Ruth's Creations' Blog

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T20:19:00.003-05:00

I hope you've had an awesome holiday season. Have a fantastic new year!

Art and Therapy

2011-08-14T17:52:00.004-04:00

Just thought I'd post a painting I did a while back. It wouldn't all fit on my scanner so I scanned it half at a time and then stitched it together. Not the best stitch job in the world, I'm thinking about redoing it. The plan is to open a shop on Zazzle, I thought that might be a neat idea. Easier for me than Etsy, I think. I've got a few other paintings I've done plus I can use cropped parts of this one to make different designs.

We've been having a pretty hard time with my daughter (19) lately, she's had periods of what I call "hissy fits" (emotional outbursts, lashing out at the family, etc) that have been becoming more frequent and intense the last few months. It's gotten to the point that she has been in a therapeutic day program for the past week and will stay there for another week or so. The people who run the program have suggested putting her on medication, but I'm feeling like this is a very bad idea. My son is on a similar medication (atypical antipsychotics, prescribed for "mood disorders") and has had some very unpleasant and worrying side effects. He even said to her, "don't do it, do you want to end up like me?" The people running the program keep encouraging me to give it a try, but I feel like we tried it with my son and it didn't turn out well. It's like, I let him down I don't want to do the same with her, you know? She's a sweet lovely girl when she's not having a meltdown, and one of the things that happened with my son is his personality sort of "flattened", if that makes sense. I don't want to lose her to the drugs too.

UPDATE: Got my Zazzle store set up last night, I've put a link to it in the sidebar if anyone would like to check it out. DD seems to be doing better and is finishing her program today.

Save a family's garden

2011-07-15T22:24:00.003-04:00

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/oak-park-hates-veggies/

Personally I think EVERYONE should be doing what this family is (or at least trying), it's shameful that their local authorities are persecuting them.

(Sorry I've been quiet so long. The kids are having some behavioral issues and sometimes I feel like the agencies we have coming in to help us just make things more stressful. I just haven't felt up to writing.)

Ruth

The Dream

2011-01-17T21:55:00.002-05:00

It's scary out there! (And congratulations Dan and Vanessa)

2010-11-02T13:47:00.006-04:00

First we'll start off with the obligatory "kids in costumes" pics...she's a vampire cheerleader and he's a football fan. :-)

Did everyone vote today? So many people are talking about how important this election is, a lot of the talking heads are saying there's voter apathy among the Democrats and assuming that Republicans will gain a lot of seats in congress. Let's prove them wrong, shall we?

Congratulations to my friend Dan Harris (nope, not the ABC News reporter, it's a different guy) and his new wife Vanessa, they got married on Saturday! :-) I tried to post the pic he emailed me but I can't copy it out of the PDF file it was in, if I figure out how I'll edit it in or post it separately. They're a really cute couple though, here's a link to an online interview Dan did a while back for the cruise group he runs.

Hey Ruth, did you fall off the face of the Earth??

2010-10-23T07:20:00.004-04:00

No, not yet anyway! Family issues, we seem to be going from one crisis to the next the last couple months. Things have happened and possibilities exist that I don't even want to think about, much less post about. Enough of me being a downer, let's have some fun:

OMG isn't he just adorable in this?? I just love those ginormous electric blue eyes. Apparently the screen tests for many of the actors are on the Sorcerer's Stone “Ultimate Edition” DVD.

Hey Dan, forget the guitar. Get a drum kit! ;-)

I saw these recently too, talk about amazing. Apparently they're from a recent issue of a UK magazine called Dazed and Confused. Wow, just....wow. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall at that photo shoot, it must have taken all day! More pics here.

There are pictures and an interview from his latest movie project, Woman in Black, here. There are more photos from that on www.DanRadcliffe.co.uk as well.

Dream Big by Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band (Sorry, embedding disabled)

Eric Dodge's YouTube Channel

I didn't used to be into country music but Eric and Ryan are really cool--inspiring, uplifting stuff.

Ithacappella came to visit my daughter's high school last year and did a concert, one of the guys in the group is from here originally and they all stayed with his family. 16 college guys in a single family house, I don't know how they managed!

I can't believe it's been six months since I've posted anything...got a couple new crocheted items to post about, I've also been doing some painting. My daughter borrowed my camera, I'll have to get it back from her and take some pictures to post. I feel like I've really derailed, have to get things back on track (oops sorry, getting morose again--I really should start a second blog for writing about that stuff and save this one for what it was originally intended).

Photo credit: DanRadcliffe.com

(Sorry, the videos and some of the pictures got cut off on the side--didn't happen when I previewed the post.)

Late Earth Day Post -- The Evil of GMOs

2010-04-30T09:49:00.005-04:00

Here's a video I found recently, it's pretty long but I think what it says is important:

The Future of Food One comment that struck me was that Bt corn is itself classified as a pesticide. Would anyone want to knowingly ingest a pesticide? I DON'T THINK SO! And yet we do it all the time in the processed foods we eat, many of which contain High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Interesting article, but very scary IMO:

GM Soy linked to Sterility No more babies within three generations? Have you ever seen the movie Children of Men? If Monsanto gets their way that could be our future.

I don't have the link handy but I read another article recently that said there were tests done on fields in India that had grown GMO crops; the results showed that after three years of growing GMO crops the fields had lower than normal amounts of microorganims, the rate was 12-30% depending on what organisms were measured. The crops were killing the soil.

My take on this? GMOs are poison and should be banned. I found a printable guide online at http://nongmoshoppingguide.com that people can use to avoid companies that use these toxic products. There's also more info at www.centerforfoodsafety.org and www.healthiereating.org. Also if you garden you can get your seeds from sources that don't sell GMO seed, some good companies I've heard of are Johnny's Selected Seeds, Baker Creek, and Home Town Seeds.

Based on the first two links it looks to me like Monsanto and companies like them only want to beef up their profits and they don't care who they hurt. Let's show them that's the wrong way to go.

(Some of my recent posts have been downers, I know...I've got some creative stuff going on too, just have to get some pics done and I'll be posting them too. I'm turning 40 in a couple weeks, maybe that's where this "let's do something to save the world" impulse is coming from.)

Help End Hunger with The Dinner Garden

2010-03-25T20:14:00.003-04:00

I found this website a few days ago, I think it's such a great idea. The Dinner Garden gives free seeds to anyone who wants to start a garden; according to their website $5 of seeds will feed a family of seven for an entire year! I've requested a seed pack myself and put through a donation to cover it. I think once I get more listings up on Etsy I'll do a sale with part of the proceeds going to TDG. The website says they have a pretty big backlog of requests, they have the seeds but they need donations to cover the postage. I read somewhere once that investing $50 in seeds grows over $1,000 worth of produce, with the economy the way it is every little bit helps.

