30 Nap Mat Covers, and whadda ya get?

Hopefully a really awesome wholesale deal!! :) The nap mat covers are done and ready to be delivered to my local education store for our wholesale deal! I made 30 to start with, hopefully she buys them all and wants more! I'm very glad to be done with this set, the fabric is delicious!
Want to see what 30(Ish) nap mat covers look like?































































Michael Miller, Alexander Henry, some awesome prints! Cotton and flannels! :) I hope to make many more!

~~Amy

Oh It's Hot. Oh so Hot.

Thank you for air conditioning! I have been a tad busy with orders, writing for Handmade News (yes I'm THAT awesome...) and ridding the world of all injustices..so I've slacked in my blogging. Please don't beat me with a wet noodle. And the kid is home for summer...so you see my perdicament.
And it's HOT. SOOOOOO HOT! But we must sweat on! November is getting closer every day (my favorite month!)

What are you creating this hot summer season? Anything cool and refreshing!? I took a break and made some PIF banners in my AF Shop

and I'm nearly done with the stack of nap mat covers for my local wholesale order!

Ooooh and the Michael Miller fabric came in...it is soooo pretty. Some is for sale in my Artfire Shop but most of it is MINE ALL MINE! (shh, don't tell anyone I roll around in the fabric at night laughing maniacally).

My niece is due to have her 3rd baby in August/September (third baby...can't pin that down to one month!! LOL) and I'm getting her stack of handmade goodies going! As co-host of the baby shower I can't wait to create the rubber duck soaps and printed soaps as favors!!

So that's what's up so for for me, what's on your summer schedule? Vacation? Yummy treats? Prepping inventory for holiday season?

~~Amy

Soo, people CAN make a difference?

Huh. So the rumor is true...a group of people fighting for a common cause can make a difference? In this case so the cause was perhaps silly to come, our right as Etsy sellers to be found in google searches, but damnit we got heard. Etsy appears to have readjusted their meta tags and gave us back what is rightfully ours.

AND Etsy admin has admitted they need to adjust how they respond to sellers, communicate better and perhaps even take our thoughts into consideration. Read More Here.

Thank you Etsy, seriously. I may snark, I may whine. And while I admit, no Etsy is not my main selling venue anymore, I would like to keep my shops open and there is a lot I enjoy about the site. Thank you for being able to man up, admit you screwed up and fix it.

And my nose ended up NOT being cut off to spite my face..imagine that...

~~Amy

A Monkey, A Witchy and a Plurk Walk into a bar...

Not sure if you've taken note, but I have grown weary of keeping mum on certain activities online. I have decided I am done keeping quiet on situations I feel strongly about.

One such situation is my feelings for Etsy. I've been on the fence about them for awhile. I am debating my future on that venue. Now you know I am a venue whore and will try them all. Some I stay at, some I don't. (Please don't get me started on 1,000 Markets.)

Let me interject...if you sell on any venue I do not sell on, or a venue I have a problem with, keep in mind, that will NOT stop me from purchasing from you! (Okay well, maybe 1KM because I don't dig the Amazon Payments.) So I FULLY Support you selling on whatever venue you want to! Sell wherever you can!! Sell where you can make money!! I absolutely believe in that!

I however, am disillusioned with Etsy and tired. Tired of admins closing threads, tired of front page favoritism, tired of Etsy fails such as the SEO Meta Tag debacle, tired of the venue not listening to its sellers. NOne of this means I am tired of Etsy sellers (well maybe a few...) Etsy sellers are some of the greatest artisans around!

And of those artisans, a few have decided to join me in my protest.

Now one can argue that because I have multiple shops this protest won't really matter to me! That is likely true. I sell on Artfire as my main venue now. I do maintain two other Etsy shops, and I shall explain them. The flower pens shop is a unique niche that I basically just maintain. No more relisting. (Or listing of new items.) The soap shop is actually just for wholesale inquiries. If the soap sells, great. If not...guess what, it's on my Artfire shop too!

So yes, I guess technically this protest might not make one bit of difference for my 'main' Etsy shop. And isn't that sad?? Due to Etsy's practices, that shop won't get found ANYWAY, so will it really matter?

But I digress....here are the artisans willing to join in the protest.

agoodwitchtoo.etsy.com


Who can now be found at: http://www.artfire.com/users/thecoppercauldronsoaps










lalabug71.etsy.com

Who can now be found at:
http://www.artfire.com/users/LaDeDaCreations

















ceejaybags.etsy.com

Who Can Now Be Found at:

http://www.artfire.com/users/ceejaybags













elegancebymode.etsy.com

Who can now be found at:
http://www.artfire.com/users/Elegancebymode

So join us in this protest if you wish, it's okay if you don't!

I will support you no matter where you sell!


And many thanks to the artist that inspired this:
emcisaac.etsy.com


No, this probably won't make even a drop in the bucket of change. But it makes ME feel better and I am proud of the artisans who are pushing for change, no matter where or how they do it!

Want to sell with less of a headache? Just go to Artfire. You'll thank me later.

Amy, climbing down off my ladder so you can now beat me with baby seals.

Soul Sunday

Excellent song, will never lose it's importance!

Respect Yourself
Songwriters Luther Ingram, Mack Rice
Sung by: Marc Broussard, S.O.S. Album

If you disrespect anybody that you run into
Then how in the world do you think anybody's
S'posed to respect you?

If you don't give a heck about the man with the bible in his hand
Then just get out the way and let the gentleman
do his thing.

You're the kind of gentleman that always wanted everything his way
Take the sheet off your face boy,
it's a brand new day.

Come on, come on,
You've got to respect yourself.
Come on Respect yourself

Respect Yourself
Respect Yourself

If you don't respect yourself,
ain't nobody gonna give a good cahoot.
Respect yourself, hey hey, respect yourself.
Respect yourself. Respect yourself

If you walk around thinking that the world
owes you something cause you're here, well,
you're going out the world backwards
like you did when you first come here.

Keep talking about the president
won't stop air pollution.
Put your hand over your mouth when you cough,
that'll help the solution.

You cuss around women and you don't even know their names.
And your dumb enough to think that'll make you a big ol' man.

Respect Yourself.
Respect Yourself.
You gotta respect yourself.
Respect Yourself.

If you don't respect yourself, ain't nobody gonna give a good cahoot.
Respect yourself.
You gotta respect yourself.
Respect yourself.
Nobody's gonna do it for you!

Respect Yourself

*~*~*~*~*~
Hopefully you can enjoy this video, no matter your beliefs. This video represents what I believe, and you are more than welcome to post any comments...whether you like it or not--just remember...do so RESPECTFULLY!

Feature Friday

Check out this fantastic artisan!

Ellyoo Creations makes fabulous lampwork beads. Simply gorgeous! Get over to her shop now and check out these super beautiful creations!

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!

An Afternoon at Dad's in Photo's

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: