Twitter?

OK, I'm officially signed up with Twitter. I'm still figuring this out so if anyone has any advice please leave it in the comments. You can find me on Twitter at 1MaddieAndMommy (same as here). And a couple pictures for good measure...

In the sunflowers before the Pumpkin Patch and Halloween Costumes. She was a cowgirl and her best friend was a horse. Totally unplanned too!

And Yet Again!

This time though its Maddie & ME, children's handcrafted couture! It is a lovely interview on Izzy-IT which is a site dedicated to introducing etsy shops. If you leave a comment you will then be in the drawing for a feature of your own! Please check it out and enjoy.

WOW! I've Been Featured Again!

Can you believe it? I have been featured again. This time on Lucky Girl Trading Company - Make Every Day Your Lucky Day!
She has done a fabulous feature on my 2 in 1 loofah and my Cinnamon - Irish Oatmeal Soap.

She has also put my We 3 Kings Plus on her wish list so if any of you are wondering what to get her for a gift, it seems that would be a good choice. Also if you read her feature and the comments you'll find a promo code in there to get a discount in Mommy's Little Helper.

Thanks to all my loyal readers and customers,
"Mommy" of Mommy's Little Helper

I've Been Featured!

I've been featured on
America's Handmade Homefront!

Please take a minute to read the wonderful interview that the host has put together, it looks really nice!
As for the product release, it will be around noon today in both etsy and Hyena Cart. Thanks to all my faithful customers! Today only use Promo Code RD1010 to get 10% off your purchase of Mommy's Little Helper After Shave Tonic.

Product Release!

Anticipated Release Date: 10/24/08
According to the poll I put up; you, my faithful customers and viewers, wanted to see the Lip Balm first, then the After Shave and finally the massage oils. Since the Lip Balms have been listed in my shops on both etsy and on Hyena Cart we have the After Shave Tonic coming up next!

I've shown the loofah soap with it because for best results one should always exfoliate the skin before shaving. The After Shave Tonic is available in 2 oz spritz bottles. After years of trial and error I've decided that the spritz is the best way to apply this After Shave Tonic. It takes about 3 - 4 spritzes per leg for a woman and for the man less. This is one of the products that the old expression "a little bit goes a long way" really hold true. It is available in small quantities since it takes over 2 weeks to produce 16 fluid ounces and THAT is part of why it works so well. I can't speed the process up or change the ratio. If its unavailable when you're looking for some, contact me and I'll let you know when the next batch will be ready.

I sent out some samples to some of my friends and got some fabulous and honest feedback. Here is what they had to say:
TulipTreeBaby: I really love how this has made my skin well-moisturized and bump-free. It is easy to apply and it has a lighter, cleaner feel than using an actual lotion after shaving. My only wish would be to have it in a pure lavender scent because the sage is a bit strong for my "morning nose." It is not an unpleasant scent, but I just have a very sensitive nose. I still like it well enough that I would probably just avoid using it in the morning and enjoy it any other time.

ME: This is a product I've used for over 5 years, so it was really a no brainer that I want to share it with you. What I like most is that although it isn't flowery smelling it also doesn't smell like that blue stuff that my husband used to use. It is truly gender neutral and when I have it in the house my husband would much rather use my version than the commercially produced one.
** I'm waiting on two other's to send in their feedback. I will update the information as I receive it.

Please Vote!

If not for me c'est la vie, but please take a minute and visit the Homefront Team Site and cast your vote for your favorite item in the challenge. The directions are to leave a comment with your favorite item / esty shop name and that will cast your vote. I have entered an item from each of my shops, but there are so many great ones to see. Thanks for your support - each and every member of this team is a military spouse / family member.

The Cabinet - Almost Done

Well its not totally complete, but nothing ever is with me. Here it is as it currently stands in the shop Gingerly Dressed. I'm rather proud of this one and will get the final FINAL pictures up when its DONE. If you know my daughter at all, you know that if a camera is in use she MUST be in front of it. So here she is posing with my stocked Mommy's Little Helper display cabinet!

Display Cabinet - A Work in Progress Part II

OK, so I discovered that if I was going to remove the shelves and try to paint them a different color I should have done that BEFORE I put 2-3 coats of primer on it. The shelves would unscrew, but wouldn't budge otherwise. I put the screws back in and decided that the shelves didn't need to be a different color after all.
I also decided to forgo the stencil idea. Great idea, wrong "artist." After talking to my mom, who IS the artist in the family I decided that I do NOT have the patience to do the stencil idea. Instead I am going to print out my avatar / logo and and put that in the windows of the cabinet doors. Those will be full of stock eventually anyway so I don't want people to see my back stock (read mess).
When I get it placed and all nicely stocked I will post a final picture, but for now this is the ALMOST finished product.

Display Cabinet - A Work in Progress!

Literately this IS a work in progress. As of right now I am only 1/3 finished so I decided to blog about it while I let the paint dry.
So, last week at Gingerly Dressed I was talking to my friend Ginger and asked her why one of her vendors did SO well while the rest of us are along the mediocre lines. Her response was enlightening and so I thought I'd share it with everyone.

First, she said Molly has all her own displays, they are similar in color scheme and design no matter what shop you go in, people KNOW its a *Molly Said* product.

