EtsyKids Spotlight: Hi Mamma Designs

I can't believe it's been a month since my last post! It's the usual craziness around here...looking forward to school field trips for my boys this month, though...the St. Louis Zoo and the Long Meadow Rescue Ranch.

So this time the spotlight is on fellow EtsyKids Central team member Hi Mamma Designs from Zionsville, Indiana. Hi Mamma says she has always loved to create things, and the shop "Hi Mamma" was created since her two little girls are her inspirations.



The products that are offered are all something that have been a part of their lives (as well as her own). Hi Mamma Designs offers handmade soft flannel changing pad covers for the cute little tushies, as well as car seat strap covers, finger/tip towels, coffee/tea sleeves, as well as a few other items. Be sure to follow Hi Mamma Designs on Facebook and her blog to keep up with all the exciting things in her shop! And, of course, don't forget to visit her Etsy shop...see a few items below:



The EtsyKids Team is a diverse group of talented and dedicated Etsy shop owners making items for babies, toddlers, and children. Although we come from different backgrounds and all corners of the world , we are held together by the fact that our members all love to create things for children. In our members' shops, you will find a wide variety of items ranging from clothing to toys to furniture to art and everything in between, in every style imaginable.

EtsyKids Spotlight: ccooperdesigns

Oh, her shop makes me wish I had a little girl...I just adore her girly ruffled aprons! Hmmm...I do have 3 nieces...those would make great Christmas gifts this coming year...
But take a look through ccooperdesigns shop today, as you just might find the perfect gift for your little girl for Easter. How about a lunchbox tin for a little girl's purse or makeup tote? Or maybe a fabric flower barrette or headband? Or even an entire outfit that even includes an adorable hat!

More about ccooperdesigns in Michigan:

I began sewing at a very young age, hand sewing(doll clothes and embroidery), using the sewing machine before I was allowed(sewed finger) and home economics in school. My Mom and I have had a sewing business specializing in bridal and formal wear for 25 years. Now for a change of pace I am designing and sewing a whimsical line of clothing for children as well as some other neat items.

Be sure to visit Cheryl at her Etsy shop and on Facebook!


The EtsyKids Team is a diverse group of talented and dedicated Etsy shop owners making items for babies, toddlers, and children. Although we come from different backgrounds and all corners of the world , we are held together by the fact that our members all love to create things for children. In our members' shops, you will find a wide variety of items ranging from clothing to toys to furniture to art and everything in between, in every style imaginable.

EtsyKids Spotlight: Melon Dot

This week's spotlight is on a shop in Wisconsin...Melon Dot. A stay-at-home-mom business owner, Sarah's items funky, fresh, classic, and a little bit punk all rolled together. I think my favorite is the etch-a-sketch tshirt. : )

Here is more about Sarah:

I am...

amazed by my 2 kids, in love with my husband, a waterbug, always in flip flops with my hair tyed back, silly, energetic, bad with names, love to eat strawberries and cookies,inspired by photos and my family.

My name is Sarah and I am an on-the-go mom of a little girl and a little boy. They really keep me running and enjoying life—who wouldn’t want the bliss that they bring into this world. It is definitely a full-time job with lots of benefits.

As my kids are growing and exploring, I am realizing that I want to learn more and more as well. It could be the teacher in me but, you never stop learning and there are so many cool things out there to discover.

Be sure to visit Sarah at her etsy shop as well as on Facebook!

The EtsyKids Team is a diverse group of talented and dedicated Etsy shop owners making items for babies, toddlers, and children. Although we come from different backgrounds and all corners of the world , we are held together by the fact that our members all love to create things for children. In our members' shops, you will find a wide variety of items ranging from clothing to toys to furniture to art and everything in between, in every style imaginable.

EtsyKids Spotlight: Northwoods Toys

Brand new feaure on my blog! I will spotlighting an EtsyKids team member from the Central US region each week for a while. This week's spotlight is on Northwoods Toys from Wisconsin.

Here is their little bio from Facebook:

Northwoods Toys is a husband and wife crafting team located in the "Northwoods" of Wisconsin. We have been making hand-crafted toys ever since our 3-year-old twin daughters were infants. Stu makes wood toys and Jennifer makes felt play food and other sewn toys.

