One Cozy Nest

Hi everyone! Believe it or not, yesterday was the first day of Spring...you probably already knew that, but it sure crept up on me! My husband reminded me by asking me if I wanted to go to Rita's for waterice, which they give away for free on the first day of Spring. It was in the mid 40s, so it didn't feel like Spring. However, the flowering trees and shrubs in my neighborhood are blooming already, just in time for Easter. My family isn't huge on Easter but my sister is having us over to her house for a casual brunch. It's Cooper's first Easter, so I got him a basket, some paper grass, and some of those plastic eggs. What I'll put in there I have no idea, but I just had to do something for his first, you know? Maybe I'll get some treats for myself and stick them in there. Haha! Tonight, my sister's family is coming over to dye Easter eggs, which we make sure we do every year.

Onto another subject. I've been thinking for quite some time about changing my "brand" name from mandy b. bags to something else that will reflect the fact that I make more than just bags. I'm getting a bit bored with making handbags for the time being. I still enjoy it, but since I started making them in 2000, there are so many other girls doing the same or similar thing. Granted, a smaller number of them are using vintage and recycled fabrics, but still, it's a lot of competition. You log on to Etsy or Ebay or just do a google search and there are a gazillion handmade handbags. With that said, I'm leaning more towards making things that I love. Things that I want to have in my own home, things I wish I could afford but know I can make myself, things that I am attracted to in magazines, flea markets, and antique stores. Take, for example, these vintage fabric buntings that I just made....or the pillows I posted about a couple of days ago. These came from the heart and I want my name to reflect the feeling I get when making things like these. So with a lot of thought and internet searching (to make sure my new name wasn't already being used), I've come up with One Cozy Nest. I registered the name with Etsy and also went and registered the domain name onecozynest.com. In the coming months, I am going to try to consolidate my Etsy shops (mandybbags and mandybbaby) into the One Cozy Nest shop and then re-work my mandybbags.com website. So, you'll be seeing new categories for home, kitchen and bath, and hopefully they'll fill up with goodies. We'll see where this takes us!

Happy Easter to everyone!

Eco-Tip Wednesday ~ Pets Can Be Green Too!

Don't forget your pet when it comes to living a more green lifestyle. Check out these great eco-friendly Reversible Dog Coats and Pet Beds by Etsy seller anniessweatshop. She uses fleece fabric that's made from recycled plastic. Or design your own pet tags! Etsy seller julep115 uses recycled aluminum to create personalized jewelry for your furry ones. Spot got the "itchies"? Well, try this organic alternative to flea spray made by Etsy seller sandycreeksoap. It's made with tea tree oil and citronella. That reminds me of my college roommate and I trying to say "free flea spray" 10 times in a row. Try it and it might just make you giggle!

My Latest Project...

I've been sick with some kind of 48 hour bug the past two days, but luckily that has passed and I'm feeling great now! Here are some pictures of my latest project. I wanted to add some pizzaz to the big red couch in my living room, so with the artistic help of my sister, I made these great pillows. They're all made from natural-toned canvas. Each has a fabric backing of red & white striped fabric with an opening in the middle to insert pillow forms. One has a hand-painted letter "B" for my last name, of course, the other has just a "No. 3"...no real significance there, just that my sister painted it. The House Pillow, I designed myself, and I'm going to have my sister paint a number on it for me next time I see her. It has four windows that I made into photo frames by using clear plastic. I used the frames to display some old black & whites of my great grandmother, grandparents, and other relatives when they were young. The roof is red and white striped and the sky is baby blue with white polka dots to simulate clouds. The big red door is felt and has a tiny little vintage button as a door knob. Don't you love the awning over the door? That's so no one gets rained on while looking for their keys. I stitched the detail onto the shutters, door, and awning, which gives the pillow a kind of folk artsy feel. Anyway, I'm real proud of these so I wanted to show them off. Thanks for looking!

Scavenger Hunt for GREEN Prizes!

This St. Patrick's Day, join in the fun with the Eco Etsy Team by going on a GREEN treasure hunt for GREEN prizes!

When: Sunday, March 16th 12:00pm EST to 12:00am EST (or earlier if all the prizes have been found).

