My Faves: Red

Some lovely things in RED...
I could go on and on with these, I could make one a day practically! Hmmmm...

Recycled Crayons Tutorial

I thought I would share some tutorials every month or so! This month's tutorial is recycled crayons. Sure they've been done plenty of times, but I thought I'd give it my own spin! :) Special Thanks to AEBABY for suggesting this one!

Gather your materials, here are my suggested ones:

Crayola Crayons. Do not skimp on this. Non Crayola's will smell, not melt well and not work well.

Exacto Knife

Silicone mold

Plastic Soap Mold (optional)

Aluminum Cans (optional)

Aluminum foil

Baking Sheets

• Peel your crayons. If you don't have a small child handy to do this for you, use the exacto knife to cut a slit down the crayon paper. If it is a pain to pull the paper off, cut the slit, then put the crayons in the freezer for about 30-60 minutes. The paper should pop right off then!

• Break the crayons and put them in the mold. If you are using a silicone mold you can just fill your mold with the broken crayons. If you want a multi colored crayon, mix them together. I'll show you how to do solids or layers in a bit!

• Set your oven to approx. 325-350F. Silicone molds can go directly in the oven, but because of their flexibility, you probably want to put the mold ON a baking sheet for stability. This is particularly important if you are doing layers.
• Melt the crayons in the oven, checking them every 5 minutes or so. You want them melted but not TOO hot. Once you see nearly all the crayons are completely melted, your crayons are done!

• Let the crayons cool until completely hard and then, pop them out of the mold!! If you choose to use a metal pan, you would want to spray the pan lightly with cooking spray so the crayons slide out easier. This is one of the reasons I prefer the silicone molds--plus they come in way more fun shapes!!

Viola!!

• Now say you want to do solids or layered crayons, or use a plastic soap mold? No problem! Gather your aluminum cans (like the ones that hold vegetables). Clean, rinse and remove the paper label. Break your crayons and separate the colors in each can.

• The color you melt in your cans will stain the can, so once you put a color in a can, it's staying that color! So save them for future use!
• Put the cans on the baking sheets (you can do this at the same time you do a silicone mold) and heat for the same time, 5 minutes at a time @ 325-350 degrees until the crayons are totally melted.

• Using your OVEN MITTS pour one color into the plastic soap molds at a time. Allow the crayons to cool SLIGHTLY before pouring, but not so long that they start to harden again. Put your soap mold on top of wax paper, aluminum foil, etc just in case the crayons melt the plastic and it leaks. (Which is why you wait until they cool a little.)

• It's okay if it spills just a tad, you can easily 'carve' the extra off your finished crayon once it hardens. Or get every little use out of it and let your little ones color the extra away!
• Once the colors harden just turn the soap mold over and GENTLY tap the crayons out. If you hold the mold too far above your counter/table they'll crack as they fall out and hit the hard surface. 

And there you go! Solid colored car crayons!

• If you want layered crayons, all you need to do is take a deep mold like a silicone mold. Melt the crayons in the cans as above. Pour a layer in your silicone mold. Let each layer harden before you melt and pour another! The hardest part of layered crayons is to pour the colors very carefully into the silicone mold so it does not splash up. If you pour slowly and carefully you will get clean, uniform, layered crayons!

Feel free to leave any questions, comments or share this tutorial!

~~Amy

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Baby Einstein Not Make my Kid A Genius, Um What?

So I wake up this morning to this blog:
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/parenting/the-great-baby-einstein-scam-531147/
This blog proves what we've already known...letting your child watch Baby Einstein (BE) won't make them a genius.

Well slap my ass and call my Judy, I'm stunned!!

I mean for REAL!? Come ON! Of COURSE sitting your child in front of a television won't make them a genius!! Now, in defense of Baby Einstein, they say to use their products right you should 'Sit with your child' and interact with them, repeating the words, making music, etc.
Yeah, that's what I do with BE movies.

No, let's be real. If I wanted to sit and interact with my child--which I do for a good part of the day, I wouldn't need a TV. They have these mystical things called BOOKS, ART, and OUTSIDE that I can do that in.

So let's just put it out there...what do we really use BE for? A BABYSITTER! We use it so we can get 30 minutes of peace to check our email, paint our toes, sip our coffee, pay the bills or whatever you need to do. Is it the best educational choice for your child at THAT moment? Maybe not. But you know what's WORSE for a child's development? A mom who's about to lose it and may do something she regrets or a mom who loses herself in her job as Mommy and doesn't take time to be the woman she was before kids.
Part of our job as a parent is to teach our children to entertain themselves! I believe television and computers can be a HEALTHY part of that when done in moderation. According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day. How can we really expect our kids to NOT watch the occassional television when we are glued to it?