It's all downhill from here.......

2010-03-11T13:25:00.003-05:00

Yet again it's been ages since I've posted and yet again I've come up with something depressing to talk about. This time it's downright morbid. I've been following the work of Stuart Wilde for a long time, recently I've reread many of the articles posted on his website. Linked from one was a site that talked about the Peak Oil situation, it's been estimated that we could run out of oil in as little as two years! Stuart Wilde is predicting that airplanes and cars will stop running as early as next year. We'll be thrown back into the 18^th century...how will we manage? I think about Dan Radcliffe (yeah, I had to bring him up, didn't I?) and young people like him and I think, are they going to get through this OK? They've grown up so immersed in technology, I know my kids are practically addicted to their video games and internet and stuff. Or will they manage better than us “old folks” (I'm nearly 40) because they have an easier time learning new skills? It's hard to say. The magnitude of the coming catastrophe is so huge it's hard to wrap your brain around, know what I mean?

Many of the websites I've been reading on this subject are predicting oil wars and famine and all sorts of horrible things. It's going to be years of chaos, maybe decades. Stuart Wilde has predicted in several of his articles that billions of people are going to die, he says it's the planet's way of protecting itself from the way we've been overusing and abusing its resources.

I've been wanting to do so much, get into art and theater and stuff like that—is there even going to be a place for that in the new society? I don't know. It's hard to commit to any sort of plan when the future is so up in the air. Maybe I'd be better off spending my time figuring out how we're going to survive—most of the websites I've been reading say that most of being prepared is having the right attitude (I'm trying, but I've been a little freaked out about the whole thing), but there are things that need to be done. Skills to learn, equipment to collect, that sort of thing. I'm seriously contemplating trying to find a local survivalist group to join.

Very soon life is going to change, drastically. Are we ready for this?

PS Thanks for all the comments on the last few posts, it's nice to know people actually read my ramblings!

Ted Kennedy's Legacy Down the Toilet?

2010-01-19T23:07:00.003-05:00

Scott Brown has defeated Martha Coakley in the bid for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat.

Many people in Massachusetts are not going to be happy about this. My father is a member of the Mass. Moderator's Association (was the town moderator where we live for many years) and I can tell you he looks pissed. Brown will do everything he can to undo Kennedy's work and thwart President Obama's attempts to fix the problems in the health care system and the economy.

Many of the pro-Scott Brown ads in the local media were paid for by out-of-state lobbying groups. I really think that should be illegal. There should be no influence on state elections from outside lobbying groups. If Martha Coakley returns to her position as the Attorney General it would be something she could look into, although Brown's supporters would probably call her a sore loser for it.

On the news they're calling this a historic day for Massachusetts. I think it's a sad day. Martha Coakley would have been a great Senator that Ted Kennedy would have been proud to have as a successor; I think with Scott Brown in the post he's probably rolling over in his grave.

My 2009 summed up in one word

2010-01-07T00:43:00.002-05:00

It sucked. Well, OK, that's two! Hopefully 2010 will be better. I'm off to bed in a bit, tomorrow I'm planning to take some new pictures for my Etsy items. I'll be getting some new products listed and old listings revamped and relisted (several things have been relisted multiple times, I'm thinking about starting a Bargain Bin/Clearance section in my shop just to try to get them sold). I'm also taking an Art course, at some point I hope to add an Art section to my shop as well. The course is fun but it's a little intimidating in a way, the artists I've seen on Etsy are so good! I don't know if I'll be able to compete.

I've seen quite a few blogs with "goals for 2010" type posts, I'm thinking about writing a list of my own to post. I suppose publishing your goals to the world is one way to keep yourself accountable. Have you ever seen the movie The Bucket List? I haven't but I love the idea of it, keeping a list of things you want to do with your life.

What's on your Bucket List?

Happy Birthday Amy

2009-11-01T03:52:00.002-05:00

For 17 years Amy was my best friend. She was kind and caring and always there for me when I needed someone to talk to, whether it was about stress I was having about my kids or their dad was being a pain in the butt or whatever. We always had a good time together when we went out to family dinners or the mall or whatever we did. Even though she had a lot of medical issues and problems of her own she never let that get in the way of her love for us.

Today would have been her birthday. She died a year ago this past May.

I miss you my friend.

Just had to post this......

2009-10-09T01:28:00.003-04:00

I was intending to do a post about what's been going on here at home lately, but for now I think it's really important to make a standalone post for this:

http://youniquelychic.blogspot.com/2009/10/must-watch-for-everyone.html

I tried to embed the video but it's taking too long....definitely a must-watch for everyone concerned about the state of the US health care system. I've found it on a couple different blogs and I think it needs to be passed around as much as possible.

Great news!

2009-08-25T18:23:00.007-04:00

You may remember this post I made a few months ago...we had the final court hearing this morning, my ex is dropping the case! Hopefully this will be the end of it, but to be honest I wouldn't be surprised if my ex's friends find some other way to use him to harass me. For now I'm happy though, and my daughter is too. :-)

This is what I get for not signing into my store page often enough.....

2009-08-09T22:12:00.003-04:00

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=17807637

I had a sale.....THREE WEEKS AGO!?! I've been so wrapped up with personal stuff that's been going on I haven't checked my Etsy site for ages. I'll have to drop the buyer an email to make sure they still want it, I guess. I'll have to renew some items too, my store page is empty at this point.

Fellow Etsy bloggers, has this happened to you?

Happy Birthday Daniel Radcliffe!

2009-07-23T21:34:00.002-04:00

Hey, you're not a teenager any more! Quit growing, would you?? You're making me old!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2zOoo5nK-Q

My thoughts about Michael Jackson

2009-07-01T01:50:00.002-04:00

What a tragedy for the music world. We have lost a great talent. And there are reports today that his children were actually fathered by his dermatologist--my first thought was, so what?? By all accounts MJ was a devoted and loving father, and it takes more than blood ties to be a parent. The fact that he's not their biological father (and apparently never officially adopted them either) could lead to the courts putting them in foster care. This I think would be a HUGE mistake. The entire Jackson family has suffered a great loss with Michael's death, they don't need the trauma of the children being taken away from the only family they've ever known.

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T19:38:00.002-04:00

Lt. John "Jack" Kipling, 18 years old, killed in the Battle of Loos in France in WWI, 1915

'My Boy Jack'

1914-18

"HAVE you news of my boy Jack? "
Not this tide.
"When d'you think that he'll come back?"
Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

"Has any one else had word of him?"
Not this tide.
For what is sunk will hardly swim,
Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

"Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?"
None this tide,
Nor any tide,
Except he did not shame his kind---
Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.

