EtsyKids

It's Coming!

Posted Sunday, September 20, 2009

It's hard not to get caught up in the dress up spirit with all of the halloween things out in stores although dress up is an everyday occurrence in our household (as are probably most with young ones!) Funny, our boy will dress up in anything he can get his arms into from his cowboy costume to his sister's tutu even, and once a couple of paper towel rolls if you can believe that, stuck his arms right through for some serious superhero action! So, in honor of dressing up, here are a few of my faves:

"Giddy Up" sundress by Chew Chews Closet

bunny hat by Tie Dye Diva

party tutu by Lexi Lou Design

Weekend Inspiration from my Scrap Book

Posted Saturday, September 19, 2009

I decided today to just share some random thoughts from a few of the women in my Women Entrepreneur Scrapbook :)

~Failure is good. Babe Ruth failed. FedEx's founder failed. Failure inspires you to be your best.
*Marilyn Lyshoir or Cowgirl Chocolates

~Do not let fear of the unknown stop you from starting.
*Barbara Schriber of Chatillon

~Don't spend so much time preparing that you never get started.
*Louise Driver of Sugar n Spice Inc.

~You don't have to have an MBA to be an entrepreneur. Tap into your life experiences; build a business plan from there.
*Nyakio Kamoche Greico of Nyakio Bath and Body

~Every day is cause to celebrate - but a few days deserve some extra oomph!
*Lily Pulitzer of Lily

~It is great to love one's work. Doing work that you enjoy gives you energy. You are imfused with enthusiasm. Your senses seem sharper. You wake up with new ideas every day and with solutions to conquer the challenges that cropped up the day before. You are always confident that goals are attainable, that creativity and ingenuity and hard work and passion for the work will make it all come together. Build your business success around something you love - something that is inherently and endlessly interesting to you.
*Martha Stewart of Martha Stewart Omnimedia

Kids in the Kitchen - Delicious Autumn Goodness!

Posted Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Ode to Autumn! My FAVORITE season usually has me in the kitchen a little more -- maybe it's the fact that it's a tad chillier outside and the smells of deliciousness wafting from the kitchen tend to linger, leaving the house cozy and smelling like a dream....

Anyway, this is by far the most requested Fall recipe from my kitchen, so I thought it would be appropriate to share it here too! I don't know about you, but considering the brisk weather and gorgeous assortment of foliage starting to appear, I am experiencing a sudden urge to make the house smell delicious and, most importantly of course, enjoy a yummy pumpkin muffin! My kids LOVE helping me make (and eat) these scrumptious treats!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:

One 29 oz. can of Libby's Pumpkin

1-2 cups of sugar (depending on how sweet you like your muffins...I usually opt for about 1 and 1/2 cups just because pumpkin can be bitter)

2 slightly beaten eggs

2/3 cup of butter (approx. 9-10 TB)

1 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 cups of flour

1/2 bag of milk chocolate chips

Mix the pumpkin, sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs together until smoothly blended. Then in a separate bowl, gently mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon an salt together. Add the dry mixture to the pumpkin mixture. Once blended evenly, add the chocolate chips. Fill greased muffins tins or cupcake wrappers 2/3 full and then bake for 20-23 minutes.

I usually stick the muffins with a toothpick to make sure they are completely done; pumpkin tends to be dense and sometimes they can be "doughy" in the center. I like the muffins done, but moist.

Let them cool completely then top with drippy icing (recipe below)...or leave them plain - they are plenty good just by themselves!

Drippy Icing:

1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar

2-4 TB of milk (depending how thick you like it)

A few drops of lemon juice

The more sugar you add the thicker the icing is. Let the icing set. ENJOY! These are FOOL PROOF!! And absolutely delicious! Super easy recipe too...good thing, because they don't stay in the house for long!!!

Oh Welcome Fall!

Posted Sunday, September 13, 2009

Being in south Texas I realize we are a little late in the game, but fall is just beginning as we are no around 85 degrees versus 100! hooray! My tribute to fall with some super cute EtsyKids finds:

boutique clips from LiliBugBoutique

striped beanie from Nuxie Made

pillow case dress from Butterfly Baby Place

crocheted hats from Rings Around Rosie

Welcome Fall!!!

