Stand and Fight

Where did the fight go? When did the people who stood up against the wrongs in this world get so "tired"? I am talking about this law, CPSIA. I am reading and hearing so much about people giving up. It makes me mad; it makes me cry. I think of our ancestors and how hard they fought for us to have the freedoms that we have.  Where would we be if they didn't fight, if they gave up?

I know many are trying to stay "positive" and change...


Phebe Phillips Commencement Address from Taylor Davis on Vimeo.

....but this just made me cry. As I watched her give this speech, I envisioned our Great Women standing behind her in their sashes, standing strong for Women's Suffrage with tears in their eyes. What would they say to us?  Would they be proud? They had the same fears and the same things they would lose ( kids, families, etc), yet they fought not just for their own rights, but mine and yours! Many went to jail to stand  up for their rights; would you? They fought for every generation that followed them, as we must for the next generation. This CPSIA Law is wrong. It will destroy the handmade and small businesses that provide quality items to babies and children.

Let's not throw in the towel and give up until we fight. We have not even begun to fight. The day the call goes out I will be ready... ready to put down my paint brush, pack up the 4 kids, gather the organic snacks and meet you in DC to march and fight...I will even make the signs!

Who is with me?
For more information about this Law:
http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/

Stocking Day - Hyena Cart

At noon today (E.S.T.), the team shop over at Hyena Cart will be newly stocked with fresh, beautiful handmade natural kids gear. Hyena Cart is an online shopping site focussed on handcrafted family-friendly and earth-friendly items.

Lots of items are one of a kind, and all are made by artisans from the NaturalKids team behind this blog.

Part of the shop update includes these beautiful pieces:

a mini pink Waldorf baby doll (by PolarBearCreations)

6 natural wooden eggs from ImaginationKids

organic baby wipes from CurlyMonkey

wooden ocean wave stacker by TheEnchantedCupboard

organic baby sheep blanket from SewnNatural

originally posted on NaturalKids Blog

Look What the Mailman brought part 3

And the clue was...

Friends with mice, cats, and rabbits; curiouser and curiouser, who can she be?

Did you guess right?

Alice in Wonderland 

All 3 dolls so far in the collection!

And now for the fun! I had too good of a time setting up these photos!

Just a small Tea Party with friends!

So Sweet!

I know it was too much, but it makes me laugh!!!

To find these dolls and more check out The Fairies Nest.

The Reason I Have Approvals Done - Wedding Cake Topper Giveaway

The bride looked at the finish photos and felt that the headband was not right, after some email chatting and new photos we realized the problem.

 The first photos was a white wash-out from the flash, making the headband look like groupings of white pearl flowers.

 What the headband really was, was 3 rows of "diamonds" on a silver headband with one side having a swirl of diamonds and pearls, with a few pearls here and there.

And now the finished Cake Topper...

I hope everyone enjoyed the process and that the bride with have the enchanting day she always dreamed of!
May you live Happily Ever After!!!!

Finish - Wedding Cake Topper Giveaway

Finish Doll for The Wedding Cake Topper Giveaway! This was a hard month, I got very sick for about 3 weeks. It started out as allergies and quickly turned into something more serious. I work when I could but my blog suffered, I didn't get to do all my fun wedding theme blogs but my health, family, and orders had to come first.

Here you see the bride doll getting her fist layer of color. I do several colors to get a more realistic hair look. If I put a just one color out of the bottle it looks more like a helmet, lol! On my pallet you can see the mix to get what the bride calls Auburn with apricot highlights.

You can see the color mixing here.

Here is a close up and above to see the texture and the curls.

The sash was made darker and you can see her nice up-do from this photo of the back.

Finally a side glaze and you can see they are in LOVE! A really happily ever after!!!

Meet The Winners of the Wedding Cake Topper Giveaway

Step one:
After a customer pays for their wedding cake toppers they send their photos and information to me through my shop or email.
Here is what the standard for looks like for now but soon we will have an online form with photo upload on my website. Don't you just love progress!!!!

Bride
Dress color: Ivory
Dress Style: http://bit.ly/co6NC3
NOTE: I'm not wearing the lace sleeves with the dress, it will be strapless like the image to the right. The dress will also have a dark chocolate sash instead of the green one pictured.
Hair Color: Auburn with apricot highlights
Hair Style: See attached images
Anything to be worn in Hair: Headband, which is shown in the images. If you need more detail of the top I can take pictures.
Eye Color: Brown
Skin Tone: light
Other: I'm wearing a pearl necklace and pearl studs in my first holes and diamond studs in my second hole. I also wear a diamond nose stud in my right nostril.


Groom
Tux /Suite Color: Black, 3 button suit. http://bit.ly/cNUUNI
Tie/ Bowtie?Color: Regular tie and vest with pocket square, Ivory http://bit.ly/aoWNq7
Hair Color: Dirty blonde
Facial Hair?: very short beard and mustache
Eye Color: blue
Skin Tone: light
Other: diamond stud in left ear

Base Color: same as my dress

 Next my sons help with collecting the unfinished wooden pieces into the customers basket along with organic cotton square, all paper work, and all packaging items.

 Now everything is in one place and kept together from start to finish.

Hopeless Romantic

I am, it's true! It runs deep in my blood! I always find the silver lining, when others are losing it I am calm, and I always look for the fairytales in life. So late at night while I was painting this is what I saw....