Then hold your head up all the more,
This tide,
And every tide;
Because he was the son you bore,
And gave to that wind blowing and that tide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP0GBLk5MjE

There's a line from the film My Boy Jack from Jack Kipling's mother Carrie, after his parents found out what happened to him. I'm not sure if I have it quoted exactly right, I didn't find any video of it online and haven't watched the DVD recently:

"He was 18 years and one day old. He died alone in the rain, I can't see any glory in that!"

No glory, Carrie. There is no glory in war, only death and destruction. Memorial Day is about more than parades and barbecues, it's a day set aside to honor those brave souls like your son, who risk or even sacrifice their lives so the rest of us may live in a free world. I post this in honor of those brave men and women who have taken that risk or made that sacrifice. May they never be forgotten.

(In case you're interested the DVD of My Boy Jack should still be available on www.shoppbs.org.)

Trying out new template

2009-05-22T00:00:00.001-04:00

I decided that pea-soup green background didn't really look all that good so I thought I'd try something new. What do you think?

Back from vacation and then everything went nuts

2009-05-21T22:42:00.002-04:00

OK so I came back from my vacation after having a great time with my daughter in the Caribbean (pictures and details in an upcoming post) and what do I find in the mail when I get home? A summons to court! My ex is (unsuccessfully) trying to get custody of our daughter, in hopes of using her Social Security Disability income to pay off his debts (he hasn't been working since November and from what I hear is about to get evicted from his apartment). Now this is the same guy whose psycho nutcase girlfriend has been filing false abuse claims against me for the last 10 years, actually she just did it again a couple of months ago. After our most recent court date last week the court actually filed an abuse and neglect report against him, from what it looks like his best friend is a pervert who may have actually molested my daughter. :-( The social worker from the Department of Children and Families who interviewed her told me there may be enough evidence to have him criminally charged, and I agreed to have the case turned over to the District Attorney's office for review.

My ex actually used to be a nice guy, not the sharpest knife in the drawer but not mean or anything like that--ever since he started hanging around with the local town loonies he's changed, it's like he's a puppet and they're pulling the strings. It's cruel what they've made him put his kids through, and the rest of his family and mine as well. There are a lot of people whose trust he's betrayed or he's otherwise hurt somehow, and it will take a long time, if ever, to heal those relationships. Hopefully all this legal stuff going on will make him realize that he needs to get away from these people who are trying to destroy his life and are ruining his relationships with everyone who's supposed to care about him. In a way I'm mad at him for doing all this but on the other hand I feel like he's as much a victim here as the rest of us, the real perpetrators are his girlfriend and their other friend. With friends like that who needs enemies, huh?

I haven't been doing any crocheting for my Etsy shop lately either, just too distracted with this other stuff going on I guess. I'm starting to feel like I'm not sure if I should bother continuing with it, I've only had a couple sales from it the entire time it's been open. Maybe I need to rethink what I want to sell, recently I got the book Drawing for Dummies and I'm working on the exercises in that, maybe if I can get good enough I'll add an Art section to my shop. I've been thinking for a while about trying beading and pottery too, but haven't found any local classes to join yet. We've only been back from our vacation about three weeks and I already want to go away again! Need to get away from the stress, you know? Maybe the kids and I can go away for a weekend after they get out of school or something, I'm not sure what we'll do yet.

Getting used to this new EntreCard thing

2009-04-05T00:54:00.004-04:00

EntreCard has implemented a system of paid advertising in addition to the usual EC ads. There are some people on EC who have been complaining about it, for myself I think it will take some getting used to but it will be OK in the end. EC needed to find some way to monetize itself so it could grow and improve for its users. I do feel a little odd about it at the moment, I have 21 paid ads waiting to show on my widget vs 8 EC ads. I think I'm going to wait for new EC ads to add to the list before I approve any more paid ads. There needs to be some balance between the two, you know?

Wow.....

2009-04-02T23:32:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted for nearly a month! Personal stuff getting in the way of getting much of anything else done, mostly...let's just say it involves my ex (and a friend of his), our teenage daughter, the police and the need for a restraining order. :-( DD and I are going on a trip the day after Easter for a couple weeks, hopefully getting away for a while will help alleviate the stress of the last few months. Then maybe I can get back to work on my Etsy shop, lately I just haven't had the energy or the creative spark to do much crocheting. I've been thinking for a while now about trying some type of fine art--drawing, painting, something like that. I actually got some art materials to bring along on the trip (it's a Caribbean cruise!), hopefully I'll be able to relax a bit and get some of my creativity back.

I'll be taking loads of pictures, will post them when we get back. Oh, and I'm leaving my Etsy shop open--any sales during our absence will be shipped after our return on the 23rd of April. I was hoping to have the first item for my Spring Treasures line up in time for Easter but it looks like it's not meant to be--the blanket I'm working on isn't quite done and there seems to be an unending list of things to do to get ready for the trip. I guess I can always finish it on the trip and list it when we get back.

I've got a few recent Etsy purchases to post about, and some awards that have been waiting for ages for me to acknowledge. I'll try to get the posts for those done in the next couple days. I tried to upload a video and yet again it didn't work! I wonder what's up....anyway here's a YouTube link to what I was trying to upload:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMWi7CLoZ2Q&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fstrawberryanarchy.blogspot.com%2F&feature=player_embedded

(I hope the link works! The video is a bit silly but I thought it was cute.)

Please contact your Congressional Representatives to support CPSIA amendments!

2009-02-26T22:41:00.003-05:00

I posted this on Etsy recently, this is a letter I sent to my Congressmen asking them to support passage of the bills that are in committee amending CPSIA. If anyone would like to use it or repost it to your own blog you're more than welcome to do so:

(This is the version I sent to my HR rep, you can use it for your senators by replacing HR 968 with S 374 and House Energy and Commerce Committee with Committee for Commerce, Science, and Transportation.)

Please support the passage of HR 968, the bill that is currently being reviewed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. This bill must not die in committee! If HR 968 is not passed the entire US children's product industry will be in danger of collapsing. Effects are already being felt, I have seen many stories of libraries and bookstores removing children's books printed before 1985 from their shelves (in some cases destroying them!), and just today I saw an article that manufacturers of motorcycles and ATVs are no longer being allowed to sell bikes or ATVs marketed to kids, or even parts to repair them. Because of lead content--it's ridiculous, what child that is old enough to ride a motorcycle is going to LICK it??? That's the only way any lead content would harm a child. The ATV industry has estimated their losses in the BILLIONS of dollars. And that doesn't even touch the second hand stores and small business crafters, many of the latter got into business because they WANT to make safe alternatives to mass produced toys and other children's products but CPSIA left as-is will put them out of business. Not because they don't want to test, but because they CAN'T AFFORD IT.

