W is for...WOW!

Okay, so I know I have slacked off on the whole alphabet series. You might even say my effort recently has been weak (since today's letter is W)! It's interesting how I managed to keep up with it during the busy holidays but now that things have slowed down I have almost completely given up! With only 4 letters left, I just couldn't let the procrastination get the better of me! But W is a hard one! I couldn't find much on Etsy for the letter W that really caught my eye. In my search I came across this absolutely amazing shop though...and it made me say "Wow! This is totally rad!" So I guess it's only fitting to feature electricboogaloo for today's letter!

I would much rather consider myself an adorable dork (aka adorkable) but I fear from time to time I wander over into the nerd category. Science was my second favorite subject in school after all and I even was called Envirogirl for a brief period in senior high! So, it came as no surprise that I absolutely loved these Nerdy Baby ABC Flashcards! As Tiffany, the creative mind behind electricboogaloo, points out, nerdy partents have nerdy babies so why not "geek up the nursery!" It's 100% old school flashcard stlye meets biology 101 with super awesome color drawings that look like they are straight out of my high school text books! Now this is an alphabet set worth much more than a mere $20.00!

I was relieved to discover I didn't quite understand some of these flashcards, which no doubt confirms my adorkable status over nerdom! But I still enjoyed them greatly, and any cool kid will tell you that if you enjoy science, you're a nerd. But if the nerdy ABC's aren't humorous enough for you, then check out Nerdy Baby 123 Flashcards....now with more pi! Okay, I'm a nerd. But c'mon, you gotta admit, this gal is pretty damn smart, crafty and creative! If there was some kind of alphabet award, you'd win 1st place in my book, Tiffany! So all you science geeks out there, go and check out this super neato shop whether you have a baby or not. Perhaps you can educate some of your non science geek friends with these informative flashcards and teach them a thing or two about why it's cool to be a nerd.

This is no way to spend my birthday!

I seriously cannot believe all the crap going on right now with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and their stupid new act! Grrrrrrr! The crafting world is in turmoil and etsy has been a buzz lately. Lots of crafters could be drastically effected by the outcome of this Consumer Product Saftey Improvement Act, if it passes. Yeah, I want the supplies I get to be free of lead, but some of this is a bid ridiculous. I don't really have a lot of child in my demographic so I don't think I will be effected really, but this just made me sad when I read it:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Library Association (ALA) today expressed dissatisfaction with a public meeting held by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to discuss the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and whether the law, which requires children’s products to undergo stringent testing for lead, should apply to ordinary, paper-based children’s books. Under the current opinion issued by the General Counsel of the CPSC, the law would apply to books for children under the age of 12; therefore, public, school, academic and museum libraries would be required to either remove all their children’s books or ban all children under 12 from visiting the facilities as of February 10.

Really? All children's books could be taken out of libraries on my birthday! This makes me so sad, I love the library! And quite honestly still love the child's section! What is this world coming too? Why are we all so afraid of EVERYTHING!

You can read the rest of this article here at District Dispatch and also more on Etsy and the CPSIA here and if you live in Brooklyn, you can go to a community chat TOMORROW 1/23 at the Etsy Virtual Labs, check out this storque article for more info. You can also go to buyhandmade's new blog here for lots of news, updates and more info. If you scroll to the bottom you can get a badge to add to your blog/website to show support.

Valentines Slugs are Coming!

I made just a handful of Valentine's Day slugs! I was inspired by conversation hearts and stamped "luv u" on the back of each one then colored it in with red sharpie! So cute and sweet enough to eat! I will be posting them soon, hopefully on the 21st! They each come with their own little valentine's day card as well. Just fill out the to and from, and wrap it all up and PRESTO! Instant valentine's gift, handmade with love of course!

V is for...

Now for a new twist on things...how about a Spanish translation! This Spanish Alphabet Letter V is a folksy take, hand embroidered and made mostly of felt. And this Etsy shop has the whole alphabet of course! It was fun trying to think of things in Spanish for each letter, I believe Jenna and Mandi of Toodleooo have done a wonderful job, much better than me! Check out the whole series, just $15.00 for each lettered square which is 9x9 inches. My other favorites: Q and C! These would make great gifts for all those bi-lingual families you know or a friend who is learning Spanish perhaps! I also really liked this card featuring two cute pug dogs. Be sure to stop by this new shop!

U is for...

Well, it's been a while but I am back! I wish I could have finished my alphabet series before the new year, but I ran out of time...literally! Now that work has settled down, I will hopefully be posting more often again. And of course be filling up the shop with more slugs! I have a lot of new ideas for 2009, so stay tuned to the blog to see whats coming up! And to pick up where we left off....

I couldn't resist this print by EmilyBalivet for no other reason that the fact that I LOOOOOVE unicorns! U is for Unicorn Print from the Medieval Alphabet is just one of the super cool prints she has available. While I'm not very fond of medieval art really, this collection is quite nice and I could see it fitting in well in certain decors. Each piece has been painstakingly (well it seems that way to me anyhoo) painted by hand by Emily using acrylic and hide glue to give it the aged cracked effect. Very interesting, I love artists who play science! She has the whole alphabet available in 8 x 10 prints for $15.00 each. Check out her other renaissance and medieval themed pieces as well. My favs: Awakening, Celtic Mermaid Hand Painted Treasure Box and Z is for Zodiac. This gal makes me want to go to a renaissance festival!

And I couldn't resist this new find! I am quite partial to this artist's work because it closely resembles the pages upon pages of scribbles that I have in my sketchbooks. I never knew what to make of them...it awesome to see that Christina of whimsyloo has found a way! All of her alphabet letter, like Letter U are bursting with vibrant colors and fun little swirls and loops...or as I like to call them, twibbles! Her style reminds me a lot of Dr. Seuss, who I love! Check out all the funky prints she has to offer, every letter is a little different and each 8 x 10 print is only $13.00. For more about Christina visit her blog and you'll see some more great artwork and a etsy front page feature!! Congrats to whimsyloo!