finally.

Copper Boom supports charity:water

I’ve updated my etsy shop. Which means to exciting things have happend.

1. I have discovered that making jewelry is more fun than I first thought.

2. Copper Boom is now supporting charity:water. I will be paying myself what it cost to buy the supplies for the product. The rest of the money will go to charity:water. And, just so everyone knows, many, many, many of the items I make are from supplies I’ve gotten for free which means 100% of the sales from over half the items will go to charity:water.

Happy shopping.

NaBloPoMo Post #8: Handmade for the Holidays

When you are doing all your gift buying this year, consider buying handmade.

Here are some of my favorite shops (most are etsy shops):

CopperBoom
Future Leaders of Ghana
Gub Factory
Junk Posse
Water4Christmas
LadyBird
Bean Forest

But don’t forget, the first gift you buy this year, buy it November 13.
$10 for water.

Water For Christmas

Water4Christmas has an etsy shop.
Very cute jewelry.
Christmas ornaments.
Baby Gear.
Head bands.
Lots to buy.
100% of the sales goes directly to charity:water.

In addition, I’ve listed several items in my shop with the tag “water4christmas”. 100% of the sales from those items will go directly to charity:water.

If you have an etsy shop and you’d like to donate items to charity:water just tag the items with water4christmas and leave a comment here.

Happy Shopping.

Water4Christmas

If you are looking for great Christmas/Holiday presents and you want 100% of the proceeds to go to charity:water then you need to check out Water4Christmas’s etsy shop.

They have ornaments, t-shirts, headbands, jewelry, blankets, and more. It’s all handmade and it’s for a great cause.

Halloween Costumes

I finished up the kids’ Halloween costumes this afternoon. Lexi wanted to be a “Green Princess” and Milo has no opinion yet so he gets to be the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz.

Here’s Lexi’s costume (it’s hanging funny because it’s on an adult size hanger, not a kid one.)

And here’s Milo’s.

When we go trick-or-treating, I’ll get pictures of the kids in the costumes.

Love Free Stuff

A couple of weeks ago I picked up 5 huge boxes of fabric off of freecycle. This afternoon I finally had time to go through all the boxes. I ended up freecycling 4 not-quite-full boxes because I have no idea where I would have put it all – and a lot of it was smaller pieces that I probably wouldn’t use.

What I did find was some serious vintage fabrics and a lot of it. I’m not sure what it’s going to end up being but I do know that a lot of it will turn up in my shop in one form or another. Any suggestions?

These are my favorites (especially the two on the far left)

And the other half of my favorites (the two flowery ones on the far right? How cute are they?)

And after sifting through 5 boxes here’s what I was left with:

Anyone have any idea what I should make with orange camo print?

Last week Lexi and I hit up a church rummage sale. We spent $6.75. Lexi came home with a toy phone, a basketball and a book. I came home with this (and a pair of knitting needles that didn’t make the picture):

A few items for the Etsy shop

It’s a three day weekend so I’ve been busy sewing  and listing items in my etsy shop, Copper Boom.

I know you are curious so here’s a sample of what’s for sale:

A twirly skirt.

Gadget cases.

Cute hats.

I’ve also got a few more ideas lined up and (if I can find the time) I’ll be loading up the shop with great Christmas gifts.

Copper Boom, Baby!

Making Ring Slings

I like to sew but one of my favorite things to make is ring slings. And recently I’ve been making a lot of them and giving them away to parents who are in the process of adopting.

For those of you unfamiliar with babywearing, it’s amazing. It’s a great way to bond with your baby, it allows you to have your hands free while you carry your baby around with you and in general makes life with a baby a little easier.

I originally thought I would sell my slings but honestly, I don’t really like to sell my stuff. It’s much more fun to sew when I’m not trying to make a profit. Instead I posted on an adoption forum that I am on a message stating that if anyone wanted a ring sling to contact me and I’d make them one.

So far, it’s been great. I’ve got about 20 slings to make and I’m done with about 9 of them. But there’s no rush – most of the people waiting for a sling probably won’t hear about their baby until late winter or early spring this year.

I’ve been gathering up fabric to use and I’ve got quite a bit. My brainstorm that bedsheets would work was a good guess, they make great slings. And then there is my freecycle stash. A lady I picked up fabric from must have bought stuff by the bolt because I have yards and yards of material that will work. And I’ve got lots of scrap material and ribbon that is adding a few finishing touches to each sling – just to make them a little different from each other.

Here are some I’ve done that I really like:

A good idea and a good find

I haven’t been doing much sewing this summer, I’ve been doing a lot of knitting but I think I need to switch and start sewing because I’m going to run out of days when sitting in the cold family room will feel good.

I was buying a bunch of yarn for my latest project and by chance I found this yarn. (It’s the color “summer fields if you’re really curious.) Okay so this may not seem that exciting but about 4 or 5 years ago my sister-in-law made me a scarf for Christmas using this yarn. And I’ve been wanting a hat to match. Now I can make one. I’m going to make this one or http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/kwetq-scarfHat.html or this one…what do you think? Oh, I forgot the best part. It usually sells for about $5.99 I got it for a $1. It was on clearance. Score.

I also came up with the idea of making ring slings from old bed sheets. Cotton bed sheets are nice and soft, they breath well and hold up to being washed. All good qualities for a baby sling. They are also hemmed on all four sides so if I cut them right, there is much less hemming for me to do. Another bonus. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Pay It Forward

Remember that movie? I loved that movie. Anyway…May 27th was Give Away Day over at Sew, Mama Sew! and so I’ve been checking out a pile of blogs (hundreds actually). And in a few places I’ve seen people doing this pay it forward thing so I thought I would join in.

Here’s the rules

(I found my idea here: Bec Clarke)

I am entering into the following contract with the first 5 people who comment and then commit to do the same on their blog.
Just read below and if you feel up to the task copy the following into your blog and leave me a comment. I can’t post overseas, so it’s for US residents only.

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. You get what you get and you don’t have a fit.
2. What I create will be just for you, with love.
3. It’ll be done this year (2009).
4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be. It will be something made in the real world and not something cyber. It may be weird or beautiful. Or it may be monstrous and annoying. Heck, I might bake something for you and mail it to you. Who knows? (okay, I probably won’t bake anything because shipping that is a huge pain.)
5. I reserve the right to do something strange (but probably won’t)
6. In return, all you need to do is post this text on your blog and make 5 things for the first 5 to respond to your blog post.
7. Send your mailing address – after I contact you.

Welcome to everyone. I will however, make an effort to do something that you like based on what I see on your blog, BUT there are no guarantees.