Value Sets

I thought that I blogged about this already, but scrolling down I don't see it - I must have just thought about blogging about it. I am now offering Value Sets of my Organic Teething Bonbons® in my Etsy store. Value Sets are also available with in person or email sales, of course.


Value Set of 2

Many people buy at least 2 bonbons so that they can have one on the go while the other is in the wash or the freezer. Ourselves, we have 3 Bonbons that Little R. regularly rotates through (still, at 2 1/2 yrs!). Helping keep track of the Bonbons is one of the reasons I use three different thread colours for the decorative stitch lines.


Value Set of 3

Never fear, individual Organic Teething Bonbons® will always be available.

5 second rule no more.

Earlier this week I found a red plastic mailer resting on the threshold between my screen door and the front door - small enough for the letter carrier to deliver it, but too big to go through the mail slot. I knew immediately what it was by the weight and feel, okay, and by the return address label too. My new ORGANIC cotton product labels!!



I've been working with a company in Washington state who prints organic cotton labels - perfect and necessary for my organic soft toys and teethers. I love everything about these labels - they are clear and informative, soft and safe - and handy. Take the Teething Bonbon label for example: parents can slip a soother leash through the loop of the label, clip it onto their child, and presto - no more bonbons on the ground. Now, that's seriously handy.

This week Lynda, my Teething Bonbon queen, will sew the first batch of 85 with the new labels - I'll take some pics to show you here, then look for the new addition in stores and online within a couple of weeks.

A Sweet Mention

This morning I woke up to a lovely treat in my inbox - a fantastic mention in the Boston edition of Daily Candy Kids. This is a delicious honour as Daily Candy is incredibly, and I mean incredibly, well read!

While Papa Works

Little R. and I do this:




Devon took this awesome photo and blogged about it too, so you can go there for more wintery pics. We had such a lovely morning with Devon and her children. Little R. really connected with V & E, and I had some good catch up time with Devon including a needle felting lesson! Dev thinks I'm going to become some pro-needle felter, but I'm not sure - there are so many people making beautiful needle felted creations I don't know if I'll get the knack.


Acorns found in this Etsy shop.

One of my intentions for this year it to spend more time with Devon and her family, I find time with her restful and recharging and inspiring, and there's always something fun and magical to do in the wilds of a small property on southern Vancouver Island. Thanks, D. Superdupes!

Gentle Inspiration

I am a really, really creative person - as far back as I can remember I have always crafted something from nothing or other bits of something. Creativity has also been the driving force behind my spirituality - particularly in leadership and program development, and creating authentic ways for people to connect to the holy. Finding ways for my spiritual self to live in the what has become the rush of my creative endeavours has been challenging. Finding ways for my creativity to thrive while learning about small business management, spreadsheets, toy safety, trademark and patents, importing/exporting laws, ETC!, has been even more so.

The past months have been so successful - not monetarily! I'm no closer to retiring than I was when I started the organic soft toy collection, but one day, one day! - and everything has happened so quickly that when December came I knew that I would need a break. I took two weeks off from the sewing machine over Christmas and decided that this January would be time for me to regroup spiritually and creatively, to make some plans and space for balance, joy and the sacred. We have a set of steep stairs in our new house and when Ruby navigates them I remind her "slow and steady, slow and steady". I know that I'm reminding myself too - it's so easy to get sucked into the rushing, capitalistic merry-go-round of being an entrepeneur, and that's not exactly where I want to be. And it's not the playground I want Dress Me Up to exist in. By the end of my holiday events and last-minute Christmas orders, I felt weary and terribly uncreative and needing inspiration.



So, I asked for the book "The Creative Family" by Amanda Soule. I didn't get it, and that's okay - I bought it for myself on a delightful late night bookstore trip without husband or child. Sometimes, a lot of the time, I have to do these things for myself, by myself and that is part of recharging too. I have been reading a few pages of the book every night, and every night I have something exciting to tell Nathaniel even when he's got the pillow over his eyes to keep out the light. There are so many simple things from Amanda's writing that are sparking new energy in me, and she shares invitations into simple, family creativity that I can't wait to bring into my own family's life. She also offers many things that are a gentle reminder of a creative truths that I already know, and that's an affirmation of the creative life I have lead and am leading as mother and artist.

Warm thanks, Amanda Soule.

Happy New Year, All!

We're just returned home from our holiday in Seattle, it was lovely spending time with family and ringing in the New Year from the best spot in the city! This pic is of Little R and Nathaniel on our roof top perch, dazzled by the firework show off the Space Needle. It was awesome.

Now, it's time to get back into the swing of things - for Dress Me Up, this week will be a week of catch up and organization, and new postings on Etsy.

Rich blessings to you and yours for 2009!