Monsta Pouches

I finally started crafting again. (yay!)

Sparklicious Baby Bibs

Hey everyone! I've been asked (and begged) many times to make more vinyl bibs. Although I will not be selling them in the long term as it would mean I would have to sink some serious cash into my small operation. As much as I would love to do that, it just isn't meant to be at this time. HOWEVER, I will be taking orders for them through the month of August. Please drop me an email if you wish to place an order.

I very unfortunately lost my portfolio during one of my computer crashes. If you click my etsy shop you can see exaples of my work in my sold link. My current bibs have improved even more. They now have a snap up bottom that forms a pocket to catch crumbs. It unsnaps to make cleaning the pocket easier.

My prices are $10 for a plain bib and $12 for a bib with a design. Shipping is $2 first class mail.

My Available Colors:
hot pink
purple
red
royal blue
sky blue
emerald green
lime green
yellow
copper
orange
silver
black
white

Design options:
rocketship
egg and bacon
cupcake
ice cream cone
peas and carrots
banana
apple
cherries
pickle
steak
ham
2 racing stripes
star
elephant

The Painful Learning Process

Sigh.

I've been on a hiatus for ages now. No crafting, no etsy, no nothin'. I've had lots of life going on around here to keep me from jumping back into the business, but I miss creating and SELLING! A few days ago I decided it was time to recommit to my creating, crafting, and to learning the business side of things. I set out to read everything that I could get my eyes with a goal to improve my terrible photos and complete lack of business sense. I read until my eyes were dried up little peas and my brain a twitching mass of gelatin. A week later....my photos? Still crap. My understanding of business and marketing? Bah!

Who knew growth could be so stinkin' painful? I think for the time being I'm just going back to what I do well...makin' the stuff.

The Home Stretch!

We are entering the home stretch! The stuffies are starting to pile up. Girl Scout has worked very hard at this project and I am so proud of her! We will be collecting stuffies through May 31st so it's not too late. Just drop me an email and we will work out pick up details.

Stuffies

I've had a few questions about what to make so I thought I'd provide a few links with examples and free patterns for you.

Here is a wonderful example on the Martha Stewart website of using children's drawings as stuffie patterns. http://www.marthastewart.com/article/material-world

Here is another site with many free stuffie patterns. http://tipnut.com/sweet-softies/

And last but not least....http://allcrafts.net/sewing/stuffedanimalssewing.htmanimalssewing.htm

Abby has been working on making her own patterns and I hope to have those posted in the next day or two.

Junior Girl Scout Gets Crafty for the Community

Hi everyone,
Miss Ab has been working very hard on earning her bronze award. Her final community service project is to make and collect hand-crafted plushies or dolls to give to the children who use Family Support Network's services. They do in-home, family therapy for free with families who are at risk for child abuse and neglect. You can check it out at familysupportnet.org. I personally like that they are not only trying to stop child abuse, but working towards fixing the family.
Every kid needs a little something to hug, but these kids could probably use a little somethin' extra so make sure an extra dose of love goes into those!
**Please note that the deadline for materials is the 15th and for finished plushies is the 31st.**

Hi, I’m Abigail Ammon (Sarah Ammon is my mom.) I’m junior girl scout and I’m working on my Girl Scout Bronze award project. I have to provide community service to earn it. So I’m working with Kelly Hoags of Family Support Network. Last year they provided 600 kids with free therapy. We’re making stuffies for those kids. You can donate little stuffed animals or dolls, they can be sewn, crocheted or knitted, as long as they’re washable. Most of the children served are 6-9 years, but we ask that eyes are sewn on or safety-eyes are used to avoid a choking hazard. You can also donate materials, like fabric, yarn, or thread. Were also having a Plushie-making party, where you can come and make plushies with us in party form. (making them ourselves will only make them so much awesomer.) Details for the plushie party will be coming soon! Contact my mom if you want to do anything from above, and pass this message on to your peeps. J J J J J J

At Long Last

Finally! We have moved into our permanent home and are starting to settle in. It has been a bigger struggle than I had thought it would be so I am extending my craft hiatus. I will be back to doing local shows this spring and have plans for new things so be sure to check back in! In the mean time here are a few things I have posted in my etsy shop.

Long Overdue Update

We have been in the process of selling our home and moving into temporary housing. Things have been extremely grueling and I had to back out of two shows. I am thrilled to hear that people were asking about me! We are still working on finding a permanent home and hope to be fully moved by Thanksgiving.
I will be at the last Tower Grove Farmer's Market on October 24th and the Rock n Roll Craft Show Thanksgiving weekend. I hope to be back full force after the New Year.

In Limbo

I'd truly hoped to begin updating this blog on a regular basis.
We are trying desperately to get our house ready to put on the market as soon as possible so everything else has fallen to the wayside.
I hope that by September things will be up and running on a more regular basis!

To Market to market...

I will be at the Tower Grove Farmer's market this Saturday (June the 13th) along with my husband James of Fatt Daddy Leather and Alecia of Senora Muertos. My kiddos will also be there selling their wares as well. Hope to see you there!

