Wee Wonderfuls

Save handmade toys!

So have y'all heard about the new Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act? I learned about this right before Christmas and it is just so depressing. In a nutshell, legislation passed to protect children from unsafely manufactured toys was poorly written and hastily passed and unless amended will likely put small businesses out of business and make handmade toys unavailable for sale.

Don't let them throw the baby out with the bath water! Save handmade toys!

Read all about it here at Cool Mom Picks. and here Handmade Toy Alliance and here on etsy

and vote on change.org to save handmade.

thanks.

 

still playing

Hope everyone is enjoying limbo week. We're still playing away. Santa was crazy good to us this year. Here are some of O & P's favorite gifts. What was your favorite?

under the tree

I try to justify these ebay purchases saying their for Phoebe, but really she's much more interested in legos and transformers. Seems if it's not Oscar's she not interested. Oh well, more for me to play with on Christmas Day. above: Holly Hobbie and below: Tammy dolls (wait til you see all their outfits!)

sparkly

This felt ornament design was my first stab at little something gifts this year. In the end I liked my sketch better than the finished product. But I went ahead and finished her up with some shiny beads and some sparkle and I think she makes a cute girly ornament for Phoebe for this year. Still not as sparkly as last year's girly ornament (which she's making grabby hands at below) but getting there.

** updated to add: I realize a. I hate the word girly but can't think of an appropriate alternative and b. it seems from what I said that I made last year's ornament, nope! I bought it at Macy's (I think). **

my heart grew two sizes

Remarkably, despite the negative degree temps, I'm in a much more holidayish mood this week. My new and improved spirit is due to some amazing customer service (will spill the details after the holidays), a few holiday successes and some super fun holiday parties with good friends. Add to that my handmade gifts being nearly finished and ready to ship out and I'm one cheerful elf today!

These are the last guys to be packed up. They're bookmarks made from pre-painted wooden heads, pipe cleaners, felt and ribbon. I was stumped for "little something" gifts and then I found this idea in my sketchbook. I think I saw it in one of the many old craft books I've checked out from the library. They've definitely got a kooky 70s craft vibe.

I glued little craft floss hair-dos on them and then stuck pipe cleaners in their heads, used more glue to make a felt pipe cleaner sandwich and then whipstitched around the edge.

Sending out poorly glued together crafts that will likely fall apart in shipping has become something of a tradition of mine. Like these and before them these. I've got my fingers crossed for these gals!

I made a new flickr group of all my Christmas crafts, poorly glued and not. It's here. I like to look at it when I feel like punking out on a handmade gift. It either motivates me to get going or it makes me feel accomplished enough already to take the pressure off myself and just rest. Either way it's good!

actually having a grinch day

I'm going to go ahead with the full-of-holiday-spirit post I had going for today instead of going on a crazyperson I hate winter rant about boots and frozen pipes and sheets of ice for roads and parka hoods that get tangled in bag straps and try to put you out of your misery by hanging you on the minivan door. Nope. Instead it's all cheery. It's all good. Dream of a white christmas. Snow is your fluffy happy friend. And zero degrees, why just another reason to have hot cocoa!

So decorating this year was much easier than last year. Instead of trying to figure out how to decorate a new house this year I just put everything in the same spots. I was happy to follow the path of least resistance. Guess that's how traditions are made. I still felt compelled to take pictures though so here's the same stuff, different angles.

the real tree

The tree this year is nearly perfect. Someone (me) might have accidentally cut a bottom branch off that seemed to make up 1/4 of the tree's mass but that part is facing the corner so all you can see is perfect. We're all very pleased with the Lang Family tree and so far no broken ornaments. Phoebe and Oscar have bored quickly of being hollered at and moved on to find other things to poke and prod (each other).

We don't have that many new ornaments this year. This sparkly glass owl from the Martha Stewart at Macy's collection was singing to us so we brought it home.

And a few of these felt cuties from Cost Plus lept into my basket on super sale.

This little mouse is something I made up the other night. He's not with us for long though. He's soon off to spread cheer (glitter) at a friend's house. We've both had some not-so-pleasant mouse experiences lately. Maybe this little guy will overwrite them.

the soft tree

Instead of having our faker table top tree eating up our tiny kitchen table this year we put it in the playroom and put all our soft ornaments on it. You know, in case it falls over on anyone.

I've been puttering around on various handsewn ornaments while watching tv at night and made this tiny quilt ornament. Perfect for the soft tree.

Some of my favorite ornaments are soft ones, like my eskimo fisher-penguin. I keep searching for them on the regular tree and then remembering oh yeah, the soft tree. It's amazing how many times I can forget the same thing over and over. It's a special talent of mine.

high five!

The one good thing about a winter birthday is there is no guilt to staying indoors watching three new videos in a row and playing transformers all day. We had an outing birthday this year instead of a party, a trip to the "dinosaur museum". He was very pleased with all the bones. Bones, cupcakes to school, family party  and toys with many pointy clicky plastic parts and he's in heaven. Happy 5th to our Cutie McCute and his bag of tricks. And to watch him shrink... four, three, two, one.

Oscar and his girl Penny checking out Sue.

dress up

I made a felt crown for Phoebe for Christmas. I doubt she'll like it half as much as her daddy's stinky winter hat that she likes to parade around in, but I'm giving it a shot. I'm feeling pretty good about my handmade holiday list so far. Of course this is before I've tackled what the boy has on his dress up wish list, much more challenging than a felt crown.

There's a fun handmade holiday giveaway over at STC Craft, tell them what you're making and enter to win the STC book that's been on your wishlist!