So Who Knew?

That you could merge blogs? Love that. So I just moved my old blog here. Lost all my comments though, but at least I have my posts that I can pinpoint people too. Very cool.

Late Night Front Page

So, the treasury elves were hard at work last night and behold, I was put in a treasury and made it to the front page all in one night! How funny my bunny hat never made it to the Front Page of Etsy during the Easter season, but now it does, I'll take it.

I just love the little doll at the bottom too!

The Return of Blueberries for Sal

Breaking News! According to Publishers Weekly, Blueberries for Sal is coming back into print. As I previously blogged about some adventures I had when trying to get a copy of the book to go with my blueberry hat, one of my favorite hat and book sets.

McCloskey is a favorite author in Boston, and with the recent caper with one of our beloved ducks, the news of this story being returned to print with new attention to ink shades is a treat. Maineiacs should delight in this news, especially when blueberry season gets underway!

Natural Kids Team Friday Interview

I had the honor of being interviewed for the Etsy NaturalKids Team blog this past Friday, which was also my mother's birthday. I think Tricoteria did a wonderful job selecting pictures. The interview looks lovely.

http://natural-kids.blogspot.com/2009/01/friday-interview-with-butterfly-design.html

Build-a-Bunny

Bunnies abound! With all the great yarn out there, there are many different kinds of bunnies you can get for your little bunny from my Etsy shop!
This nice cotton blend yarn is perfect for newborns and small babies.

I also sell it with the book, The Runaway Bunny, perfect for showers or Easter gifts!

I make a Peter Rabbit hat out of a snuggly soft acrylic yarn that is sadly no longer made, so I am on the lookout for new colorways in cotton yarns. But in the meantime I am using up my stash that matches the sepia-tawny browns of Potter's illustrations of our favorite bunny. While supplies of the yarn last I sell the Peter Rabbit hat with or without the book.

I also have an organic cotton Bunny available. This snuggly-soft yarn has been grown without chemicals and dyed with low-impact dyes. A true delight and an heirloom gift for years to come!

Many more styles are available, as I love custom orders, and have an array ofcolors in stock of 100% cotton, organic cotton and acrylic yarn. So celebrate spring and bunny season in style!

CPSIA Changes?

Well, there is hope.

My cotton yarn and organic cotton yarn hats have been deemed lead free by the government.

Duh.
And now resellers, such as thrift stores, and consignment shops have some reprieve from this strict law. http://cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09086.html

Or do they? Read it carefully, it says that they can sell it, but at their own risk if it contains any lead. I'm not sure how many consignment shops and thrift shops are going to take this news. Exempt should be exempt, and that's that. These are not individually recalled items.

But like I said "The two-member commission, reacting to complaints from manufacturers, also agreed to exempt natural products such as gems and cotton from mandatory testing for lead. "

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a0Xr2Iw1Vi_8&refer=us

So this is good news for now.

And read this wonderful blog post from Rick Woldenberg , I especially love the title, but the entire post is dead on.

http://learningresourcesinc.blogspot.com/2009/01/cpsia-emperor-has-no-clothes.html

It's the holiday season

and I got a treasury!

It's brisk here in New England, and I have already started my holiday shopping, so am in a festive mood! I can't wait for the first snowfall!

Natural Kids in the Blog!

http://www.etsy.com/storque/spotlight/featured-team-natural-kids-team-2941/

NaturalKids made the Etsy Blog!

It's a wonderful article about a fabulous team I belong to, all my cotton and organic cotton hats are tagged with "team naturalkids".

"This week's Featured Team, NaturalKids, makes sweet, wholesome products for your little ones! We love the way these toys inspire creativity while staying true to their natural materials. You'll find these items are crafted with a lot of love, and it seems this affection pours into their Team as well! The NaturalKids Team has a great website and blog to promote their work and also holds weekly promotions in the Forums. We love how they've created their own co-operative advertising program within the Team and have ads running on parenting websites! To learn more about this Team (including how to join) check out their Team Profile. To see all the products made lovingly by NaturalKids Team members, simply search "naturalkids team"."

Butterfly Design Cotton Acorn Hat

butterflydesign says, "I love being a part of the Natural Kids Team because they celebrate the joys of childhood and the earth all in one Team. And we only have one of each, shouldn't they be celebrated?"


This isn't my favorite hat, but hey, making the blog is pretty cool!

I Made the Front Page of Etsy!

My Falling Leaves hat made the front page of Etsy a week or so ago. I was fortunate enough to snatch a screenshot. I got tons of views and hearts, but alas, no one has bought this OOAK hat. Good thing I have three craft fairs coming up this fall!

Blueberry Bummer

I have sold only one hat and book set from my show at the Needham Library. I hope people are waiting to see me at the Needham High PTC Craft Fair next month! But what was interesting was that my blueberry hat and the Blueberries for Sal book sold. Not a problem, I thought. So I made the hat, and went off to my local bookstore to buy the book, and was shocked to find that they have all been pulled from the shelves.

