Yellow Spring Fever

The etsy forums often have promotional threads by color, as in, "post your blue items here!"
I thought it would be fun to do a little of that here! We've had a few sunny days this week (and here in Alaska they are greatly valued!) and I've got Spring Fever BAD! So I've been sewing yellow!
What yellow do you have in your shop?
(Leave titles and links in the comments and I'll add you to the post here!)

LilBees
Lil Bee Diaper (yellow and black!) sz S
Yellow Floral Cloth Pad

Beneath the Rowan Tree
Dizzy Bee Tshirt

The Little Nest
Yellow Easter Egg Baby

Savonara
Lemongrass Soap

PollywogPouch
The Violet Chicken of Mild Discomfort

PB and J
Its gonna be a bright bright sun-shiney day!!

ElementalHandcrafts
Mushroom knitting needles

Spring is Coming!

It has been a long winter here in New England, but yesterday I saw new green shoots peeking out of the ground under the dead day lily plants in my garden. Warmer days will be here soon. I am new to this group and wanted to introduce myself. I'm Debbie, the woman behind Beach Plum Kids. I love to sew and to create comfortable and fun things for kids to wear. I'm hoping to get more fleece jackets made in the next few weeks. My fleece jackets are great for spring days when little ones still need an extra layer. Watch for new designs coming soon to my Etsy store .

How Cool is This?

In an effort to keep us rolling here, I went looking for something cool to share and found this amazing fiber art from Enchanted Gypsy! Who has a rather un-nerving, mesmerizing avatar, I must say! And if that teaser doesn't grab you, this opening snetence in their shop announcment should: "We are a nomadic family of two adults, one newborn and five birds travelling the states in a veggie fueled solar powered house bus..."What cool things can you find from our MDC artists?

Mighty Mini!

Just a little peek at some of my newer listings.

New and Upcoming Products from Savonara

Here is a look at a few things that I am in the process of adding or are curing now for addition to my Etsy shop. From the top left: Orange Patchouli Olive Oil Soap, Shea Butter Scrub Bars (non-soap), Scrubby Pumice Soap, (already listed) and China Rain Original Soap. More on the way soon!


visit Savonara's Etsy Store now

First Bloom of Spring

first blooms, originally uploaded by railyuh.

I am very excited about my latest print! Here on the coast of Oregon it is beginning to warm up and the first signs of spring have appeared. There are birds chirping and tiny flowers opening up, searching for the sun. I just think this little flower is gorgeous and a great sign of hope and new life. You can find it in my shop here: First Bloom of Spring.

I am also starting a line of recycled notebooks and journals. I am taking old journals, papers, cardboard, and photos to create new usable pieces instead of sending all of my extra supplies off to a landfill. Right now I have two notebooks in my shop and I hope to add more to that soon. Check them out here: Recycled Notebooks.

Cloth for your Lil Bee--and for You!

I have been working to add stock to my store these last couple of weeks. Yesterday I posted a diaper (finally!), and last week I posted my menstrual pads and patterns. Several more projects are underway, including designer fitted diapers, more sizes of AIOs, and more burp cloths and bibs... but I just wanted to share my etsy mini (I finally figured out how to use it!)

Etsy Buy Handmade lilbees

Coming soon: the pattern to make this!

Newborns grow WAY TOO FAST! :o)

Too many mom's have the same complaint...New born sized diapers and clothing only fits for a couple of weeks! Unless baby is a Preemie, or on the small side, most will be in their "3 month" size items before the are one month old! A customer recently asked me if I would be willing to make her some diapers and covers, that would fit "A long time"....ok, I thought, I'll give it whirl! Here's what I made for her, and will take customs on!! (Note that each diaper/cover has the same dimensions as the other; but one of each is snapped down to fit an itty bitty newborn...and can adjust to fit up to an almost 20 pound Baby!) The use of professionally applied poly-resin snaps make a custom fit a BREEZE!

What to Do with a Playsilk?

Silkies are simple. In a world of bells and whistles and one-trick toys, they float on a whisper of possibility, inviting children to touch their softness and experiment with movement and colour, letting their minds and bodies take the lead (rather than the toy!). They are an open ended, child directed toy with enormous play value.

But what are they? Silk! People are often shocked to find that our daughter plays (daily!) with silk ~ and sits on it, throws it, pulls it, ties it and drags it on the ground. We tend to have an image of silk as both expensive and delicate, yet it is one of the strongest fibers and very affordable depending on production and processing. Add that it is a natural fiber with gorgeous body and hand (the feel of the fabric) that flows, shines and warms to the touch, and what's not to love?!

The use of silk for children's toys has a long history but the particular use as child directed plaything arises from the Waldorf school traditions. In this educational philosophy children are surrounded with simple toys made of natural materials. This allows the child's imagination to determine the course of play, rather than the toy (think of a battery operated toy that does 'something' and thereby dictates how the child will play with it~ if it rings it must be a phone, if it cries it must be a baby). This encourages the child to live in the world of wonder, to move, and play as their spirits lead them. Playsilks are a staple in the type of play.

