Happy Birthday Stella!

Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott's little beauty, Stella Doreen, is turning one next week! I sent these blocks for her birthday party. Tori loves pink and has decorated Stella's room all in bright pink, plus Stella's nickname is "Ladybug" or "Bug", so I thought a bright pink and green ladybug theme would be perfect! I hope you like them, little Stella Bug!

It's almost time...

...to welcome Little Miss Addisyn into the world! What little lady wouldn't want to be welcomed by such an adorable display of her name?!

PixBlox!

I included a Mother's Day message to my mom and mother-in-law on the bottom of their blocks. The block for the bridal shower featured some pieces from the bride's wedding invitation, truly personalizing it!

Just in time for Mother's Day and a bridal shower, I decided to take another stab at my PixBlox, but with larger (4") blocks this time. They were a big hit with my mom, mother-in-law and friend, Krista! I was irritated with myself for not taking pictures before I gave them away, but I snuck some pics of my mom's and mother-in-law's while visiting recently ;)
I think these blocks are a perfect Father's Day gift! I plan on making some more for my hubby, dad and father-in-law (shhh...don't tell!). If you'd like to order a PixBlox, email me up to 6 hi-res pictures (uncropped so that I can make a good 4 x 4 square out of them) and let me know what color you'd like the background to be. Then I'll work my block "magic" on them ;) sealing them for you. Makes a super cool alternative to a frame, a great paperweight, or a unique piece of "art" to put on your mantle! I think they'd even be an awesome going-away-gift for that high school grad heading off to college! See pricing to the right of this post.
**I use professionally developed photos**

Celebrity Tween Gift Suite A Sparkling Success!

Here's a copy of the latest press release regarding the Baby & Tween Celebration LA--so cool! If you make/sell products for babies, children, expectant mothers, teens/tweens, you should definitely check out Baby Swags...and let Phyllis know I sent ya ;)

Baby Swags hosted it’s first celebrity tween/teen gift suite at the Baby & Tween Celebration LA expo that took place on April 25 & 26, 2009. The “Rockin Lollipop Lounge” was filled with some of the hottest tween and teen celebrities that appear on today’s hit television shows and movies.

Jennifer Stone with Tween Reporter, Christina

Each celebrity tween and teen received their very own, “Starlicious” gift bag filled with some of the hottest trends for tweens and teens. These products range from clothing to hair care products, and beyond. For a complete listing, see below.

The exclusive VIP gift bags that were presented to the tween/teen celebrities included the following products:

Just Be Products - Tees
Three Peas & Co - Petti Skirts
Creative Clips by Colleen - Hand-made Hair Clips
Holy Craft - Word Blocks
Rejoice! Home, Body & Spa - Body Scrub/Butter
Temptation of a Generation - Temptation Series books
Pink Pewter - Elegant Headbands
Doce Vida - Gift Certificate
Bendigirl Yoga - Yoga DVD
Boodlebags - Wristlets
Totally Texty - Hair Care Products
Blossom 4 Girls - Skin Care Products
Becky Bones - Shoes
Chic Buds - Ear buds

Ariel Winter and Jackson Brundage at the Rockin Lollipop Lounge

The celebrity tweens and teens were able to mingle with their tween fans while at the Rockin Lollipop Lounge, show off their goodies and it also allowed the tween attendees to see what are the hottest, newest Spring products on the market.

Ashley Argota from True Jackson VP at the Rockin Lollipop Lounge celebrity teen gift suite

Other celebrities that attended the event were Ashley Argota, Allisyn Ashley Arm, Chelsea Makela, Ariel Winter, Jennifer Stone, Aria Wallace, Sammi Hanratty, Savvy & Mandy, Justin Stein, Daechelle, The Stunners, Austin Anderson, Keli Price, Jackson Brundage, Adair Tishler, Rachel Sibner, Nicholas Braun, Nick Palatas, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Kaylee Dodson and many, many more.

Aria Wallace at the Rockin Lollipop Lounge hosted by Baby Swags

The Rockin Lollipop Lounge VIP gift suite was the hottest spot to be in if you were a tween or teen celebrity or if you just wanted to catch a glimpse of your favorite tween/teen idol.

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Display Model SALE!

A store that carried my blocks has closed down, so now I'm left with some inventory. Sooooo...I've decided to unload it at a great discount! All of the above shown 1.5" sets are now $12 (regularly $21) and all of the above shown 2" sets are now $15 (regularly $27). These ABC/XYZ sets make great birthday gifts or baby gifts (especially when you don't know the baby's name ahead of time)! Check here for more detailed individual pictures of the included sets.

Lollipops & Rainbows!

