2013 Martha Stewart American Made Nominee

Yes, it's true!

Here is my official badge:



More details forthcoming - I will need your vote, please, so stay tuned!

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."

Hair Barrettes by Sweet Madelynne Designs

The newest addition to the Little Elephant Company! I wanted to add the most adorable hair barrettes to go along with my hair barrette holders, so I looked to my sister-in-law Gussie to create these.

Gussie and my brother Jon have the sweetest little girl, my niece, Madelynne, the inspiration for the new line of hair barrettes.

Each hair barrette is meticulously created by hand. Gussie coordinates colors carefully and adds beautiful accents to make each piece gorgeous. Currently, she designs french clips, dior bows, snap clips, korkers, and bobbies.

Sweet Madelynne Designs are currently exclusive to the Little Elephant Company. We are continually adding new designs and collections, so visit often! If you have a particular outfit or dress you would like Gussie to make a beautiful hair accessory for, please contact us!

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. :)