All copies of Blueberries for Sal are no longer for sale because of negotiations between the McCloskey family and the publisher, Penguin. What is even more interesting is that next to nothing can be found on the internet about this. This great classic of a book has silently been pulled from circulation, and that saddens me more.

From an online Publisher's Weekly Children's Bookshelf August 21, 2008:

Rhalee Hughes, director of publicity at Penguin Books for Young Readers, acknowledges that the classic picture book is currently unavailable, but says, "We have been in negotiations with [Robert McCloskey's] estate and we are hopeful that we may be able to put Blueberries for Sal back into circulation."

So please, don't buy inflated used book prices you might find. Wait it out. Reprinting will happen in due time.

My Blueberry hat collection:

A Labor of Love

Several months ago I was asked if I could display my children's hat and book collection at the Needham Public Library in Needham, MA. I was thrilled and accepted the opportunity at once. I began designing new hats in my mind. I wanted to blend familiar titles with new favorites and create new hats to go with them. The result is a kaleidoscope of color and memories. So you can have Pinkilicious cupcakes and eat your bluberries with Sal, too!

If you get a chance, stop by the Needham Public Library and check out my hats, and a book!

Apple-y Delicious!

It's almost time for back to school and what says that better than a nice bushel of apples! Who knew so many etsians could do so many things with red delicious fruit?
Munch, munch, munch...

Butterfly now at OAK

I am very excited to announce that my hats are now at Oak in Boston at the intersection of Newbery and Gloucester. It's a wonderful boutique run by a smart young woman named Keara.

The store is funky and fun, and everything is handmade. A lot are by local artisans, but others come from around the globe, many found on Etsy. It is a unique collection with something for everyone. I usually shy away from consignment, but the location was irrisistable, I am very excited about this.

If you get a chance, stop by her shop on 31 Gloucester St!

http://www.oakboston.com/ Her website is just the beginning of what is in the shop!

Lemon 'n Lime Treasury

Sometimes at the store I can't decide between Lemonade or Limeade, so here is the best of both from EtsyBaby! Yummm!

The Great Destash has begun!

I don't really have a craft room. My yarn is stored in my closet in zippered sweater bags and plastic totes. But now I am having nightmares of my yarn attacking me in the middle of the night, so phase one of THE GREAT DESTASH has begun. I MUST MUST MUST get rid of some of my yarn.So take a look, see something you like, please, visit my Etsy shop and take it off my hands!

Birthday Girl

My goddaughter's birthday was a hit and so was the pudding cake! My friend dreamed up this cake for her daughter so we were up until 2am gathering all the ingredients and putting it together. Usually this "Pudding Cake" is called "Dirt Cake" and is chocolate, but Denise wanted it to look like the beach, so she made it vanilla, and the ocean is blue jello. We put jelly candy fish in the jello and candy that look like rocks on the sand, we made a long buoy out of marshmellows and a long red vine. All in all it was a bit hit with everyone, including the birthday girl!

Too bad we tripled the recipe, and now there is tons left over!

But now It's back to work, I have a consignment order to work on!

The Purple Kitty

My goddaughter turned three today. We are celebrating her birthday this weekend, and I went overboard buying her art supplies and all kinds of goodies. And the one thing she asked me for was a purple kitty hat to match her favorite stuffed animal. She loves this thing, it's like her own BooBoo Kitty.

Her mother told me I can skip the rest of the presents, just give her the hat. I hope she like it. But just in case, I decorated a bag just for her. I like doing this for presents adding the person's name to it, it makes it extra special. And the little decals are fun for kids too.

I do something similar for my craft fair bags. It's easy. I buy the bags in bulk online and then I print up the sticker labels on my computer and voila! Walking advertisement!

I don't add the Hello Kitty bits though. I'll save that for my goddaughter.

Going Buggy

Bugs abound! We had cicadas on Cape Cod, bees are buzzing, 'squitos are a flyin', it's summer and bugs are everywhere!

So I have designed a new hat called the Whimsy Citrus Bug, which to me is both cute and summery. It is made out of 100% cotton and uses this creat tangerine-coral color that I just love!

Of course no summer would be complete without a buzzing bumble bee going from flower to flower. Also made out of 100% cotton yarn, this bumble bee is a classic hat for any bug lover!

Ahh, yes, the original over-eater himself, The Hungry Caterpillar. Inspired by Eric Carle's picture book art, I created this little hat.

Chomp, Chomp, Chomp!

Sun Kissed

I can't seem to break my habit of making treasuries, it's like a drug! So here is my new one, I should have named it Front Page or Bust, because that is my new goal, to have a treasury on the front page.

I tried to follow all the Front Page guidelines: interesting pictures, a good theme, none of the items are mine, nice variety, blah, blah, blah.

So now I wait.

But I love the Orange brightness, so cheerful on a dreary Fourth of July.