Year of No Yarn Update....and overall update.

No, I have not fallen into a pile of yarn and cannot get up. I'm here! Alive! Busy as a bee, but alive!

I'm doing very well on my no buying yarn diet. We took a summer trip to Nashville, Tn and I did find one beautiful yarn store and bought two beautiful skeins of yarn....that turned out to be VERY tangly and horrid to work with. So now they're pretty decorations to remind me to stick to things!

I did cave and purchase some Knit Pick Felici because they released it again. I bought just enough to have someone knit me some socks (because I hate knitting socks!).She did and they're beautiful! 

The beautiful Crochetnanigans knit them for me!! :) I love them! Totally worth breaking the fast!

Other than a skein here or there for a custom order request, I haven't bought any else. The really scary part.....

It didn't even make a dent in my yarn stash. Now life has been busy and I've not been creating daily like I used to, but still, I have SO MUCH YARN. I could go ANOTHER year without yarn and be fine! (But I won't. I'm not insane.)

So what else is new? Well we are still homeschooling! I'm woefully behind blogging updates for myself and a couple of other bloggers, I'm sorry ladies!! One of these days!

The kids are doing great and we are having fun. There are plenty of days where I wish to curl up and hide, but doesn't every mom? (They do, and if they say they don't they're lying to themselves and you should probably buy them a box of chocolate or wine, hug them and affirm its okay!)

So here's a smidge of what's been up lately!



We enjoyed Star Wars day back in May at the Audubon Aquarium. Divers donned costumes and had a light saber battle in the tunnel! Albeit a slow motion battle, but it was fun!!

We visited Nashville, TN after a quick trip to Huntsville, AL to meet up with a the great Steph of The Eli Monster! We've been online buds for years and our two Eli's finally got to meet :) 

We enjoyed a day in downtown Nashville checking out the awesome globe you can push with your hands, The Parthenon and much more!

We also fostered three kittens over the summer and ended up adopting one, this ol guy, Thor. His siblings Loki and Natasha got adopted shortly after we returned them from fostering but he hung around. Guess he needed us as his FurEver home! :)

I've crocheted and knitted a good big as well, this big project was for Eli. Yes, I made the giant shark blanket. No, I will not make it again. Word of advice...be careful with shaping of the top fin....and placement. Trust me.

So we're fully into Autumn according to the calendar, though the temps say different in good ol' Louisiana. But I'm falling it up anyway. I love fall, it's my favorite season. We've actually been able to open windows and get outside! I made this playdough sensory art area for the boys (okay, and me...). We've even done some schoolwork laying on a blanket outside that I took a super adorable pic of, but Eli doesn't want me to share it. Sigh....my babies are growing up.

Will I blog again before the end of the year? Hopefully! I come off my Yarn diet on Black Friday! WATCH OUT WORLD!

Until then loves, may your yarn not tangle, your coffee be strong and your pants be loose!
~~Amy

New Years Resolutions? Nah. Acceptance.

I don't do New Years Resolutions. Mostly because I don't really "do" New Years...my new year starts in the spring with the Passover and spring Holy Days, but I recognize the calendar for what it is, a time keeper. (Wish it came with a Time Lord, but that is just me watching too much Doctor Who....)

Anyhoo, I DO have goals! This is our first full year of homeschooling and while it's going well, it could be better. I have been keeping up with work on the Homeschool Helper app for the ipad but I admit I'm an old school paper and pencil kinda girl. So I think it's time to get down to business the old fashioned way.

Things are not super cohesive. I admit, I'm not using my time the best. I would rather read, crochet, cuddle with my boys or sleep with the dog than do most any chore. But alas, that is not my lot in life, to be lazy. There are days for that and a time for that, but most days, we need to be up and doing, being productive and using the gifts God gave us. But I'm a slacker at heart, so I need some motivation.

I found this free printable planner and it looks great. Just want I need to remind myself to get things GOING and not fart around all day! So this will mean limiting my online time including the great time suck that is Facebook.

I do want to have some small mini goals each month, because although I know I need to adjust some things, the problem we face is often too hard, unrealistic or just overachieving goals. Usually the things we need to adjust are things we don't want to DO so how can we achieve a goal if we are already dreading it?? So for me, simplicity is key. Something doable, and yet something I don't already do (or don't do enough of) to feel accomplished.