Where: Etsy

How to Play: St. Patty's Day Scavenger Hunt

Family & Creativity

Good morning...actually, it's just after noon but it still feels like morning. I'm still in my PJs. We had a sleep over with my two nephews last night and their mom just picked them up. We had fun dressing up with Mr. Potato Head pieces. Cooper is down for a nap so I logged on for a quick blog entry.

I've been in a super creative mood lately and there are just so many ideas flying through my brain. I want to make so many things and there is just so little time in a day! I decided to re-organize a portion of my workspace recently, which has helped to spark some inspiration. There's something about seeing my ribbon all in a row that makes me feel good. I moved my cork board from it's old spot and hung it right over my ironing board so I'd be more likely to hang things from it. It's now my "inspriation board". Then I hung a favorite print of my sister's next to it. On the other side, closest to my cutting table, I hung a cool wrought iron planter box decoration I picked up at JoAnn Fabrics. It works well to hold my baby food and mason jars full of push pins, cutting tools, and various other things. Then, my favorite part of the re-org was hanging an old white shelf that I got at a yard sale YEARS ago. I wanted to hang it in a baby's room but when Coop came around, it didn't go with the theme really. I screwed two old curtain rod brackets to the bottom shelf so that I could hang all of my ribbon. They used to be in a shoe box all crowded and cramped and unorganized. Now they are in plain sight and I will be able to use them more easily. Lastly, I hung my thread spool holders on the wall instead of them taking up space on the table. Now I have more room to spread projects out while I'm sewing. That, my friends is my workspace upgrade. Ta-daaaaa!

Eco-Tip Wednesday ~ Composting

Think for a minute about how much food waste you throw in the trash or grind up in your garbage disposal each week. That "trash" could become treasure in two short months. If you start now, you'll have nutrient-rich fertilizing soil for your potted plants come spring. Not to mention, you'll be reducing your footprint on the environment. You don't need a complicated or expensive bin to get started. All you need is a small spot in the corner of your yard or behind your shed and a pitch fork for ease of turning your pile. Kids will love to help with dumping scraps onto the pile, I know I did when I was younger. For quick and easy instructions on how to start your own compost pile, visit E-How's tutorial. Here's a little guide that includes a chart telling you what can and can't be composted. Who knew dryer lint and hair could help make your garden grow?

I bought an inexpensive but decorative scrap pail to sit on my counter next to my sink. It has a lid with holes in it for aeration and a carbon filter to prevent the stinkies. I put coffee grounds & filters, egg shells, and all my veggie and fruit waste in there. When it's full, I take it outside and dump it. I happen to have a bin that rotates on an axel to make for easy pile turning, but like I said above, you don't need this. My sister composts and she just has a pile next to her shed that she hid with a nice, rustic piece of wood picket fence.

Image from: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/

"You've Got Sales!"

I've been pretty successful these past couple of weeks so I wanted to share it with you all! It looks like my Artist's Pouches are a hit! My sister bought one...yes she said she's going to pay for it even though I told her not to. Kim from Running on Ink ordered five more to give to her artist friends as gifts. Thanks Kim! On the mandy b. baby front, I sold two of my adorable Kimono & Handbag Sets, another Custom Onesie with the phrase "Does This Cloth Diaper Make My Butt Look Fat?", and a Custom baby blanket. I'm going to make Cooper some of those onesies in a couple different colors. I also came up with a new phrase for my onesies: "My Mom's A Tree Hugger". That one will definitely be made for Cooper, for sure! Oh, and for some reason, that's my new thing...I keep saying "for sure." My husband seems to think it's from watching The Wire. One of the main characters, who "got got" at the end of the season, said it all the time. Apparently, I want to be a gangsta corner boy from East Baltimore....FO SHO!!

Where I Work

Here's a little taste of where I do my crafting. Gotta love IKEA! My cutting table is from JoAnn Fabrics & Crafts, the cubby shelves, lighting, curtains, and desk are from IKEA. I'm lucky enough to have an extra bedroom dedicated just to my sewing and crafting. If I had to share the basement with my husband I'd shoot myself. Down there, I'd have to compete with sports and rude comedy shows blaring constantly in the background. Not to mention stinky farts and whatnot! Having our own space allows each of us to do what we like without getting in each other's way...then we meet up for date night!

