We Have a Winner!!!

Sorry for the delay in getting this posted. We had a slight detour in the day which was taking my son to the doctor and finding out he has Asthma! Ugh. I will not go into that now....


However, I will happily announce the winner of the Handmade Note Card Set...drum roll (imagine there is one anyway).....


Thanks to this Fun and Free little dealio, the winner is:

Lucky #3!!! Who is none other than the fabulous Becky!

Thank you for you other fabulous people as well who entered! And stay tuned to Chirpings of Little Bird for another Bloggy Giveaway in February! Oh, how I love giveaways!

Happy Friday all!

Could it be??? A giveaway???

:::UPDATE! I am leaving this open until THURSDAY and will post the winner FRIDAY!!!::

Hello out there! In my little world of creating and sewing and attempt at pattern making, I have realized something. Other than the lack of bloggy posting fun happening here, I had the realization that it's been forever since I've had a giveaway! So, truly, it's due time now isn't it?!? Yes, it is.

SO, for all you still about popping in here and there to see what's happening in the land of Little Bird, here is a lovely treat for you to enter to win:




A set of pretty little notecards by yours truly. Hand cut and sewn. Both original and one of a kind. Great for anything you might need to write a note for, or to, or from...or, if you really want, keep it for yourself in your notecard stash!

Alright. Here's what ya gotta do to enter....

Leave a comment! That's it. Really. Just simply leave a comment on this here post by Tuesday January 27th. Winner will be announced Wednesday.

K, ready, set....comment!

The CPSIA Blog-In

International CPSIA Blog-In Participants

Will you join us? If you have a blog of your own, please join in the efforts to spread the awareness!

Obviously, with my little Etsy store being mostly geared towards baby and children's items, this is near and dear to my heart. In March it will be two years since I started selling my items on Etsy. It has been a wonderful way for me to grow in my creative process and provide a small, yet helpful, second income to my family. However, with the law as it now stands, my little biz will be closing down February 9th to revamp and take on some changes. Please, take a moment to read through the following post put together by Holly of Winklepots and Gretchen of Chichibouli. They have put this together for all participating in the Blog-In to use. If you would like to participate as well, feel free to use all of it, some of it or simply for inspiration for your own post.
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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.html

Did you know? If this upsets or alarms you, please react.
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How you can help:

http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/how-you-can-help

http://capwiz.com/americanapparel/issues/alert/?alertid=12525486

ETSY has also put together a CPSIA Action Kit, full of information on ways you can help. Please take a minute or two to read through this and search for ways you can help.

Dolls! Or Something....

Ah! The things to come. These lovely gals have been in the works for...well...a while. I drafted the pattern over a year ago (gasp! that long!) and since then have been taking my time with them. Really, I want to go a bit faster, but sometimes good things just cannot be rushed. That or I just haven't taken the time to make it so....yeah, that's it.





However, they are soon to be finished and made available as....patterns! Anyone interested? I have mentioned before that I would love to take some of my creations and turn them into readable patterns for others, not just me. It's easy to follow my own pattern, I know my own scribbles! However, I am needing some fellow crafty people that would maybe be willing to help me out with some testing of my scribbles for others? If interested, feel free to contact me via email! Again, I have no clue what I am doing, but it's worth giving it a shot, right?

Well, Hi There!

There I go again, disappearing out of bloggy land completely unintentionally....

Much has been going on. You know those times where you sit down for a brief moment, having every intention of writing one a many blog posts and actually hitting "publish", but before you can something or other interrupts you? Like little arms wanting a hug, a sweet little voice asking if I could please "cutted up an apple for me, mom?!". Those moments of random snuggle times, and school days off and family gatherings you just can't, and don't want to, ignore. Yeah, that's where I've been. There, along with a trip to Disney World (whew! Whatta trip!) and then very soon after arriving home, my husbands dear, sweet Mammaw passed away. In some ways I suppose it was expected, but others ways I know I wasn't ready for it. Then again, I am never ready to lose a loved one. Especially when I feel I didn't get to spend enough time visiting with them. Not that we didn't want to, just the distance between can be difficult to close as often as we would like. I am very thankful though that our last visit with her was such a good one and my son really got to visit with his great-grandmother. He thought she was funny and enjoyed his visits while we had them.

We miss you Mammaw.


Then, there has been the whole CPSIA nightmare.....do I even want to go there? Not really, but one must I suppose when their fun little handmade biz is at risk. To think that in less than a month, either major changes need to take place, or Little Bird Creations (along with countless others) will no longer be in the baby and kid biz! I will still be around though, there will just be some changes. Some good, some sad to see go. Nonetheless, changes.


So, I will be here and there, and hopefully have more fun, uplifting posts to come! Lots going on behind the scenes...lots to share soon enough!


Meanwhile, Happy Weekend to all!

SALE!!!

If you haven't heard...

EtsyBABY and EtsyKids has joined together in a "Help Save Handmade Sale!". Sale begins January 9th. Check out the link below for some fabulous handmade goodness....while you can!

**Help Save Handmade Sale**

Obviously, saving handmade is near and dear to my heart. Please help show your support and spread the word!

Lemony Chickpea and Rosemary Soup...Delish!

SO, before I hop back into creating and sewing....I thought I'd try my hand at some soup making. It's been a rather odd Fall and Winter here, with temps swinging low and high rather quickly. Like, just this past Saturday, we had a record high in the 80's (yes, the 80's!!!), then a cold front swept through and highs Sunday were around 60's. Then, today it's not getting out of the 30's...but wait! (I sound like one of those infomercials..) tomorrow it will be back in the mid 60's. These are no small temperature changes folks. Crazy. So, just as I am able to get in the mood for some soup, instead of a glass of iced tea, the weather is changing....again.

Anyhoo, so soup. I wanted to make some soup. I was thinking some minestrone soup would be tasty, but then I happened upon This blog with THIS recipe. I had all ingredients on hand, so why not?! Sounds delish.

It calls for peeled chickpeas. Now, one to have never done this before, I thought it might not be too difficult. Apparently, I was mistaken. Okay, really, it's not that difficult. After about the twentieth one or so, I found my rhythm with it. Although, it was more time consuming than I was willing to take on, and while I was standing there peeling, I was thinking about all the cleaning I very much needed to get done.....like the bathrooms. Then, I thought this peeling really wasn't so bad after all. Yeah, anything to avoid housework apparently....

However, I obviously didn't have the patience for any more peeling today and I now have soup with half peeled and have not so peeled chickpeas. I am sure it will be just fine. Yes, I sure am.






And it is. It's yummy! Creamy delish, lemony goodness! Now, I am going to go finish enjoying my soup. If you make some, let me know how you liked it or if you made any tasty changes to it.

Meanwhile, more craftyness to be posted later.

Peek-a-Boo

Just popping in to say Hi! I am back and recuperating from Disney World before jumping back into all things Little Bird. Whatta trip! Oh, and all the fun things I have planned for this year....I hope to share more with you soon.



Hoping you are all having a fabulous New Year so far!