Its Mid May Already?

Wow how time flies! Its been a while since I've posted on this blog, but being busy is good.
I've got some new Summer items I'm working on and hope to have a few new items to show off very soon. I am bringing in some more baby items and expanding my pillowcase line. The skirt sets and boys sets are still going strong and my newest favorites are the halter dresses. Both the "Old Jeans, New Dress" and the "Halter Case" are fun touch of something new and different. Keep your eyes open for some "Flip N Switch" my newest flip flop style.

I'm So Pleased!

I can't help myself. I am so pleased with this one that I just HAD to show it somewhere. Since it is a Mickey Mouse fabric and I am NOT licensed this is NOT available for sale (so sorry), it was made as a gift for my friend's grandson. I had so much fun making it, AND I found the up cycled shorts at my friend Ginger's shop. Don't they just match perfectly?

Superhero Tips from "The Green Girls" - Saving the Planet One Lightbulb at a Time!

Well as a handmade clothing designer it seems a little awkward to to recommend this Green Girls Tip, but in the long run this is definitely the way we do things!

Quoted from the green book
Secondhand Clothing: Give secondhand clothing a chance. The average American purchases forty-eight articles of new clothing per year. If just one of those articles were purchased from a secondhand store, the energy equivalent of more than half a gallon of gasoline could be saved, because of all the energy used to manufacture and transport new clothes. If one in every ten Americans substituted his or her next purchase of one new garment with a vintage one, the energy saved could fly every resident of Hollywood to New York for Fashion Week.

We shop at several Resale Shops in our area not only for children's clothing, but also for items to up-cycle for sale. As a children's clothing designer I know the value of what it takes to make an item, even if I'm not mass producing on Mega Store scale. If I can get some resale items and up-cycle those to make something different and keep yet one more item out of the land FULL then absolutely I will do it.

Also in my area it is the resale shops that allow me to sell my boutique items on consignment and have some local customers in addition to my loyal following from the internet. Please take a few minutes and check out your local resale shop by going to the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops NARTS shopping guide. Here are links to my local shops that I frequent most Gingerly Dressed and Jack N Jill.

I'm sure you too can find some fabulous items at your local resale shop, and save the planet while saving money.

We have only one Earth, let’s treat it with respect so our children can learn from our example and have a great place to raise their children.

Introducing The Collection

So here is my grand introduction to The Collection! A friend of mine, her mom and I have gone in together and started a new line of children's clothing called The Collection. Some of these items will cross over into Maddie & ME, but not many and not often. The Collection is more about stock items for local boutiques than custom sized couture.

We officially launched during a Ladies Conference at a local church and have already dispersed our items among several local boutiques.

Maddie & ME to under go some changes

Regardless of the impending government regulations that could restrict my ability to make and sell children's clothing I am going to go ahead with the planned changes for Maddie & ME, Children's Handcrafted Couture.

I started Maddie & ME locally and off line in August of 2007. Sales were good and people seemed to like my one of a kind way of doing things here in the area. I originally started with the idea of making items for child and mother in coordinating styles and fabrics, hence the name Maddie & ME. Then I realized that was NOT feesable since it would be near impossible to guess what size the mother and what size the daughter might possibly be so although I will still make the sets on custom order request its not something I list and sell regularly. So then I opened the etsy site trying to keep with the idea of one of a kind. Maddie & ME just celebrated our first year on etsy Dec. 10, 2008. Its been a wild and wonderful year and through the process I've learned a lot.

I've decided to clean out my shop and revamp it. The reason for this is because what I seem to come across is almost every item I make I hear "Love it, but can you make it in ___ size?" This means that my one of a kind items, though useful in our small town where shopping is limited is NOT the way to go on etsy. What I plan to do is to offer several (I'm thinking 7) different styles and with those styles fabric selections. Instead of getting small quantities of fabric and making one of a kind items I plan to order larger quantities of fabric and make items to order. The quality and attention to detail will remain the same. The availability for custom sizing will also remain a constant in my shop as will custom orders for the hard to fit child.

I also feel that by making these changes I will be able to devote more time to my family and duties as a mother and wife (in addition to being an employee to my own mother and business owner of two businesses myself). I just feel like I've been spinning my wheels making all these items that everyone seems to want in a different size so I am emptying out my shop of ALL stock items and am selling at 25% off and also willing to take trade from other sellers.

