Update on my plans to sell

In short, I'm bummed.

I may not stand a chance of even opening my Etsy shop now. Not due to overscheduling or being too tired or anything like that. It's because of a law that has been passed and is about to go into effect on Feb. 10. If it is not amended, I won't be able to sell toys without having everything certified by a third party to prove it's not full of lead. Lovely, huh?

I had read about this months ago, after getting a heads-up from a friend, but I didn't believe it would go through as written ... It did. Any small businesses making toys, any home businesses, any crafters will NOT be able to continue selling dolls, stuffed animals, felt play food ... you name it. Handmade toys that are sold will be considered contraband, if you can believe that. It sounds like some weird law from the Burgermeister Meisterburger, in the Christmas movie "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town".

Welcome to what is about to become reality here in the United States, right now.

Curious? Do your part -- fast. Comments must be submitted by Jan. 30, so if you have time to write your senator or representatives, please do so.

Information is here. (With all links you will need.)

Inspirational friends

Man, I only *wish* I could be as creative with children's projects as my friend Heidi! I'm going to pimp her brand-new blog here because she always has the best ideas that combine books with activities for preschoolers and toddlers.

I will say that I found a cute book yesterday, by a part-time Austinite, and can easily use it to inspire Miss E with making Valentine's Day cards for our family and friends. It's called "The Day It Rained Hearts" by Felicia Bond. Creative and clever, just like Heidi. We've already had to stamp and color several sheets of construction paper since opening the cover!

Check out Heidi's blog:
Read 'Em and Leap

Too-sweet sweets

I'm such a sucker for cute play food! I'm making some cute little petit fours for a friend's children and am in LOVE with the "My Favorite Felt Sweets" book I got for Christmas. Such adorable stuff, straight from Japan, of course! And today, Miss E and I found a tiny tin of play chocolates from Haba. All wooden, and maybe 1/2 or 3/4 of an inch apiece. 9 tiny chocolates in a tin -- how cute is that?!

Now I will have to make some of the chocolates out of the felt book, too. If you want to see some of the fun things that Haba makes, check these out:
fun play foods from Haba

S-W-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-T! Honestly, how can you resist some of these tiny things? You have to see and touch them to see just how tiny they are, but trust me, they are cute.

Now, one of these days, I'll have to post pics of all the Christmas gifts I made. Somehow, I did manage to make something like 9 gifts in a week. Whew!

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Follow-up ...
It took less than an hour to make two tiny chocolates from the sweets book. They are shown here on an espresso saucer. I can't wait for Miss E to wake up so she can see them!

Catch up

No, not ketchup or catsup ... though we have done a lot with food lately, real and pretend. I'm quite behind here ... my apologies. Colds, travel, pregnancy, and gift-making have completely wiped me out for the last 6 or 7 weeks. I'm 14 weeks pregnant now ... yippee! But that seems to wipe out naptime crafting ... boo!

However, while hubby was away for the weekend after New Year's, Miss E picked out a fab and too cute little recipe from our "First Meals" book. I swear, these are some of the tastiest kids' dishes you'll find ... thank you, Annabel Karmel. So what did Miss E pick? Well, it was one of the most complicated recipes, of course, but what else did we have to do on a Saturday night? We made Sleeping Dolls. I think they are Sleeping Cannelloni in the book, but Miss E says Sleeping Dolls.

They taste phenomenal, and the decorating part was really quite simple. Miss E and I both enjoyed them, though the 2.5 hours of cooking did wipe me out. We had them for dinner with Daddy the next night, though, and he, too, said they were awesome. And aren't they just the cutest food you've ever seen on the dinner table?! Miss E asked for all the doll faces and hair. Those mushrooms and capellini were a hit, as were the olives (the feet). Lucky for me, she loves food. Spinach, mushrooms, all that made her a happy eater that night, though she was less in love with the cheese sauce. Nevermind, I loved it! Rich, and adorable ... and so much fun!

Crafty gift exchange

Wednesday night, my friend organized a group of 10-12 crafty women and we had a most amazing gift exchange. It had to be handmade, and I was stymied by the unique and interesting gifts and the talents of my friends! Even my sister, who claims not to be very crafty, made a beautiful silk flower arrangement. (Um, when do *I* get one of those for my house?!) ;)

I used Amy Karol's "bend-the-rules" book and the pattern for the Charming Handbag, along with some Heather Bailey fabrics I had left over from the purse I made for myself. I was really happy with the way it turned out, and to top it off, instead of making a bow with the ribbon (on the side of the purse), I made a La Fleur Debris (I love that name!) from the mini pattern by Heather Bailey, and added that with a safety pin so it can be removed and used as a pin on a hat, scarf, sweater, etc. as well.

Happily, it was a hit with the person who received it, so I'm thrilled! I was extremely happy to come home with a plate of scrumptious lemon-raspberry cookies plus chocolate peanut butter balls. YUM. I had been craving Reese's Cups, so that was absolutely perfect. And I got the lovely snowflake platter, a small spatula (which I needed, as mine have all been confiscated by the cardboard kitchen) and the recipes to boot. What a blast!

Captain Kitty

I wanted to post a couple pics of Captain Kitty, the pirate cat. I hope my niece is still in love with her! Dig that backpack? ;)

Presents and presents and presents and ... presents!

Where did the last two weeks go?! Let's see ... prior to Thanksgiving, I made this adorable little purple fairy for a girl named Violet. I named her Iris, another purple name, and added little pink hearts on the back of her wings. She loves strawberries, just like Violet, so she took a little strawberry with her. Violet thought she was pretty sweet.

Now, my friend has my business cards and a banner all ready for me; I just need to get my Etsy site set up. I'm beginning to sound like a broken record; where is the time?! I've got so many things to make for Christmas that I think I'll have to set up after the holidays, not as I initially planned, but I'll get there someday. Last week, my time was spent being really sick with a horrid cold, which unfortunately, most of the family, including those visiting, came down with. I'm still coughing up lungs, I think.

Oh yes ... and I made this amazingly cool 14-inch pizza with olives, sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes. All in felt, with quilt batting for thickness. It's for my 4-year-old nephew for Christmas, but since my sister knows and he doesn't log in on his own, I can safely talk about it. It's really awesome, and boxed up in a Mangia Pizza box from right here in Austin. However ... I forgot to take pictures before sending it home with my mom, so photos will be after Christmas. Oops!

After that, what? I made a really cool ... um, wait ... can't talk about that until after next week. It's for a crafty gift exchange with friends next week. So, er, that will be posted later, too. That is the problem with making Christmas gifts. I spend my time making but can't show and tell yet!

Right ... I made a really cute pirate cat for my niece's 6th birthday, which is really this coming Monday. She has named her Captain Kitty, and if I ever get around to pulling pics off my camera, I'll put up photos of that, too. She rocks, with all of her skull fabrics, and a backpack, just like my niece. My brother said I scored major points with her on this one, and that makes me proud!

So there you have the last two weeks in summary ... lots of ideas, very few photos! I have a feeling that's the way it will be for the rest of the month, so my apologies in advance! Happy holidays to all of you jolly readers! :)