Buy Handmade

It was a good day. I made some pants for the kids. Reversible flannel ones with penguins on one side and owls on the other. They are a big hit, and after every diaper change, the kids demand that they are put back on immediately. In fact, they must hold the pants during the diaper change, presumably so they don't get away.  After finishing the pants, we all went to COSI and finally got a membership. I've been meaning to for a while, but our friends kept inviting us as guests so we didn't need to. We can have a guest on our membership too, so I'll be able to do the same for someone else now. At COSI, we went to the Sesame Street Presents: The Body exhibit and the kids had a blast running around pushing buttons and exploring. They particularly liked the little grocery store setup. I was pretty impressed with their food selections. 

Almost everything that the kids are wearing is WAHM-made. Their new penguin pants are somewhat visable in the photos, then they have on long-sleeved onesies dyed by Janessa of Maple Leaf Designs who is a local dyer and good friend. On top of that they are wearing advocacy saying shirts made by SaySumthing. One of the shirts says Tree Hugger, and the other says Think Green. Both shirts were also dyed by Janessa. We are waiting for a couple more SaySumthing shirts to arrive in the next week or so and I'm excited to be able to have the kids wear them. They say Buy Handmade, and I think I'm going to try to make that our theme for the coming year, regardless of the proposed CPSIA regs. 

WAHM Spotlight- Tush Cloth Diapers

I've been searching for a new nighttime cloth diaper for the twins (they keep growing!), and one of the ones that I keep coming back to look at is Tush's Nocturne. They are beautifully made, and I love the dyeing, but they are also a real workhorse diaper. They are one of those diapers that are talked about with high regard and recommendations, and are seriously stalked on HyenaCart both at Tush Cloth Diapers and Venus Vanguard. Robin also has a blog.
Hopefully she'll be stocking again soon!

WAHM Spotlight -The Elemental Muse

I have to say, Michelle is pretty incredible. She has at least 5 different WAHM-related sites, and they are all packed with helpful information for anyone who wants to get started on HyenaCart or start a small business. Hyena Cart info is a great starting place for those wanting to open up shop on Hyena Cart, or learn how to make their shop better with many tips and tricks. WAHspirations is so encouraging. It's a great place to read about other parents who work at home and packed with little bits of inspiration. At Elemental Muse, you will find a one-stop shop for all your website needs. She offers graphic design services, web hosting, domain registration, and more. The Muses Guide is where you will find her business guides and how-to packages. Finally, There's the Small Business Muse, a free email subscription which offers "weekly tips and ideas to help you effectively balance, manage, and market your small business."
This very busy mama is such a valuable resource to the WAHP community and she holds a very valued place in my bookmark file.

A hard week, but fun to come

Again with the sickies. This winter has been harsh and the kids are getting over sniffles again. It seems like a lot of the families we know are getting over another round of yuck. Not sure what that's about. They are also still teething and wanting to nurse a lot. Made it really hard to work on customs. I finished 3 of them today though. I'll start the last one tomorrow, and then I'll start working on stuff for the Open Market. The Open Market is a WAHM business event that a friend of mine put together last year. It was so successful that it's going to be an annual thing. I wasn't able to participate last time, but I'm really excited to be a part of it this year. There are so many talented people who will be selling their wares there. There are a few others who are fiber-related, but there will also be handmade bodycare items, jewelry, paintings, wooden toys, baby carriers, and others that I'm not remembering. It was fun to see what my community had to offer last year, but I know that it will be even more fun to be on the other side of the table this year.
The countdown begins; 3 weeks until the twins are a year old!!

WAHM Spotlight- The Felted Sheep

Kelsey at The Felted Sheep does such amazing things with wool and dye. She dyes, spins, knits and felts all sorts of beautiful things that can be seen in her Etsy store and in her Hyena Cart.
She started out as an Architectural Drafter, but became a work at home mom in order to stay at home with her son. Her cute and durable bags are knitted and then felted and feature a snap-in lining. All that, and she lives in Alaska, too!
She also has a blog, also called The Felted Sheep.

WAHM Spotlight- The Enchanted Nursery

Teri, the mom behind The Enchanted Nursery, has a great variety of items in her Hyena Cart and also Yinia and Necessitae. She makes organic playdough in a huge rainbow of colors that I'd love to someday get for the kids to squash around, after they get past the "everything is food" phase that they are currently in. She also has developed a really interesting night diaper called a Night Owl. It's a wool cover and super-absorbent diaper in one trim package. There are 8 total layers of wool in this amazing diaper. If that's not enough absorbency, there is also a snap-in bamboo and cotton soaker. I'd love to try this diaper on my heavy-wetting kidlets. At The Enchanted Nursery you can also find cloth baby wipes, patterns to make your own cloth pads, children's clothing and herbal tea blends. It's a crunchy mama's one-stop shop.
Teri also has a blog, Wearing the Crown.

WAHM Spotlight- Pumpkin Pie Baby

Angela of Pumpkin Pie Baby makes beautiful crocheted wool longies and soakers for cloth diapered babes. She has been stocking at the Bed and Breakfast Congo , but will be re-stocking her own HyenaCart on January 1st and then continuing to stock on the first and third Tuesdays of every month. She's a licensed seller of the Peppermint Soaker and Morning Glory Longie from Ladybugz Farm. I love her cherries longie set, and it will be available tomorrow at 2pm!!