Trickery is the key!


January's Goal: Eat two fruits/Veggies a day and drink three glasses of water.

Sounds pathetic, eh? Yeah well, I don't do it enough. I don't eat enough fruits or veggies and I definitely don't drink enough water. So this is my check in, my requirement! I'll even add it to my little planner! And probably a reminder on the iPad...and iPod...and email reminder....and maybe text message...

I'm just a tad forgetful....


I'll keep you updated on my little goal here!

~~Amy

End of an Etsy Era....

So, if you follow me on Facebook, you know already that my Etsy shops have been shut down. I have been an Etsy seller in one form or another since 2008. I went from being in the hole for 2 years to making what I considered a decent income for a mom who just likes to make things! I was a totally legal seller with my LLC, Tax ID's, a CPA, the whole she-bang. I founded and run the Etsy team Handmade Louisiana. I've made a tremendous amount of friends from being on Etsy and that I will never regret.

But my time on Etsy is over. Over the years, I have had a couple of 'trademark infringements' filed against me by a couple of companies like Hello Kitty and Eric Carle. I was new and unaware I could fight back with the first sale doctrine concerning licensed fabrics. So they sat as hits on my Etsy account and I thought nothing of it as my business grew to be one of the top badge reel shops on Etsy with the most badge reels available at one point of 900 listings.

A couple of years back the battle over the local phrase "Who Dat" raged here as the man who claims to own the trademark fought local stores over use of the word. Long story short, for you non-locals, Who Dat is a battle cry for our beloved New Orleans Saints but also a general greeting, salute, joyful shout and more, used a lot in life in southern Louisiana. Who Dat dates back to the 1700s and possibly earlier. But this man trademarked the phrase in the 80s when he was involved in a song (a horrible song) about the Saints. Decades passed and he never gave a care about his trademark until the Saints won the Superbowl in 2009. Suddenly, he cared about his trademark.

I thought the matter had been laid to rest when the parties he sued settled in 2012 and a judge said, "Who Dat belongs to the people." It never even dawned on me this was still an issue. So I was surprised (and ticked) when I found he had filed a complaint against several of my items. Honestly, I'd forgotten about several of them, (did I mention the 900 listings?) So I sent "the man" a not so pleasant email, but I fixed the listings and thought the matter was over.

Nope. He apparently found more listings on my shop, this time, he claimed you could not even use the words "who dat" in a TAG on Etsy. (Tags are descriptive words you use to help people find your items.) He's even gone so far as to say you cannot use just "dat" or "who" in a Saints related item!?? So if your item was a black and gold fleur de lis, I couldn't use any form of "who dat" in a tag, even if it didn't appear on the listing or item. I should have checked all my items for Who Dat, and I thought I got them all, but apparently I missed a couple out of the 900 listings.

So what does Etsy do? Not contact me about it, not say, "Hey, you have one more shot and we close you down" or "Check your items please", etc. Nope. I go to ship my orders and I find a closed shop. I got an email of legal-ease and a closed shop. Not just one closed shop, but TWO closed shops. I also had SeauxComfy on Etsy, a crochet shop that NEVER had any infringements against it, SHUT DOWN.

Needless to say, I was very upset. At the jerk trying to steal Who Dat from the people, at Etsy for their lack of support. At myself for fighting back, because I'm thinking if I'd not fought back to Sal, he'd have maybe left me be. I scoffed at his offer of licensing with him and made it clear I NEVER want to do business with him. (He didn't offer me a nifty form to fill out to turn into Etsy to show I won't use Who Dat as a tag, yet he offered it to other sellers. Hmmm I wonder why? Oh right, I stood up to him.)

I quickly let go of my anger at Sal because it became clear he is a desperate man clinging to the last little business he has left. Apparently in the 30 years he's owned this trademark he's made 350k on it, and spent a lot of that on court. That is NOT a great record of business, for those not familiar with sales. It's incredibly sad.

But I was more mad at Etsy. For having spent 5 years putting up with their total lack of seller support, their continuing to allow foreign resellers while shutting down true handmade shops (like mine.), and for putting up with their muting of people who dare speak out in forums. Etsy is a shell of what it started out as. Greed took over the true love and purpose of handmade for them, I fear. Just in my badge reels shops alone since 2010 I have paid Etsy almost 3k in fees. Now, I made my sales, but paid them roughly 20% of my sales for years. I'm not even counting the other Etsy shops I had over the years until I found my niche with the badge reels. So apparently $3,000 isn't enough to warrant a real discussion to see if I truly was at fault.

