Handmade

This last weekend I was finally able to get some crafting in. It felt like forever since I had done anything terribly creative and it was most enjoyable. My dear friend is expecting their second baby in about the next month, so the occasion I was creating for was her baby shower. She requested only handmade gifts, which is such a wonderful idea. It was neat to see all the beautiful things that her friends made for her, all different with each artist's individual unique touch.

My Love got in on it too (which is always so fun) as he cut out the bib for me and then embroidered a quick "R" onto it. Then I hand-sewed it and he added the pearl snap. It was a team effort for sure! The material is a super soft organic cotton/hemp blend and it's really yummy.


The little block is made with the same fabric as the bib, but I put the soft part out on two of the sides. It is filled with organic Texas cotton and then I added 4 big bells inside for some jingle. Hopefully the beautiful baby will enjoy playing with this when he/she gets a bit bigger! Poor Lovebug kept wanting to play with it and I had to keep telling her it was for another baby :). I think I'm going to make her some for Valentine's though.


We also included in the gift some of our fave organic baby legs, some organic cotton nursing pads, and a wooden rattle from Vermont that has always been one of Lovebug's favorites. Some other handmade items we included were a relaxing foot soak for my pregnant friend, a deodorizing room spray, some lavender sachets, and a bum spray for the babe along with our recipe for it. I packaged everything up in one of the containers our weekly spinach comes in. We save nearly all of them and keep them for random storage containers and gifts. They work great and tend to go with anything since they are clear, and they are recyclable which is a must. I love giving gifts to our loved ones, especially when we handmake and create them together. So fun! I cannot wait to meet the new baby whenever he/she decides to come! :)


Speaking of handmade, did everyone hear about CPSIA? I'm sure most of you have, but anyone who hasn't, it has been decided by the CPSC Commission that there is going to be a "stay of enforcement of certain testing and certification requirements of CPSIA" for ONE year (via Buy Handmade). This will allow more time for it be further reviewed and hopefully amended. The law hasn't changed (only Congress can do that) but CPSC is saying they are not enforcing the law for one year regarding the testing and certification. However, products STILL have to conform to the new lead and phthalate standards.

Here's a quote from a CPSC press release:
The stay of enforcement provides some temporary, limited relief to the crafters, children’s garment manufacturers and toy makers who had been subject to the testing and certification required under the CPSIA. These businesses will not need to issue certificates based on testing of their products until additional decisions are issued by the Commission. However, all businesses, including, but not limited to, handmade toy and apparel makers, crafters and home-based small businesses, must still be sure that their products conform to all safety standards and similar requirements, including the lead and phthalates provisions of the CPSIA.

Further, the CPSC can and only is "staying" their own enforcement and NOT that of the attorney generals, whom still could go after someone in violation of the law. So much work needs to be done in the next 12 months! Here is a description from a staffer of South Carolina Senator DeMint's (who is sponsoring a bill to amend CPSIA) about something we can all do with specifics. So, some good news I guess, but still so much that needs to be done!

Today

We woke up to ice and snow...not anything crazy, but this is Texas, so we freak out over the littlest bit of it! As soon as the sun came up, it all started to quickly melt but I was able to get some shots first.


Today is CPSIA Blogging Day and I couldn't NOT post on it because it's an issue I feel very strongly about. To catch up any of you who aren't aware, as of February 10th (National Bankruptcy Day as it has been dubbed) any product that is meant to be used, worn, read, etc. by anyone under the age of 12 is going to have to go through strict third party testing. Here, here, and here are my other posts about it for easy reference.

So you're not a crafter or don't care about buying handmade and you think you're not going to be affected by this? You're wrong! If you ever plan on buying anything for someone under the age of 12, then you ARE going to be affected. The CPSIA does not just affect clothing and toys, but books, school supplies, furniture for kids, sport equipment, and on and on. Here is a really great list that shows how this affects everyone from environmentalists to secondhand shoppers to entrepreneurs. We should all care about this and do what we can!