EtsyKids Design Challenge for September: The Colors of Fall

Posted Saturday, September 12, 2009

Each month EtsyKids Team members are challenged to create a unique item within a chosen theme. This month's challenge, 'The Colors of Fall', was picked by last month's winner asherjasper. EtsyKids members will have until September 19th to submit their entries, and voting will be open to everybody from Monday, September 21st to Sunday, September 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!

(photos via Flickr by talented Simon Wong)

Challenge Yourself!

Hi Diva's! I'm SO late this weekend - its seems my life is a constant whirlwind -
me and the kiddos went to see 9 today (and it was smashing indeed).

I decided that I would chill out for a couple of weeks - I finished up a few orders that had been lingering. But the big change was I cleaned up my topsy turvey house when my brother came to visit on labor day - it had been so long since I had packed up the sweat shop that I had forgotten how cool it was to be able to walk through the house without tripping! LOL! We continued to do a 'clean sweep' before we go to bed at night and so far so good....
well...my friend Gail, who just finished up her degree a couple of days ago decide to celebrate by starting a 365 challenge - yep - you guessed it - that's a full year of creating something every single day! She has been doing school so many years and now that she has time to create - she can't wait! I was inspired by her - so, I to will be participating in the 365 challenge, BUT not the sewing you would expect - I figure if I'm going to challenge myself that I should think out of the box. I will use this challenge as a way to try all those projects that Ive found in magazines, books and online and make them - it's almost like I'm giving myself permission to be 'free'. Instead of feeling like I have to be consumed with keeping new things in my shops - I'm going to be consumed with trying new things and keeping my house in order! Then, when I get an order online - It will be refreshing instead of daunting to sit down and sew! YAY! I'm very excited and I will keep you all posted on my projects! I'm sure everyone can find new ways to challenge themselves and I'd love to hear your ideas! XO

Kids in the Kitchen

Posted Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Fall is the perfect time to mix up some gobbly good eats! With the cooler air setting in and the Halloween holiday just around the corner...this delicious treat is sure to please! A yummy combination of cereal, fruit & candy make this goody perfect for your little witches and spooky goblins...they'll gobble it right up!

Trick or Treat!

Halloween Chex Mix

What you'll need:

8 oz. white chocolate baking bars, coarsely chopped
4 cups Corn Chex or Rice Chex cereal
2 cups bite sized pretzel twists
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup candy corn
1/4 cup Betty Crocker orange & black candy decors (Halloween sprinkles)

Preparation:

In large microwavable bowl, microwave chopped baking bars uncovered on High 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth.

Gently stir in cereal, pretzels and raisins until evenly coated. Stir in candy corn and decors.

Spread on waxed paper or foil until cooled and chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. Break into chunks. Store loosely covered.

Recipe Yields: 18 servings (1/2 cup each)

For an extra special treat, fill little cellophane bags with this fun mix and tie with orange and black ribbons for Halloween party treats!

This recipe & many others can be found at Chex.

Dora 1 ...Mom 0

Posted Monday, August 31, 2009

Mark your calendars, for this is a momentous day...the day that I admit...that I've grown to like Dora the Explorer. If you listen closely, you'll hear the shocked gasps and at least one little voice sitting behind a desk in Ohio...you know who you are...laughing hysterically.

Here's why...long before my SweetPea was born, I'd made a promise to myself...that my children would never watch Dora. Not that she's a skanky Bratz doll or that the show's full of "not really meant for small children" content (can you say Spongebob?)...I've just never been able to tolerate her whiney voice or that God forsaken Map. When my nephew and niece were toddlers/preschoolers and I had no little ones, I'd be over at my sister's house...Dora would be on and I'd wonder out loud "how the hell can you listen to that???" I'm sure that's right about the time that I made my vow and I've been declaring to all of my mommy friends ever since "I refuse to let my kids watch that show."