Playsilks come in many shapes and sizes ~ long and skinny, giant canopies, tiny hankies, and most commonly in squares of 21.5 x 21.5" or 35 x 35". They may be dyed in solid colours, rainbows, mandalas, tie dye or other variations. Some folks use acid dyes for silks, others use natural plant based dyes and still others use simple food grade dyes. Every maker aims to make a non-toxic product that is safe for children and colourfast, as well.

Playsilks appeal to children from infancy on up! Not sure what to do with a silkie?

Give one to a child, and let them will show you. One of our favourite moments is when we give a playsilk to a child who has never played with one before. Their eyes light up and the wheels start turning and within moments they are deep in play. Fabulous for play therapy and kids with disabilities, too.

At Beneath the Rowan Tree we have started a fun list of all the ways we have seen playsilks used and we'd like to hear from others and grow our list~ Not as a prescription for how to play, but so that we grown ups can marvel at the creativity of children at play and maybe catch a bit of the wonder as well! Add your ideas to the comments here, or through our Contact Page and we'll enter you in our February 28th draw for a free silkie of your choice of colour (35 x 35")! Be sure to leave your e-mail.

Fine Art Photography -- made by Railyuh

I'm here to introduce myself--I am Annie, mother of one active and dear to my heart toddler, and the photographer behind my Etsy shop made by Railyuh.

While I like to experiment with a variety of crafts, photography has always been one of my first artistic loves (the other is writing). I especially enjoy landscape photography and I think the beauty I see in the natural world inspires me to fill my home with natural handmade items. I also love viewing ordinary objects from different angles and perspectives in my black and white photography. I hope sharing my images will bring a little beauty into the lives of each person that views them.

Please check out my shop and feel free to stop by my personal blog, aurelia ann, as well.

Forget that Icky Plastic Grass!

For your Easter Baskets... think silk!
Available in solids or custom multi-colours at BTRT (some images below).
And also in lovely pastels and combinations from Cara at Green Bean Boutique, including an Etsy Easter Basket Set!
And I know Desert Dyeworks has incredible mandalas, canopies and capes!
I am sure there are others, too!

2 New Categories!!

I'm checking in to let you all know that I have 2 new categories in my shop and I will be slowly filling them up from now on.

The first is an upcycled toys category. In this category I will be adding toys that are made from recycled materials. So far I have added this Waldorf inspired baby doll whose hat and clothing are made from a reclaimed, felted sweater.

The second category is for needle felted balls,some will be very ornate and some will be very simple. So far I have added one ball to this category and have another one to add tomorrow (I am VERY excited about tomorrow's ball). Since they will vary in design they will also vary greatly in price.

Etsymini

Just a quick post!




Greenbeanboutique

MDC Etsy Sales & Specials! Week of February 8 -15

Add your sales and specials to the comments and I'll add them to this thread for the week!

Long Sleeves? Free Shipping!
On any long sleeved instock items by Beneath the Rowan Tree at Etsy or Hyena Cart. Just put 'ship out winter' in the notes to seller and wait for a revised invoice. Applies to Canada and the US only. We are in Canada.


Lilbees & Brighton My Day~ Free Shipping & Clearance Deals!
At Lilbees I am offering free shipping to fellow Alaskans (we usually get extra high shipping fees since we're not in the lower 48)
At Brighton My Day I'm offering free shipping to everyone on all my Christmas clearance items.
In either case, just put a note to seller and I'll send a revised invoice!

Hi, I'm Barbara. I'm a 30-something crafty, cat-collecting jill-of-all-trades. I sew, paper-craft, quilt, make jewelry and whatever else catches my attention. In addition to my Etsy store, I have a blog (wimzeebee.blogspot.com/) where I post works-in-progress and other items that I am not selling, but that I have made. I go by ItyBty on Mothering.com forums, and WimZeeBee in my crafting endeavors.

A sampling of whats in my shop currently:

Etsy Buy Handmade WimZeeBee

Introducing Knitsteel - The Blacksmith Mom

My kids are home today for a snowday, so it's a good time to introduce myself. I'm Kirsten, a blacksmith, metalsmith, jeweler Mom, working in a studio near our home.

You can find my Etsy shop at http://knitsteel.com/
You can find my photos on flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/knitsteel
and view it as a portfolio here http://www.flickr.com/photos/knitsteel/collections/72157602187920606/
You can find my blog here http://kaskiles.com/

On the Mothering discussion forums, I'm leafylady :)

Come and Visit!

Here's a sampling of my work available on Etsy

Name this soap!

I have two new soaps on the curing rack for your viewing pleasure - it will be four weeks before they are ready to list at my etsy shop. There's only one problem. One of them has me stumped for a name. So take a look, and if you think you have the perfect name for this soap, post it in a comment. It needs a name that fits like a glove but is unique too. If I pick your selection, I'll send you the end cut from this batch. That's a bar a little slimmer than the regular size bars, plenty to enjoy for weeks.


Here are the two new soaps: first, Lemongrass and second, the no-name soap. Good luck!

Sher

www.savonara.etsy.com