I am in no way upset with BE, I never in my wildest dreams thought the movies would teach my child things I could not teach them. I never thought they'd make my child a genius and I have nothing but respect for Julie Clark...an ingenius mom who found a way to help moms and make a life for herself and her kids. Sure its for profit---HELLO This is America..at the MOMENT we still have Capitalism!! And should!

I know I can teach my kids the alphabet, and I will. BUt sometimes a Mommy needs a break and BE movies can be that for you. Should your 1 yr old watch them all day long? No, that would be silly.But you know what, BE movies are more than that in our house. They are therapy. When my autistic child is super upset...guess what calms him down enough to come back to therapy or interacting? Baby Einstein.
So, sure you idiots, no BE doesn't make your kids geniuses. But save your tarring and feathering for something else.

I've got a Baby Noah to watch...

40% Off Sale at Mama's Little Monkeys!???? WHAT?

YUP! I am having a "Harrison is allergic to cats and we really should replace the carpets" Sale. Also known as, "Labor Day Sale". :)

So until Sept 8th, EVERYTHING at Mama's Little Monkeys on Artfire is 40% off! Why only on Artfire? Because Artfire allows us to DO sales like this easily!! And if you followed me on Twitter, Plurk or Cafemom, You'd know about other special coupon codes for EVEN MORE off!!

So snag it now! Some items are mere 1-2 dollars!!

Through Sept 8th ONLY!

Fabricholics---Allow me to be your pimp...

I have too much fabric. Yes. It IS true. It is possible. I know, I know, WHAT? How can one have TOO much fabric???

But alas, I do! (With more on the way!)

So I have started my own Destash shops both on Etsy and Artfire!

Come check it out and allow me to be your fabric pimp! :)

What the Baby Books Don't Tell You.

Life has been insane as a mommy lately due to circumstances beyond my control. Here are some things I've learned thus far in my 4 years as a mommy.

1. Whatever you planned to happen--chuck it.

2. Your child will take off a poopy diaper at some point. Be ready.

3. Sex? No thanks. Hand me the comforter, hot stuff.

4. You will get lots of unsolicited advice. Take it, some of it may work.

5. You will get lots of unsolicited advice. What you don't take---learn to say, "feel free to take the monsters if you can do better."

6. You cannot blame farts on your kid once they start talking.

7. Once you breastfeed, you appreciate breasts on a whole new level. So will your husband. Particularly when you wean.

8. There actually ARE worse pains than UNMEDICATED, INDUCED childbirth. Leaking spinal fluid is one.

9. Things you previously didn't care about, like health care, politics, education, suddenly become very important. And you suddenly feel very nervous, scared and vomit a little knowing there really isn't a damn thing you can do about most of it.

10. When in doubt..get out some bubble wrap. Kids love it. (Just don't leave em alone with it.)

11. You can watch old Sesame Streets and pretend it's for the kids.

12. You dream about murdering Elmo and telling your child Elmo had an 'incident'.

13. You will literally knock out a 300 lb nurse if need be when your child is in pain.

14. You respect your husband and your mother a helluva a lot more.

15. You make up stupid songs to do stupid things. Whatever makes your kid smile. "Who has a poopy?" Sounds way more fun to your kid if you sing it.

16. Feel free to criticize another parents choice in hot topics (breastfeeding, circumcision, vaccinations,) but be FULLY prepared to back up YOUR side and don't berate the other parent. Also be ready for a hearty slap. You probably deserved it.

17. You can buy your kid all the organic food in the world and feed your kids 100% healthy. But let the kid have some FUN for crying out loud.

18. You will say these words way more than you ever wanted to: breasts, testicles, mucous, poop, placenta, and snot. Get used to it.

19. You should always, always choose the nap. It does not matter the options.

20. Remember to do something for YOU. Also remember it may fall to heck as soon as a mini you needs something.

Last but not least, remember children are the greatest gift God can give us and it is up to us to respect, love, honor and care for our children.

Now get off the computer and go hug your kids.

~~Amy

MOM ATTACK!! Cafemommers ATTACK!

Every two weeks, the Cafemom Street Team chooses a worthy Cafemommer and ATTACKS their shop(s)! Why do we do this?

