Go start your Christmas shopping in your pj's!

So Halloween isn't quite here yet, but we all know that Christmas comes so quick after all the ghosts and gouls retire for the year. Why wait until the last moment to shop for your loved ones?! On a recent trip to the local mall I was trying to come up with ideas for my friends and family for gify giving. I realized how tired I've grown of the usual selection of items, knowing my friends would be less thrilled to receive housewares from me so I naturally turned to Etsy to start collecting ideas. There is such a wonderful selection of items that are unique and wonderfully crafted by talented artists. My suggestion is to do a search by typing cafemom team into http://www.etsy.com/ to find great products from some of the best women on Etsy.

How about some custom Christmas Cards from Keepsakes By Janell

Try out some wonderful prodcuts from Shop Davina-her pumpkin cheesecake lipbalm is wonderful!

There are these beautiful wreaths from Littlepapoose

For that sweet tooth on your list stop by Keeping It Simply Sweet for tons of yummie goodnes including these great homemade marshmellows

For that little sweetheart on your good list take a spin into Cozy Cabin Creations for an adorable pillowcase dress

And for some seasonal jewelry take a looksie into Oogieboogiemom's shop

This is such a small sample of the fantastic items you can find! Search Cafemom team-you won't be a loss for ideas!

More Christmas Item Pictures

Here in Ohio the weather is beginning to get quite brisk brrrrr! It seems like just last week it was hot, but then again, that is Ohio for you weather wise. My little model wouldn't cooperate today so I photographed a new 2008 Holiday Line tutu with no model. She is in one rotten mood after day care so i'll reshoot this weekend.

There is a link on the side bar of my blog for a Calendar Contest Trinity is in for our local Times Reporter. They are taking donations for a local charity by accepting $1 per vote with a $5 minimum online purchase. All proceeds go to our local Woman and Infants Organization to promote health related causes. Anyone who donates and votes for Trinity will be entered into a drawing to win our complete Santa Baby Tutu set which includes the tutu up to size 4, the matching faux stole and wand retailing at $71.50 http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16467525. Each person who submits their $5 in votes needs to copy and past the screen shot post purchase and email it to me at trinitystutus@ymail.com Here is an example of a copy and pasted post purchase listing.

Order Payment
Order ID:
UP14305

Description
Quantity
Subtotal
5 votes for $5
5
$5.00
Order Total:
$5.00

I will do the drawing on November 17 2008

Until then here are the snapshots of our new Snowflake Princess Tutu

Gearing up for Christmas OH SO SLOWLY

I am still unburrying myself from Halloween orders-so it is time to turn to Christmas. I know I know don't rush it right!? I imagine being a mom makes time fly fast when the holiday is on the horizon as the wish list start growing and growing and plans are being made with family and friends. I ADORE the holiday season! I love the snow, decorations, get togethers, everything about the coming time of year. I look forward to the smile on my children's face and the smiles we try to create by purchasing toys for children and supplying food and cookies to our homeless shelter on our Christmas eve tradition. As I work on my last few ladybugs and bees I am finally getting a couple Christmas items out one by one. So far I have my Sweet Santa Baby Tutu Dress and my Candy Cane Swirl Tutu and a Faux Fur Stole custom made for any holiday piece. I have a ton more ideas that will soon be coming to life in the coming weeks.

Such a busy time of year!

Fall is in the air FINALLY! It has been a favorite season of mine for quite some time. This year it is super busy for me, pumping out Halloween tutus for all those little princesses. It's been a lot of fun AND very exhausting! I wouldn't have it any other way though. Due to working on Halloween orders I haven't had the time to design much new just yet but as soon as this month is over, my christmas designs will be hitting the store and I am SUPER exicted! Here are a few shots taken recently.

The sweet little bumble bee is courtesy from the owner/designer of http://www.knottybabwear.com/

Her store has so many adorable items in it I could go on and on but I will admit I am addicted to her knotty legs! Check out her store for a HUGE selection of leggings for your little one!!

