EtsyKids Design Challenge: We have a Winner!

Posted Thursday, April 28, 2011


Congratulations to the winner of this month's challenge 15. Autism Awareness I Love You by babybysam!

"This is a one-of-a-kind bodysuit created for Autism Awareness Month. The applique is a blue hand signing "I love you" and holding a red puzzle piece. The puzzle piece is the symbol for Autism Awareness as it reflects the mystery and complexity of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). "


Baby by Sam is a cute store filled with adorable hats, beautiful hair accessories and clothing for children  All hand crochet or embellished with lovely crochet applique. Check it out here!

Occupational Hazards

Posted Wednesday, April 27, 2011



Don’t you just hate it when you leave your desk for three minutes and return to find your coworker has glued your office supplies into a sculpture? Nothing is more frustrating than when your supervisor insists on sitting in your lap while you work. These are just a few of the challenges facing many women of the EtsyKids team as they juggle a home business, raise children, work a day job, and hold onto their sanity.

All five of Tiny Stitches children have spent time on her lap helping her guide fabric through the sewing machine. Her seven year old son found crouching under the sewing table to push the sewing machine pedal, a ‘very cool’ way to help his mom. My Baby Sweet Pea has had days where she makes a dozen hair clips then while waiting for them to dry, she returns to find her three year old daughter has glued them together to create a sculpture of her own. Knitting is much more interesting with a one year daughter old at hand, PerkyBeanies has discovered. Quick little hands can unravel a hat in the two minutes it takes to make a bottle. She has been found with a ball of yarn unwrapped and rewrapped around her self, leaving her mom undoing knots for hours. The yarn box also makes a cozy nest for her small assistant.

Max And Magnolia has two boys who are eager to help make her I SPY bags. One afternoon they all had fun together naming the items and watching them drop through the funnel into the bags. Later that day 3 yr. old Max asked for his Thomas train back. She was confused because Thomas was not currently having a time out for being unkind to little brother Tate. When she asked Max where his Thomas was, he promptly walked to the sewing table and picked up one of the finished I SPY bean bags. Max swirled it around a bit in his hand and pointed to the train inside. He had slipped it in when Mom wasn't paying attention and she sewed the bag shut with the train inside! Apparently he thought another child might love the train as much as he does, but not enough to actually let them keep it.

I had the brilliant idea of inviting my three year old daughter’s friends over for a photo shoot. Three small children and princess dress up clothes, what could go wrong, I thought. That afternoon I learned the hard way that photographing children is no walk in the park. All three girls ended up in tears, they all wanted to wear the same costume. When I refused to let them wear their Disney princess shoes for the photos, I earned Wicked Stepmother status. Bribery was my last resort. It took a box of popsicles to get one set of good pictures, but none of all three girls together.

The amazing thing about children is that fifteen minutes after they have cut your latest project into confetti, they provide you with an idea for a brilliant new design for your shop. When running a shop that sells products for children, it’s very handy to have a few around for perspective. They provide instant feedback on toys. You always have the perfect model for photo shoots. They help make fabric choices on shopping trips.

Bibs, Blankets And More even gets shipping assistance from her oldest son. He loves carrying the package into the post office and placing it on the scale. When the postal clerk greets him, he gives a smile and answers whatever question they may ask him. He is always eager for the next trip to the post office.

It’s not just the littlest helpers who have input. The teenagers at Green Jello Home keep their mom up to date on current styles. She has her son to thank for the wooden skateboards for sale on her shop.

As challenging as working at home with your children can be, these EtsyKids Team Moms agree that the rewards outweigh the occasional glue-tastrophes and work room tornados. Our children are our models, companions, and most importantly, our inspiration.



EtsyKids Design Challenge: It's time to Vote!

Posted Thursday, April 21, 2011

It's time to vote for your favorite item! Voting will be open through midnight EST, April 27th. This month, EtsyKids members were challenged to create an exciting new item based on a theme "Awareness". We received a bunch of fantastic entries from some talented people. Each participant was assigned a unique random number. Please note your favorite from the list below and place your vote. You can also view each entry in detail by clicking on links provided at the bottom of this post or HERE.


