New in my Shop

I posted some new "Nest" Discovery Totes just before Christmas but, have been too busy to blog about them. Showing here is a yellow cotton and grey wool fabric tote that opens up to a mommy bird on her nest of eggs. The eggs are hand felted and can be removed or tucked into the nest. This tote is most loved by girls between the ages of 6-9, that is my personal observation from being at art shows with my totes.

Gingerbread Houses

Last week was crazy busy with the last days of Kindergarten for my son and my dad visiting from California. I was shopping for K's teacher, trying to get parents to come help with all the celebrations and making all of my Christmas presents. Friday was the grand finale of it all, I had to help 23 Kindergartner's plus one 3 year old make gingerbread houses. Lucky for me I have an incredible husband I recruited and a handful of other parents who helped get the job done. They had a blast, I love to just stand back and watch children create without showing them what to do, they have the most amazing results. These are just two of the houses, they all turned out really great! We used an ice cream cone for the trees and were limited a bit with the candy details because of nut allergies in the classroom. All and all a fun day for the kids, and that's all the matters!

Shopping List Saturday

PalominoMorgan
Yoote

cocoondesigns


ouryellowhouse

austulabee

This weeks shopping list was pulled from etsy sellers who have "hearted" me, helicopterstudios! I have been in the Children's Gift Guide since the Etsy toy contest and have received tons of hits on my shop. It has been really great! I always check out a shop that "hearts" me and I wanted to post a collection of shops that "heart" me and guess what..... I heart them (how sweet). No, seriously, I always find the coolest shops that way! Esty is rocks!

The stores I have selected are some of my favorites. I don't know if I would have found them otherwise. I try to spend time looking at other shops but.........an hour later I am over stimulated with so many beautiful handmade goods. I have been trying to keep myself on a time budget and the computer is a time sucker for me.


You can find the list of other bloggers who make Saturday lists in the right sidebar of Charlotte's blog. Cheers......

Making Christmas out of metal

This is a picture of half of my studio space, I share it with myself.

half metalworking and half sewing and fabric

This week I have been super busy "making" Christmas. What this means is making presents for my friends, family and this year--my son's kindergarten teacher, co-teacher and guidance counselor. I had to make something for Mrs. Graff the guidance counselor, she was responsible for getting my son and myself through the horrible separation anxiety we suffered at the start of school. So, I am back at my bench doing some metalsmithing this week and I have to say it feels really good. I went through a time when I really did not want to sit at my bench and think. Now, I have this out pouring of ideas that make me excited to work with metal. I think I might work on a new series for my other etsy shop "Heilo" and pull most of whats in there. I need to start fresh. Maybe, it's because my toy making may come to a halt in February if this law passes.

HELP........IS REQUESTED

I don't know if you know this but there is a chance handmade toys will cease to exist! The US government is making some changes and are trying to pass a law that will require all toys made in the US go through safety testing by an outside party. This would shut all indie designers like myself down. There is no possible way I could afford to have my product tested.....costing approx. 150-3000 dollars for each item. Please read more about this insane idea that could dramatically change my path and the path of many other children's toy and clothing makers.

Sign the petition TODAY!! SAVE HANDMADE TOYS!!!!

Find your congress personand senators and write a letter like the sample here.Particularly if they serve on the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection or the House Committee on Small Business.
-Send an email directly to the CPSC.
-Vote for amending the law on Change.org, digg style: With enough votes it will be presented to President Obama in January!
-Place the Save Handmade! button on your blog or website to help spread the word to everyone you know who cares about protecting the little guy and preserving beautiful items made with love for our children.

Shopping List Saturday

Well, it was an exciting Friday.... I came in 5th place out of 60 etsy sellers in the Holiday Toys Contest. If you didn't know this was going on I will fill you in--Etsy Admin. put together 60 etsy sellers for sellers/buyers from the etsy community to pick their favs. I was wondering if anyone would even vote for me since the picture they displayed was one of my Discovery Totes in the closed position. It did not convey unless you clicked on the image, I guess people wondered what it was and clicked! I felt very honored to be a part of the contest. Now they have my "Day for a Hike" tote on the front page of the Gift Guides under "Children". Nice advertising. So I will end this post by saying I am going to use the "mini store" as my Saturday Shopping List, too convenient I must say. Please check it out if you have not already, there are some really beautifully made gifts that could be cherished by a child for years. Thanks again to all who voted for little ol' me. You can find the list of other bloggers who make Saturday lists in the right sidebar of Charlotte's blog. Cheers......

Thanks for voting for my mommy!!

I just wanted to thank everyone who voted for Helicopter Studios on etsy for the 2008 Holiday Toys Contest. The voting ends on Friday at high noon, so you still have a chance to vote for me! Thanks again! Oh, I have to say I received lots of very nice convos on etsy about my work and want to thank those who took the time to do so.

Etsy :: Voter Beta

Etsy :: Voter Beta

Vote for me on etsy --HOLIDAY VOTING 2008 CHOOSE YOUR FAVORITE TOY

I have to start out saying that I am using my new laptop to post today.......I have been without a computer now for five days!! I have been going cookoo without the ability to blog, check email, check etsy shop, FB etc... With that being said.. I found out today that the esty admin. has nominated my "Day for a Hike" Discovery Tote for a holiday voting under the toy category! Very exciting news, so please go vote for me!!

Tagged.......

So, I was tagged by Lynette yesterday and am finally getting around to my reveal.
Seven random facts about ME................

I like to have lots of clean surfaces in my house........I don't collect anything but, wish I did. I spend time thinking about what I would collect, so I guess I am a "conceptual collector".

I nursed both my children for almost two years.

I have never seen E.T. the movie, not a fan of Sci-fi or cartoons.

When I was young I wanted to be a crime scene investigator.

Since we bought our house I have realized how much I love to do yard work.

My father was in the Army and we moved every two-three years. So, I don't have one friend that I have known my whole life.

I believe I might suffer from adult ADD, I always thought it was just my personality.

So, there you go, random facts about me and I guess I need to tag some other bloggers so here you go. I am tagging the following people........

Tonia Mayton
Mike Duffy
Tedd McDonah
Samantha
Steph

okay so, I broke the rules and only tagged 5 bloggers. Something else you should know about me...I don't like to follow rules.

THE RULES:**Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.*Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.* Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their name as well as links to their blog.* Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.