Please help us keep safe affordable children's products available to the families that need them. Regulation is good but it needs to be sensible, and CPSIA is NOT.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.....

2009-02-21T23:03:00.003-05:00

I was at McDonald's today with my mother for lunch and realized that probably 90% of what goes into their trash on a daily basis is recyclable. I mean, paper cups for drinks, paper wrappers and cardboard boxes for food items, plastic utensils and straws....it's kinda crazy if you think about it! Same thing with other fast food restaurants, coffee shops, etc (hence the pic of the Dunkin Donuts cup). I remember years ago at DD if you came in as an eat-in customer they'd give you your coffee or whatever in a regular porcelain cup or hard plastic (or even glass) glass--my sister used to work there, in fact, and brought a few of said cups home once, they had the DD logo on them and everything. Now you get paper or styrofoam no matter if you're eating in or taking out! Is this really better for them economically? Now they sell reusable cups for people to get their coffee in, would it be that hard or more expensive to offer them for one-time use of eat-in customers? "For here or to go?" is a standard question at these places when employees are taking orders, it shouldn't be too much trouble for them to pick between different types of cups depending on the answer given. Am I making sense here? At least maybe they should have recycling bins available so the recyclable stuff can be easily separated from the "real trash". IMO most people are used to recycling at home so it should be fairly simple to switch from what these establishments do now to a recycling system. It would go a long long way toward lessening the amount of stuff that ends up in landfills every year, reducing raw materials usage and cleaning up the environment in the process. And if they wanted to get REALLY environmentally friendly they could compost the food waste and either use the compost in their landscaping plans or offer it to the local community for residential use. What do you think?

Getting back to work

2009-02-19T16:01:00.009-05:00

I haven't posted anything Etsy related for a while, thought I'd show off a couple things I've recently been working on. This one with the blue and yellow stripes is for a new line I'm calling "Dan's Delights". Why? Blue and yellow are Dan Radcliffe's favorite colors. :-) It's ready to go, I just have to write up the description and get it listed. I'll probably be doing some blue and yellow flower pins like the ones I already have in my shop, not sure what else yet.

This one is for a new line I'm calling Spring Treasures, the pink and green go really well together! I think it would make a great gift for baby's first Easter. It should be done in the next couple days, I've figured out these blankets take me about 16 hours from start to finish.

It's nice to be getting back to work, the stay from CPSIA means we can breathe a sigh of relief for now, but let's make sure the reform bills that are in committee in Congress (there are similar bills in both the House and Senate) don't get stuck and die there! February 2010 will be here before we know it.

(Hey, I finally figured out how to space the pictures out in the post so they're not all at the top! Cool!)

Harry Potter stunt man injured in accident on set

2009-02-13T23:16:00.005-05:00

David Holmes (on left in picture), Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double in the Harry Potter films, was recently injured in an accident on the set of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. As of this writing it has been reported that he is in the hospital recovering from a back injury. Best wishes for a speedy recovery David! (Sorry for the watermark but it's the only pic I could find of him. There's some video of him on the special features of the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire DVD as well.)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/4420403/Harry-Potter-stuntman-David-Holmes-vows-to-return-to-work.html

Computer issues and great CPSIA news

2009-02-01T19:06:00.003-05:00

OK my laptop's been acting stupid the last few days and hasn't been letting me online long enough to do all my Entrecard drops. Today it finally seems to be back to normal, I just wanted to say thanks to all the EC bloggers who continued to drop here even though I couldn't reciprocate.

Great news in the fight to fix CPSIA! The CPSC has announced a one year stay of enforcement, meaning the law still goes into effect but they won't prosecute anyone just for not testing. That's how I understand it anyway. The fight isn't over, please continue to contact your Congressional representatives to have this law permanently changed! Senator Jim Demint will be introducing a bill this week to make permanent changes, it pretty much covers everything we want done. Please ask your congress people to vote to pass this amendment!

I have also heard that many "consumer protection" groups are calling for the firing of CPSC Acting Chairman Nancy Nord, PLEASE let your representatives know that this is NOT the right idea! I have actually gone onto www.whitehouse.gov and emailed President Obama that she deserves a REWARD for all the crap she's had to put up with through all this! IMO she deserves a raise and a vacation after all the stress and hassle this stupid law has dumped in her lap. I don't have her contact info handy but I think it would be great if we all sent her a quick note letting her know how much we appreciate her great work.

Update for some info in my previous post

2009-01-28T20:53:00.002-05:00

Just saw this on the Etsy forum, it reverses some of the info in my previous post. Keep up the fight! It seems art dolls, collectibles, and antiques are not covered by CPSIA but there is still a lot of work to be done to fix the law.

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6018734

Bloggers Unite! CPSIA Blog In

2009-01-28T20:24:00.002-05:00

(I'm really late posting this compared to others who are participating, but I wanted to do my bit to help.)

As parents and 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.

2009-01-21T08:40:00.002-05:00

I've seen quite a few blogs posting about the inauguration of Barack Obama, but none with video from the Inaugural Address. I found this on YouTube (I hope this works, otherwise I'll have to try uploading it again):

A great idea to help save handmade children's products

2009-01-16T00:53:00.002-05:00

I found this thread on Etsy, the OP there had a great idea. What if all small businesses/handcrafters/etc got together and sent something they made to President-elect Obama after he's sworn in? Maybe if a ton of handcrafted items hits Washington DC all at once the Powers That Be will finally sit up and take notice. The OP of the Etsy thread picked January 26th as the date she was going to be mailing something to the White House, I've decided I'm going to do it as well. Join us! If you make & sell children's items or have a business that sells other people's handcrafts, send something in on January 26th. The more of us do this the greater impact it will have. Here's the Etsy thread if you'd like to check it out:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5999472

Is the US headed for a depression?

2009-01-11T15:35:00.003-05:00

I found this video on www.getmoneyenergy.com while I was doing my Entrecard drops, this guy has a very interesting take on the way the US economy is going right now:

ht tp://www.getmoneyenergy.com/2009/01/peter-morici-says-were-headed-into-a-depression/

(Sorry it's just a link to the other blog, I tried posting the video itself but it didn't work.)

One of the points he makes, which I totally agree with, is the US has to normalize our trade agreement with China. China's economy is growing by leaps and bounds from the pockets of the American consumer and it's got to stop. I'm not saying "destroy China, they're evil", not by a long shot. China has a great history of wonderful art and culture. But let them grow or fail on their own merits, not on our backs. The US needs to bring our manufacturing back to our own shores so that our people can have good jobs that pay a decent wage. Let's not forget that the Chinese factories pay their workers pennies a day for the same work someone could do here and actually make a decent living. Slave labor. I think I'd better end here before I go into an incoherent rant, but hopefully you understand what I'm saying.