Well, because Cafemommers ROCK of course!! We have some of the BEST artisans on Etsy, Artfire, and MORE and we're proud of it! Our members deserve some props so each week admins choose a member who fits several criteria including, supporting team members, participation, and of course all around awesomeness!

This week the lucky attack victim is CELYN, from CosmicCleanBody, GlazedUponGlass, and HandmadebyCelyn. Celyn has been a member of the Cafemom Street Team since October 2007 and is always there for other moms. I like to call her one of our sensible ones :) She's supportive, funny, creative and happy! Celyn has personally been fantastically kind to me when I began learning to make soap and she even collaborates with me to make my handmade laundry detergent! I use her awesome Cold Process soap in it!

Celyn is a great Cafemommer and I'm proud to encourage everyone to visit her shops and find something unique for you! She surely has SOMETHING you can use!


So Everyone ATTACK!!!

WOOT CAFEMOMMERS!

~~Amy

Lessons Learned....

So, one can argue that I did not fully complete my staycation with the goals I started with. I did not thoroughly clean the house (but anyone who really knows me knew THAT just wasn't gonna happen!) I did however, get some cleaning done and begin the cathartic process of cleaning out the baby stuff. Thanks to our economy and price of health insurance, we are probably done having children and it's time to make room for a new chapter in our life! I have two beautiful boys and have lots of friends and family who have little girls so I can get my pink out there!

I did learn some important business lessons this week, which is really what I wanted to do. I am slowly still learning what genres I want to focus in and where to put WHAT in each shop! (This is what happens when you take on too many crafts and you are a shop addict.) I learned that sometimes you have to step away from things and people to save your business.

I also learned what is MOST important--FAMILY. You can make friends online, you can be tight with people, or THINK you are tight with people and then you see sides of them you never wanted to see. But what is really important is your family and those nearest and dearest to you. Making them happy, cultivating good relationships with them and doing a job you are proud of, and makes them proud is more important than anything.

We have a lot of nastiness in this world and I don't want to contribute to it anymore than need be. Now, don't get me wrong...I enjoy snark. Good snark, happy snark, snark for a greater good. I will never ever be mean to someone just to mean! If I ever offend anyone, I want to know so I can rectify the situation. That doesn't mean I will change how I FEEL or what I BELIEVE (as my lovely liberal brother knows! But we can disagree in LOVE and open discussion!) But I would never intentionally hurt anyone. Sadly, not everyone can make that claim, but this is our world and that's how it goes.

I also learned teamwork is important to me. So I am devoting more time to my personal baby, Handmade Louisiana. The artisans we have here (and who want to be here but physically can't) are amazing and their work deserves my full effort. I also will always love my Cafemommers and can't WAIT to get back into the buzz on that team! I've missed you guys this staycation!!! (Search Etsy and Artfire for "cafemom team" and "handmadelouisiana")

I've also realized something else I love dearly--MUSIC!! Although I am getting a tad too old for late night outings (but DAMN Benjy Davis was AWESOME last night...blog review on HandmadeLouisiana soon!) I can absolutely devote more time to Chris Huff, an amazing indie musician who I am proud to intern for. Commence HuffMusic World Domination Tour.

One of my favorite musicians is Marc Broussard and he does not keep his mouth shut on what he believes on politics and life, even if it is to the contrary of the norm. And for that, I respect him even more. He stands up for what he believes in, shares his talent with us, and fights for what he believes in. I would like to do the same.

I hope everyone is at peace, happy and doing what makes them happy, because I sure as hell am trying hard to do that. I wake up, see my beautiful kids, and if nothing else goes right ALL DAY--I can still go to sleep knowing things will be alright.

So be true to yourself, be firm in what you believe and NEVER let negativity and lies ever get you down!!

~~Amy

So, I have this new gig....

So, I have this nifty new gig, as a columnist for the Green Wise department over at Handmade News. Of course I am extremely honored and pleased to be a part of this! I do try to lead a greener life, partially to save money and also to respect and honor what God has given us on this Earth. You likely won't see me chaining myself to trees but I do believe in respecting all that is around us!

So what kinds of things would you like to read about in the Green Wise section of Handmade News? I have lots of little thoughts floating around my brain (the hamsters in my brain sometimes get smacked in the head by them too...) but I'd love to know what you think?

I know, I know...writing for Handmade News, Amy? Seriously? Do you not do enough already? Ahh, this is true. But sleep is for the weak. I can be a mommy, wife, run shops, be Chris Huff's pimp, stalk Blockhead Radio, run Handmade Louisiana and my Celiac group AND write for Handmade News.... I can, I can, I CAN!

