I'm a Mom coming out of her funk with a little help.

So I am slowly coming out of my funk. Halloween is over, and there are still a few more weeks left until the food stress of Thanksgiving. I am pretty much done Christmas Shopping for the kids...we scaled way back this year, and it feels really good! Something arrived in the mail today that has helped me climb out of my hole of despair. I have been debating telling you guys about this, because...well....because I feel like there are some things I am allowed to be selfish about. But in the spirit of the upcoming Holiday Season, and to try to help out some of those very talented people that are awesome at hand making many cool things. The Little Black Box (LBB) is a company run by an innovative woman (Kim) helping get the word out about handmade goods. LBB is actually a bag full of handmade samples and even some full sized items along with some coupons for etsy shops and websites that gets sent to your mailbox just for you to enjoy! (that was a mouthful!) I have purchased three Little Black Boxes and each time something different arrives! It is just like opening your stocking on Christmas Morning. This month I got two different handmade soaps, quite a few handmade cards, an awesome mini pendant, a pair of earrings (last month I got 3 pair!) and many other really cool items that make me want to spend all day on the internet checking out the shops they came from. October's LBB is on sale now for $19 and that includes Priority shipping....it might seem like a lot, but if you count up how much each sample would cost you to buy and ship it, it is an amazing steal! Take a look, even if it is just to check out the vendors that are in October's LBB, OR November's LBB. PS Also check out Kim's LBB blog where she reviews things that she finds online, or things that will be in the next month's LBB. It's awesome!!!!

I support my friends homemade stuff too!

I have always been a fan of Etsy. Most of the stuff on there I can't afford, so I browse almost every day marveling at the creativeness of other people. I am amazed at the things people create with their own hands and since I am so not a knitter/crocheter (is that a word?)/painter/artist or anything along those lines, I love finding people that can do those things well. My friend Erin (Hi Erin, hope you get to read this!) mentioned she makes Super Hero Capes in her home, and delivers/sends them all over. (OK so, Heather J. actually told me about it, but in a very casual way) I was stoked! My kids both have capes they got from Grandma "Na" and they love them! I knew my Mom was planning on getting one for my niece, Morgan, and I thought it would be cool to have one that fit Morgan's personality. Erin and I talked a little about it, and I just told her I'd let her know if my Mom wanted one. Today I searched to find her website....just out of curiosities sake, just to see what she has to offer and such. WOW! Plum Pear Apple is a great site! The capes Erin makes can make your kid into the greatest superhero of all time! The fabrics are awesome & the emblem designs unique.She is one of the people that amaze me with their talent! So go check her out and if you want to order a cape for Christmas.....make sure you do it now! She is so busy, you wanna make sure you get it in time! (I'm even contemplating getting my kids a new one, so they can switch back and forth...you can't have too many superhero capes!)

FlakyFriends

No, No...I'm not saying my friends are Flaky....I'm saying some new members of our household came from the WONDERFUL Etsy Shop "FlakyFriends".

I came across Sarah's blog Hollywood Flakes through the BlogHer Network a few months ago. I checked out all of her links....noticed how cute her homemade stuffed animals were, and that was the last of it. Until.....I read a post on Mamas Like that highlighted her Etsy Shop. Since I remembered her, I took another look at her fun Friends (the fact that there was a limited time discount code didn't hurt either).

Here are the Flaky Friends my kids have acquired:

Gerty the Good Natured Hippo For any of you that might NOT know, my daughters favorite animal to "draw" is the "Hippo"...or more accurately "Heepo" with a high inflection note on the second "e". OK, so I must confess, "Hippo" is the word I most like to hear her say. AND she's purple! So Sarah stuffed...and I mean stuffed her into a most uncomfortable mailing envelope and popped her into the mail ASAP! When Gerty arrived, she was very grateful to be in the fresh air, but didn't complain a bit (hence the Good Naturedness).

Lucky the Out of Shell Turtle

Lucky out of his shell My son on the other hand, got to choose the Flaky Friend that joined us in SLC. At first he wanted a blue penguin....and I was all ready to pay for him, when I remembered the cute turtles that can come out of their shells. He fell in love with Lucky, and when I ordered him, I got teased a bit (by Sarah) because I was ordering so close to receiving Gerty! Colin was so cute when he started to play with Lucky....he said in a squeaky, turtle like voice "Hey! Where's Gerty! I wanna play with her." Just melted my heart! Unfortunately Lilly was waay too rough with Gerty, and I need to restitch her seam...by no fault of the original seamstress...my daughter kept trying to ride her hippo!

Anyway...just wanted to share my new find with all of you...Sarah is great about shipping, even better about child safety (she changed out Gerty's eyes so they are safety ones now), AND she can even do custom orders to match bedroom decor/favorite colors/etc. etc. So take a look....and hopefully you will find Flaky Friends as endearing as I do!