Even if the governments don't change anything, we as consumers can. I remember not so long ago there were commercials running on TV encouraging people to look for "Made In USA" on the products they picked up when they were shopping. We can all still do that, it may take a bit longer to find what we need but in the end it will be worth it if it helps our economy grow. Isn't it better to support our economy, even if it costs a bit more, rather than encouraging offshore companies that condone safety and human rights violations just to save a couple bucks on an inferior-quality product?

SUPPORT AMERICA. BUY HANDMADE. LOOK FOR "MADE IN USA" ON THE PRODUCTS YOU BUY.

Change.org voting isn't over yet!

2009-01-01T23:51:00.004-05:00

The petition on Change.org to fix the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act made it to #1 in it's category in the first round! That's awesome! Second round voting starts Monday, January 5th, they're zeroing out the voting totals when round 2 starts. The top 3 ideas in each category will now be going up against the top 3 of all the other categories, let's get the CPSIA petition into the overall top 10 so it will be presented to President-Elect Obama on Inauguration Day. Vote it up using the widget on the right of your screen! We can do it, save safe domestically made children's products!

Out with the old, in with the new

2009-01-01T23:33:00.002-05:00

A new year is upon us! Let's all make it the best year we can!

Another CPSIA Post

2008-12-28T15:36:00.003-05:00

Just found this link posted on one of the Etsy forum threads, thought I'd pass it along.

http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/archive/endorsement-of-the-nam-plan/

Awesome new HBP poster!

2008-12-27T12:22:00.004-05:00

I found this on a blog as I was doing my EntreCard drops today. I hadn't seen it before, I think it's really cool.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

2008-12-25T01:25:00.007-05:00

Hope everyone has an awesome Christmas! The pic here is from Christmas 2004, the production of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. If I remember right it was used as the production's Christmas card that year. Click the image to see an enlarged version.

Vote to fix CPSIA at Change.org

2008-12-20T01:16:00.003-05:00

I'll post a link here, you can also use the widget to the right...this is so important, let's all make our voices heard! As of this posting we are #1 in our category and #4 overall, this round ends Dec. 31 and round 2 is January 5th-16th. Top 3 issues in each category in round 1 go on to round 2, and top 10 of round 2 will be presented to President-Elect Obama on Inauguration Day. This top 10 will also be taken up by the non profit organizations that are partnered with change.org and given their own publicity campaign.

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia

You have to register and log in to vote, but it only takes a couple minutes. Vote and pass the link on to as many people as you can!

Happy Birthday Matthew Waterhouse!

2008-12-19T22:07:00.004-05:00

OK, I'll bet you're thinking, who the heck is Matthew Waterhouse??? When I was a kid there was a British science fiction show called Doctor Who on PBS, Matthew Waterhouse played a character called Adric. I was totally madly in love with him back then! Well, I was only maybe 10 or 12 years old, sort of a first crush thing I guess...anyway I met him back in 2003 at a convention he attended as a celebrity guest (the first Dr Who con I'd ever been to!), here's a couple pics. (I still haven't figured out how to get the pics where I want them, I meant for them to be below this text block! I see other blogs with text between pics all the time and I haven't figured it out yet....)

That's me with him in the bottom pic and my daughter (then 12, now 17) with him in the top pic. I kept pinching him when it was my turn for the pic (probably thinking "OMG somebody pinch me!"), I probably gave the poor guy a bruise! When I tried to say hi to him it came out "hello dear", afterwards I was like, OMG I made an idiot of myself! Anyway I just remembered it's his birthday today so I thought I'd post about it.

I wonder how he feels about his birthday being so close to Christmas? I've heard some people don't like it, I heard of one guy who celebrates his birthday in June instead.

Crap vol. 2, AKA Getting Personal

2008-12-19T20:52:00.003-05:00

I had originally intended this blog to be just about my crafting business, but lately it seems like I want to write more about personal stuff...pardon me if this gets whiny.....

I just feel like crap today (I think I'm overusing that word a bit, but it fits!)...snow is coming down hard and fast, we're supposed to have nearly a foot by morning...the kids have been annoying as heck today, it was announced that their schools were going to get out early due to the weather so they both decided they didn't want to go to school at all and refused to get out of bed this morning (I haven't been sleeping well lately so I was too tired to fight with them about it)....I told them they're going to be expected to help shovel and they acted like it was some totally unexpected and unfair thing--HELLO, they're 13 and 17, I think they're old enough to take some responsibility around the house! I was out shoveling by the time I was 8 years old....

Oh and then there's my ex bf......if you're on Etsy and saw my "Crappy Couple Days" post in the Etc. section of the forums you'll know what I'm talking about, not sure I should go into too much detail about it here...suffice to say I've found out some really creepy things about him and I'm really dreading seeing him at the family Christmas parties because of it....the kids know too and they're acting really weird towards him, he asked me on the phone today what's going on with them and I didn't really know what to say.

I think once I get the kids to bed I'm going to go get in bed, pull the covers over my head, and cry myself to sleep....between CPSIA potentially shutting down my business Feb. 10th and the personal crap I have going on things are just too stressful....I really would just love to, as my mom often says, move without a forwarding address! :-(

Email

Twitter (use Direct Message or @ reply, otherwise I probably won't see it)

Crap, crap, crap....

2008-12-13T22:28:00.004-05:00

The wireless access on my laptop is out, I've been trying the last couple days to do my EntreCard drops on my (turtle-slow) desktop with dialup access and the blogs I try to drop on take forever to load. I just wanted to post to let people know, normally I try to drop on everyone in my drop inbox every day but lately I really can't. Hopefully it'll be fixed soon, I'm getting really frustrated with it.

Update: I finally got it working...such a simple thing, all I had to do was uninstall the wireless network adapter and reboot the computer!

Ask President-Elect Obama to Help Fix CPSIA

2008-12-12T00:18:00.004-05:00

The Obama transition team has a website where people can post questions they want Obama to answer or issues they want him to look into when he gets into office. Go to the following link and do a search (using the search bar on the left, not the top) on CPSIA. Seven questions will come up, personally I voted for all of them. Click the check mark next to the one(s) you wish to vote for. You'll have to register and log in, but it only asks for your name, email address, and zip code. Here's the site link:

http://change.gov/page/content/openforquestions

We need as many people as possible to do this, he needs to understand how bad this law will be for the country if it's enforced as it is written.

