Sing it Dean!

Continuing with my music theme, with all this rain we are having here in New England, I can't tell if it is Spring or Summer, regardless, these fun items from EtsyBaby and NaturalKids remind me of summer, enjoy this treasury.

Vacation treasury

My first treasury under my new shop name! So can't wait for summer vacation!

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!

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!

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:

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!

EtsyBaby Pop Goes the Fourth

What a better way to spend a Thursday midmorning when you are waiting for a fridge to be delivered than to make a new treasury on Etsy! I just love all the red white and blue!

However you celebrate the Independence Day, enjoy! Happy 4th of July!

http://www.july4th.org/

It's Time for Summer Reading

Summer is the time when I like to catch up on a lot of reading I just didn't find the time to do during the school year. So what better way to excite children and books than to combine a fun hat to wear that matches the story you are reading to them? I have several sets that people love to give as gifts.


This is a great popular classic story, what will the hungry caterpillar eat next?
It can be fun to line up the real food in your house in two, threes, fours and even more!
Chomp! Chomp!

Yum, sun ripened strawberries!
But watch out!
A BIG HUNGRY BEAR wants a bite too!
This story is so much fun to read to little ones, I had a blast doing the voices when I was reading it to my goddaughter and her older sister. This is one that they will beg "Again, again!"
And the strawberry hat is just plain fun.

Little fairies in the garden, in the trees, in the air, little fairies are everywhere!
Your little girls will start seeing fairies everywhere when you read to her from this little poem book while she wears her little fairy hat. There is one for each season.
The illustrations in this book are to be delighted over and cherished for generations to come.


Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?
A wonderful reading game to enjoy with children, this is another classic, and what little one doesn't look adorable in ears??
What animal will be in the next page for your child to find?



One berry, two berry pick me a blueberry!
Children will love this rolicking adventure with the boy, the bear, and the berries in this rhyming text of fun! And the blueberry hat is perfect for a boy or a girl. My goddaughter's older sister calls her blueberry hat her blueberry muffin hat.

Oh, Peter, you were warned to stay out of the garden.
Snuggle up with your little bunny and enjoy this little classic with your favorite treat, because what is reading Peter Rabbit without being rewarded for being a good little bunny?
Although, reading about Peter's capers sure is fun!

Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation

I am now proud to be a supporter of Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Cancer Research!

After emailing the foundation and conversing with Alex's mother, $5.00 from the sale of my Lemon hats will be donated to this wonderful charity. You can read more about this charity and the remarkable little girl here: http://www.alexslemonade.org/index.php

Recently they had their Lemonade Days, where children all around the country opened their Lemonade Stands in support of Alex and Cancer Research and raised thousands of dollars. But it doesn't have to stop there with that one weekend! I encourage everyone to open their own lemonade stand whenever they can this summer!

Truly amazing, children being butterflies, making a difference one step at a time!