Fast forward about four years...and Dora is still as popular as ever. When SweetPea was in daycare full time, watching Dora wasn't ever an issue...yet the force that is Viacom/Nickelodeon was still working against me. Her toddler classroom was full of Dora books and toys and her classmates wore Dora t-shirts. You get the drift. So... even without ever seeing a single show, she knew exactly who Dora was. Once I became a stay at home mom, the opportunity to see Dora cracked wide open and whenever a commercial on Noggin or Nick Jr popped up, an adorable little voice would sweetly ask, "mommy, can I see Dora?" Let me tell you, I fought it...but next thing you know, when we were online playing games together on Nick Jr.com, she'd ask to play the Dora games and I figured "oh why not, at least it's not the show itself"...which was a stupid move on my part because it fed her need to see Dora even more. Finally...I gave in...I grit my teeth and tuned in. Next thing you know, I find myself singing the annoyingly catchy Dora songs with her..."come on, vamanos...everyone let's go..."...I now know all of the character names...and my hubby says to me while we are singing at the dinner table "you LIKE Dora!" Of course I deny it, "no way...I only know it because I hear it all the time"...but I guess the truth is, I've grown to like it.

I'm convinced that whoever makes the show has laced it with subliminal messages telling you to watch Dora more...or at least that's what I keep telling myself. For the record...I still hate that freaking map...and sadly...now Lil Buddy is a Dora fan and his favorite bit...is hearing it sing "I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the MAAAAAAP". Someone save me!

Posted wish permission from The Mama Dramalogues

Saturday Reflections from the little sister

Posted Saturday, August 29, 2009

Hi Divas! I'm late writing b/c Ive been busy cleaning away - My big brother is coming to visit next weekend. For those of you who don't know - we met a year ago for the first time after being apart our entire lives. I won't go into the whole story - but If you'd like to know about it you can read about him finding me here and about our first meeting here.

I haven't had alot of time to think of a topic for today but while we were eating dinner I read through a few magazines and I found 3 quotes that I'd like to share that I hope Inspire you.

'To affect the quality of the day is the highest of the arts'- Henry David Thoreau

'Art expresses the artist unique vision, but it's also about the need to communicate.' -Mary Engelbreit

'Progress...not Perfection!' - Robert Sabuda

HAVE A WONDERFUL, PRODUCTIVE WEEKEND! XO

Design Challenge for August...and the winner is

Posted Friday, August 28, 2009

3. Set of 6 tiny Halloween Egg People in egg carton by: asherjasper

Congratulations to the winner of this month's challenge - "Set of 6 tiny Halloween Egg People in egg carton" by: asherjasper! Asherjasper is an absolutely adorable store filled with fun woolly toys, made by a talented artist and stay at home mom, Vicky Hanrahan. If you haven't visited this store before, be sure to check it out at asherjasper. You will LOVE it!

It looks like everyone had fun designing for our "Halloween" challenge. We had a fantastic collection of incredible designs. Cheers to all of you that participated and we look forward to seeing more of your wonderful creations next month!

Featured Shop - Boutique lucky Stars

Posted Thursday, August 27, 2009

I love etsy shops that carry something for both sexes, having a boy and a girl myself it is great to be able to purchase from one shop, saving on postage costs! The lady behind Boutique Lucky Stars, based in Sarasota, has the great job of being a full time mommy: loving, hugging, comforting, cheering, guiding, laughing, dancing, chasing, fixing, organizing, cooking, cleaning, laundry, cooking, cleaning, laundry, cooking, cleaning, and laundry. In between all the fun, she creates items for mamas-to-be, babies and toddlers of both sexes.

Inspired by fresh, modern fabrics you will find T Shirts, Bodysuits and nappy covers among the divine collection that also features free shipping within the USA (please contact the store for international shipping).

Boutique also offers custom orders and bulk discounts.

Show and Tell: Thanks for the Humiliation, Kids!

Posted Monday, August 24, 2009

image courtesy of Tim Davis

Today's Show and Tell... Reader's share their
Embarrassing Kid Stories.

But first, I thought I'd break the ice by sharing my own embarrassing kid story....

The phone rang for my husband during dinnertime one night. Though we were all around the table, it was an important work call and he had to take it. We have caller id, so he groaned when he saw who was calling, as it was a guy he doesn't much like working with. Gracie (three at the time) looked at me, rolled her eyes, and declared loud enough for everyone (and I mean everyone) to hear, "That man is such a douche bag."

Eeeek, that was pretty bad. And here is one by Holly... I had the pleasure of being with her when this one went down:

We recently took the kids out to dinner and while we were waiting for our food, a Muslim family came in and the woman was dressed in head to toe garb so you could only see her eyes. My four year old got really excited, pointed at her and exclaimed, "Look mommy, a ghost!"

OMG, I wanted to crawl under the table. The woman had a good sense of humor though and she and her family just chuckled and sat down. I was so embarrassed though.

