Wild Things!

My nephew's 1st birthday is on December 22, and his party is this Sunday, December 19.  The theme my sister and brother-in-law chose is Where the Wild Things Are.  Great book, great theme.  Only there's not a whole lot out there for Wild Thing parties.  You'd think there would be, but there really isn't.

So my sister finally found some Wild Things balloons and vinyl wall decals, plus a room border.  I think the vinyl is meant more for actual kids' room decorations than party decorations but they'll definitely work.  There was a matching popup cake topper too, and she got it, but no plates, cups, or napkins, so she had to do those and streamers in coordinating colors.

It's all very exciting!

But there still remained the issue of a birthday hat... and I saw, fortuitously, this tutorial.  I changed it up to make it suitable,

and here's my version, with an 18" circumference, plus about an inch of elastic.  We tried it on him, and it fits perfectly.  My nephew is big, though, so if you do one, you might need it to be smaller.

And last night, my sister and I made the cake!

Of course, a birthday isn't a birthday without gifts!  I got him this book & finger puppet set.

I love it 'cause it teaches color theory!  There are so many baby books out there that teach letters, numbers, vehicles, animals... this is the first and only I've seen that teaches art.

Speaking of books, remember this one?

I used it to make my nephew an additional gift.  From two of my mother's pairs of pants (brown flat fabric and a pair of corduroys), one of my skirts (tan linen), an old green sweater, plus the thread and two of the buttons that Avery got me for my birthday, I made these parts.

And from these parts, I made this guy!

And a close up of his adorable, surprised-looking face.

This was much more complicated than the mooshy belly creatures I made him for Chanukah.  It took longer too.  But it was so much fun!  Now I just hope he loves it as much, even without the ultra cuddle fabric.  We'll see on Sunday!

Oh, and last night after we made the cake and my sister was looking at the decorations, she suddenly asked me, "Did you make the crown to look like the one from the book?"  Um.... yeah!  Would you believe she hadn't put it together that that's what I was doing until she saw it together?  She thought I was just doing it because I found the tutorial and wanted to make my nephew the star of the party.  Ha!  But according to her, it looks exactly right.

Awesome.

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The Holiday Gala - and a SALE!

Today we were on the road again, at the Minerals Resort and Spa in Vernon, in what's become our usual booth, but with some new touches...

Like that nifty banner on the front of the table, and the sign up top.  This one...

The gift baskets were a hit today.  In fact, one woman bought a Men's Gift Basket for her son, and then said, "I really don't want to go to the mall; what else do I need?"  She proceeded to purchase a bunch of additional items, and then announced triumphantly that she'd completed her holiday shopping without having to hit a mall, which gave us an idea I'll get to in a minute.

This was also the first time we had our Dead Sea mud masks out in person.  People loved them.  Loved.

Cool, right?  Know what's cooler?  That idea I mentioned... a holiday sale!

From now through December 19, all of our seasonal items are 20% off!

How great is that if you've still got some last minute holiday shopping to do?  Our Home for the Holidays candles, Home for the Holidays Bath Salts, and Autumn Harvest candles are all 20% off, just in time for you to buy stocking stuffers, Secret Santa gifts, teacher gifts, and anything else you need.

From now through December 19, all gift baskets are 15% off!

The Men's Basket and any custom baskets, all 15% off, just email us and we'll plan the perfect basket for your friend or family member!

Plus, we'll get any orders out immediately and can ship directly to your recipient if you'd like!

Have fun shopping!

Artist Spotlight: Parts Thirty-Two and Thirty-Three

I got incredibly busy last week and didn't get a chance to post the artist spotlight, so this week you get two, you lucky dogs!  Our first artist is one you've met on this blog before, Twiddletoes!  So what's she been doing since last May?

How about convertible mitts?!

And slippers?

And hats?

And of course her traditional and tabi socks, which can be found in her Etsy shop, her Cargoh shop, and on her website.

For news?  The blog.

Our second artist this week is another sort of knitter, one you haven't met here before, Gina Dahl of Dahlish.   A creative force, Gina has a huge passion for knitting and creating.  For her, there's nothing better than curling up on the couch with some good music and a knitting project.

She doesn't stop there, of course.  She also loves to play the piano, build things with her kids, and take the dog for walks.

So... what makes her different?  Well, if you check out her Etsy shop, you'll see that she sells knitted dolls!

And puppets!

Clutch toys!

And character or animal blankets, like this giraffe and dragon!

But if you want to really get to know her, you'll read her blog.  It's there that she'll tell you about her kids, her dog, her cooking, and other things she's knitting, like these really cute ornaments.

And this pretty sweater.

I have a question.  What can't she do?

Mooshy Bellies!