Here is the set of blocks I made for the Lollipops & Rainbows Foundation launch party tomorrow. I sent these in addition to 150 gift certificates that will be included in the celebrity swag bags. Check out all the exciting details here!

This weekend the Lollipops & Rainbows Foundation has its official launch at Universal Citywalk and guess who'll be included in the star-studded event's gift bags?? That's right, you guessed it--Holy Craft! While I don't have time to make the 150 sets of blocks they requested and get them to CA by noon on Friday (yep, that this Friday!), I will be including gift certificates. I can't believe how blessed I have been lately with these incredible opportunities! Check this out: Celebrities invited include The Cyrus Family, Dwayne "The ROCK" Johnson, The Jonas Brothers, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith, David & Victoria Beckham, Ryan Sheckler, The Cast of "Twilight", and many surprise guests! {insert squeal of excitement here!} Anyway, just wanted to share my latest exciting venture with you all! Here's hoping and praying good things come from it!

Ordering Info

Welcome to Holy Craft! I'm currently working on my website, but in the meantime, this blog showcases much of what I do. If you're interested in ordering blocks, click on the "blocks" link on the right. Same goes with any of my other products :) I love custom orders, so if you can think it, I'll do my best to create it! Feel free to contact me at holycraft33@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or to start a custom order. I can't wait to hear from you!

(Second batch of blocks for the Baby & Tween Celebration L.A.)

Baby Booty!

Just when I thought I was finished with the craziness of getting my Poetry and Text Blocks created and shipped for inclusion in the celeb gift bags at the Rockin' Lollipop Lounge, I got another great--albeit slightly insane--opportunity for exposure. I'm in the process of making 100 sets of these blocks to be included in the Baby Booty Bags at the Baby & Tween Celebration L.A. These bags will go to the first 100 moms in the doors both Saturday and Sunday of the Expo. I'm thrilled to be included! I just found out about the bags on Tuesday and the BTCLA starts a week from today, so I'm screamin' busy trying to get them all done. Luckily I'm blessed with a great husband and good friends who will help me work to get them finished in time! Now, pray with me that all this exposure is worth the time, effort and money that I've put into these cute little sets. I know, if nothing else, I've learned so much about "mass" producing my blocks. A baptism by fire of sorts :) All this block making is a lot of work, but I'm having so much fun!

A little SWAG(ger) in my step

I've been working my hiney off the last few weeks to get ready for some fabulous opportunities through Baby Swags. I tell ya, even though it's been a lot of work in a short amount of time, I'm so darn excited about the possibilites that these opportunities can offer!

Aren't these blocks adorable?! I love them and I hope that Sarah Shahi (of NBC's "Life" and "The L-Word". Husband is Steve Howey who played Van on the CW's "Reba") loves them for her little guy-on-the-way!
**"Wolf" is not the name Steve & Sarah have chosen for their son. They have not endorsed these products.**

And now for the unveiling of my new tween/teen block lines... {drum roll please}

Poetry Blocks
and
Text Lingo Blocks
(names *definitely* open for discussion!)

My blocks will be included in celebrity gift bags at the "Baby & Tween Celebration LA" later this month. I'm super excited about this! Check out the link for more details.

Poetry Blocks - Remember magnetic poetry? Those little tiny magnets with word on them and you could arrange them into crazy, nonsensical sentences? Well, that's the basic idea with Poetry blocks! With a roll of the blocks you can make all kinds of fun and silly sentences. Let everybody know, with a glance at your blocks, just what you're thinking at the moment. Or just get goofy with them!
*Each set includes a pronoun block (my/your/his/her/their/our), adjective block (crazy/sexy/tight/nasty/hot/flippin'), noun block (car/life/friend/poo/pic/junk) and verb block (rocks/rules/jams/sucks/stinks/blows).

Text Lingo Blocks - These blocks feature 24 of the hottest text acronyms out there! Not sure how to answer the ridiculous question your BFF just txt'd u? Give the blocks a roll to get the answer. Who cares if it doesn't make total sense, right?? ;)

The next celebrity gifting I'll be working on is for Ryan & Trista Sutter's (The Bachelor and The Bachelorette) new baby girl. I'm going to be making a set of blocks for little Blakesley and also for their 21-month-old son, Max. Can I say one more time that I'm excited?! :D

New idea!

I'm so excited about this new idea. Kyle and I were brainstorming tonight about a product that I could make for teen/tween boys and we came up with something that I think will be great and SO FUN! I'm not going to give details quite yet, but hopefully soon :) Stay tuned...