Latest Project

Hi everyone! My latest project is finally complete. I bought a bunch of colorful zippers the other day and made some little square pouches and long skinny pencil cases. I just listed them on Etsy so stop on by to have a look. I like to offer a variety of bag shapes at various price levels that anyone can afford. At $5 and $7.50, they're a steal!

Eco-Tip Wednesday ~ Brown Baggin' It is OUT!

Do you remember toting your lunch to school in a little brown paper bag with your name carefully written on it by your mom? Perhaps she was sweet enough to leave you a little love note on the napkin. These days, that little brown bag has been replaced with lunch boxes and soft sided coolers, which are definitely more eco friendly than using a throw away bag every day. However, the stuff that's INSIDE those lunch boxes is the topic of this week's Eco Tip Wednesday posting.

Plastic wrap, sandwich baggies, plastic utencils, and paper napkins probably go into your and your kids' lunches ever day and end up in the trash. Why not use cloth napkins like these from Etsy seller gnomeclothes? Instead of packing plastic forks and knives, send junior (or yourself) to school or work with a set of stainless steel ones from a junk shop that can be brought home to be washed over and over again?

That still doesn't resolve the issue of what to wrap your sandwich in. You can't have your turkey on rye floating around all willy nilly, now can you? Try wrap-n-mats, a reusable sandwich wrap made from a washable, waterproof fabric! OR for a complete eco-friendly mealtime ensemble, try these stylish lunch kits by Etsy seller glueandglitter!

Happy Green Baggin' It!

My latest project...

Good evening all! It's almost time for "Date Night" for my husband and I, so I wanted to hurry up and post this entry about my latest project. I bought a huge spool of baker's twine the other day from Ebay seller, wesellcoffee. I didn't realize just how much is on one spool so I think I have about a lifetime's supply. Anyway, I wanted to use it to make my own hang tags for my handbags and other crafts that I sell on Etsy. I bought a circle punch at the craft store today and then dug through the recycling pile in the garage in search of something I could reuse. What I found was a JC Penney gift box that had a cool striped pattern! So I got to punching and stringing and prest-o change-0...handmade, eco-friendly hang tags for my eco-friendly handbags. Hey, that rhymed!

Clean, clean, clean!

I know it's not spring yet, but my house just underwent a Spring Cleaning yesterday. I decided to spoil myself and hire a cleaning service, which is a true luxury in my book. I know, I feel like a lazy bum because I'm a stay at home mom right now and technically HAVE the time to clean my house but who the heck WANTS to do that?? Besides I get a lot of back pain as a result of heavy cleaning so I'll just blame it on that! :) Anyway, they are located in South Jersey and are called Pure Clean. They use only natural cleaning products and no paper products. Yes, that's right...NO CHEMICALS or wasteful paper use! They are one of only two natural cleaning companies I could find in the region. My house is sparkling clean now and smells so good. They even left a little vase of flowers and some mints on my pillow. Call me a dork but I love the feeling of knowing there's no dust bunnies hiding under the bench in my hallway or on top of my ceiling fan blades. A clean house makes my soul feel clean, if that makes any sense! Again, dork, I know. They really are very affordable too. For my 4 bedroom, 2 and 1/2 bath home with kitchen, living room, family room, and dining room, the initial deep clean only cost me a little over $200.

Eco-Tip Wednesday ~ Free Cycle

I don't know if your town is like mine, but they only take 1's and 2's. I'm talking about recyclable plastic containers. For some reason, they only accept the ones that have the numbers 1 and 2 on the bottoms. I'm sure there's a good reason, but I don't know what it is. They also don't accept any cardboard with a foil coating. So whenever I come across an item that I use a lot and it's not recyclable, I think of ways I can reuse them instead of throwing them away. Two such items in my household these days are the small lidded containers that my son's baby food comes in and the foil coated cardboard cans that my son's baby formula comes in. I've been setting these aside for a few weeks now and needed to find a use for them.

So what I did was joined my local chapter of The Freecycle Network. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free.