Well at least I'll try really hard darnit!

So what do you want to know about the green life? Hit me with it!

The Science (and love) of Handmade Soap

Soap. We need it to clean our bodies, homes, cars, pets and sometimes naughty little children's mouths. But what IS soap?

From Wikipedia (because I'm too tired to crack an actual encyclopedia):

"Soap is an anionic surfactant used in conjunction with water for washing and cleaning, which historically comes either in solid bars or in the form of a viscous liquid. Soap consists of sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids and is obtained by reacting common oils or fats with a strong alkaline solution (the base, popularly referred to as lye) in a process known as saponification. The fats are hydrolyzed by the base, yielding alkali salts of fatty acids (crude soap) and glycerol. Today, soap is often replaced by other cleaning agents, such as synthetic detergents."

This is the part that intrigues me. So, by nature, soap is a fairly simple (chemical) process and something that has been done for years and years. So why are their synthetic DETERGENTS in something we rub all over our naked bodies? All over our delicate little babies skin?

I am new to the handmade soap world, a soap making virgin if you will. Thankfully I have access to many lovely friends who have shared their wisdom, trial and errors and success. Plus, I'm addicted to soap. Even if I never use it. It's just downright beautiful to look at! At this point in my handmade life, I only make melt and pour soap. Now, I suppose some would say that is not TRULY making soap. In defense of M&P soapmakers every where..I say it is!! Although we are not actually mixing the lye and fats ourselves, we do take care to purchase high quality bases and carefully select our colorings, molds and scents. Cold Process soap is very much on my list of to-do's as soon as I have the physical area to concoct it in!

I personally, take great care to only purchase SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) free soap bases from reputable companies. SLS free soap is far more gentle to the skin and doesn't cant SLS, a nasty little detergent that is commonly used in garage floor cleaners. Really? Thanks, that sounds GREAT for my skin.

So, you may ask, WHY in the world am I lecturing you about soap? Well, it seems I may have the opportunity to teach a local home school group how to make their own melt and pour soaps! So of course, any soapmaker (even us M&P'rs) will tell you that all soap making requires some skill and basic knowledge of simple chemistry and science! No, we can't build a bomb, (Ok maybe some can) but we do need to know enough not to melt our fingers off our burn our eyes with fragrance oils! So what wisdom can I impart on these young minds?

• Handmade Soap SHOULD be natural and very much can be.
• Handmade soap is FUN! Immensely fun! The molds, colors, fragrances, embeddable items, oh the possibilities are endless!
• Handmade Soap is eco-friendly, particularly when you use SLS free versions so nasty little chemicals are not going down our drains.
• Handmade Soap supports local businesses if you take care to order from local suppliers and if you cannot order from local suppliers, at the very least you are likely supporting a small business!

So I am not sure how the classes I teach will go, but I am confident we will have fun, get messy, and make some kick arse soap!

Soaps I love:

Mama's Sneaky Treasure Hunt

Ya'll know I love Blockhead Radio! So we're going to have a little game....

SOMEWHERE in one of my MANY listings on my MANY shops there is a BHR Player Picture (there may be more than one..I'm not saying...) Like So:


So your mission is to visit my shops and FIND this graphic. DO NOT REPLY TO THIS POST where it is! Instead, email me at mama@blockheadradio.com and tell me where you found it! Then on May 12th (the date of the Amos Lee concert..I'll be in a REALLY good mood that day!) I will choose a random winner!

Want an extra chance to win? Blog this post and leave a comment here. You can also twitter, plurk or what not about it, but come back here and leave the URL of where you promoted this giveaway. But DO NOT leave the listing where this graphic is!! EMAIL that to me at mama@blockheadradio.com

Where can you find the graphic?
It's SOMEWHERE in:
Mama's Little Monkeys on Artfire
Mama's Little Monkeys on Etsy
Fleur De Ink on Etsy
Amelia Amos Soaps on Etsy
Mama's Little Monkeys on Crobbies

So get to hunting!!

What do you WIN?

Any of my lovely bath salts found on Artfire or Amelia Amos Soaps! :) Your choice!!
Have fun and smell good!


Don't Forget to Pop a Player and tune into some excellent indie music and great artisans shows on Blockhead Radio!

Awesome new Artfire Guild..ok a couple!

