Crafting? Who has time for crafting?

Sometimes having a wide range of hobbies is a bad thing. I walk into my sewing room, and realize that in order to sew I have to put up the bead box and the glue gun for the hair clippies I was making, and then I have to move around the overflowing basket of felt that the kids can cut and sew with. At some point in there the wiggle eyes fall out of their package again and I have to put them all back in before doing anything else, then I have to go get a ziploc from the kitchen to put them in. If I come out of the sewing room, one of the six children needs something to eat or something to drink or something to do ("Can I have just 10 more minutes on the computer to finish this game?"). Then I need to find a sling so I can go back to the sewing room and feed the baby at the same time. Back in the sewing room I find a few orphan pattern pieces and remember that I said I'd organize a sewing room, so I head back to the computer, promising the small internet junkie child of mine that I'll just be a minute, and yes, he can have 2 extra minutes on the timer, send out the email and resist the temptation to receive any new messages right now. After the orphan pattern pieces are put into the basket designated for other orphan pattern pieces I find the chinese coin pendants we were looking at while we studied 18th century Chinese history and remember that the boys want cool necklaces out of them, so the bead box comes back up to the sewing table and a suitable cord is found for them, but no matching cord crimps to match the pendant or the necklace clasps, so a mental note is make to visit the giganto hobby store in the next week or so to get something to match, and the bead box is put back up. Then the cotton yarn that the toddler undid last year is moved out of the way, because now is not the time to rewind it into balls because it would have to be untangled first. So instead the 15 pieces of fabric from the last several sewing projects are either put back onto the shelf or into the scrap bag for the lady who quilts.

Can I sew yet? No, the baby needs a new diaper and the toddler is awake from her nap. And someone needs to cook supper. Wasn't the 21st century supposed to have those cool instant food pills or some kind of Star Trek gadget that did the cooking for you? Maybe I need one of those before I need a new sewing machine or set of crochet hooks or wire crimpers or more stencil templates or red paint or scrapbook paper! One day if I get it all organized in there I can get something completed during a naptime!

I suppose I could just let the toddler loose with a spoon of nutella - that would keep at least one person busy for 10 minutes or so....

New by babymoon

Hooray! I finally got my pattern pretty enough for sale on etsy for my Ruffle Back Skirt! There are instructions in this pattern to make a skirt for ANY size! The emphasis on the pattern is for little girls, although some of you may be brave, daring, cute or whatever enough to wear ruffles down your backside. I prefer to live vicariously through my daughters! I've had several people let me know that they have made it for babies all the way through early teenagers, and they have all loved it! Check it out and let me know what you think!

Pretty stuff for moms

My opinion is that anybody offended by breastfeeding is staring too hard. ~David Allen

I'm telling you, this stuff you find on Etsy is amazing. I found this pendant from etsy seller suchprettycolors. She has many many other pendants, and a whole series of breastfeeding pendants.

Wouldn't this be a great gift for mother's day or for any new mom you know? Pretty, and pretty cool!

Gratuitous chubby baby pictures

Molly (our baby #6!) at 3.5 months.
Just a little chunk of love!

Extra links on my blog

In trying to understand how the google ads work, as well as attempting to drive traffic here as well as etsyward, I went ahead and added the google ads. If they get too weird I'll remove the service from adsense, but on other blogs they don't seem to obtrusive. This first one just looks like a plea for hurricane relief, (still?), but I'm ok with that. Apparently I'm not yet a "catch" to be eligible for blogging services like payperpost. Maybe in a few weeks!

Navigating Etsy and Getting to Know the Sellers

One of the fun things about Etsy is the ease in connecting with other buyers and sellers. When you want to know more about the handmade product you are purchasing, check out the seller's profile. and shop home page. If you want to shop from someone in your local area you can click the shop local tool on the Etsy home page, just keep in mind that you may have to pay local state sales tax in addition to shipping! But it's a fun way to find other sellers local to you or nearby.

Just want to see what the sellers and buyers are yakking about today? Head over to the Etsy forums where you can listen in on the conversations of the sellers, eavesdrop on what the buyers are looking for, and interact with Etsy admin. It's better than wandering around the mall just staring at people! Many of the sellers run special sales for people in the forums, mentioning a secret code that you can convo them with for a little something extra. In the US, the forums are busiest in the evenings and Saturday and Sunday nights. If you are really feeling chatty try the chat rooms, where buyers and sellers discuss everything under the sun as well as peek inside each other's shops and see what goodies are on the plate.

What, you just have a quick question for the seller of the item you are thinking about? Contact the seller with a "convo" by clicking contact under the seller's shop avatar. Etsy will send this message to the seller's regular email address so that you get a quick answer. Don't worry about bugging them - the beauty of handmade is that there are REAL people behind each of the shops who have time to answer your questions and make sure you are happy!

Still confused by Etsy? Look in the FAQ's for real answers to any other questions you might have, or just convo me! If I don't know the answer, I'll do my best to find it for you!

Please pass the biscuits

Fresh hot biscuits, so tender they don't even need butter (well, it's already in there!). I found THE perfect biscuit recipe yesterday when I turned to my handy, most-loved, and most convenient cookbook of late, the internet!

We're not eating shortening anymore, thanks to this book, which we checked out from our local library and which my children have now memorized. The good thing about that book is that we don't have to go to that place with the meals-that-don't-really-make-you-happy anymore. But it puts a cramp on some of our favorite meals, like Chicken Fried Steak (which we now cook in sunflower oil, but we still don't have it too often) or more importantly, biscuits. I can't eat the things in the can. Well, I might be able to if there wasn't anything else. But I've always made a decent biscuit, but have for the last several years been bothered by the necessity of shortening (aka, hydrogenated vegetable oil) in any recipe that comes out decently.

Well, on the internet I found a terrific blog called Homesick Texan, where the perfect biscuit recipe is posted. It's actually one of the most popular posts on her blog, and after making it last night I can see why. Butter is used instead of the shortening, adding more flavor than the shortening would and keeping us away from the nasty trans-fats. We didn't "beat" ours, like she does, because the baking powder does its job making them rise just fine, but on a particularly stressful day we might beat them just to get some tension out.

Now, just don't tell me what's in Cracker Barrel's biscuits. These are better, anyway. What, you like the ones in a can? Alright, try these anyway. It'll change your mind for sure.

Umm, there's no picture because we ate them all. Yeah, they were good!

Horsing around

It's been all horses here - or rather hey-hee's as the one-who-is-not-yet-two calls them. Horses for the birthday girls this week, horses for a pattern I'm finalizing, horses in the yard for pictures, horses, a certain horsey shirt that gets worn the very minute it's out of the laundry.... You get the idea.

Well, to celebrate all of that, a certain horse was added to my etsy shop this weekend. Take a peek at him and let me know what you think!

Promoting Etsy

I still need to upload some things to pretty up this blog, like the Buy Handmade Button and my etsy mini. I'm too tired tonight, but I needed to give my blog a little hug just to let it know I still cared. Reminding myself to do it soon!

Treasury

Catching an open spot in the Treasury is a thrill! Many people pick their treasuries by color or texture, or by other themes. I don't have an obsession with guitars, it was just on my mind the other night. I just get these songs in my head and can't get them out. If I ever get another one it might be about blackbirds or the pies they get baked in.

You can click here to actually see the treasury and comment on it at etsy, but only until Monday night sometime.

Raison d'etre

This blog is to feature my babymoon boutique store at etsy and to promote the other etsy sellers I meet and interact with. I will show you some great treasures I find at etsy and introduce some lovely people I think you will be pleased to purchase handcrafted items from.