Apparently Etsy has no spine and cannot even remotely defend their sellers and will cave to threats, no questions asked. So I am done. I am done spending any more money with them. I will pay up my fees and then be gone. Unfortunately this also means I will no longer be buying on Etsy. So if you are an Etsy seller, I will find another way to purchase from you, but I will not purchase on Etsy.

I'm sad to see this part of my life end, as it's been such a HUGE part for the past five years. But creativity need not be confined to a little piece of the interwebs....I am still going to create. I am not getting rid of my badge reel making supplies. In good time I will reorganize and start over on another site.

I had been toying with the idea of taking a break for a little while now. I am now homeschooling my children, much earlier than I had ever planned to. It really had become difficult to homeschool, run a home, run a business, spend time on bible study, with friends, and sleep! Life had gotten too hectic. I had been in angst trying to make a decision about my business, so I suppose God decided to help me make the decision!!

I'm sad it's over, I recognize how awesome my customers have been over the years and how fun it has been to share my work with others, hopefully bringing a little smile to their face during their work day. But my babies will only be little for awhile, and when they're bigger and more self sufficient in their schooling, I can reexamine my game plan and perhaps start a new.

In the meantime, you can contact me via the Facebook page or badgereels@gmail.com if you need a badge reel or two. It'll take time to get my photos back in order, but I will do that in time. If you need crochet items, you can also contact me there. I am taking custom crochet orders via email or facebook for now. This situation will not crush my dreams of running my own business, but it does delay them some. In the end however, it's for the benefit of my children AND my sanity! If that's not worth it....I don't know what is!!

I thank you all, my friends, customers, colleagues, and most importantly my family and God for sticking with me all this time, being there through the ups and downs, and for supporting handmade! You are NOT forgotten!

Much love,
Amy

Finished Projects and What's Happening

Here's a little bit of what's been on the hook lately and what's been new :)

I discovered on a cold night I was a walking advertisement for handmade...

We did a little park time...yes...they are wearing shorts and t-shirts in winter. Thus is Louisiana.

 I did a little crochet while the boys played.

Played a little ball at Grandma and Grandpa's. He can smack the ball pretty hard...I see a baseball team in his future..

I worked on some hats and cozies for the shop. These baby hats were so fun and bright on the dreary winter days.

His and her mug cozies :) 

I've been free from work since January 11th and I have yet to get back in the swing of home life. It's either been appointments and meetings..then I got sick, then my oldest got sick and has been for six straight days (I may very well lose my mind.) I'm looking forward to everyone getting healthy and mama getting her groove back!

Hope your January is going well!

~~Amy

Fly Away Birds...Fly Away...

Well...Mother Nature did her thing, and all the baby birds have flown the nest!! One lone bird was a straggler, but he persevered and with a little coaxing from mom and dad, he joined his family in the air! It was an awesome experience for my boys to see the cycle of life and watch the birds grow. They keep asking where they are, and we look for them in our giant oak tree, (where we suspect they reside).

It was amazing how fast they hatched and grew, from the time mama bird built the nest to the birds flying away was less than 2 months. It really symbolizes how fast our own lives fly by. Here it is, nearly May. I am rocketing towards my 32nd birthday, my 'babies' are almost 6 and 3 1/2 years old! My best friend and I are talking about planning a cruise in less than 2 years to celebrate our 10 and 11 yr wedding anniversaries! Where does it really go?

I recall sitting around as a child whining about how slow time was passing. Being SO BORED that I couldn't stand it. Teen years spent agonizing when I'd "get out of this hell hole" and take over the world!! (Still working on the world domination part....)

Do we sit back in our senior years and look in the mirror, shocked to see the face worn with time? Do we still feel 20 but in an 80 year old body?? I still feel I think relatively the same as I did as a teen and college student.....does that mean I was mature then or am immature now?