Links with updated CPSIA info

2008-12-10T22:05:00.003-05:00

There's a new post at the Fashion Incubator website, http://www.fashion-incubator.com/blog/ with clarifications on what's going on with CPSIA. Also Etsy finally has a Storque article up, they're inviting the CPSC Ombudsman to come in for a web chat to help us understand what's happening and what we need to do. Here's the link to that: http://www.etsy.com/storque/craftivism/handmade-childrens-items-unintended-consequences-consumer-pr-3056/. There's no date set on the Etsy Labs link yet, hopefully the CPSCO will agree to come meet with us. I suppose we have to just keep checking back to see if/when something gets scheduled. IMO as many people as possible should attend said meeting, yeah we all have the same concerns but the more people come the more we can show the Ombudsman that this is serious, not just a small group of whiners trying to get away with not following the rules.

Just to break up the monotony....

2008-12-09T16:41:00.002-05:00

A little while ago I thought, gee this blog is turning into an obituary for the US children's products market....thought I'd post something to, if nothing else, cheer myself up a bit! If you've looked at my Etsy site you probably know that I donate part of my sales to Demelza House Children's Hospice, the favored charity of British actor Daniel Radcliffe. Thought I'd post some pics and recent video of the awesome young man who, while being famous as "boy wizard" Harry Potter, has gone forth in his career and will in the future be known for much greater things (yes, I'm gushing a bit!) The pics here are from the original publicity campaign for the London run of the play Equus, I have the one on the top left as the desktop wallpaper on my computer. :-) My daughter and I went to see Equus on Broadway for her birthday in September, it was awesome! I wish we could go again, we had a great time, unfortunately we can't afford it. Equus runs at the Broadhurst Theater in NYC until February 8th, I believe. You can check out the website www.equusonbroadway.com for more info.

Here's some video of Dan on Inside the Actor's Studio:

http://www.danradcliffe.co.uk/index.php/news/23-videos-dan-radcliffe-on-inside-the-actors-studio

And on E!'s Daily 10 talking about Equus, Deathly Hallows, and Twilight (speaking of Twilight, I've seen a few interviews Robert Pattinson has done--is it just me or does he always look like he just got out of bed? Check out his hair sometime.....):

http://www.danradcliffe.co.uk/index.php/news/4-post-video-dan-radcliffe-talks-deathly-hallows-equus-a-twilight

Another site with great CPSIA info

2008-12-09T16:01:00.000-05:00

http://www.thesmartmama.com/bg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=195&Itemid=23

Awesome Post!

2008-12-09T13:33:00.002-05:00

I love this post from the Etsy forum! I'll post a link to the thread too, some great info there:

LiveFromPlanetB says:

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE visit:
http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/
as well as:
http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/new-product-safety-regulations-that-affect-all-manufacturers/

A lot of us who sell on Etsy and try our best to live the independent/handmade lifestyle are going to be shutting our doors come February - and no one knows! The cost of the lab testing required by CPSIA are extrordinarily high-priced, and the methods imposed by the new legislation were not written with independent manufacturers or small businesses in mind - yet it still affects us completely.

Small, medium and large retailers are also going to be shutting down, because all old inventory has to be destroyed as it is not compliant with the new CPSIA. We really need to get the word out, this is a horrible issue that all consumers, artists, designers and manufacturers need to take action on. We need everyone who cares about small business and handmade goods to write their congresspeople, urging them to rewrite and rethink the legislation. The good people are going to suffer for the sins of mass-production evil.

Write your congressman, your congresswoman! --> http://capwiz.com/americanapparel/issues/alert/?alertid=12274476

VISIT http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/ for more in-depth info about the new regulations.

------------------------------------------------------------
Here's a link to the thread this is on, it's long but there's awesome links and info here: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5935591

Sad today

2008-12-08T14:21:00.002-05:00

I feel like I haven't been here for a few days, but I just looked and my last post was last night. I've just been so bummed out by this whole CPSIA thing, it's hard to believe the people who wrote this had no idea the true impact it would have. Earlier today I found a link to a story about a German company who is shutting down their US distribution because of CPSIA.

http://www.zrecommends.com/detail/breaking-news-selecta-to-cease-us-distribution-due-to-cspia/

It makes me want to cry!!!! Historically speaking Germany make some of the best toys in the world, and Europe's safety standards are way stricter than ours here in the US. It's just that the damned stupid testing would price their wonderful toys out of the market.

I'd been thinking about expanding my creative efforts into art (drawing/painting) and maybe pottery, but until this CPSIA thing came up I never thought I'd have to do that to REPLACE my current products!! I haven't had any new items in my shop(s) lately, and I think it's purely because the stress over this whole thing is killing my creative impulses...I haven't done any crochet work for days. :-( I struggle with depression as it is and this isn't helping!!!

A few more links to keep handy

2008-12-07T20:46:00.003-05:00

http://www.fashion-incubator.com/

This page has been a great resource for news about the CPSIA issue.

http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/smbus.html

Here's a link to the contact info for the Small Business Ombudsman of the CPSC. Someone EVERYONE should be contacting, I think.

Oh, and I found this too. I've seen comments on some forums to the effect of, what happens if we all just ignore this? With that in mind, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau might be important reading. I found a link to a website with the text of the book here.

Blog with awesome letter about CPSIA

2008-12-06T19:46:00.003-05:00

I saw this link posted on the Etsy forums today, the letter this blogger had made up is really fantastic. We all need to write to whoever we can to get across the idea that CPSIA needs to be changed. I've also added the text below.

http://mollyodesigns.blogspot.com/

I am writing on behalf of my self and other small manufacturers of children’s apparel and textile products throughout the United States to express our concerns regarding the lead and lead in paint standards as mandated by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).

We want to first emphasize that many of us are parents ourselves and care as much about the safety of our children as anyone. We welcome measures that will help to ensure greater child safety with regard to lead. However, such measures are only effective if they target the real risks.

Lead in children’s apparel and other textile products pose little risk

There is very little research to support the notion that lead in textiles presents a significant risk to children. On the contrary, in his presentation to the May 13, 2008 Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) roundtable, Understanding the Pending Legislation and the Use of Lead in Consumer Products, Mr. Hardy Poole makes the argument that the lead content in textiles is actually very low. Mr. Poole, president of the National Textile Association, is considered a leading expert in the textile industry with than 30 years of experience including working with the CPSC on fabric flammability standards.

