Enter the Circus-CPSIA BLOG IN BABY! Don't know what the CPSIA is, step inside....

This adorable CPSIA toy police is made by Minimonsters shop which can be found by clicking on he photo:)

As parents and concerned citizens I’m sure most of us at one time or another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. But have you asked yourself what your government is doing to protect your children from lead contained in toys? The answer? They're banning toys, taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families, killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an even greater depression than we've seen in decades. I'd like to introduce you to their solution: the CPSIA.Do you know about the CPSIA? No? Then I ask you to take a few minutes to find out about it.The CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of laws that will come into effect on 10 February, 2009 and will impact many, many people in a negative way. Make no mistake, this is very real. View it for yourself. If Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too. How will these new laws affect you? Well, here are a few examples:


To the Parents of Young Students:Due to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket. While those paper clips weren't originally intended for your student to use, they will need to be tested now that your 11-year-old needs them for his school project. This law applies to any and all school supplies (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under 12.


To the Avid Reader:Due to the new law, all children's books will be pulled from library and school shelves, as there is no exemption for them. That’s okay though, there's always television. Our children don’t need to learn the love of reading after all.Article from the American Library Association http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322





To the Lover of All Things Handmade:Due to the new law, you will now be given a cotton ball and an instruction manual so you can make it yourself since that blanket you originally had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it's passed testing. It won't even be the one-of-a-kind blanket you were hoping for. Items are destroyed in the testing process making one-of-a-kind items virtually impossible. So that gorgeous hand-knit hat you bought your child this past winter won’t be available next winter.To the Environmentalist:Due to the new law, all items in non-compliance will now be dumped into our already overflowing landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners, but the Big Box Stores as well. You can't sell it so you must toss it. Or be potentially sued for selling it. You can't even give them away. If you are caught, it is still a violation.To the Second-Hand Shopper:Due to the new law, you will now need to spend $20 for that brand new pair of jeans for your 2-year old, rather than shop at the Goodwill for second hand. Many resale shops are eliminating children's items all together to avoid future lawsuits.To the Entrepreneur:Due to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your unique products or discontinue to make and/or sell them. Small businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing and be forced to close up shop. Due to the current economic state, you'll have to hope for the best when it comes to finding a new job in Corporate America. To the Antique Toy Collector:Due to the new law, you'd better start buying now because it's all going to private collection and will no longer be available to purchase. “Because the new rules apply retroactively, toys and clothes already on the shelf will have to be thrown out if they aren't certified as safe.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189645948879745.html





To the American Economy:Already struggling under an economy that hasn’t been this weak in decades, the American economy will be hit harder with the inevitable loss of jobs and revenues from suppliers, small businesses and consumers. The required testing is far too costly and restrictive for small businesses or individuals to undertake. To the Worldwide Economy:Due to this new law, many foreign manufacturers have already pulled out of the US market. You can imagine the impact of this on their businesses. If you think this is exaggerating, here is a recent article from Forbes http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/16/cpsia-safety-toys-oped-cx_wo_0116olson.html


And for those of you prepared to be stupefied and boggled, The New Law http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.htm


Did you know? If this upsets or alarms you, please react.





Write to your state congressmen-hit up those respresentatives and ask them to PLEASE help push for a committee hearing about this law.

AMMEND THE CPSIA-check out the listings!

To further spread the word about how the law laid out and passed by the CPSIA will affect us all, myself and many other etsians have taken it upon ourselves to use this effective method to show just how terrible the law will be for us all. If you have children, buy anything for children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and so forth-this law will affect YOU! The small businesses will close up shop, buckling under the cost of testing fees and the big dogs will run a monopoly on the market and pass their testing costs onto-you, the consumer. Here is my listing

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19132270

Check it out to see how the costs of testing are broken down.

Also, stop by this thead in the etsy forums to see how all the artisans are coming together to be heard. Help us fight for our rights!!

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6002119

Twitter the links, blog the links, read read, and send the message along to anyone and EVERYONE!

Please help save handmade small businesses-VOTE NOW

Today is the LAST day to vote

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia

For those of you who don't know about this law please take the time to read about it, or watch the youtube video clip on the right hand side of my blog....this WILL affect us all, any consumer who buys items for children under the age of 12. The impact will be HUGE.