It just shocks me every day how fast it goes! Enjoy it while you can, my friends!
~~amy/mama

been a bad bad blogger

Man, I have been a bad blogger. I am alive, I am I promise! Life has been super busy! My shops are keeping me pretty busy which is a good thing, along with the usual family and house necessities! I guess in the world of facebook and twitter, it's harder to keep up a blog!

I do also blog at Daily Handmade Picks and Handmade Louisiana so I'll use that as an excuse also...are you buying it??

So my dear friends, how have you been? I've been well but busy! Since my youngest started school, February was full of appointments and plans. So far March has been a little calmer but playing catchup from Februrary!!

I just wanted to say howdy and I am alive and well! :)
~~Amy

1/1/11

Just because I can....
blogging on 1/1/11....

so some of my fave firsts in life...

• First time I kissed the man who would become my husband.

• First time my best friend made me laugh so hard I almost (or did) pee....there were many more times!

• First time my dad let me know he was proud of me.

• First time I rode a horse.

• First time I knew I realized I could stand behind my beliefs and support, defend, explain them.

• First time I saw those two lines on a pregnancy test!

• First time I ate a REALLY good steak.

• First time I held each of my sons.

• First A in college.

• First time I really felt like I knew I could handle this mom thing.

• First time I sewed a zipper.

• First time Eli held a spoon and fed himself.

• First time I realized the little things are both incredibly important, and incredibly NOT important....what really matters is your perspective and how YOU handle things. 

Obviously these are in on particular order....just how they popped into my head :)
What are your fave firsts?

Oh Vomit Fairy...

Ahh I knew that would get your attention...

So I hope your week was better than mine!! While I did start my new job on Monday, which I do enjoy, I had to take off Wed/Thur because myself, kids and Mother in Law were all ill. 2 days of the stomach flu--NOT FUN. Thankfully the boys are better, and I am on the mend. My MIL however has something bad, bronchitis, pneumonia or something. However she will NOT go to the doctor.

*sigh*

I have to return to work on Wednesday (thank GOD for Mardi Gras break) and I have NO idea if my MIL is going to be able to care for Eli. My stash of babysitters is fairly slim because everyone has their own kids, jobs, obligations to attend to.

If you know me, I'm not a fan of things 'up in the air'. I like a little bit of order...organized chaos as I say.

So needless to say not much crafting has gone on lately. I did finish up a huge batch of badge reels last week and took advantage of my bed rest to get stuff listed and organized on Etsy and Artfire.

Hopefully life will settle down and I can attack my fabric soon. It's calling me...Ammmmyyyyyy, come sew meeeeeeeee.

What your fabric doesn't talk to you?

~Amy

Operation Simplify Update

So. I have a new job starting Monday. That is probably the opposite of my Operation Simplify plan but I am going to learn to roll with it. It's a 'temp' job that ends in May so there is an end in sight. It means extra money that is much needed in our household. The job is at my sons' school so he literally goes to work with me, 8am-3pm. How sweet is that? It's with a company I used to work for from 2002-2006, so I'm familar with everything (although the job itself is new to me).

The job may turn into something permanent in the fall when they open a new center (www.rcddc.org) but we shall see. A lot depends on my mother in law being willing to continue to watch Eli, because even if I could afford daycare, we can't just put him anywhere. Him having Autism makes me far less willing to put him in any old daycare (particularly when you work for one of the top rated child care programs in the COUNTRY you're a little pickier about child care..) But if he's not with someone who understands his Autism, he can have regressions. Since he's doing AWESOME, I'm not willing to take that chance.

So when Moms isn't around, Grandma is just as good :) God Bless my mother in law. Even though she may drive me batty sometimes, she loves those boys will all her heart and is always there when we need her. Grandma's rock!

Now you may ask, how can adding a full time job simplify your life? Well for one, it will probably force me to give up even more in the handmade/online world. Much of what's for sale in my shops is done and ready to ship. So this will force me to be pickier about what I spend time making when I DO have time to create (weekends and holidays. I sense a Spring Break of sewing for me!)

At this point... we needs da money! So I shall make it work..somehow..someway!

And the best part is...I get a desk! A real live desk!! I've never had a job like that before! And I can wear almost grown up clothes (could be pulled into a classroom at any given moment) and be around adults! Talk about things besides diapers and autism!

Now...don't go thinking ya'll can get rowdy while I'm gone.
Don't make the Drama Llama mad...

MUAH
mama