The EB is on his way!

Ohhhh .... I'm so excited. Just got my Etsy purchases in for EB presents for the kiddos. Miss Thing is the lucky receiver of an adorable Flutterby necklace by bellabuttondesigns. And for the first time, she will actually be able to have her name on the lovely. The only regret I have in giving the minies unique names is that finding personalized items is very unrealistic. That just means they will get unique personalized items, too right?!
And the D-man is getting his very own first of the series Dragon egg with a hatching whelpling. The lovely Angi of ajoydesigns made a very special order for me!! And she has decided to make more of the cuties and post them on her Etsy store .. .lucky to all of you! Here another one of her Dragon's Eggs, which inspired me to ask for a very special egg.She was so quick to come up with something and it's just perfect for him. I know that I will have to keep him from playing with it, though. But I am sure he will understand that it is to look at - he has several look-ats, but they are just SO hard to keep your hands off of :-)

So, the bulk of my EB shopping is in the basket (hahaha, couldn't resist), since we don't do big presents from the EB. They might also get some special candies from Etsy if I don't steal them before they go into the baskets and I am getting them choc bunnies from the local newspaper staff - -they are selling them to raise money for their Relay for Life team. (BTW - if anyone has any fun ideas for a cake to make that would go with the Back to the Future theme for the cake contest/ auction, drop me a comment. I really need some ideas and I volunteered to make the cake again this year for their team).

Have a wonderful weekend!

Blowing my top!!

So, I have a few issues that I am very peeved about recently, but this one has topped my list for sure. The new Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act is out of control!!
The CSPC has decided that the law will apply retroactively for all children's products made and sold prior to Feb 2009 - if there is no certification label you can be (according to the written law) fined and convicted for merely GIVING AWAY your children's used clothing. All used clothing and toys will end up in landfills.
And many, many home-based and small businesses will go out of business! The testing is outrageous and each item has to be tested. They are considering exemptions for wool and wood, but currently no exempts for cotton, hand-made, or even made in the USA or Europe where there have not been findings of lead added to paints or phalates added to plastics. If this law is supposed to be directed at the lead additives, etc from Chinese manufacturing plants and large-scale menufacturers then THOSE are the places that need to be affected by this law, not everyone. Or there needs to be realistic and AFFORDABLE testing. $4000 or even $500 per item is NOT reasonable for small businesses or handmade.
I understand that there is a chance that something may get into cotton (fertilizer, sprays, treatments, chemicals), but think about how many chemicals our children are exposed to by breathing the air after it is sprayed with a room freshener or after a suface is cleaned with a chemical-based cleaner (which most are).
So ... to save anyone who might be crazy enough to read this from more of my tirade, here are a few places to check out:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/264507
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/ComponentPartsComments.pdf
http://www.wileyrein.com/docs/publications/13763.pdf

http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/summaries/101brief.html -- this is understanable, but give us better testing methods, please.

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia

Get into the boob groove

I joined a the BoobChallenge on Etsy, started by MissKnits and Sarahinflorida and there is a wonderful group that have made a great selection of wonderful things for your shopping pleasure on Etsy. Some are a bit mature and others more along the pink ribbon lines. Very beautiful and very fun things.
There are gorgeous ACEOs, chocolate nipple suckers, pink jewelery, a gorgeous plate and so many other things. The challenge includes a voting round from Sept 20th to Sept 29th and all proceeds from sold items go directly to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer Research.

"Imagine the world with no breast cancer" and support the foundation and the wonderful artists and crafters who put together some new ideas to support the foundation.

My minis and posts over the next few days will revolve around Breast Cancer and the items in the Challenge.

For the Challenge, this is my official entry - the Boob Bottle. A fun little upcycled olive oil bottle with pictures of pink cleavage from fashion magazines. It was so fun to explore something different for this challenge and go a little crazy.

Visit Etsy.com and look for something special you can purchase to help fund Breast Cancer Research, be sure the seller metions the BoobChallenge or has thier item tagged with 'boobchallenge' so that you know they will be sending all proceeds to the Komen Foundation. Shop for a Cause!!

yippie ki-yi-yeay

Here is the diaper bag that I made for my sister's co-worker. I hope that it is something that will be liked and well-used. After quite a bit of trial and error, I am happy with how it turned out. It is on the larger side, rather than smaller.

The measurements are: bottom is 15" x 7 1/2"
top is 14 1/2" x 6 1/2"
and it is 11 3/4 inches tall
the handle strap measures 33", with out length for the clasping/ connecting pieces