Okay, and now on with our readers. Thanks for sharing your stories, everyone!!

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Recently, I had my 4 yr old with me at the grocery store. We were at the check out, and she was in the cart. She looks at the guy who is bagging the groceries and says "I don't like that boy." I knew better . . . I knew I should have just let it go and not asked the question, but I did. "Why don't you like that boy?" She looks right at him and says "'cuz he's took ugly!" I was mortified, the checker tried very hard not to smile, and the bag boy pretended not to hear - even thought the people in the back of the store could have heard! Lesson learned - don't ask the question!

Submitted by Marianne
www.crochetbymommaj.blogspot.com

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So, I've always insisted that my kids dress well for church. This was not a problem for Heidi, my bonafide princess. "Ready to go?" (meaning head 3 blocks down the street to our gorgeous Gothic Presbyterian structure). "Ready!" - in enthusiastic reply.

My family is rather good looking when an effort has been put forth... OOPS! It was not observed until Heidi and I got settled in the Sunday school classroom (taught by yours truly) that while she looked terrific in her fluffy attire, something kind of important was missing! Her underwear was --- still in her underwear drawer!

Also, when Chrissy was in second grade... I have always made it a point to be open and honest with my girls, especially about bodily works and sex (age appropriate - or so I thought!). Until one day when I was the mom whose turn it was to read for the class. Well, I was prepared (or so I though!) to SING:One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. I entered the room confident and ready when my second grader announced, "My mom is on her period." The teacher and I exchanged a telepathic, "let's just pretend we didn't hear that" glance!

Submitted by Kelly
www.klymyshyndesignonetsy.blogspot.com

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I have twin girls who will be 6 in July. We were in line in the post office last week standing behind a woman who was rather large. My daughter Sarah remarked in her normal volume voice (that is definitely NOT whispering), "Mamma, this lady's sure gotta lotta back!" Not sure whether the woman heard us, and if she did, I was extremely grateful she didn't turn around and hit me over the head with her package.

Submitted by Kelly
www.happyshackdesigns.blogspot.com

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I was a young mother with a very active and outgoing 3 year old daughter. A friend and I went to lunch and decided to treat ourselves to an Irish coffee...heavy on the Irish! I allowed my daughter to have a root beer that day. My friend and I were engaged in heavy conversation, when the waitress came over and asked if we would like anything else. My daughter exclaimed "I want another drink!" Looking over, the waitress said, "Honey, you still have your root beer." My daughter said "I want another one with whipped cream...that was good." Yeah, she drank my entire Irish coffee...quickly too. I threw money onto the table and rushed her home and called the doctor who assured me that she would be fine, to let her sleep it off and give her plenty of water. I spent the night in tears! I felt like a horrible mom. Looking back, it's kind of funny...she's 24 now.

Submitted by Kym

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When my son was learning how to talk he couldn't say certain words clearly. Legos was a pronounced like the really bad racial slur. So if we ever went shopping I never went by the legos aisle because he would say it.

What was just as embarrassing was the way he pronounced flat head screwdriver. He was very into Handy Manny and tools but instead of flat head it came out FU%$ head. At stores I always repeated loudly, "oh yes that is a FLAT head screwdriver."

Submitted by April

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My youngest daughter (Lilly age 3) told a lady at the post office that she looked like a rat. I wanted to crawl into the corner of the room and die!

Submitted by Annie

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A few weeks ago my 3 year old and I were making a trip to the grocery store. We got out of the car and I noticed the Goodyear blimp I told him "look at the blimp!" He marveled at it for a minute or so and I told him we had to go inside and maybe it would still be outside when we came back out. We were at the check out and line and we were up and he looks at the cashier very loudly and very excitedly says "I go see the pimp!" I said yes, "We can go see the "BLIMP". But the damage was was done and the cashier gave me a very weird look.

Submitted by Sarah
http://mysocalledjunkylife.blogspot.com

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I was out getting my nails done with friends while my hubby and daughter went to the toy store. They came back to get me, and my 2 1/2 year old daughter started going from person to person saying "I need money for candy. Can I have money? You have money in your purse."

I was beet red, but luckily they are good friends and thought it was hilarious.

Submitted by Jillian

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Thanks so much for your stories!

Re-posted with permission from The Mama Dramalogues.

