Once I get my custom orders done, and Christmas gifts made (of which I've done no work so far) I'm going to start dabbling in what new items I'm going to be making.  I have two dresses I've been wanting to work on, but just haven't had the chance yet.

What I've been up to.

Well, Jake finally got done with his last TDY of October, and we hit the road for California for Halloween.  After we got back, I got into the craft room and started sewing.  Part of it was finishing up a custom order, and the other part was getting ready for this weeks stocking at Bitty Fluff.  I'm the featured vendor for this stocking, and wanted to take full advantage of it.  So, as  result, I managed to sew/embroider three military themed newborn sets. 

 The first was an ACU set, that I think I actually had mostly done before we left.  The second is a Woodland MARPAT set, and the third, a Desert MARPAT set.  I plan on doing an AF one next.  I also picked up more of the necessary supplies I need for a dress I've been wanting to do for a month now.  Before getting to that though, I've needed to get some things sewn for the Arts and Crafts Fair at James school tomorrow.  As a result, I finally finished up the bamboo velour pillow cases, and will be moving on shortly to burp cloths, and pacifier holders.  I'm going to try to knock out some wipes, and maybe a few diapers as well.  I'd like to get a swing back dress or two done, but I'm not sure if that will be happening.  Well, back to sewing.

All the excitement

Well, this last week is chulk full of excitement.  My congo is sponsoring the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt, as well as a facebook giveaway.  I have two custom orders I'm working on, an Arts and Crafts fair a week from tomorrow, and some new projects to work on that I plan to add to my line. 

Bitty Fluff will also be celebrating it's 2nd anniversary.  During the month, I will be a featured vendor at my store J-Babies.  Look for some adorable newborn sets and clothing.

And on to the next one

I just finished up an outfit yesterday for a little boy who's daddy will be home soon.  It was an ABU top and pants, with a tan dyed t-shirt for underneath, just like daddy.  It turned out great, and I got some photo's of it. . . but once again my motherboard seems to have flipped out, or else it is the memory this time.  Either way, I'll post pictures once the Dell tech comes and fixes my computer so that it will turn on.

In the meantime, I'm trying to think up what to make next.  I'm thinking I might try and get some bibs done, as I haven't done those in a while.  I have the extra fabric cut to make them, so I'll likely be doing a few of those, and maybe some newborn ACU covers.

Jake has been super busy lately (not just busy) so it has been just the boys and I, and then the down time that comes with that.  My birthday is also comming up, so Jake will be not so busy for that at least.  I'm thinking of making an ACU outfit to post on my Etsy store and have that as a regular item in the rotation.  Well, off to do some housework, and maybe some sewing work too.

What I've been up to.

The last couple of weeks I've been working on three projects.  The first one went in the mail last week.  It was a pair of NWU diapers with some adorable embroidery on them.  The second one, which is still in progress is a set of ABU's for a little boy who's daddy is headed home.  The third one is an NWU diaper cover.  I've also just cut out and am in the process of putting snaps on an ACU pocket diaper.  I'm doing one for a blog that is featuring WAHM's, and another for a customer.  I'm also playing around with some new dress patterns, and hope to get a chance to make some dresses and post pictures of those soon.

My mornings have been spent getting James ready for school.  After taking him to school, I've been going to mass at the church, since it is on the same property.  Then I come home and do some house hold chores before heading off to my craft room to get some projects done.  We have the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt in November, so I'll be sewing up some merchandise for that, as well a fall Fiesta that will be going on at James school.  So what do you think, do OBV pillow cases sound nice?

It's a slow road.

Well as recovery in any traumatic situation goes, there are set backs.  I've been sewing, taking care of the household, and the kids.  Then I got a bladder infection and the medication made me sick.  So, I spent a week feeling horrible, rather than getting any sewing done.  On the upside, I managed to get the house clean, and keep up with the kids, but wow it's been rough.  Jake is working a lot as his new job is very time demanding. 

This week I've managed to get two diaper covers mailed out, a dress cut, embroidered, rick rack added, and now I just have to sew it together, top stitch, and do the buttons/button holes.  After that comes an order for two embroidered NWU pocket diapers, and then an NWU diaper cover with name tape sewn on it.  I have a new pattern that I'd like to play with soon, as well as some newborn embroidered shirts/matching diaper covers that I plan on making for the next Bitty Fluff stocking.  I'm lacking pictures to post right now because my computer isn't working, so I'm using Jake's.  I'm hoping to get it fixed soon, and then I have quite a lot of pictures to post of recent work.  Stay tuned to see what new projects I'm working on.

In honor of Julia, and getting back in the groove.

In the weeks before Julia died, I had been working on a custom dress for a customer, and a dress and diaper cover for Julia.  The plan was to have Julia come home in complete HOOAH with an ACU dress, diaper cover, soft soled shoes, and headband.  I had finished the dress and diaper cover, but had begun feeling rather tired the night Julia died, so I hadn't begun the headband or shoes yet.  I don't like leaving things unfinished, so I've been working gradually on the rest of her outfit and finally finished it. 

What gave me the kick in the pants to get started though, was an order that came in for a newborn dress, diaper cover, and big girl dress. Those items got me back at my sewing machine, and working again, and also gave me the needed momentum to finish Julias outfit. Sewing has been a relief to me, and I'm starting to get my creative juices flowing. Below you will see some of the items I have made in the past month or so.