In his presentation, Mr. Poole cited dyes, dyestuffs and pigments used in coloring fabrics as the primary source of lead in textiles and pointed out that the dyes produced by the major suppliers to the U.S. textile industry are already required to comply with the standards for trace metal impurities. These standards allow a maximum lead content of 100 ppm, which is well below the CPSC interim goal of 300 ppm and consistent with the ultimate goal of 100 ppm. Mr. Poole added that these suppliers offer no lead complex dyes and that he knows of no operation in the United States using lead-based pigments in the dyes produced for the textile industry. Currently, there is no lead added to yarns or fabrics manufactured domestically. Regarding imported textiles, Mr. Poole indicated that the testing of imported fibers and fabrics reveal none or only trace levels of lead.

It is important for the CPSC to recognize that the majority of the materials used to manufacture apparel and other textile products are inherently lead-free. Textiles (both synthetic and natural) and thread are inherently lead-free. While trace elements may be found in some dyes, those amounts are well below the regulatory limits and the consensus in the industry is that lead is not found in or used in textile dyes. Even if trace materials existed in the materials used to produce the textiles, very little would remain on finished fabrics because of the low application levels and the washing that occurs during processing.

Without prudent regulation and clear guidance from the CPSC, the CPSIA will result in unintended and devastating consequences to manufacturers of children’s products that pose little to no risk of lead exposure to children.

The costs of unnecessary testing and its impact on our businesses:

Requiring expensive tests on inherently lead-free products to verify that they, in fact, don’t contain lead will only add financial burdens to small manufacturers and ultimately consumers – most of whom are already suffering from the current economic climate – while providing no improvement in consumer or product safety.

We recognize that some types of children’s apparel contain components that may contain lead. However, metal, painted plastic, and vinyl components in children’s apparel (painted and/or metal buttons, snaps, zippers, decals, etc.) are adequately regulated under the requirements for third party testing for lead in paint.

The CPSC has the authority to exclude components and classes of products from the lead ban. Accordingly, we urge the CPSC to issue guidance that makes clear that textiles and apparel are only subject to the lead and lead in paint requirements to the extent that a component presents a risk that it contains lead.

We are also concerned about the apparent requirement to test the component – both as a stand alone component and also as an element of the entire garment. This redundancy greatly multiplies the cost associated with testing.

For example, the cost of digestive testing for lead is in the range of $130 to $180 per test. A garment with two metal component parts, such as a zipper and snaps, would have to test each component separately at a cost of $360. Previously, a small manufacturer might have been spread these costs out over several styles by incorporating the same zippers and snaps into several styles. Let’s assume a manufacturer produces 10 styles. Now, with new regulations that require testing of each component part after it is removed from a sample garment, one in each style, the costs of testing increase dramatically to $3,600.

These costs multiply exponentially if companies are now required to test fabrics and threads for lead, or if different dyes also trigger their own lead tests. Going back to the previous example, if each style contains six components – body fabric, lining, knit cuff, thread, snap, and zipper, as well as 5 possible dye options – the number of tests increases to more than 300, or $108,000 to for just 10 styles in addition to the actual costs of production. Any small manufacturer that survives these costs – and there aren’t many of us that can – will necessarily have to pass them on to our customers. So, consumers end up on the losing end, too.

CPSC should exempt lead testing for those components and articles that are inherently lead-free and require testing for only those components that may contain lead.

And, what do we do with our inventories? In its September 12 memorandum in which CPSC general counsel advised that “products that contain lead above the limit set in the CPSIA cannot be sold from inventory or on store shelves on or after February 10, 2009.”

Many of us operate on extremely small margins. We cannot sell the merchandise we currently have in stock that we made prior to the standards ever having been approved, nor can we afford the testing required for each and every component of a finished product on top of the cost for testing the finished product – the vast majority of which are inherently lead-free or only present trace levels of lead, well below unsafe or regulatory limits. Requiring us to dispose of all our inventory and imposing huge testing costs on producing new inventory to replace it will force many of us to shut down our operations for good.

What happens to us will effect the U.S. Economy

Based on an analysis of 2002 U.S. Census data, which is the most current available for the apparel manufacturing industry, the Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing industry, which includes most categories of small manufacturers of infant’s and children’s apparel, is comprised of more than 40,000 companies. Of these, almost 28,000, or 68%, are sole proprietors contributing a total of $900 million to our nation’s economy. Thus, while our businesses are small, they comprise well more than the majority of the apparel manufacturing businesses currently operating in this country.

In addition to small manufacturers who work with apparel industry contractors, consider also the numerous home-based businesses that produce children’s apparel and sell directly to the consumer. These businesses are best characterized as “micro-manufacturers” who commonly produce several styles but in very small quantities. For these businesses to test for lead in every textile component of each and every style would exponentially increase the costs to produce a garment, which would effectively raise the price well beyond what the market will bear. They simply cannot survive these costs.

While it is important to ensure compliance under the CPSIA, at the same time, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) must also ensure that implementation of consumer product safety standards does not involve burdensome requirements or extraordinary costs.

Unfortunately, by exempting this rulemaking from the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act and the Regulatory Flexibility Act, which would require the CPSC to prepare and make available for public comment an initial regulatory flexibility analysis that describes the impact of the lead content testing rule on small apparel manufacturing businesses, Congress has circumvented the public discourse necessary to truly ascertain the CPSIA’s impact on small business. As written, the CPSIA ignores the wide variety of small business models that comprise the children’s apparel manufacturing industry and the fact that the majority are indeed small businesses.

Every small manufacturer of children’s apparel shares the goal of the CPSC – ensuring that only safe products are permitted to reach the consumer. We believe this is best achieved by implementing and enforcing the CPSIA (specifically the lead and lead in paint standards) in a manner that focuses on risks.

Although I am sending this letter to you as an individual, I can assure you that these comments share the support of many others who, like me, want to continue providing necessary and safe products to American consumers. While we believe there are some components in textile and apparel products that may fall under the lead standards, we believe the vast majority of products and components are inherently lead-free and should thus be excluded from the standards.

We urge the CPSC to issue guidance that makes clear that textiles and apparel are only subject to the lead and lead in paint requirements to the extent that a component presents a risk that it contains lead.

Sincerely, [Your name or business name]

Another CPSIA blog

2008-12-05T23:00:00.000-05:00

http://grecowoodcrafting.wordpress.com/

Another blog about CPSIA

2008-12-04T16:10:00.001-05:00

Here's another great blog you can follow to get more information about CPSIA:

http://cpsiabadforsmallbusiness.blogspot.com/

Link to Facebook Group re CPSIA

2008-12-03T19:29:00.002-05:00

I'm not on FaceBook myself but if anyone reading this is there's a group there trying to mobilize support for the movement to get CPSIA changed. Here's the link:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38306568596

CPSIA Will Destroy Handmade Movement For Children's Goods!!!