There has been a really great three part series on it at Forbes for further reading. Here is part one, two, and three. At the core of CPSIA is something good as we all want to protect our children and keep them from harmful things. But not in this way...and not what the CPSIA is going to do. The crap made in China is scary and shouldn't be bought in the first place for MANY reasons, but it is OUR economy that is going to suffer DEEPLY from this if it continues as is and SO many small businesses are going to cease to exist.


Although I don't care too greatly about how this is going to affect the big-box stores that are going to suffer because 1.) it won't be much, 2.) we don't shop there, and 3.) it's the crap they sell that initiated this whole thing. However, I do deeply care about the environmental aspect of all of this in regards to what they are going to have to do after February 10th. Here is a quote from National Bankruptcy Day in relation to an economic impact study that was recently done between December 31, 2008 and January 10, 2009:

The cut to the chase summary shows over 70 million dollars worth of inventory must be destroyed on February 10, 2009 (National Bankruptcy Day) and of those enterprises that expect to survive the fall-out (61% will not), over 40 million dollars in lost product sales are anticipated.

Isn't that crazy? How is it going to be "destroyed"? Are they just going to inundate our landfills even more with all of it? How are the harmful ingredients/materials that the products are made of going to be contained or is all that lead (and goodness knows what else) just going to end up in our waterways??? Are they going to recycle what can be recycled? Lots of questions and not many answers.

Supposedly there is alot of misinformation going around regarding all of this, and there are MANY aspects that are very unclear and confusing. What also is unclear is how exactly the law is going to be enforced as the CPSC only has about 100 investigators...so we'll see. Supposedly, Congress has denied a second hearing on it and have no intention of changing the law. BUT we should still continue to do what we can! Here is a great "kit" at Etsy that lists out all of the different things you can do with links, petitions, addresses, and sample verbiage. Some of the same stuff is available at Handmade Toy Alliance as well.


Again, at the heart of CPSIA is something really good as we of course want our children protected and there should absolutely be restrictions placed on lead and phthalates and so on! It was just so poorly conceived and hurriedly put together, and although it's not surprising, it's very disheartening. I still cannot imagine our life without being able to buy secondhand things for Lovebug at thrift stores or organic handmade things from my beloved Etsy.

Well, stay warm my friends...

Crazy

Hope your weekend was enjoyable! Ours really was as we had incredible weather for much of it, and then a cold front came through and I'm staring at icicles in my trees right now. Crazy Texas weather. Glad we got out and enjoyed ourselves though while we could! Wow, our girl loves to be outside. She gets so excited and can't wait to get down and explore. It makes our hearts happy that she loves it as much as we do!


Today, I wanted to bring your attention back to CPSIA that I blogged about here and here before the holidays. I know pretty much everyone is aware of this by now, but just wanted to try to get the word out a bit more. It's devastating if it remains as is and we need to do ALL we can to save handmade things for our children to enjoy! I don't even want to think about the future of things if I cannot have my Etsy with all of its amazing handmade toys and clothes! Seriously, my life wouldn't be the same. Well, that's a little crazy...but seriously, it would be very upsetting to me. Here is ALOT of info with the different ways to get involved and act, and here is the Handmade Toy Alliance page again as well.


PLEASE do what you can to make the CPSIA less crazy!!!

More CPSIA...

Brrrr...it's cold outside! My lunch warmed me up though...it was Dal Soup that my beautiful Love made this last weekend and a warm piece of sprouted grain toast. Quite yummy! We've been on kind of an Indian kick here with our meals and this soup is my favorite thus far. It has soaked red lentils in it and just the right amount of everything else.


I've been doing a little more reading and researching into all of this with the CPSIA that I talked about here. I'm so concerned for the many many many Etsy sellers whom sell baby/children's products and small toy companies who this is going to affect negatively. Yesterday I was just at a loss for what needs to be done, but I found this sample letter from the Handmade Toy Alliance that has these suggested alterations:

I urge you to quickly rewrite the CPSIA so that toys made in batches of less than 5,000 units per year or manufactured within the USA and trusted countries with established toy safety regimes such as Canada and the European Union be held exempt from third party testing requirements. Such toys could still be subject to random auditing by the CPSC.

