Amber beads

I heard about these amber bead necklaces that are used for helping teething babies from a friend at a recent La Leche League meeting. I've got a teething one right now and the drool is killing me. Supposedly the amber sap resin released tiny amounts of a something that helps with pain. So teething babies are supposed to feel better and not so grumpy. So I found these amber necklaces on from etsy seller InspiredbyFinn and ordered one and it came not even a whole 2 days later.

My baby wore it for two days and seemed to be doing better, so I did some more research on these beads and other things they were used for and thought I might let my son who gets an allergy headache just about everyday try it out. He says that he doesn't get a headache while wearing it, so I ordered a couple more so I could let the baby have hers back and have a spare in case someone misplaced theirs. They will all be here tomorrow so everyone can have their necklace back and get to feeling better at the same time!

Ohhhh

I should have checked earlier, but I spend my etsy time either listing stuff (or editing my typos!) or searching the forums from pearls of wisdom from other etsy sellers.

So I thought I might sweep up a bit (many of my favorites have apparently expired as evidenced by empty boxes where listings once were) and check my feedback real quick. I am so glad I did because it just made me so happy to see that the people I have done business with are pleased with my work. Here's just a few of the really sweet things they have said:

• Absolutely stunning! The fabric is beautiful the stitches are strong and well done. The Instructions are easy to follow. I love it thank you so much!!

• super fast shipping and is so adorable

• The necklaces are SOOO-O BEAUTIFUL! They are above and beyond my expections! Thank you so much for such beautiful products and excellent service!

• Wow! Got a super impressive package from this seller today! As well as the cute clippies I bought, I got a pretty matching bonus item, nice decorated thank you business card, all in a gift box, safely packaged up in a plastic bag inside a bubble envelope! Who could ask for more! Babymoon was already on my favorites list and is staying there! Thank you!!!

• Amazing! Just as ordered. Thanks so much.

Anyway, it just makes me all gushy! Now I'm off to make more wonderful things for you!! Thanks for the lovely feedback!

Make your own baby sling Fast and Easy

I love to make and sell baby slings. It seems that all babies are happier if they are carried, but sometimes mama's arms get tired (amazing how heavy those tiny babies get!) Most of the time, though, I prefer to tell people how to make their own if they sew because they are so incredibly simple. Plus, if I tell you how to do it then I don't have to spend extra time sewing, packing, printing wearing instructions, and shipping them off.

Here for you today I am sharing how I make a baby sling. Granted, there are lots of other tutorials out there for making baby slings, but I'm not any good at following directions, so here is the way I do it.

1. Hem the long sides of a piece of fabric that is 42-45 inches wide by 2 and 1/2 yards using a narrow hem. The fabric I like best for slings is a slightly stretchy woven cotton poplin.

2. Hem one of the short sides.

3. Fold the unhemmed short side with pleating it across the width so that it ends up about 4 to 6 inches wide. Replace your needle with a size 14 or 16 sharp needle. Baste the pleating down. Serge across the end to neaten it up if you want.

4. Stuff that end into two welded stainless steel rings (get them at Lowes in the hardware aisle for $0.79 each, fold over and sew down with three lines of stitching. Go slow because there is a LOT of fabric under the needles here. You may consider wearing safety glasses. (Actually, my sewing machine manual recommends that I wear safety glasses anyway). Make sure everything is all smooth so that you don't sew extra tucks on the right side of the fabric.

So there you are. Put it on (there are some great sling wearing instructions here, as well as different ways to make other baby carriers) and then you're done!