Soap Addiction

Since opening my Etsy store I've been introduced to some great artisans. I love to buy handmade items. One of which is soap! I've read a few blog posts recently who showed off their soap collections and I thought it would be a fun thing to do. One day last week I took out my soaps from one drawer. I didn't bother to go through my house and pull soap and goodies from my other stashes like the fridge for the muscle cream from Bovine Bubbles or my purse for soap on the go from Carvel Country Soap. And of course it doesn't include all the soaps, bath salts, candles and melts that I have purchased to pass on to my mom. Which I think equals this stash:)
What's in my soap stash? Fabulous handmade soaps from Clean and Bright, Shannon's Irish Bliss, Bovine Bubbles and Carmel. Bar Shampoo from Carmel Soaps and liquid hand soap from Carvel.

If you start it's hard to stop!

I'll also admit I'm a paper addict. I love to buy handmade cards. I won't even take a picture of all the cards I have. But I am very good at giving handmade cards for almost all occasions. I still have a few of the store cards that are in my stash that I have to hand out every once in awhile. My card stash became a little out of control so I switched it over to soap.

And since I gave a shout out to some of my favorite soap makers I'll also give a little shout out to some of my favorite handmade card makers. I've bought from all these sellers multiple times. There are many others that I'd recommend too but my list woud be a bit nightmarish if I listed them all! But I love, love, love the products from Creative Paper Trail, Amie Hartman Designs, and DZ Designs just to name a few. There are sooo many though:)

I think my soap addiction has become a little out of control now too. What should I buy now?!?

I will admit that I have now started to buy handmade kids clothes to replace my once handmade card addiction turned handmade soap addiction.

Cute Little Flappers

Here's a picture of the latest wee hats I made and sent out.

They were a custom order for someone in Vancouver who had purchased one of my hats from a local store who had run out of the smaller sizes. Thanks so much for finding me! I love custom orders and sell my hats in my Etsy Store and my iCraft Store online.

I'm working on another order for 3 Little Monkeys which is a local store on Bank St. They've also run out of the smaller sizes. I'm excited to get this order completed and dropped off since there are some cute new hats that I'm creating! Of course pictures will follow:)

Trying To Get Up To Speed

I've done a ton of creating lately. I just haven't had time to get things set up to show off all the work! So here's a quick post to get caught up.


I made this gorgeous soft ecru visor beanie with the pale pink flower. One of my recent favs I think.





An adult flapper in sage green with a double layer brown flower. The sage is such a great colour.

And my very latest. A beanie for Breast Cancer Awareness which is for sale here in my Etsy shop. It sells for $32 and all the proceeds will be donated to the 60km Weekend To End Breast Cancer walk I'm participating in. I'm getting there. Just over $700 left to raise to meet my $2000 goal. If you'd like to make an online donation (Receipts automatically issued for donations over $10 to Canadians) you can visit my page here. Thanks!

And I recently sent off some Lip Balm Cozy Keychains that will become part of some Team TransCanada Goodie Bags which will sell on the TransCanada Etsy page for a steal! Watch for them. (Sorry the picture is sideways)

Completed Custom Orders

I've just finished up a few custom orders. I'm still working on two more, but it won't be long.

A pink flapper with a navy flower. It's a bit hard to see the navy in this picture.

An itty bitty newborn sized hat. Which is smaller then my 0-3mth hats. Not the best picture since I was expecting it to be picked up at any moment. Instead the baby had other plans for her and Mom :D Which just made my day when I heard that!

I love the bright hats. Pinks and browns are very popular, but I love the hats that pop - like this fuchsia hat with the white flower and orange center. So bright and cheery!

It's Been Awhile

Well, just over a week, but still. Seems like awhile considering everything that's been happening

I've been busy and just getting over a nasty virus that knocked me out of commission. Good thing it happened on a long weekend when hubby was home to help out.

Spring is on it's way which means it's about to get busier for me! Yay!

I dropped 16 hats off at one of the local stores, Tickled Pink, on Friday.

And I just finished this cute order for Naturally Sweet based in Alberta.

I have some great ideas in the works. One is for a Breast Cancer Awareness Beanie. If it will actually come to fruition as I imagine it I will be selling them in person and in my Etsy shop with all proceeds going to my 60km Weekend to End Breast Cancer Walk in June 2009! Coming up fast now! The other idea...well I won't even hint at it. But I've been getting more and more requests for it lately so it's sure to be a hit!

Canadian At Par at www.loopy4ewe.com

I will have pictures soon of some of the hats I've made. But for now I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm offering Canadian at Par in my Etsy shop.

Here's what you'll need to do.

1. Go through the Etsy part of the transaction - place the item(s) in your cart, checkout, select the address you'd like it shipped to and confirm your purchase.

2. Do NOT follow the Paypal link. Stop the transaction there. I will issue you a Paypal invoice in Cdn Funds that you can pay.

Unfortunately I can't change the currency on Etsy so this is the only way I can make this happen. But it's a great deal for you Canucks who love to shop on Etsy!

Or if you'd prefer - my icraft shop is always in Canadian Funds. Check it out at www.icraft.ca/loopy4ewe

This special will run for the entire month of February 2009 and is even valid for special orders!

International CPSIA Blog-In: Awareness & Action!

Chances are you will read the following post more than a few times in blog land today.

Please do take a few minutes to read through this post. I and so many others truly appreciate your time. While this new law applies to families living in the US it does effect international sellers like myself who make products for children and sell them in the States.

It concerns the CPSIA or the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of laws that will come into effect in the U.S. on 10 February, 2009 and will impact many, many people in a negative way. To show how real this is, Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying close attention to it. Although I believe that this law came about to truly protect our children based on the massive number of toy recalls last year myself and many others don't think they have thought it out well enough. It is too broad a band-aid and needs to be investigated more.

But how will these new laws affect you? 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, children's books will be pulled from library and school shelves. There is no exemption for them. Here is an article from the American Library Association.

To the Lover of All Things Handmade:
Due to the new law, that blanket you originally had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it's passed testing. But then 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 crocheted hat you bought your child this past winter won’t be available to you next winter.

To the Environmentalist:
Due to the new law, we're due to find items in non-compliance dumped into already overflowing landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners, but the big box stores as well. They can't sell it and they can't even give them away. If they are caught, it is a violation.

To the Second-Hand Shopper:
Due to the new law, you will now need to spend the money 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.

To the Entrepreneur Like Me:
Due to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your unique products or discontinue making and/or selling them. Small businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing and be forced to close up shop. In a time when unemployment is reaching record highs, this doesn't bode well for the economy.

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.” Read about this in an article from The Wall Street Journal.

If you think this is exaggerating, here is a recent article from Forbes .
And for those of you prepared for an intellectual workout, The CPSIA

Thanks for reading!