My "Baby" had her first day at school

Sigh, today was the first day Trinity went to daycare/school. I wasn't so much nervous about how she'd behave or handle it, I was more concerned about her napping. She has only slept in her crib and there they have toddler cots all in the "sleep" room. I couldn't help but worry how in the world they'd get her to sleep in a room with other children on an unconfined bed!
Dad dropped Trinity off late morning...and she ran right in and never looked back. She was greeted by anxious members of her new junior toddler class and was in pure delight to see them as well as all the toys. Daddy picked her up around 5pm and he called out her name and she came running arms open screaming dadadada. When he walked into the room, he naturally spotted our monkey climbing the foam stairs...up and down up and down. Her report for the day said she did great. She played well with the other children, never cried, slept for nearly two hours, ate most of her lunch and all of her snack and her activities included playdoh and puzzles. Whew, what a worry off my shoulders. I was weighing the pros and cons yesterday, feeling like I failed her as a mommy by putting her in daycare a few days a week. As it turns out, I see this just may be the environment she needs to thrive more. She is a very high strung ball of energy and at home she's grown bored. She pushes the limits here because she knows she can. Her toys are old hat, no matter how often we buy new or rotate them in and out and her day here is filled with terrorizing at all costs. She's a rotten one. I think daycare will help the transition to prek and it just may help fix some problems here at home too! She was so exhausted she went to bed early. She never got rowdy or out of control and didn't throw one trantrum all evening. All the while when she was at school, mommy got some much needed time to work on her tutu orders so it was a win win situation. I was able to take time out of "work" this evening to be with my family AND I took a LONG HOT shower this afternoon just because I could. It has been nearly two years since that happened. I ALMOST snuck in a nap too until the phone rang. So far, so good...we'll see how next week goes!

Sock Monkeys and leg warmers

In case you haven't heared of the following etsians yet, you REALLY should. Two of my FAVORITE stores had matching material so how on earth could I resist making a tutu to match? Totally impossible! First, there is Elegant Hobbies. Now, I used to never put a thought into sock monkeys. I imagine I was envisioning monkeys of the past, although cute, they were not very girly. With two daughters who LOVE stuffed goodies, I was delighted to see how adorable her items were AND being a fellow Cafemom Etsy team member I HAD to buy one for Trinity. Check out her store at http://eleganthobbies.etsy.com/, I promise you won't be disappointed.

And secondly comes Knotty Baby Wear...Oh my gosh the selection here is UNBEATABLE, so so so many things to chose from. The little crocheted cowboy booties get me every time. Now if I could just shrink Trinity's BIG feet to fit in a pair hmmm. Realizing my youngest will just continue to grow like my oldest child Caitlin, I guess I will stick with my growing addiction to Knotty Legwarmers. Fall is coming and my squirmy worm is difficult enough to change so these legwarmers will be so much more easy than tights..and when I can no longer put off trying to tackle tights and the Trinster, these leggings will look SO adorable and make her the coolest toddler on the block..and here is the best kept secret (okay so it's no secret really) FREE SHIPPING on knotty legwarmers. Spin by her shop, you'll fall in love http://knottybabywear.etsy.com

Both of these ladies are fantastico to order from, which makes the Etsy experience that much better!!

Super Hero Cape

Trinity was playing in her sisters room (sssshhh... don't tell Caitlin) and she found her boo. Well, she thought it was her boo. Boo is her ghostie friend that Grandma and sissy made her at Build a Bear. The name boo merely comes from the fact that it is indeed a name Trinity can say. This Boo she found was identical to her boo but she was baffled how Boo had a mask and a cape? She was clueless that sissy had a ghostie too but it was dressed up for Halloween. Trinity, being the demanding child she is, insisted sissy's Boo better share that mask so she ripped it off and screamed until mommy put it on her. The mask was way too small, but I laughed and laughed as she walked around the room so proud of herself. Dad realized that his little girl would be one of "those" kids who wore super hero outfits in public. Then, it hit me! Trinity needs her own cape and mask. She LOVES running around with a towel over her shoulders, wrapped snug around her neck. How perfect would it be for her to be Super Trinity! I personally have no sewing abilities so naturally I turned to Etsy. It didn't take me long to find this wonderful cape that could be customized, YES customized to your liking. I got to chose the color of the cape, the emblem and color of the emblem-I chose the crown and also an initial and the color for that as well. So I ordered hers in black and pink to match her birthday theme and HAD to get a matching mask. I anxiously await the arrival of her goodies and my new favorite etsy find of the week. Check out the store at http://babypop.etsy.com/