eye spy...the festive aftermath

This week's eye spy theme brought to you by Cindy herself!

be happy and merry!!

And if you're having a white xmas, enjoy!

eye spy...a bit of bling

I have lots of sparkly bits and pieces, being a girly girl and all.

(In fact, I'm looking down at what may be my favorite bit -- my rhinestone-letter bracelet that's really a cat collar -- that spells out Emily's baby nickname on it! It sits before my computer when I'm not wearing it....Oh well, too late now!!)

But this bracelet is one i think is especially pretty. It's vintage, I'm no expert but I know it has to be 50s or earlier based on who in the family owned it. And it's costume jewelry, but apparently very good costume (note the pearls -- they're hand-tied). I rarely wear it, but it's just SO PRETTY. I expect Emily to be dragging it out of my jewelry box and bothering me to wear it in just a few short years.

Also, I missed last week's eye spy, as the theme was "a burst of color" -- and that is impossible to find in our house as the whole place is a riot of color! And I was trapped indoors with a virus.

Longer catch-up post soon!!

This week's eye spy theme brought to you by Liesl of Hoppo Bumpo!

the death of handmade?

I honestly can hardly believe what I found out this morning, it seems so insane. But basically, it seems that in Congress' rush to compensate for the toy recall disasters of 2007, they have passed legislation that puts all small crafters out of business as of February 9th. No handmade toys, clothes, accessories, decor, or anything can be sold for any kid under 12. No craft fairs, no etsy, nothing. Like I said....INSANE. But it's true. Don't believe me? (I know you don't want to!) Check out this article at Fashion Incubator, which is a pretty good intro. Go to the Handmade Toy Alliance's web page. If you've got the stomach to read more, start with this (very long) etsy thread on the subject -- and at least go to this page and scroll down to Meitaibaby's post, which is excellent and says in part:

As written, this applies TO YOU AND ME. Yes, the little guys. The craft-fair sellers. The artisans. If you do not comply with the new regulations, you will be in violation of the law and will be selling illegally....We MUST be proactive and let our representatives know that the law as written is dangerous. If not, there will be a lot of a) new felons as of Feb. 10 or b) a lot of bankrupt businesses on that day.

There seems to be a lot of confusion (and again, disbelief) about this, but there are a lot of clarifications emerging. And it appears that yes, everything (meant for kids under 12) must be tested. (See details here.) The level of testing is different for different items, things like clothing "only" need to be tested for lead, but if there is no change in this law there will be no more handmade items, probably lots of small companies going under...

does this make ANY sense in the situation our country is in? What we need is support for small makers and individuals handmaking goods in their houses! Cottage industry is what we need right now!! If you are a crafter, buyer of craft, or supporter of handmade goods, please spread the word, write your legislator and keep your fingers crossed that someone wakes up and realizes what they did here!

eye spy...something in my garden.

Snow! The very first bit of snow this year. It'll all be gone by noon, I'm sure. Then the garden will be back to ivy, hungry birds and feral cats again....

This week's eye spy theme brought to you by curly pops!