All of us should support each other and stand united to get exclusions or amendments or extensions for compliance referencing USA handmade products and small batch items to this new law by writing to our public officials. Even if none of your items are made directly for children ... Can you imagine an ETSY, FireArt, 1000 Markets, a local craft show or eBay without any children's items in it?This is effectively THE WORLD'S LARGEST CHILDREN'S PRODUCT RECALL ever imagined. But without the option of returning the items for refund or replacement.THIS NEW CPSIA WILL EFFECT ALL OF US that sell ANY products that can be consider for children. Not just toys and jewelry, but CLOTHING, ROOM DECOR, SCHOOL SUPPLIES, EDUCATIONAL AIDS, ART WORK, ART SUPPLIES, PILLOWS, HAIR BOWS so on & etc. if it is made for someone 12 & under to use it will be subject to the certified testing. Even HAND-ME-DOWNS as resales or vintage items will be subject to the testing. To read the whole "brief", 67 pages long, requires some basic law education but you can get the gist of it in the CPSIA's FAQ section http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/faq.html#educationalThis new law is blindsiding us by giving very little notice to comply to it, if we're even able to provide the proofs the the CPSC wants. It's been so under the radar the ETSY doesn't have a STORQUE article on it yet. Niether has eBay or most of the other online seller's outlets even mention the new law. I think there waiting for after the holidays to tells us that lots of the items we bought are now effectively illegal and that we should of never given them to our children in the first place. There should be some type of grandfathering clause included that parents shouldn't have to shell out more good money if they feel their child is in danger just because the government said the product is not longer safe.This will put quite a few of us out of business. Even larger companies are having problems complying with the deadline or the batch material testing requirements. Here a set of excerpts from a recent CPSIA hearing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUlY6zOMPqQ, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlMh7MJiodY&feature=related, & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk0Vr0yDrXc&feature=related.Don't just believe that the legislation will change on it's own, do something to let your voice be heard. Write a congressperson, tell ETSY what you feel about this law, blog about it, just get your voice heard by CPSIA that the law is impractical and bias towards small & cottage industries. People for a Greener Earth should also take up this issue since it will put an end to reusing durable children's products outside of the immediate hand me down process, sending tons of good resalable items to landfills.Many items that were legal this holiday season will be banned come Feb. 10, 2009 regardless of if the child's product was a handheld video game by a super multinational corporation, a made in the USA pair of jeans from a local mom & pop retailer, or one of the fantastic wooden toys available at ETSY shops because it failed testing & needs to be reworked or wasn't tested yet. This means it would even be illegal and punishable by fines and jail time to resell or reuse, outside your own home, those items in anything that that would be for a child unless they were previously tested. So no one, even a consumer looking to green up the Earth a little, could list a child's items as vintage piece at ETSY or a sell it as used on eBay or at a garage sale without it having the the testing done.Generals threads for any one :http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5938698http://www.ipetitions.com/http://forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?messageID=511163411&forumID=124&x#511163411for toy makers :http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/http://grecowoodcrafting.wordpress.com/for children's clothing, doll clothes, hair bows, and accessory makers :http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5935443http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA/

SPRING tutu GIVEAWAY

This giveaway will be for one Lavender Crush Tutu from my store.

All you have to do to enter is visit my store at http://www.mom2twogals.etsy.com/ and decide which item in store is your favorite. Then leave a comment in this blog stating which it is and your contact information! The winner will be randomly selected on Feb. 8th, 2009

Good luck and have fun!

Construction and Punk Rock Tutus

Right now my studio is in complete distress. My husband took it upon himself to build a play room next to my studio and remodeling the ENTIRE space. That means, my area is cut in half and right now is filled with lumber, saws and drills. Oh, and my FAVORITE nail gun. I once thought the sound of the sewing machine at 1 am while working on a piece could be enough to drive one silly until the nail gun came into my studio. He means well, and i'm sure when it's done and all of my goodies are back where they belong it will be FABULOUS. But for the time being it is annoying and one big mess!

On a good note, finished-well almsot finished a complicated piece. The customer wants more lace but other than that the tutu is done. She wanted mutilayered, pixiecut, feather boa trimmed, rockin' skully goodness. If you want a custom piece, just let me know! I'd be glad to design something just for you!

Spring is coming! Or maybe it's wishful thinking! Spring Tutus in my store

It's cold-very cold here in Ohio. I never was a big fan of winter, heavy coats and snow so naturally I am dreaming of spring time! I was thrilled to find some spring silk flowers back on store shelves so it has me geared up and rolling out some spring tutus for photographs, dress up fun, and well just because little girls love to twirl in a fluffy new tutu!

I'm still offering a free matching hair clip with each piece so stop on by and take a look around as i'm adding new items often.

I hope everyone had a great start into their new year and are staying warm and cozy with their families.

www.mom2twogals.etsy.com