Matchy-Match

As we prepared for our family vacation to Palm Springs, I got a little carried away with the "details" of Ashlyn's outfits :) It all started with the bathing suits because, you know, all little girls wear bows while they're swimming, right?! Ha ha! After making the bows to match her swimsuits, I decided to make some for a few of her other shirts/outfits. So much fun!

Does your little girl have an outfit you'd like to have a matching bow made for? I'd love to do it for you--just send a picture and I'll do my best!

Every year when we go to Palm Springs and/or when my almost-4-year-old cousin, Lisa, and almost-3-year-old cousin, Nathan, come to MI to visit, we get the kids (Lisa/Ashlyn, Maguire/Nathan) matching suits. To make it even more fun for the girls I made them matching bows. Sorry boys, no bows for you!

Interchangeable Headbands

I've had a few requests for headbands, so here are a few. The top one is just a crochet-style headband I picked up at Meijer (or Wal-Mart, Target, etc.). Any of my bows can slide into the holes for a cute and versatile look.

These next headbands are ones that I've made. They're also interchangeable with any of my bows. So simple to change up the look! The headbands will fit girls from newborn to toddler...and often older!

Calling all bow girls!

As suggested by my "marketing director" (and former college roommate), Courtney, I'd love to get pictures of YOUR girl(s) wearing my bows! I think this will be a great addition to my booth display and will show how the bows work/look in varrying amounts of hair--from fuzz to long luxurious locks. So, if you have pictures of your little girl--or could take some--and could email them to me at holycraft33@gmail.com, that would be fabulous! Plus, I just love seeing pics of your little cuties :)
**The pictures can be head on or from the side, as long as they show the bow off pretty well.**

Biting the bullet!

I've decided that 2009 will be the year that I do at least one craft show. I'm excited and a bit nervous about this decision. Mostly I was excited until I got the application for my first show. They require a picture of my "booth" since it's a "juried" show. Trying to figure out my booth setup is, quite frankly, stressing me out! Here's what I've got so far...not too exciting. I'm not totally sure that I'll stick with the cardstock idea. And obviously I haven't filled in all the table space (don't worry, I've got PLENTY more bows to fill in the empty space!), but I need to add some more interest to my display. Do you have ideas for me? I'd love to hear them!

Are you sick of hearing about this yet? DO something!

As parents and/or concerned citizens, I’m sure most of us at one time or another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. But have you asked yourself what your government is doing to protect your children from lead contained in toys?

The answer: They're banning toys, taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families, killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an even greater depression than we've seen in decades. I'd like to introduce you to their solution: the CPSIA.

Do you know about the CPSIA?

No? Then I ask you to take a few minutes to find out about it.

The CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of laws that will come into effect on 10 February, 2009 and will impact many, many people in a negative way. Make no mistake, this is very real. View it for yourself. If Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too.

How will these new laws affect you? Well, here are a few examples:

To the Parents of Young Students:
Due to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket. While those paper clips weren't originally intended for your student to use, they will need to be tested now that your 11-year-old needs them for his school project. This law applies to any and all school supplies (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under 12.

To the Avid Reader:
Due to the new law, all children's books will be pulled from library and school shelves, as there is no exemption for them. That’s okay though, there's always television. Our children don’t need to learn the love of reading after all.
Article from the American Library Association http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322

To the Lover of All Things Handmade:
Due to the new law, you will now be given a cotton ball and an instruction manual so you can make it yourself since that blanket you originally had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it's passed testing. It won't even be the one-of-a-kind blanket you were hoping for. Items are destroyed in the testing process making one-of-a-kind items virtually impossible. So that gorgeous hand-knit hat you bought your child this past winter won’t be available next winter.

To the Environmentalist:
Due to the new law, all items in non-compliance will now be dumped into our already overflowing landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners, but the Big Box Stores as well. You can't sell it so you must toss it. Or be potentially sued for selling it. You can't even give them away. If you are caught, it is still a violation.

To the Second-Hand Shopper:
Due to the new law, you will now need to spend $20 for that brand new pair of jeans for your 2-year old, rather than shop at the Goodwill for second hand. Many resale shops are eliminating children's items all together to avoid future lawsuits.

To the Entrepreneur:
Due to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your unique products or discontinue to make and/or sell them. Small businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing and be forced to close up shop. Due to the current economic state, you'll have to hope for the best when it comes to finding a new job in Corporate America.

To the Antique Toy Collector:
Due to the new law, you'd better start buying now because it's all going to private collection and will no longer be available to purchase. “Because the new rules apply retroactively, toys and clothes already on the shelf will have to be thrown out if they aren't certified as safe.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189645948879745.html

To the American Economy:
Already struggling under an economy that hasn’t been this weak in decades, the American economy will be hit harder with the inevitable loss of jobs and revenues from suppliers, small businesses and consumers. The required testing is far too costly and restrictive for small businesses or individuals to undertake.

