When I Grow Up treasury

I am being featured in an Etsy treasury! It expires Sunday night. This one has the doctor bib in it. Thanks, Straight Stitch!

Treasury Feature

The Tuxedo Bib from the When I Grow Up collection was featured in an Etsy treasury by MaisyBrownReproRetro. A treasury is a collection of etsy listings that members group together. Treasuries expire and there are only a handful at a time on Etsy, so members lie in wait until a slot opens so that they can show off to the rest of the Etsy community what they found on Etsy. This treasury expires on Thursday, Feb 5 at 10:16pm EST. After that you can't see it anymore!

CPSIA

I just sent this to a bunch of radio stations. I hope that something we can do will stop this law from going into affect, or CutieFruity will no longer be able to carry the When I Grow Up bibs. If you know any politicians or media personnel, make sure they know about how the Childrens Product Safety Improvement Act will affect small businesses like mine.


I'm sure we all remember last year when toys tainted with lead paint were imported from China. As a parent, I was concerned that dangerous toys were in my child's toybox. After this scare, congress quickly drafted and passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). This act is planned to be implemented into law on Feb 10, 2009. Many crafters are calling this Bankruptcy Day.

This new law bans lead and other chemicals from childrens products and requires third party testing and certification for all goods for children under the age of twleve. It sounds like a good law that will protect our children. However, this third party testing will prove to be very costly and detrimental to small businesses like mine across the country.

I make and sell baby bibs and other childrens products online and at craft shows. According to this new law, I would have to send a sample of every lot of every style of my 14 different bibs out for third party testing, at a cost of hundreds of dollars each, even though they have never posed a risk for lead poisoning. This may be feasible for large corporations who manufacture a thousand toys at once, but I only make and sell a handful at a time.

I don't want the goverment to have to worry about my family. They don't have to create a job for me since I am self-employed. My husband was laid off this winter and we get by with what we need because I have this business. How can my business continue after this law is enacted? Many crafters are asking this same question. Where will the CPSIA leave me? (answer: jobless and reliant on the government)

I encourage you to research this law further and discuss it on your program. Small business owners are outraged by the CPSIA and it's evident on blogs and forums all over the internet. I hope that if people outside of the online handmade community become aware of this, it can be amended before it is enacted into law. Please help us save our livelihoods and tell Americans about this act while we still have time to change it.

You can find out a little bit more about the CPSIA at http://www.etsy.com/storque/media/bunker/2009/01/CPSIA-Etsy-Resources.pdf or just google CPSIA.

Thanks so much for all you do. I am inspired to be a better American by listening to your program.

Sincerely,
Paula Taylor
owner of CutieFruity
http://cutiefruity.etsy.com

I forgot about this giveaway!

How bad do I suck? Lame, I know. I was gracisously hosted by The Family Loop this week as they shared CutieFruity belly bands and When I Grow Up bibs with thier readers. The giveaway is closed, but if you want to hear about what other people love from my shop, then you can read the comments? What? Not everyone wants to read about it? Well I do, and I did, and I liked it. tee hee. You can check out the expired giveaway here. I have no clue yet who the winner is, but I can't wait to find out what I'm sending them!

WHOO-HOO!!! A benchmark and a giveaway!!!

CutieFruity had a kick-butt weekend and pushed over the 500 sales mark. I want to do the happy dance, but that's not a very safe thing to do with a pair of scissors in your hand. My family might as well start calling me Edwarda Scissorhands since I seem to ALWAYS have my favorite tool in my hand or very close by. My daughter has taken after me, though, with her love of scissors, and destroyed the shower curtain yesterday. BOOOOO.

I finally applied for my business license the other day and I feel so official now! To celebrate all the success my awesome customers and family have help me achieve in my 7 months on Etsy, I'm having another giveaway!!! You can enter to win $10 and free shipping for your choice of CutieFruity. You know the drill: Go to my shop, CutieFruity, have a look around, and then come back her and leave a comment on your favorite item. I'd also like to hear what else you'd like to see my mom and I create. My customers come up with the best ideas! So hop to it, you only have until the 15th of January to qualify!

Update! This giveaway has been featured on CafeMom and Etsy Giveaways!

The newest additions to the When I Grow Up collection at CutieFruity

My mom is so rad. She made this onesie for Shawn for Christmas. He's definately 100% CutieFruity. He and the belly he gave me for 9 months was a huge inspiration for my crafty creations. Love him to DEATH!!!

When he grows up will Shawn be in the Navy like Daddy?

Or the Army like Mama?
I don't know for sure, but he's not allowed to be a jarhead...

Get your little Sailor or little Marine (no offense, devil dawgs, just a little branch rivalry) one of the newest additions to the When I Grow Up collection at http://cutiefruity.etsy.com/ . Coming Soon!

My Mom featured on NWMomFinds blog

I carry my moms "When I Grow Up" Bib collection in my shop. The doctor bibs are very popular. Last month during the Handmade Kids contest on Etsy, she sold a bunch after making it to the finals. One of those buyers was a blogger from NWMomFinds.com . She decided to review the bib and feature it for Feed Me Friday last week. You can find the review here. There is even a giveaway for a bib of your choice! Be sure to enter soon!

Looking forward

Today I turned in my last assignment of the semester, and what a relief it was. Tonight we went to Relief Society Enrichment night. We (my mom and I) got there late, so I only gathered up the materials to make a FHE board. I'm so excited that I will actually have time to finish it at home! My husband was great to watch the girls for me and even made dinner for them. Either he saved me a plate, or he overestimated how much the girls would eat. Either way, I am such a lucky girl to be married to him.
I am so excited to work on more Cutie Fruities, too. My mom has been selling a lot of bibs from my shop. Today she sold a Tuxedo bib and the gal wants it custom made for her "James Bond". I think it will look really cute. The medical bibs are the best sellers and it's always nice when someone takes an interest in something different.