Are you on artfire? Are you verified? Then let me tell you about some cool guilds!
Cafemom Street Team is brand new and awaiting approval, so if you are a Cafemom Member come on down and join that guild! You can learn more about our group at http://www.cafemom.com/group/cafemomteamand we welcome ALL Selling venues, not just Artfire! :) Side note though, please keep your drama to yourself! We are about HELPING moms, not making life harder for them! :)

And I recently created Handmade in Louisiana Guild, also awaiting approval! If you live in Louisiana, or are from La and are temporarily away from home, then join our little guild! We also welcome members who sell on all venues! Obviously the artfire guild will focus on Artfire, but you can certainly be a member of wherever you want! :) We will offer you help in ANY business matter!

So if you haven't checked out Artfire, you should. You can try the free membership to get your feet wet. Then if you like it, snag a membership! 12.00 a month is less than I spend in fees on other venues these days! :)

So come on down and check em out!:)

Bid to Win an Awesome Gift Basket from me...and all for charity!

Many thanks to Helen from Triagefromhome! You can bid to win one of my lovely gift baskets and the proceeds go to charity!! Helen does a tremendous job on this blog and even if you can't bid on it, please share it and let people know about this!! :)

<----------------- Bid now and WIN!

Get a great gift basket, all ready to go, just in time for mother's day and help support breast cancer research! End Cancer Now!

~~Amy

SPRING cleaning time!!

PHEW! I am BEAT! But it is well worth it! Day One of "get your butt in gear and clean your house" program is on! Thanks to my super sized overstock of crafty goodness from my craft show last week, I do not need to 'create' for my Etsy shops for some time. So I am focusing my energies on
1. cleaning my home and getting organized,
2. Blockhead Radio and my job there as Promotions/PR and spiffy new host of Mom's Cafe on Wed nights at 9 pm eastern, and
3. MY FAMILY! :)

So, I do not feel like such a pack rat now! I now have about 8 bags of clothing to share on Freecycle (do good and good will come to you!), and I now have an organized closet that I will SHARE with my hubs (can it be, could we? Closet cohabitate?) AND a spiffy closet full of ORGANIZED soap supplies AND nicely folded fabric stash!! WOOOOT!

And the best part of all...there is still gluten free cake in my fridge...AND My best hubs ever bought me chocolates for our anniversary (TOMORROW! 6 years!) :)
WOOOT!

Proof of clean soap closet:
(now ot get a nifty shower curtain rod and hang drapes in front of it!)

Soap bases, embeds, citric acids, salts, papers, soap packaging materials, shipping materials,


Approx 45 lbs of soap base in boxes, shipping, bag o' rubber ducks, and molds

And just because I can, a random pic of my grass after recent rains....ahhhhh. Spring!

BHR Stalker contest! Who Will Win?

Written by agoodwitchtoo on BHR Blog:

The Biggest Stalker is determined by several things...

Most importantly is how often we "see" your pretty faces :) Whether it be in threads, in the 24/7 BHR Chat, in the BHR forums, emails we've received telling us what you've done to prove you're the Biggest Stalker.... (although we do require that you refrain from doing anything illegal).

If you've chained yourself to a lamp post and screamed "Listen to blockheadradio.com" as everyone passed by... we wanna see the video.

Of course you don't have to take it to that level. But that would be cool ;)

Let us know when you've blogged! Bring a friend to the show. Support the BHR Charity Sampler box. Email us if you've told some random person on the street. Get that random person to email us. Tell them to let us know you sent them.

How the Biggest Stalker is decided is totally up to the Stalkers and the precedents they set forth. Bombard every host in every way you know how. Emails, blogs, chat, shows.... Just stop short of hiding outside their houses in the bushes.

Dazzle us with your persistence and creativity.

I will tell ya this... The Biggest Stalker every month will be handsomely rewarded!

Pass this blog along. Let us know ya did. It'll earn ya those frequent stalker points. No little annoying card to keep up with either.

Survived first live show, now back to work!

Man, life after craft show is hard! Trying to reorganize, inventory, photograph, clean, etc etc! :)

Thanks to those who tuned in last night, you can tune in again every Wednesday night at 9 pm eastern to hear me and my awesome friend Rockerchic on "Mom's Cafe" We'll carry on with our mommyness, awesomeness, and artisan info! :)

So don't miss it! :)

www.blockheadradiolive.com

I'm going to be live on the air....

I think I just wet my pants a little....

Me. Live on the air.

I do recall distinctly telling the lovely Rod/Huck/Witchy/harem of women, that I would NOT be on the air anymore than a time or two to call in.....

and yet.....

here we are two days from ME GOING LIVE ON THE FREAKING AIR!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA (that was the Home Alone scream...)