Second, she told me Molly's philosophy about keeping things stocked. I've been SO used to the internet way of only stocking things one at a time that I wasn't showing full stock there. It looked like slim pickings and who wants to purchase a product when there isn't a large variety? Ginger tells me that Molly's stocking philosophy is let them decide "which one do I want?", not "do I want one?" Ah HA! So, as you can tell, Molly is the one who is making all the profits while I am making sales, but not lots.

So here is the beginnings of the cabinet, how I found it and the current status of it:

Yesterday, before going to the Foothills Fall Festival (where incidentally Molly's booth is packed with product AND customers) we stopped by a garage sale on my road. I walked up to them and said I know exactly what I need BUT have no idea what it is! They looked at me a little strange, but once I explained the dilemma of needing a display cabinet and not knowing if I need a wall hanging shelf unit, a free standing unit, or what they pointed me toward the other side of the driveway where the furniture is.

TA DA! It was like a beam of light came down from the heavens and shown right on this old stereo cabinet! It had been marked 50% off already and she went down even more. For $22 I got a wood cabinet that was going to get a coat of paint and be ready to go... or so I thought.
It started this dark mahogany wood color (as pictured on the still unpainted door), I picked up a can of kilz (paint primer) and a long handled yet narrow roller. I knew this was going to not be a spray paint job as the shelves were too narrow to spray paint so with Maddie's "help" we started the fist coat of paint.
After I took her to visit with her grandparents I did a second coat thinking "OK, that should do it." And now I've put three coats of KILZ primer on and am thinking that I need to go get some semi-gloss white to put over the primer.

I plan to do the cabinet doors in the same shade green that "Mommy's" shirt is in my logo and put something to block the windows out (maybe a large print pic from each logo on the back of the glass) and keep the doors closed with that area as back stock.

So, after the third coat I was sitting on my bum looking up and noticed that the shelves were screwed in and could have / make that CAN be removed. I am now thinking of removing those shelves (when the third coat is dry) and painting them the same green as the cabinet doors to make it more interesting. Also, I plan to ATTEMPT to stencil the shop name "Mommy's Little Helper" on the sides of the entire unit. Did I mention that I am very creative, but NOT so artistic? We'll see how this goes and I will post the final pictures of it when its complete as well as the ones of it in the shop and fully stocked. For now, back to it!

The Bee's Knees

Just ONE of my lip balm flavors I'm introducing. The Bee's Knees is Honey flavored lip balm. It is made with Bee's Wax, Honey (both from a local apiary), Coconut Oil, Almond Oil, and Coco Butter all Organic. The other flavors will be introduced one at a time. For now, please welcome "The Bee's Knees"!

I have sent out several samples to some of my recent customers and you are welcome to leave comments. Thanks!

NOTE this is NOT vegan since it includes Honey and Bee's Wax, sorry.

Help an Angel in Need Please!

WE NEED YOUR HELP! PLEASE READ!
Someone was rude enough to leave antifreeze in water dishes and food bowls at our facility on September 23, 2008. Antifreeze was also placed in our feeding areas located in our forest preserve.



AWBAR- Abandoned Wild Babies Animal Rescue has already lost one raccoon to antifreeze poisoning. Also wild raccoons are coming back dying in our driveway and yard.

So far 2 of them have been poisoned and 4 others are showing signs of poisoning. Every day they receive 1000 cc of lactated ringer solution (LRS bags) which is a Sub Q IV that is placed under the skin to help flush out the poisons. Also they are receiving shots of antibiotics to help fight any illness since they are so weak.


AWBAR needs your help, our vet bill has already reached to almost $500.00. By making a purchase off our etsy shop www.awbar.etsy.com 100% will go to the vet bills and help the babies get better.

A group of AWBAR volunteers have posted Reward signs in our area leading to the capture and arrest of the individual(s) that have done this to our shelter.


If you click on one of the photos, you will see all of them in a slide show. In the photos, George the raccoon is one of the raccoons that have been poisoned.
http://foowahu.deviantart.com/art/AWBAR-George-goes-to-the-vet-99070852

Thanks everyone for your continued support through this tough time.

Remember 100% of all sales from our AWBAR shop will help pay for the vet bills, and help us raise and release wildlife!

Amanda

www.awbar.com
www.awbar.etsy.com Posted at 12:04 pm, September 30 2008 EST -

SO, LEAVE A COMMENT IF YOU'D LIKE, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY PLEASE GO TO THEIR WEBSITE AND SUPPORT THEM BY PURCHASING PRODUCTS!

GRAND OPENING OF AMERICA'S HANDMADE HOMEFRONT

America's Handmade Homefront is a "Congo" of shops on Hyena Cart! We are having our grand opening today at 3:00 pm. Many of the shops will have SSC's or Special Stocking Codes which can be found in our respective etsy shops and redeemed in the Hyena Cart "Congo." Please take some time and check out Maddie & ME as there are some dresses listed in AHH that are not available elsewhere, and Mommy's Little Helper who has more bulk listings available on AHH. Also, please take some time and visit our website, America's Handmade Homefront and be sure to mark us as a favorite! You can click on any of the links embedded in this message OR simply click on Betsy Ross on the top left corner of my blog!

Come see us and wish us luck!