For the next 4 hours I am offering a super special sale in Maddie & ME, Children's Handcrafted Couture! Free Shipping on all Stock items and I've just decided if you purchase any dress, set or vest between 11:00am and 3:00 pm est you'll get an additional 10% off (AND FREE SHIPPING).

Check out all the adorable girls holiday outfits at Maddie & ME!

HAND & BODY CREAM

"Intensive Therapy, Hardcore Moisture"

ALL NATURAL!

I don't need to say too much about how fabulous this new product is; I'll let my product testers tell you in their own words.

ArmyWifeWYO says: The hand cream was great it soaked right into my hands which is great for me, as it is so dry here in Wyoming. After about a hour I didn't have to reapply like I do other lotions which is great! I also like the fact that you didn't have to use very much to rub all over onto my hands! As for anything I don't like? ... nothing, this lotion is great!! And the best lotion I have had in a long time to help my rough dry hands!

TannerCustomCraft says: The healing hand and body lotion felt so good and creamy putting it on and smelled so refreshingly minty. It even reminded me of Doublemint gum!

TulipTreeBaby says: This has a very nice scent and is very moisturizing. My only complaint is that it has a slight greasy feel on my ultra dry finger tips. I am not sure how to accurately describe why this is, I think I would just like it a bit smoother. But it goes on much better after a shower or washing hands. It definitely makes a great night cream. I think I am going to try using the rest of it up by using it more frequently. I think part of my problem is washing my hands too many times during the day and not always putting lotion back on, because I haven't found a lotion yet that ever really heals the deep cracks. Based on that I would say that my review of your lotion is not as accurate as it could be. Other than that, I am really liking the lotion more and more as I use it. The smell is so refreshing and feels good on my upper hands and arms.

SMOX says: The lotion- LOVE it! You may want to let people know that it takes a little while for your skin to soak it all in... took about 5 minutes for me... but once it did... i was amazed. I have extremely dry skin, especially my hands. I often suffer from cracked knuckles and cuticles which is extremely painful, and even more difficult to combat! Within 5 minutes of using Mommy's Little Helper's Healing Hand and Body Cream my hands were supple and soft. I used it a couple times each day for the next couple days and saw marked improvement in my skin, even after washing a whole sink full of dishes! I may never go back to store brand lotion ever again!

GingerlyDressed says: Lovely hand cream! I love the scent, it's not too overpowering, yet lingers in a subtle way. A little greasy when first applied, but you'll notice you don't need to re-apply lots of times throughout the day. The oils settle in to give you a nice soft, moisturized feeling all day. And, even better, when we purchase we are supporting a military family, and a hard-working mother! That is worth the purchase in itself!

EllaBearBowtique says: A little bit of this goes such a long way! I truly love the smell and it keeps my hands super soft and moisturized for so long. Not only is it great on hands that are dried out but feet and heels as well. I started using it on my feet as soon as the weather turned colder and it has worked wonders for me.

Ali of Designs Etcetera says: I have used this for some time now. Sometimes once a day, sometimes twice a day. I like the way it makes my hands feel, smooth and silky. It is a little greasy at first but if you rub it in a bit more it will not be greasy for long. It also leaves a nice shine on my hands. I will definitely continue to use this through the winter.

I was asked by a friend HomemadeZen about it spoiling. Here is our discussion:
"Mommy, nice new item! Just wondering, does the cream spoil easily since it is all natural? Creams in an open jar usually goes bad pretty quickly in my experience (starting to smell funky)."
My response:
"Zen, I've kept my personal stash in an open ramekin for the past month and had no issues as of yet. I don't know how long it might take to spoil, but being left in the bathroom for a month with the steam, etc and it's still just as good as day one."

The container pictured is a 2 oz. and will be sold for $5 plus shipping. Each container will be labeled with the Mommy's Little Helper label as well as the basic product description. All of the hand creams are sealed with an inner seal for your protection as well as shrink wrapped.

Basic Ingredients: Soybean Oil, Cottonseed Oil, Bees Wax, Almond Oil, Spearmint and Lavender Essential Oils.

This product is set for release in my shops on both etsy and Hyena Cart on November 10th. I will take pre-orders (which is helpful to know how much product to make and have ready to ship on the release date). Please contact me at Mommy's Little Helper to place a pre-order.

Please note that these responses have only been edited for grammar and spelling, not content!

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.

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!