So, I bought my nifty little headset from the Evil Empire today....warned my husband that our Lost date nites would be over for awhile (oh, don't worry SewHappy, I'm taping it so we can still talk trash..) and that I would be barracading myself in my room for at least one hour and to not disturb me.

So the more I think about this, this is not such a bad idea....
1. One solid hour of no monkeys invading my space (in theory)
2. Sitting on my butt cozy in my bed...
3. Talking and knowing (some) people are actually enjoying it?
4. Getting to talk to my awesome friend Rockerchic about our lives as mom artisans..
5. A promise of appletini's each week...
(what appletini's are not in the contract?...ahem, Rod, we really must speak soon...)

Okay, so I'm getting excited!!!

WHAT praytell shall Rocker and I discuss for ONE HOUR each week?

Well....that is our little secret (I'm waiting for her to tell me...KIDDING.) but the overall general idea is being a mom/artisan...how does it work, managing it, creativity, balance, etc. Our little show is called "Mom's Cafe", or as it is affectionately referred to around BHR...."Two morons with a show at NIGHT" (because the Morning Brew Ha Ha is the official Two Morons with a Show)

I can promise you there will be LOLcats to be had.

SOOOO come check us out on WEDNESDAY nights at 9pm EASTERN for Mom's Cafe!! The possum will be going live on the air.....(insert ominous music here...)

~~amy

I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!

PHEW!! The craft show is OVER!! Thanks to those who came and supported me!! I appreciate it! Despite these tight times, I did enough business to at least break even and it was great practice in working with customers, setting up, etc. I am CONSIDERING doing another show in May in Mississippi but I have to get more info on it because it is a HUGE show.

SOOOO, the shops are BACK open and will be having more new stuff added as I can get to it! :) Right now it is back to work at Blockhead Radio and back to work as a mommy and wife! My house has been greatly neglected due to my prep for the craft show and I need to get back in my mommy groove! :)

Now what I WOULD like you to do is to check out the BHR ARTISAN CHALLENGE! Simply CLICK HERE and then click each category and GO VOTE! I am featured in a few categories, so of course I'd appreciate some votes! :)

And don't forget to ENTER the artisan challenge yourself!!

I have not forgotten the secret giveaway on my blog!! You'll be hearing from me soon if you entered! :)

Have a great day everyone!!!
~~Amy

I feel tired, oh so tired, but accomplished! :)

I'm tired. Crawl into bed, snuggle up and pass out before Seinfeld tired (that's 10pm Central!). BUT, I feel accomplished! My first ever craft show appearance is next Sunday, and it's been a long road. Man, I hope the customers come! :) I sewed today from 10am-6pm. I am beat! But I made some awesome things for the show, including my own chalk cloth sign for my booth! (Being chalk cloth, I can write whatever I want on it!)

So, if I get a little extra time this week I'll finish up one set of flannel baby bib/wipe sets, and maybe one minky bear (amazingly a teddy bear doesn't take me too long.)
But more importantly to do:

• All the tags, labels, prices for completed inventory..including ingredient label on soaps and bath salts.
• Cut swatch samples for fabric available for custom pants, teddy bears and more! (basically a swatch of all my fabrics!) Organize and label accordingly.
• Print out the 'catalog of ducks' available for ducky soaps, as well as a catalog of ducks I can easily order.
• List of scents available for soaps/salts.
• Prices signs, info signs, etc. Biz cars, CPSIA info all ready to go.
  
• Blockhead Radio print out!
• Price listing sheet...because I won't be there on Saturday (church), my selling partner will be working on Saturday, so I need to leave her a complete list of my items with prices so she can mark off as she sells and I can accurately figure out taxes, etc.
  
• Buy various office supplies/table supplies for set up.
• Drink a large appletini and eat massive amounts of chocolate.
• Sell like I've never sold before.....

That about sums it up....countdown is ON.

My Faves: Cafemom Etsy Moms Team

Hope you enjoy this edition of MY FAVES!! This time up, Cafemom Etsy Moms!! Don't know about CEM? Well get to know them a little here, and if you or someone you know is a mom/grandma who sells on Etsy, be sure to join Cafemom Etsy moms!! We're having a member drive to reach 300 members by 3/29/09!!

This is only the tiniest tip of the cafemom team iceberg!! More editions coming soon!
Be sure to check out the awesome Cafemom Team Videon on my blog HERE! More versions coming soon!