To the Worldwide Economy:
Due to this new law, many foreign manufacturers have already pulled out of the US market. You can imagine the impact of this on their businesses.

If you think this is exaggerating, here is a recent article from Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/16/cpsia-safety-toys-oped-cx_wo_0116olson.html

And for those of you prepared to be stupefied and boggled, The New Law
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html

Did you know? If this upsets or alarms you, please react.

Have you sent your comments regarding component testing to the CPSC yet? The American Apparel and Footwear Association has made it easy for you to submit this important information with pre-written text that can be sent directly to the CPSC with the click of a button. You can of course edit the text if you have the time. Visit this page today, before it's too late. http://capwiz.com/americanapparel/issues/alert/?alertid=12525486 Your comments could make a huge difference, saving the livelihood of many thousands of Americans. Pass it on!

Bows, bows and more BOWS!

I'm quite obsessed these days with making bows! It's just soothing for me to sit with my glue gun and ribbon, curled up with my blanket (yes, the nasty torn up one I've had since I was a little girl!) and a good show (preferably recorded on my DVR). {sigh of contentment}

Local article about the CPSIA

Here's a local article on the new CPSIA craziness: SAVE HANDMADE! My emailed comments to the author are posted at the bottom of the article, second one down. Check it out, comment here or there and take whatever action you can! Thanks!!

What's up with the CPSIA??

As a "small business owner", I've recently been made aware of this crazy (in my opinion) new law about to be enacted that could make it illegal to sell anything handmade that is related to children. So...there goes any of my hair bows, baby blocks, bibs, etc. PLEASE help me fight this law by contacting your senator and/or congressman/woman and letting them know that this law--while well-intentioned is not at all well thought out and will put many small businesses out of business. Is this what our economy needs??

Here is some info (much better worded than anything I can come up with!) I came across on another blog, Rocks In My Dryer.

The Scoop on CPSIA

Like many of you, I'm a big fan of supporting creative small business owners, such as those found on Etsy and elsewhere on the web. The "cottage industry" environment fostered by the web inspires me, especially as I see creative women (many of them moms) making brilliant, artistic items in their home, and giving me--the consumer--a chance to buy something special and handmade.

So it's been with increasing alarm that I've followed the story around CPSIA. (Never heard of it? Bear with me just a minute.) This is a law that goes into effect in only a few short weeks, and it has the potential to greatly inhibit the productivity of crafty small business owners that make products for children.

I do not own a business making children's items, so my knowledge on the subject has been fairly limited. But I wanted to understand it better--and to be able to tell you about it--so I decided to ask for some help. My real-life friend Heather is the owner of Blessed Nest, a small but growing company that makes organic nursing pillows. This law has thrust Heather into the position of reluctant activist, as she's had to discern what this law means for her company (newspaper columnist Susanne Tobias even interviewed Heather on the subject here).

Thankfully, Heather agreed to sit down and answer a few questions, and you may be surprised to learn just how far-reaching this new law is. Heather's answers to my questions are in italics, below:

What exactly is CPSIA?

CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. The way it was summarized for the U.S. Senate vote was: “A bill to establish consumer product safety standards and other safety requirements for children's products and to reauthorize and modernize the Consumer Product Safety Commission.”

Terrific, it’s about time, read no further… right? Well, it’s sort of their jobs to read the whole thing and think about it before they “yea” or “nay”. See how your favorite Senator voted here and Congressman/woman here.

How will it affect Etsy shop owners and other small crafty businesses?

According to the actual scope and wording of this bill (H.R.4040), as of Feb. 10, 2009, all products made and/or marketed to children under the age of 12 will have to comply with mandatory lead and phthalates testing for each component of each product they sell or face felony charges and hefty fines. Tests have to be conducted by labs that have been approved by the Commission, and range in price from several hundred to several thousand dollars. (For one small business’s estimate based on actual quotes from approved labs, see Happy Panda’s blog). Even if you use the same materials for the 30 different things that you sell, every component of all 30 have to be individually tested, regardless of whether those materials have passed testing by other agencies or other manufacturers. For example, we use Harmony Art fabrics, which conform to the Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) . Even if we had them tested by the lower standards of the CPSIA for our pillows, a mom who sells hand-made slings out of the very same fabrics would have to have her products tested as well.