(If you can't view the voting poll above, please follow HERE to vote.)

1. Burp Cloth Bundle of Four - PRIMARY COLORS set of red, yellow and blue by tinystitches
2. Absolutely Awesome Island Animals in Hawaiian and English BOARDBOOK by Cheeky Tales by tikitales
3. Sea Monster Pencil Holder-Organizer /Arts and Crafts /Waldorf by prettydreamer
4. Awareness Ribbon Shirt or Onesie by EmbroideryByCindy
5. Breast Cancer Awareness, Pink Ribbon Onesie or T-Shirt for Charity by hounddogdesigns
6. Love Applique Celebrating Autism Awareness by sugarbumps creations by sugarbumpscreations
7. Embroidered Damask Heart Shirt - Child - Toddler - Baby - Girl - Valentine - April is Autism Awareness Month by SugarPlumFairyBows
8. CROATIAN style dress, toddler girl's size 2, AUTISM Awareness in April by PlumedeNikola
9. Boutique Custom Breast Cancer Awareness Knot Dress by Modest Goddess ABSD by kjliss
10. NEW 3 Tier I Heart You Girl Elephant Diaper Cake Baby Shower Luxe Centerpiece Gift Red Pink Black White Mary Meyer by mylittleangelco
11. Autism Awareness Owlet by tzburps
12. Boutique Baby Bib - Puzzle - Large by TheVoodooKitten
13. Delux Puzzle Piece Crayon Roll - crayon and notepad holder - tie closure by thecrazyelephant
14. AUTISM AWARENESS- Heart Puzzle Stencil Onesie by MaxandMagnolia
15. Autism Awareness I Love You by babybysam
16. Sensory Bean Bags Set AUTISM AWARENESS - Kids Toy Childrens Imaginative Play Game by ABShoppe
17. strawberry lemonade skirt... custom size 12m-8 by sunnybrookfarmdesign
18. Baby girl polka dot sandal shoe -Autism Awareness by allthingsforbaby
19. Autism Awareness Fabric Flower Hair Clip by fabricblooms
20. The Hope Tree for Austism Awareness Wooden 3D Puzzle by PuzzledOne
21. Pendant Hope and Love Wall Art by Tchoupuce
22. Just Monkeying Around by greenjellohome

EtsyKids Photo Makeover Series Part 3

Posted Monday, April 18, 2011


Happy Monday!! It's that time agin! Head on over to the Etsykids Treeasury Team Blog for part 3 of thir incredible Photo Makeover Series!


EtsyKids Photo Makeover Series Part 3: Camera Settings 
Announcing the winner of the Lighting Photo Makeover Challenge: Sweeter Than Sweets! And introducing Photo Makeover Challenge 3, another chance for any EtsyKids Team member to improve their shop AND win free shop promo (details provided in the blog post).

EtsyKids Design Challenge for April: Awareness

Posted Thursday, April 14, 2011


Each month EtsyKids Team members are challenged to create a unique item within a chosen theme. April is Autism Awareness month and “Awareness” is our new challenge, picked by our last winner Fabric Blooms. In the 1970s, the Autism Society of America proclaimed April as National Autism Awareness Month to raise awareness of the disorder. Today, one in 150 children are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control. This month we would like to show support for the autism community and promote the rights of individuals with autism, encouraging respect for their differences.

EtsyKids members will have until April 19th to submit their entries, and voting will be open to everybody from Thursday, April 21st to Wednesday, April 27th. So, be sure to come back to the EtsyKids blog for a new post on the 21st to see all of the entries and VOTE! In the meantime, please click here to get a sneak peek at some exciting entries so far!

Displaying Kids Artwork

Posted Sunday, April 03, 2011

Were you inspired to encourage your children to create more art after reading Plume De Nikola's post Art Festival Time? A great reminder to not only allow our children creative time, but to also encourage them to try and experiment with traditional art techniques and mediums.

