some favorite etsy sellers of mine...

A couple of etsy shops that are either one of my faves and/or sellers who have been a help to me or have referred others to me (how awesome is that? shout out to Sherryl!). Great handmade items in these shops. Their talent amazes me!

If you have a little girl in your life....these hair accessories are a must! Sherryl of Skylar Candy Clips makes adorable, fun, unique hair clips and headbands. Please check out her shop. She is also doing a giveaway on her blog. Check it out!

Karen of The June Bride - Her shop has eco-friendly gifts as she uses reclaimed materials. Unique flower brooches and soft, pretty ipod cases accented with vintage buttons.

A dear friend of mine, Cyrena of Simply Chic Bebe, has a cute shop for hats, bows and other adorable accessories for little girls.

If you need a perfect gift for the perfect baby, personalize it! Check out Bibs, Burps, and Beyond for personalized burp cloths, bigs, and onesies. Another great seller - Hi Angela!

Enjoy!

Scarlett Rose

A friend of mine requested a onesie and bootie set for a gift to give to a girl named Scarlett. I just love that name - just different and old fashioned at the same time. So her name inspired me. I currently don't list onesie sets, but if interested, just contact me! laurasloft@live.com

Happy Valentine's Day! Front Page Madness!

Etsy Front Page 2/14/09 laurasloft, originally uploaded by Etsy Front Pagers.

Happy Valentine's Day!

My current treasury made it to the front page! Congrats to all who were featured.

Link to my treasury: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=39481

An early treasury of mine also made it to the front page of etsy, on February 3, 2009. Here is a photo of it on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28488923@N05/3251765979/. My first front page treasury! I don't always have the time to grab a treasury, but once in a while I do. It is great to see a treasury of mine to make front page, and of course, have that link to laura's loft on the front page.

If you are an etsy seller, and haven't heard of treasuries, here are a few links to check out:

http://www.etsy.com/faq.php#treasury

http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/how-to-make-a-treasury-the-nuts-and-bolts-688/

Treasury West!

Haven't grabbed a treasury on etsy.com in a while, but managed to today. Was in the mind of green grass and spring. Aaahhh yes, there are more winter days ahead, but I can dream. I think it was because most of our snow has melted, it was a warm day, and it just felt like spring was coming. But Colorado weather has a way of saying 'ha ha, not yet!"

Enjoy the treasury: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=41709

Featured:
A Meadow Green, so Green - Handspun Art Yarn in (surprize) Green
Lemon Grass Cocoon - such a cute, fuzzy baby wrap! gorgeous!
Two of a Kind -- 5x7 Fine Art Photograph
Eco Happy Dinner Napkins - love that they are 'green'
Green Grass Ring - so unique!
pillow slip - grass - beautiful pillow in it's simplicity
Spring In A Can - instant happiness in a can
A Breath Of French Air Fresh Cut Grass Gift Set
Summer Grass - Fabric Brooch
Green Grass Gift Tags
LeavesOfGrass - Pocketbook Slash Checkbook Holder - loved the graphic design feel of this pocketbook
Green Bird Mixed Media Mosaic

New CPSIA news!

Yea! There is a suspension of the law! Of course, this isn't the end of it, just a 'stay of execution' so to speak. We are still liable but not currently required to have the testing done. We'll see how this all unfolds over the course of the year. Below is from http://www.buyhandmade.org/ and http://www.etsy.com/.

We are so excited to announce that the Commission has voted for a "Stay of Enforcement of Certain Testing and Certification Requirements of CPSIA" — which means that they are proposing a 1 year suspension of the burden of lead testing and certification while they take more time to review the rules and plan enforcement! All of your hard work is paying off (for the time being at least!). You wouldn't have to pay to do the certification and testing, though you are still liable if your products are found to have lead. We are so pleased that artisans and vintage sellers got their voices heard. Your hard work is not over; we must continue to play a role in advocating for small business people throughout the coming year.

"The action taken today provides breathing space to get in place some of the rules needed for implementation, but it should not be viewed as a full solution to the many problems that have been raised." —U.S. Consumer product Safety Commission

The links to this article:
http://blog.buyhandmade.org/
http://www.etsy.com/storque/craftivism/breaking-news-the-cpsia-mandatory-testing-certification-prop-3347/

thank you mom

My mom rocks. I learned to sew from my mother. She sewed all of my and my sister's figure skating outfits for years. Mom, sister and I are all shorter than 5'4", so many pants have been hemmed. Clothing repaired, blankets made, you name it. She supported our skating by sewing dresses for others, her own at home business. Where was etsy then? ;)

But lately the desire to sew, I believe, has waned over the years. Upon discovering my new enterprise of sewing baby booties, she took the time to empty out her sewing room (a room any sewer would be jealous of). I now have a few boxes of elastic, thread, binding, buttons, material, scraps, and more. The buttons, however, are the real gem. Vintage buttons from mother, grandmother and great grandmother. Some of them you can tell have been cut off shirts, jackets, or pants. My grandmother was married during the depression, and she taught me the art of finding many uses and saving the littlest thing for that rainy day. But have I cut buttons off of a ragged shirt before tossing? Nope, don't think it's ever occurred to me. What my grandmother and mother have taught me could fill a whole other blog, so that's for another day.

I had a weekend with no obligations, so off we went snowshoeing and came back tired, a good tired, and well relaxed. Husband snoozed on the couch, my Laura in her crib, and off I went into the craft room. I happened to see some batik scrap material I had leftover from some project years ago that I think I never finished (I can be the ultimate procrastinator). I decided to do a little present to mom and started to create a small wall hanging. Pattern? nah. Plan? nah. But I think it turned out okay.

My daughter and I headed to the post office today and shipped her thank you present. Just that simple act of shipping out sewing materials that she thought I could use, meant the world to me. It's her way of saying 'I love you.'

Blogging? What's blogging?

Everyone is doing it. Everyone is blogging. I think I may be one of the last people over the age of 14 and under the age of 50 who is not blogging. So I thought I would try. Not sure if I have enough rolling around in this noggin of mine to express on a blog but we’ll try.

I am mostly trying this to share a bit of what I am doing with my life while I am a stay at home mom, including my little at-home sewing/craft business called laura’s loft (http://www.laurasloft.etsy.com/). I have enjoyed creating my baby booties, and someone said - sell them! - and thought, what the hey.

I am still new to this so I apologize in advance. Have a happy day!