In a nutshell, if you knit booties (or sew burp cloths, or make bibs, or create hair bows) and sell them on Etsy (or at your church craft fair or to your neighbor down the street) you will be required to have each size and style of each item you sell tested, even if they are made from the same material. Let's say, for example, you knit booties and sell them. Even though yarn is not known to inherently contain lead or phthalates, and even if your yarn has been certified organic by GOTS standards, which exceed CPSIA standards by more than 300%, your yarn would have to be tested. And if you opt to have the testing done, next time you get the same yarn from the same manufacturer in a different dye lot, everything has to be re-tested.

There are some less expensive tests available through “unapproved” sources, but they will only be good until August, 2009. So, it either means that if you sell without certification you are breaking the law or that you better have a rich uncle.

Will any other businesses be affected? What about consignment stores and/or eBay?

The law applies to all products, even used items. This means that unless the stores (including eBay sellers and private parties) do the testing themselves, on Feb. 11 all of those products are to be treated as hazardous waste and destroyed. In a vague memo issued this week by the CPSA “resellers” may be excluded from certification, but these proposals also say that businesses owners will still face the same penalties if an item they sold ends up containing lead. It not only omits a specific definition of what a “reseller” is, it also fails to explain whether it applies to their entire inventory or just used items. So it exposes the store owner to the risk of either being shut down because of an item that may or may not have actually been purchased from them, but also to the nuts that could sue them if they claimed they were injured by the product. (Ouch, McDonald’s… I spilled my coffee!) It also is a very effective tool for competitors to use against businesses who they know can’t comply, a practice that has already been used by some of the big guys.

Something else to consider is that Canada is apparently watching to see what happens with this legislation, as they structure their own policies for safety standards. Many other countries could follow suit, making handmade children’s products a thing of the past, globally!

How will it affect consumers?

If the only products on the market are those made by companies who can afford to comply with the CPSIA rules (especially on such short notice), consumers will have very few options. Taking away handmade and even used items will create a market that is little more than mass-produced, mostly foreign-made children’s products. It also sets a precedent which allows one government agency to determine what is in the best interest of “public safety”, without having to take other factors into account.

One other big issue is that the jury is still out whether books, including text books and library books will be exempt. If the law isn’t changed, libraries will have two options: “Either they take all the children’s books off the shelves, or they ban children from the library.” (according to Emily Sheketoff, associate executive director of the American Library Association.

To play devil’s advocate for a minute, I suspect that advocates of this law support it in the interest of keeping kids safe. What’s your response to that?

The irony is that most of the people who will be hurt by this are those of us who have been trying to get the government to pass safety laws all along. We all want our kids to be safe, and in fact many of our businesses were started as a way of being proactive in providing safe alternatives to the mass-produced, unregulated products on the market now. I doubt that many people want this law to be vetoed altogether, just for it to be reasonable. We want it to focus on areas where it will do the most good without forcing everyone else to break the law or live in fear of being shut down and hauled off to prison. There are many intelligent recommendations that have been made that would not only protect children but also would allow small businesses to operate and let parents make informed choices for what they buy.

Is it inevitable? Can something be changed? If so, what?

Well, not to sound too dramatic… but I believe that inevitability is the enemy of liberty. Without going into too much detail here (feel free to read my soapbox letter here), I think that this is much deeper than whether I can call my pillows “nursing pillows” or not. Fortunately, this is still America, and our voices do matter. This bill was pushed through under the radar at an unusually fast pace, but our representatives are still responsible for representing us. You can join the efforts of the Handmade Toy Alliance here, sign a petition here, and vote to bring this issue before the President-Elect on Inauguration Day here.

Once you get into this it can become very emotional, confusing and overwhelming, especially if you are a small business trying to make ends meet (insert raised hand here). We have made a page on our blog where we are trying to stream-line the most up-to-date information, links, articles and support that we find. We’re also looking into the technology to put a hug on it, but that could be years off and would be regulated anyway. In the meantime, at least we know we’re all in it together!

I expect that many of you are very knowledgeable about this issue as well. If you know of additional resources, please leave them in the comments section below. In addition to contacting your congressional representatives, you might consider alerting local, state or even national media to this story that will affect so many hard-working women.

Just taking an inventory of what bows I've got on hand. If you'd like to order, please use the letter/number combo (A3, for example) when you contact me. If you'd like to see more detail, click on the pictures to enlarge them. Most bows can be recreated if you'd like more than one. I also love custom orders!

Large Flowers
(alligator clips)
*use AB1, AB3, AB5
CD1, E1, D3, D5 to order

Mini-bows and Snappie clips
(A1-C5 are alligator clips, D1-E5 +2 at the bottom are snappie clips)

Baby Baldies
(1" snappie clips)

Boutique bows and Flower clips
(all on alligator clips)