Farewell Summer, Hello School!

apple crochet play food from trendycraftcreations

Tomorrow morning (seven hours and fifteen minutes from now) the school bells will ring for the first time in a couple of months in our area and in many many parts signaling the first day of the school year and a goodbye to summer break ~ from all of us here at EtsyKids to all of you heading back to school, Happy School Year and have a wonderful first day!!!

9 Tips to be more Creative

Posted Saturday, August 22, 2009

I woke up earlier than usual this morning and was cruising around blog land to my favorite reads. I went to see what fellow EtsyKids member JoeyandAleethea was doing (psssst...she just celebrated her 5th anniversary - CONGRATULATIONS!!!!) She had a link in her latest post from a blog called Pikaland, which I am now following, because I love it! And the latest post on that blog is 9 Tips to be more creative - so I tossed what I was gonna write about today - and I hope this inspires you just like it did me! Thanks Pikaland and J&A:

About fueling creativity:

Creativity is fueled by experiences, sights, sounds and smells. Sitting still won’t bring new ideas in; experimenting and trying new things will jog your creativity.
I maintain a certain pattern to the day, with my morning bath signalling me that I am starting my work with a fresh mind and spirit. After breakfast is when my day officially begins — I turn on the radio and look at my to-do list (see #3).
I jot down notes every night before I go to bed about what I need to accomplish the next day. This way, I’m actively placing my worries onto paper so I can go to bed not fretting about what needs to be done.
I have a box labeled for each different project I’m involved in. So I toss everything I have in one box, and I don’t worry about misplacing things or ideas. This one was inspired by The Creative Habit
I also keep a different sketchbook for different topics and ideas. I have one for business, one for random sketches and another for my writing. And in these sketchbooks I sometimes allocate different sections so that my thoughts don’t get messed up too much (there isn’t a search function on them, like a computer does!)
And I throw these sketchbooks all over the place, so when I have a thought I scribble it down quickly.
I try and find the pattern between things, and connect the dots between random things just for fun when I’m stuck in a rut. Like when I see the color yellow around me, and then I start to focus on finding yellow things — stuff that I didn’t notice before will show themselves to me. I’m heightening my sense of awareness because I’m narrowing my focus to one thing.
Doing things differently helps. I love calligraphy, but sometimes I seem to be stuck in a rut — it seems that I could only write in a certain way! So I stop, and see what others are doing, and try to analyze what I could do differently. A little more pressure on the downward stroke? Or how about adding more flourishes to that letter? It took me about a week of constant practice to free up my hand. If you’re stumped for ideas, have a look at Keri Smith’s 100 ideas to get you started.
Practice, practice, practice. Creativity is like a muscle that you need to flex regularly. I dread staring onto a blank piece of paper, but everything begins with that first stroke. I’m a perfectionist, so I train myself to not use erasers at all when I’m drawing. And if I do make mistakes, I start on a new piece of paper — that way I let new ideas in and not just dwell on what I previously did.

Here are some books in my collection that I pick up whenever I need a boost:

The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp : I love this book. Twyla is a dancer and choreographer, but a lot of the things she has to say cuts across all disciplines.
How to Be an Explorer of the World: Portable Life Museum by Keri Smith : Keri reminds everyone to put on their explorer goggles and look at the world with new eyes — I did a review of her book here.
Living Out Loud by Keri Smith : Although the book is a little girlish for guys, I love the article she wrote about how to find what you love to do
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho : This is an amazing book that I pick up and read again and again. The message is simple — you won’t find what you’re looking for until you follow through on your dreams.
How to be an Illustrator by Darrel Rees and Nicholas Blechman : I like how they talk to illustrators and get their feedback on running a creative business.
Lines & Shapes by Lena and Mav : Amazing artists and beautiful, beautiful pictures. I have volume no. 5 and I treasure it.
The first issue of the Good to Know project : I like keeping a copy on my bookshelf so I can read up on what my friends have to say about being creatively stuck.

EtsyKids Design Challenge - VOTE NOW!

Posted Friday, August 21, 2009

It's time to vote for your favorite item! Voting will be open through midnight EST on Thursday, August 27th.

This month, EtsyKids members were challenged to create an exciting new item based on a theme 'Halloween!' We received a great amount of fantastic entries and it will certainly be difficult to choose just one. So, please check out the entries below and VOTE!

1.