If you feel that testing should still be required, then the CPSC should be made to offer free testing services for USA toymakers and importers from Europe or Canada with revenues less than one million dollars.

These changes could save SO many small businesses and artisans! So many of us within the blog world constantly pledge to buy handmade and support small companies...well, HERE's a time that really needs to happen! We need to show our support for the artisans and small toy makers, both for them and the sake of our little ones. Just go to this page and find your Senator/Congresspeople and then copy/paste the sample letter adding anything you so desire to customize it (or not)! You can also sign the petition here. Let's all do what we can! Alright, please let me know if anyone hears anything else and stay warm...

The Future of Handmade Toys

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend...we sure did! The 10K went great and I was very pleased with my time...and Lovebug's birthday went perfectly! I'll share details, pics, and all of that later this week once I download and go through the ridiculous amount of photos that were taken :)...

I wanted to pop in today though and bring your attention to this in regard to handmade toys. Many of you probably already have heard about it, but it's called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). It does ALOT of good like banning lead and phthalates, and requires certification and thirty-party testing on all toys. Which sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Except for all of the WAHMs, WAHDs, and artisans that lovingly handmake beautiful toys within their homes and sell on sites like Etsy...Their toys would be "illegal" unless they send out their toys for third-party testing which apparently costs quite alot per toy! It also affects textiles and clothing for children as well!!!!

Nearly all of the clothes, shoes, slings, toys, etc. etc. we buy for Lovebug are from artisans off of Etsy using natural, organic, and recycled materials...are these wonderful sellers no longer going to provide us with all of these beautiful handmade products??!!! I'm VERY concerned...

There is alot of info at the Handmade Toy Alliance, and then some posts here, here, here, and a page of links on the Etsy forum page...and then some good info at National Bankruptcy Day. This law goes in affect after February 9th and it's already passed and been signed...but people are calling their Congresspeople, calling and emailing CPSC officials found here, and signing petitions here, amongst other things to have the bill altered. This also is affecting brands like German-based Selecta (love them), whom says they are no longer going to be distributing toys to the U.S. because of the new high testing costs!

I love this paragraph from Z Recommends:

If the first major consumer legislation to pass Congress in decades pushes the safest toys out of the market, leaving only those companies that have cared the least about chemical safety and thus are in the most robust financial position to undertake new expenses, we will all be poorer for it.

and this one as far as what should be done:

We believe the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Congress should immediately issue more detailed and targeted guidelines and clarifications which protect reputable natural toy companies as well as offering intelligent ways for small, independent manufacturers to continue producing and selling their products.

Obviously, we want the toys and clothing we buy for Lovebug to be as safe as possible! However, we ALSO want to support small artisans/companies making natural/organic/recycled products before we support large ones! I am just so confused as far as what needs to be done. It really seems that small companies are going to suffer with all of this even though the biggest offenders are typically the large ones.

We just bought a set of these beautiful wooden keys for Lovebug's birthday and they are adorable!! The seller, Mamaroots, was so wonderful and customized them for Lovebug, used non-toxic watercolors, and then sealed them with beeswax. Have the keys been tested by a third party to ensure all of that?? No. There is a trust that is out there within the community of Etsy...which I know, isn't always justified, because I'm sure there are sellers NOT using safe materials and NOT being honest about the materials used in their products...BUT that is why you convo with the seller, you read their feedback, you research, and you make sure you're comfortable before ordering from someone.

I just don't know...I'm really at a loss here. I am going to sign a petition for sure...but as far as the answer to all of this, I just don't have one...

What are your thoughts?? Any new info anybody has or had you even heard of this before now? How much do you think this will actually affect you? I'd love to hear from everybody...