Lots of parents struggle with how to display all of the projects their children create at home, in the classroom, and during extra curricular activities. Displaying a child's creative efforts is important to developing their sense of self and cultivating their future creative pursuits.

Clutter and organization experts suggest providing a defined space, with limits, for displaying your child's work. If you'd like, involve them in selecting the location, but be sure to display their work prominently in your home where everyone can see it. It's also important to pick a setting with spacial limits. A defined amount of display space, encouraging them to make choices about what projects to keep and what to part with.

A simple google search proves there are tons of creative ways to display your children's artwork. Everything from large push pin or magnetic bulletin boards, to a small collection of large frames or the front or side of the refrigerator.

Having a gallery wall to display all of the children's artwork has worked well in our home. During the school year, everyone's work is displayed on the gallery wall. I'll write their name and class grade on the back and tape or pin it to the wall. When space runs out, we photograph each project, selecting just a few to save, and recycling the rest, making room for new projects.

Recently PreschoolDollDesigns, posted a simple way to display artwork, photographs, certificates, homework or other 2-D treasures your children come home with on her blog. It's a clothes line for art that you attach to the wall with nails or cup hooks. Simple, inexpensive and super chic!


You'll need clothes pins, ribbon, two nails or cup hooks, tape measure and wall space. The number of clothes pins and the length of ribbon will depend on the length of your wall display space. Once you've selected your wall space, determine the height of the clothes line and it's length. Place a nail or cup hook on each end. If your dedicating an entire wall space to the display of your children's art, consider stacking two or three rows of display space, spaced two feet apart.

To create the actual clothes line, thread the ribbon through the spring of the clothes pin. Repeat for the number of clothes pins you have space for. PreschoolDollDesigns recommends spacing them every 10-12 inches. The great thing about this set up is that they slid, easily accommodating small and over-sized projects. Once you have the desired number of clothes pins on your ribbon, tie a loop at one end. Hook over one of the cup hooks or nails. Stretch the ribbon to the second hook/nail and tie a second loop. The ribbon will stretch a bit over time with projects hanging on the line, so tie the ribbon straight and taught with little to not slack.

Here's a similar artwork display line in use in our home.


PreschoolDollDesign has great suggestions of where to hang your art clothes line, along with four other ways to fabulously live free on her post, 5 Ways to Fabulously Live Free. I also loved looking through her Etsy Easter Finds ... 20 things for under $20. Lots of great finds the kids will love, and so will your budget.

Visit PreschoolDollDesign on Etsy and on Facebook.

Sales and Specials Time!

Posted Friday, April 01, 2011

Who doesn't love a good sale? Here are some EtsyKids members who are running specials in their Etsy shops! If you are running a special or having a sale and wish to be mentioned on the blog please send me a convo here from my Etsy shop! 
I will be very happy to add your shop!




Tutu Cute & Moore!, beautiful flower filled tutus for newborns, toddlers, teens and adults. FREE embellished satin hanger with any tutu purchase from March 29 - April 29. This makes the perfect combo gift for your little dancer. At checkout use "free hanger" in notes to seller.

 Grannysknits is offering 25% off every item in her shop from March 29 - April 29. So many wonderful creations to choose from!


Love Me REVERSIBLE Original Lovey Blanket with FREE Link by AmyRoseDesigns.A Love Me lovey is just the answer to the problem!


Fuzzy the Easter Bunny - Perfect for Easter - pictures - school parties by AllThingsGirly. See super sale listings and shipping is always $2.00!


SewSoNancy has a FREE SHIPPING offer. Offer good for US shipping only.Use code SHIPFREE at checkout when you purchase any item in my shop.



Southern Baby Boutique has TONS of gorgeous hair bows and clippies on sale!





And in my shop I am offering FREE SHIPPING for the month of April. Just enter EtsyKids Rock in the notes to seller when checking out and I will refund you the shipping costs. Offer good in the U.S. only.


 OLDCHATEAU...I am having a sale on bib/burp cloth sets!



Bison Booties... I am offering 10% off anything in the shop with the code "etsykids03" valid until Friday, April 8.
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