Camille's giving away again

Okay all you crafsters out there...Camille is having another giveaway over at Simplify. I just love her blog! I get lots of ideas from her photography hints, beautiful home & fabrics, oh and those darling little boys! Besides, she loves Reeses eggs and Dr Pepper, so I'm sure we could be BFFs:) Be sure to head on over and enter to win and make sure you share the love if you're so lucky!

We've been on Spring Break for 2 days this week...that's right, 2 days! So I've been sewing non-stop trying to get caught up on orders and make a couple of new items for the shop. Here are a couple of my new favorites. Enjoy!

Taking the good with the bad...

It's been pretty crummy around our house for the last week. Ches wasn't feeling well Monday night after praise band practice. I took his temperature, and it was somewhere around 99.5...not too bad, right? So being the great teacher/mom that I am, I sent him to school bright and early Tuesday morning. (Teacher's children are the ones you can count on to be there EVERY day, sick or not!) I get a call in the middle of one of my classes. "Mom, the nurse says my temperature is 101.8 and I can't stay at school. I need your permission to drive home." UGH! I hang in there until my last class leaves at 12:00, and then I meet Ches at the doctor's office. They promptly do a flu test (by the way, have you ever had one of those? Not fun, let me tell ya!) Dr. Bowman say it will take about 10 minutes to get the results, oh nevermind it'll take less than 1 minute...Ches has the flu. Oh yeah, and Tamiflu isn't working with this flu, so ya'll go home and get him in the bed, and while you're at it wash your hands real good. (Insert evil laugh from the good doctor here.) For the first year in many, I didn't take a flu shot this year. Guess what, I'll have one next year you can bet! Needless to say, exactly one day later my symptoms began and it's just been a blast! Thankfully noone else in the house has come down with it yet (although I have wished it on Andy once...okay twice during the week!) We'll be heading back to school and work tomorrow and hoping for the best.

Now for the good. I haven't been on the computer as much due to before mentioned flu. I logged on this morning and glanced through the Etsy Treasuries (which I hardly ever do.) Lo and behold, I'm in 3 treasuries! Woo Hoo! Then I read the comments before posting my own, and there I see it "Congrats on the FP!" For those of you non-etsians, FP is Front Page and every sellers dream. When you first log on to Etsy before going to any shops, the Front Page has photos from 12 shops usually selected by a seller and sometimes by Etsy administrators or even customers. Anyway, it's a joy to have been there for only the 3rd time...and I've missed all 3! Here's a shot of the FP conataining my Ruffled Rhumba Pants. Thanks so much for selecting me for this beautiful treasury ShopWhimsy!

Where did your child sleep last night?

My 2 boys (I say boys, but they're really "young men" now) slept in a cardboard box last night. They also went without food from lunch yesterday until 6:00 pm this evening, at which time they were given a cup of rice for their meal. I promise we're not torturing them, although at various times during their lives it may have seemed like we have! Both boys participated in the 30 Hours of Famine at New Convenant Church in Tifton through World Vision. There were quite a few young people as well as youth leaders from New Covenant who committed to raising money and awareness of Homelessness and Hunger in America and how many lives it affects daily...in our own country! It was an incredibly eye-opening experience for them. All electronic devices were taken from the young people as they arrived at the church (yes, this means no cell phones.) They were allowed to have a sleeping bag or pillow only if they were able to raise enough money for that privilege. The boys have described their "house" to me with quite a bit of pride I must say. I understand that it was the largest one out there. Of course there were 4 guys in this one box, and my boys are both over 6 ft tall! They were hungry, exhausted, and ready for their own beds when they got home. Needless to say they are much more appreciative of the many blessings they have. Here are the only photos I was able to get before they crashed for the night...don't they look exhausted? Sleep tight in your warm beds tonight guys!

Cora Paige

Today I learned of a precious baby girl named Cora Paige McClenahan. Cora was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma in January and went to be with Jesus just three short weeks later. I cannot even begin to imagine what her family must be experiencing right now, but I do know that their faith and strength inspired me. You can read about Cora's life here.

The Kansas community where Cora lived is having a benefit to build a playground in her memory, and many of us in the etsy community are donating proceeds to help them meet their goal. I am donating the proceeds from the sale of several of my new knot dress designs to the Cora paige Project. Be sure to head on over to etsy and type "Cora Paige" in the search box. There are many, many beautiful items to choose from. Here is a photo of my benefit items available at this time:

CPSIA and you...

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.T

o 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 Forbeshttp://www.forbes.com/2009/01/16/cpsia-safety-toys-oped-cx_wo_0116olson.htmlAnd for those of you prepared to be stupefied and boggled, The New Lawhttp://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html

Did you know? If this upsets or alarms you, please react. Contact your representatives in Congress and demand that this law be repealed or modified.

Back in the saddle again...

Well, I've decided it's definitely time to get back to some serious work. Tonight I listed the first new outfit since November, and it's a relief to have it done! Maybe now I can really get back in the swing of creating and out of this funk I've sunk into since Christmas. Don't be mistaken in thinking I've been doing nothing all this time...I've had several orders to complete and one huge wholesale order to get out. It's just that it's all going so slowly, and I've been unable to create new items in the meantime. Besides, my sister says that Marli Claire must have new clothes immediately! So it's off to work I go...

Happy New Year 2009!

Happy New Year everyone! I once again welcomed it in my same old fashion...completely asleep! No matter how hard I try to stay awake on New Year's Eve, I manage to fall asleep every time. Those that know me personally understand that I'm almost always asleep by 9:30 pm (I know it's ridiculous!) but then I'm back up around 5 am. So in my own way, I think it balances itself out, don't you?

I forgot to post some of our family photos this year. My mother-in-law wanted an updated family photo for Christmas, and I only found this out the week before. We did alot of scrambling around attempting to get this done to no avail. She'll be getting her Christmas gift a little late. However it will be earlier than I originally told her when she asked. It went something like this:

Babs: "I want a family photo like my sister got for Christmas. What would it take to get one done?"

Me: "Austin would need to shave, Ches would need to cut his hair, and I would need to lose let's say 70 lbs."

Babs" "So it's not happening this year?

Me: "Ummm No...let's try for Christmas 2009."

Notice Andy didn't have to do anything for this photo to happen. It really must be nice! I did get Austin to shave, but Ches was a definite no on the hair cut. He's such a Samson with that hair! We took the photos in our back yard with the cotton field in the background and then further down by the lake/pond (I never know what to call it.) Enjoy!

Did I mention I got a new camera? It was sortof a Christmas gift and mainly an 'I've worked so hard I deserve this' kind of gift. It's a Nikon D60, and I'm still learning how to use it, but what fun it's been already! We did our little photo shot with it where I learned about a couple of things I must have right away: a remote control (did you know they even had such a thing?) an external speedlight (flash) and at least one more lens. When we shot these, I started out setting the timer and running back to get in the photo. After I bowled the guys over at least twice, Ches decided he could set the timer and get back in better shape! It was really like an episode of Funniest Home Videos!

On a prettier note, I do have another quilt giveaway to tell you about, and I really, really want this one! It's just so bold and playful. I just learned about this blog, so I'm excited to have fresh reading to do! Enjoy looking at this beautiful quilt, and be sure to tell Amy that Sherri sent you!