2008-12-03T18:23:00.003-05:00

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, in reaction to the spate of recalls of toys manufactured in China, passed a law intended to protect children called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). On the face of it this is a good thing, however the testing requirements outlined in the Act will be cost prohibitive for most (possibly all) small business owners. Even some larger businesses are freaking out about it! (See the links to Rick Woldenberg's comments at a CPSC conference here (http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/). There's another great article about the situation here (http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/national-bankruptcy-day/).

I will continue to post links to articles as I find them. This legislation will adversely affect the public's ability to buy safe products for their children, because the only people who will be selling anything will be the scofflaws who won't care about keeping their products safe. Those of us who DO care will be put out of business because we can't afford the required testing.

PLEASE, if you care about buying safe handmade articles for your children, do everything you can to fight this! For starters, there's a petition here (http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA/?e), if you believe in this issue please sign it and pass it on to as many people as possible. There's also a link on the National Bankruptcy Day website to contact the CPSC, if enough people complain about this to them hopefully they'll do something to fix this. You can also contact your Senators and Representatives in Congress to impress upon them the seriousness of this issue.

New items up on Etsy and new shop on ShopHandmade.com

2008-12-03T00:50:00.003-05:00

Got a few new items up on Etsy, check them out on http://ruthscreations.etsy.com. Also I just started another shop on www.shophandmade.com (heck, the more the merrier, right?), I'm still putting things up there but if you'd like to check it out here's the link: http://www.shophandmade.com/Store/Ruthscreations

Have a great day!

New Listing Up!

2008-11-29T17:00:00.003-05:00

More Crocheted Flowers! Different color this time, I'm working on expanding the line.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17928269

Black Friday-Cyber Monday Sale!

2008-11-26T16:23:00.003-05:00

I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop, 30% off all items. Sale ends Wednesday, December 3rd at midnight. Come see!

http://ruthscreations.etsy.com

It's been a while!

2008-11-19T07:29:00.003-05:00

Yeesh, it's been a few days since I posted! Wireless service on my laptop was out and dialup is slow as molasses here. Anyway, I've signed up for a few spots on On The Hour, one is at 8am est/dst (in about half an hour) and I have consecutive spots tomorrow 8am-5pm. You can check the site out at this link: http://etsy.ownthehour.com/

Items newly listed today

2008-11-07T16:37:00.007-05:00

I got a couple new items listed today and just wanted to share them. (Hurray, the phone's working again!)

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17025690

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17039423

Sick kids and no phone service today!

2008-11-06T22:56:00.005-05:00

My son threw up on the bus yesterday morning and was brought back home, he stayed home sick today as well. Whatever he has my dd caught it too, she stayed home today too. It was an oddly quiet day, we realized at about noon that the phone was dead! We called the phone company and they said they didn't have anyone available to come out until tomorrow afternoon at around 5pm. Oh well, thank goodness for cellphones! At least I have a laptop on broadband wireless service so I can get online, I'm not cut off from working on my Etsy shop listing and promoting my items. It's kind of frustrating when you pick up the phone and there's just dead air though. Anyway, I got this listed today:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16994907

Here's a pic, this listing is the pink one I have another listing up for the red one:

(The pic is still ending up at the top of the post! Still figuring this stuff out I guess.)

Fun Sale Thread on Etsy Forums

2008-11-06T07:36:00.002-05:00

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5894847

Come join us, it's great!

OBAMA WINS!!!!!!

2008-11-05T13:58:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to President-Elect Barack Obama! After eight years on a downhill slope we now have hope that our great country will be a better place in the future. I am proud to be among the millions of people who voted for you. :-)

New Listing Up and Cool News

2008-11-03T23:46:00.005-05:00

Got another new hat listed today, pretty similar to the others I've put up recently.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16907367

Hmm, let's see if I can get a picture up....Hey cool it worked! I was kind of expecting it to be at the bottom of the text though, ah well I'm still figuring this whole blogging thing out. And the cool news I referenced in the title? Well, I know I haven't mentioned it before on this but I am a huge fan of a British Science Fiction TV show called Doctor Who. One of the many conventions that are run by fans of the show is actually a once a year cruise, the website is www.scificruise.com. There's a guy called Nick Courtney that was on the show years ago, has done many conventions in the past. He was actually on the first SFSC I ever did, and he's going to be on it again in April! :-) Very cool for me, my daughter and I are going and it's going to be 10 (8? not sure) days in the deep eastern Caribbean, Puerto Rico, down that way. It's going to be tons of fun, I can tell already! When we met him before he was a really lovely guy.

Neat!

2008-11-02T21:13:00.001-05:00

OMG I have 800 followers on Twitter! How cool is that??

Interview Link!

2008-11-02T18:35:00.001-05:00

OK I've sent in the interview I mentioned in my last post, it will be up at this link soon:

http://www.binasblog-sabina.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

How exciting is this!

2008-11-02T09:06:00.002-05:00

I'm being interviewed for someone else's blog! Watch this space for more info! :-)

New listing is up!

2008-11-01T14:31:00.004-04:00

The problem with categories and views has been fixed, and I just now listed a new hat! http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16816038 here it is, and there's also a pic of it in my Etsy Mini, as of this posting it's on the left side of the top row. Enjoy!

Etsy search malfunctioning

2008-11-01T12:11:00.002-04:00

There's a lot of buzz on the Etsy forums right now that categories are frozen and sellers' newly listed items aren't showing up in searches. I've been trying to list something every day recently, but I think I'm going to take a break for a while until Etsy Admin gets the problem sorted out. There's already a pretty good selection available on my shop page at RuthsCreations.Etsy.Com, come check it out! :-)

I love Etsy!

2008-11-01T01:14:00.003-04:00

I'm doing my Christmas shopping for this year on www.Etsy.com. Gotta support my fellow creative peeps! Heehee peeps, makes me think of marshmallow chicks....anyway here's some links for the items I bought so far.

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=11357277 MoonMaidenSoap's Goat's Milk Soap, the scent I chose was Mint Chocolate. Sounds yummy!

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=11357010 ByeGoneArts' Handwritten Celtic Calligraphy. I know someone who will truly love this!

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=11357009 AutumnOak's Oakmoss Glycerin Soap. Hope the intended recipient likes it!

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=11357008 StonesOfHealing's Stress Be Gone necklace. The intended recipient has been under a lot of stress lately, I hope it helps her. Heck, another was listed after I purchased it, I may get one for myself!

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=11356815 KnottyByNature's Linoprint Bookmarks. I know an avid reader who could really use these!

I haven't quite figured out how to post pictures, I'm pretty new to this whole blogging thing. Anyway you can see everything via the links. Enjoy!