Back in October, I won a gift card to Joann's from Jess at http://frugalflourish.blogspot.com/!  I was so excited!  Excited, but unable to get there right away.  How annoying is it to have money to spend and no time in which to spend it?  You can imagine, I'm sure.

Well, Eric and I were able to get there on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving, beating the crazy Black Friday crowds, but still taking advantage of some amazing sales.  With just a little of our own funds, I was able to get this awesome royal crushed velvet, which I wanted to make a "skirt" for my rolling face painting cart for an event in February.

Plus, I got this great, soft fleece.

I picked up a yard of this awesomely thick golden yellow felt.  The birthday party my sister is throwing for my nephew on December 19 is a Where the Wild Things Are theme, and she was thinking of a crown for my nephew... so I decided to make it from felt to make it more comfy for him.

Plus, I already had these two (very) beginner quilt kits because I want to see if I like quilting and figured this was an inexpensive ($14.99 each) and non-time consuming way to find out.

Thing is, I thought the kits only came with the pieces for the quilt fronts (I was wrong).  So I also got a pack of quilt batting and this cool fabric that'll suit the backs of both (or other projects).

The best purchase, though, was this fabric that's so incredibly soft it's ridiculous, called "ultra cuddle," that I got in these two great colors:  brown and pale green.

See, I found this tutorial and pattern for a really cute stuffed animal dubbed a "Mooshy Belly Bunny," and I wanted to make it as a gift for my nephew.  The original post calls for the recycling of t-shirts, but I loved this fabric too much and thought it'd be perfect.  I did the first one in green, and instead of white ear insides used a pair of my mom's old corduroy pants.

With some thread and the addition of a pompom from when I made the puppet, it didn't take long for this...

... to become this...

And then I used green embroidery thread to define his head and black to give him a face!

I had so much fun with it that I decided to make one in green and one in brown for each of my two nephews and a set for Eric's best friend's impending son, who's due in January.  I started one in brown, but then decided to keep the original green one for myself.  I continued with the brown, using a pair of mom's old tan cords for the insides of the ears...

And then there were two!

This one is for my other nephew, on Eric's side.  Meanwhile, Eric made the bright observation that the body is basic and generic enough that it could be used for other animals!  So I decided that my nephew on my side and Eric's best friend's son would each get a green bunny and a brown bear, while my nephew on Eric's side will get this brown bunny and a green bear.

So I cut all the green fabric for three more animals, two bunnies and a bear.

And then did the same thing in brown.  I then my my sister's son's bear, of which I got no photos!  I was kicking myself for it, but I finished it just before going to their house for our Chanukah celebration and gift exchange, so I didn't think about it.  I'll be making the others soon, though, and will post photos.

I'd visit my sister and post photos of the bear I already gave my nephew, but I have a feeling the pictures wouldn't do it justice at this point.  From what I understand, out of all the gifts he got... the Thomas the Train sets, the Little People sets, the Lego sets, the See & Say and CD that Eric and I also got him... his favorite things were the bear and bunny, which he refuses to put down and which he gnaws on pretty much nonstop.

Photo op aside, I'm ecstatic that he loves the gifts I made him so much!  Isn't that awesome?!

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Use Real Soap

Seriously, I'm surprised they needed a study for this, because to me it's common sense.  Antibacterial cleansers are bad for you.

I knew that.

I've always tried to avoid them as much as possible.  It's impossible to avoid them entirely, since they're in every public bathroom and the supermarket selection of non-antibacterial cleansers is rather limited.

But then we started making soap.  Real soap.  Y'know... this stuff...

It's common sense to me that constant use of antibacterial cleansers and other products will mess with our immune systems.  Our design, human design, is actually pretty ingenious.  We're built to fight off disease.  Sure, there are ones with which we need help... I'll never say anyone shouldn't get a polio vaccine.  But constantly using antibacterial hand sanitizers after touching a phone or a doorknob?  Not the best idea.  Our bodies cannot build immunities to germs unless we come into contact with them first.  That, I remember from basic science way back when.

Yes, this means you may get a cold.  But then, guess what?  You body builds antibodies to that particular cold germ, making it difficult, if not impossible, for you to ever succumb to that particular type of germ again.

Really.

And no, I'm no doctor.  But ask your doctor if that's how it works.  Because that's what I remember from what may have been 9th grade biology or may have been stuck in my head at some point before that.

So this study's interesting to me.  It seems to confirm that all these antibacterial products (shocking) lower our immunities and increase sensitivity to allergies.

Hmm...

I know a lot of people who have complained that their allergies get worse as they age or that something's happening in the atmosphere that allergies seem to be getting worse year after year... must be a change in the way plants grow and produce pollen or increased pollution or something.

Or maybe it's just that they're more sensitive to all the allergens that were already there, simply because they insist on constantly sanitizing themselves?

Maybe.

I'm inclined to think yes.