Mission: We strive to provide high-quality hand-made toys that your child will love. Our children are our product testers and quality assurance team.

Products: Hand-crafted toys for all ages including wood toys, felt play food, plushies, and more.


Visit their website www.northwoodstoys.com (or Etsy) for some really wonderful handmade toys like lacing cards, Squeez-a-Balls©, and some of the cutest felt play food I have seen!



The EtsyKids Team is a diverse group of talented and dedicated Etsy shop owners making items for babies, toddlers, and children. Although we come from different backgrounds and all corners of the world , we are held together by the fact that our members all love to create things for children. In our members' shops, you will find a wide variety of items ranging from clothing to toys to furniture to art and everything in between, in every style imaginable.

Summer 2010 issue of Modern Handmade Child is out now!

Winter 2009 Issue of Modern Handmade Child...

...is HERE! Thank you to all of our contributors for their wonderful stories that they have shared with us for this issue. Shannon and Gretchen did the bulk of the editing this time around since the different sicknesses hit our household the past month, and I finally was able to jump in at the end. Here is the result, and, in my humble opinion, we just get better and better. ; )

Oh, and don't forget to read my articles, "Room Party 101: Tips for Classroom Parties," on page 92, and "10 Tips to Surviving the Holidays with Family" (featured on the cover), on page 96. Then my little teddy bear quilt clips are featured on the top row of items on page 2!

Do you have an idea or would like to write an article? Or maybe you have used a craft idea or tutorial featured in the magazine? Did your child take the greatest picture ever? Please submit to editor@modernhandmadechild.com, and you may be in the next issue!

www.modernhandmadechild.com

SAVE HANDMADE

From the HandmadeToyAlliance website:

"The issue:

In 2007, large toy manufacturers who outsource their production to China and other developing countries violated the public's trust. They were selling toys with dangerously high lead content, toys with unsafe small part, toys with improperly secured and easily swallowed small magnets, and toys made from chemicals that made kids sick. Almost every problem toy in 2007 was made in China.

The United States Congress rightly recognized that the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) lacked the authority and staffing to prevent dangerous toys from being imported into the US. So, they passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August, 2008.

Among other things, the CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in toys, mandates third-party testing and certification for all toys and requires toy makers to permanently label each toy with a date and batch number. All of these changes will be fairly easy for large, multinational toy manufacturers to comply with. Large manufacturers who make thousands of units of each toy have very little incremental cost to pay for testing and update their molds to include batch labels.

For small American, Canadian, and European toymakers and manufacturers of children's products, however, the costs of mandatory testing will likely drive them out of business.
A toymaker, for example, who makes wooden cars in his garage in Maine to supplement his income cannot afford the $300 - $4,000 fee per toy that testing labs are charging to assure compliance with the CPSIA.

A work at home mom in Minnesota who makes cloth diapers to sell online must choose either to violate the law or cease operations.

A small toy retailer in Vermont who imports wooden toys from Europe, which has long had stringent toy safety standards, must now pay for testing on every toy they import.

And even the handful of larger toy makers who still employ workers in the United States face increased costs to comply with the CPSIA, even though American-made toys had nothing to do with the toy safety problems of 2007.

The CPSIA simply forgot to exclude the class of children's goods that have earned and kept the public's trust: Toys, clothes, and accessories made in the US, Canada, and Europe. The result, unless the law is modified, is that handmade children's products will no longer be legal in the US.

If this law had been applied to the food industry, every farmers market in the country would be forced to close while Kraft and Dole prospered.

How You can Help:
Please write to your United States Congress Person and Senator to request changes in the CPSIA to save handmade toys and children's products. Use our sample letter or write your own. You can find your Congress Person here and Senator here."

EtsyKids - Stylish Designs with Kids in Mind

The new EtsyKids website is up! What is EtsyKids? Well, it really is amazing!!!

EtsyKids is a group of worldwide sellers who sell children's items on Etsy, the place to buy and sell all things handmade. There are well over 400 members currently, and our group continues to grow...WOW!

So don't hesitate to visit www.etsykids.com and shop 'til you drop. We've done the sorting and catergorizing for you, so in just a few simple clicks, you will see fabulous gift ideas before you. And while you are here, be sure to pick up something for yourself, too. :)