Abba Dabba Art

Abby brought her handmade greeting cards under the name Abba Dabba Art. This kids draws non-stop, all over everything including her workbooks. She has always dreamed of making some money like the kids do in the old TV shows delivering papers, walking dogs, or selling lemonaide, but times are different and our neighborhood is a little scary. With that said I told her that she could use her art talents to try to make a little money so she purchased an American Girl craft business kit and got down to some serious work.

I'm really proud of her. She worked hard and it paid off. She sold 14 cards and was on cloud nine for days afterwards. She will be bringing more to our next market date on June 13th.

Funkey Monkey Designs

Sam brought her shrinky dink charms to the market under the name Funkey Monkey Designs. She is right up there with her big sis in wanting to not only create (constantly), but also to make money. I have to say that I am quite proud of them for striving to make their own money by WORKING for it not expecting it to be handed to them. She was a little disappointed at her sales, but she got a lot of good feedback on her work. We are using this as a learning experience and she is already coming up with great ideas such as making earrings and necklaces instead of charms. I'm really proud of her and can't wait to see what she comes up with. I'll also be asking her to make me a sew of sprinkle donut earrings!

To Market!

Saturday May 9th is the opener for the Tower Grove Farmer's Market!
I will be vending with my husband www.fattdaddyleather.blogspot.com
and best friend www.senoramuertos.blogspot.com.
Come on down for locally grown produce, music food and of course artisan vendors!
You can check out www.tgmarket.org for more information.

More Barrettes.....

Cinco De Mayo

I'll be vending at the St. Louis Cinco de Mayo festival this Saturday, May 2nd.
Come on down and check out the St. Louis Craft Mafia tent in front of Cranky Yellow on Cherokee street. We will be there from 11am-10pm.
Check out http://www.cincodemayostl.com/ for more information. You just can't beat Mexican music, food and margaritas!

Here's a sampling of what I will be bringing.

New Rock n Roll wristlet for the etsy shop.

New Love.......

My new love....amigurumi!

(I think it's Japanese for little crocheted things)

My grandma taught me how to crochet some basic stitches, a granny square and a zigzag afgan. I never did much with it and never learned how to read patterns. My sister taught herself how to crochet the cutest little critters and in turn taught me. They are surprisingly easy to make. I'm thinking there will be many more of these goofy little things appearing in the near future!

New beginnings

I've been putting a lot of thought to what direction I want to take with House Shoe Mama. I loved making things for kids, but due to those pesky cspia laws I think it's time to switch gears. I'm going back to my first love....purses...mmmm. The creative juices are flowing again and I've got lots of ideas that I want to try. It's warm outside, the birds are chirping, everything is blooming and I finally have craft ideas.....things are looking up.

CSPIA laws

The whole craft world is abuzz with discussions of the new cspia laws that have been passed and will take affect February 10th. In short, a law has been passed saying that all manufactures of items for children under the age of 12 must have all of their products tested for lead by a third party. It does not matter what you make because the law covers EVERYTHING, not just toys. I will be one of the first ones to say that I am all for strict safety standards for our children's toys! However, instead of focusing on the foreign imports and supply companies as it should, it is now saying that we will have to test every one of our products that we put out, regardless of whether our suppliers have documented proof that they are free from lead. This means that in my case that I would have to have every color of the vinyl I use for my baby bibs tested. So far I have heard that $70 is the absolute rock bottom price for this service, but it sounds like many are encountering prices running in the thousands. I use about 12 different colors so thats about $840. That may not sound too bad to some, but then you need to think about the fact that every time I buy a new piece of vinyl I have to have it retested all over again. I will have to stop selling children's items. This law should be overturned and rewritten so that it will target those who were the offenders in the first place. Or maybe we should just stop allowing things to be imported from countries who's governments don't even give a crap about the safety of their own people and environment let along ours. The last I heard, craft supplies and fabrics, with the exception of those made for stained glass, aren't even available in this country.
As a whole, that handmade market place is full of items that came about because of a need for more safe, wholesome children's items. Many of us were sick of hearing the reports of lead in the toys. However, the handmade world exploded not only because of the fear of unsafe toys, but because we are sick of the lame choices that companies offer us! How many more screetching, battery-power-sucking, supposed brain enriching toys do our babies really need? Do I really want my kids playing with lead laden baby hooker dolls? How many more of us were sick of having our kids clothing and shoe choices be limited to the latest Nick Jr, Disney or PBS characters?
Crafters you rock! I am amazed at how creative and resourceful you are. You offer alternatives to the mundane, unsafe and just plain stupid choices that are offered to us. I am really PROUD to say that I am a part of this movement. Keep fighting this! We may be down, but we're not out!

Hello! I'm a stay-at-home mama with four kiddos whom I homeschool. I love to craft. Crafting keeps me sane amidst the mountains of laundry, school papers, dirty diapers and other chaos.