Do you see the heart?

I think it means: True Love and Happily Ever After!!!

Here is the sweet cake topper who's fortune was told in a drip of paint!

My Kids are the Luckiest Kids in the World

All this NaturalKids Team loveliness belongs to them but it is going with me to the 2 craft shows I am doing over the next 2 weekends. I plan to display this collection proudly on my table with information about where you can find these items and more. If you like what you see come check out our website that will lead you to their shops. This is truly a stunning collection of handmade goodness!

http://katsinthebelfry.etsy.com pair of felt portobello mushrooms

http://www.etsy.com/shop/woolies Spring Pink Piggies

http://www.etsy.com/shop/birchleafdesigns Wooden Dagger with Leather Sheath, Wooden Shield, Playsilks

http://fairiesnest.etsy.com     Red Riding Hood a Storybook Dollhouse Doll 

www.imaginationkidstoys.com wooden mushrooms and hedgehog toys

Look What the Mailman brought

Well I was wrong it was not Anne of Green Gable. But what a sweet thing to be wrong about.

Love the rainbow yarn! Nicely packaged like a present.

Little Red Ridding-hood is the first doll in a Doll of the Month Series from The Fairies Nest. Each month a new doll will be sent with a riddle.

The detail is so lovely, there are many layers to the little dress.

I could not help myself I had to, I mean the kids had to, play!

Not so scary when you are bigger then the Big Bad Wolf.

Lovely!

Etsy 'Jerseylicious' Finds

Ocean Blues

 

Seascape Handpainted Merino Wool Top

 

GODDESS Multi Gemstone Cuff Bracelet

 

 Mantra capelet

 

Find more great items from the members of the  etsynj team on Etsy.com

Who Am I?

So you all know by this point that I love Etsy! I am not only a seller but a shopper. If I can find it on Etsy I would rather buy it there then in a store. It is so much fun to get that package in the mail, to see other sellers packaging and how they have branded themselves. Sometime it comes at just the right time when I needed a little joy in my day!

So my new favorite thing is to tell the seller to surprise me! Surprise me with the color, etc! I have also asked one of my favorite doll makers, Cynthia Toy of The Fairies Nest, to do a "Doll of The Month Club" for me but not tell me what I am getting from her selection of Storybook Dolls!!! BUT She is going to give me a hint/riddle each time.

So I decided to share the fun with you! Help me guess what it will be, leave a comment and tell me what doll it might be. Check out The Fairies Nest sold section to see other storybook dolls she has made.

Here is her hint:
This little mystery character was infamously disobedient and put not only her own, but the life of another member of her family in grave danger. Can you guess who she is?

April Showers bring May....Craft Fairs

I am putting in late hours these next few weeks leading up to May. Okay, I know last year I said no more Craft Shows/Fairs but I feel I needed a few more under my belt before throwing in the vendor's apron.

So while the family sleeps I paint. Trees, bushes, and mushrooms surround me in their little trays waiting for their final Glaze of NON-TOXIC Satin Finish.

Making the Playboxes take the most time. The detail work must completely dry between layers before I can add the next detail. I try to keep it simple but it never works out and I go back and add the details in.

The Trees and Forest sets are a more simple style and I can make more up at a time. It is so pretty to see them all lined up like a tiny forest. Working at night also means I don't have to fight off the little ones from stealing the trees ( they do have there own but are attracted to freshly painted ones, he he)

In the end the finish product is so worth all the work. Look how sweet this Lavender's Tea Party Playbox is! It makes you want to pull up a log still and join in!

This Year you will find me at the:
 Spring Crafts in Chelsea
Sponsored by The {NewNew} York Etsy Street Team
21st Str. between 8th and 9th Avenues

Waldorf School of Princeton  May Fair
Saturday May 15, 2010

The Business of Doing Business: Are you a Business or a Hobby?

There has been a lot of talk about pricing. Lots of talk about too high, too low! I think it really comes down to are you a hobby or a business? Having a small business in your home can give you great tax breaks, many great deductions and a loss can be deducted from you other household income.

See these links for more great information:
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/article-30176.html

http://sbinformation.about.com/od/taxes/a/Topdeduction_ga.htm

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/02/0217_unsung_deductions/index.htm

How do you know if you are a business? There is the "3 of 5" test, need to make a profit 3 out of the 5 years you are in business. A loss more the 2 years in a row can get you flagged for an audit by the IRS. So if you have a loss on year 3 be prepared to prove you are a business.

See these links for more great information:
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/article-30000.html

http://www.ipowerweb.com/iboost/manage/business/your_business/40004.htm

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/money-guides/turning-hobby-into-business-means-tax-breaks.aspx

Pricing is hard to figure out and there are many formulas. The base to all of them is figuring out your cost. Cost - supplies + fees/overhead + Expenses + your time (wage) = Wholesale. Retails is double wholesale. Most Etsy shops that are making real money/"quite your day job" also do wholesale. Make sure you do your math before engaging is consignment and wholesale ventures.

See these links for more great information:
http://www.whatthecraft.com/arts/pricing.htm

http://artsandcrafts.about.com/od/accountingandpricing/a/priceyourcrafts.htm

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/301520/how_to_price_your_crafts_for_online.html?cat=35

Hope these tips help you see the difference and help you on your way to having success!

Have a pricing formula or great tax tip add it to the comments to share with others!!