I use some of the baby food containers to store & freeze baby food that I make myself, but I don't have a use for the other containers and cans. So I listed my items, waited for someone to reply with interest and then arranged for them to come to my house to pick them up! I just placed them on my porch and off they went to a good home. An art teacher, and a couple of local charity groups got dibs on the formula cans and I hope that someone into beading or other craft snags the lidded containers! They are clear and are the perfect size to store beads, buttons, and other findings.

Another way to avoid using items that aren't recycled by your township is to reduce the amount of non-recyclable products that you buy. At the grocery store, simply look on the bottom of the container and if your town doesn't take it, choose another brand that packages the item in something recyclable!

Back From Vacation

Hi everyone! My family and I were on vacation for a week down in Florida. We got back yesterday afternoon and I've been unpacking and crawling out from under the huge pile of laundry since. I tell ya...travelling with a baby is a lot different than travelling with just my husband and I! However, Cooper was an absolute angel all week long and was such a good little guy on both plane rides. He had a blast in the pool and even came home with two more teeth than he left with! Now he's got two on the bottom and two on the top. Makes for an adorable sight whenever he smiles. He slept for 12 and a half hours last night and just woke up from a three hour nap....we know who's glad to be back in his own cozy crib! Well, I know I'm behind in the Eco-Tip of the week so I'll have to post that next! It's nice to be "connected" again and be able to blog, email, and update my websites again. Stay tuned for more!

Eco Tip Wednesday ~ Re-Bag It!

Did you ever stop to think just how many non-biodegradable plastic bags your local grocery store goes through in a week? Okay, on a big trip, you use maybe 8 to 10. Multiply that by all the people that were in line with you...then all the people who shopped there that day, then think about all the stores across the country and all the customers. Man, that's a lot of bags! And do you know where they come from? Oil. Yes, those thin, flimsy bags are made from oil that we import from other countries. I don't need to go into the reasons why we shouldn't be depending on said countries for oil...but what I will say is this:

Most stores these days are offering 99 cent reusable bags AND they're paying YOU to use them! That's right...Shop Rite, for example, pays you 2 cents per bag that you bring back to the store. Even if you bring 10 and fill up only 2, they still give you 2 cents per bag that you brought. I've seen these bags several stores so far and they are usually green (Wegmans has froo-froo black ones) and have the stores' names on them. Sometimes the cashiers don't even know where they keep them but they're usually on and end cap or right near the registers. Costco even sells a set of three large ones for about $3.50 for your bulk items.

After using my canvas and green reusable bags for quite a while, I kept getting angry at myself for using the plastic produce bags. So I ordered some of these great mesh ones made by remarket of Etsy. They have a nice draw string on them and they are see-through so the cashier can read the produce stickers. I love them and plan on never using plastic bags at the grocery store again. Oh, and don't stop at the grocery store...I take my reusable bags everywhere I shop...Target, the fabric store, Kohl's, etc.!

Glass Half Empty or Half Full?

Apparently, I don't see it either way. What about you? According to this quiz, I see what's exactly in the glass. I never try to make a bad situation seem better than it is...But I also never sabotage any good things I have going on. I am brutally honest in my assessments of situations - and this always seems to help me cope. Here, I was thinking I was an optimist, but turns out I'm a realist.

Speaking of optimism...I was a sucker and bought a book that was discussed on the Oprah show the other day. The book is called Law of Attraction: The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don't by Michael J. Losier. Basically, the more positive vibes you give out to the universe, the more positive things the universe will give back to you. It sounds hokey, but since I've been reading the book and practicing a bit of what it has to say, I have sold two handbags and two custom banner an avatar sets from my Etsy shop. Those two handbags have been sitting unsold for quite some time now. I determined my desire (to have more sales), focused on it and gave it attention (took several new photos of them) and while I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep I imagined opening up my email the next day and getting sales. Turns out that it has worked for me two days in a row. I know, I know, it's a coincidence...it's the new pictures that got me the sales. But coincidence is another term we often use to explain the almost inexplicable phenomenon that is the Law of Attraction. "Believe it or not!"

Swimmy

There once was a little fish named Swimmy who stuck out like a sore thumb. You see, he was all black and his friends were all red. One day a big tuna came and ate up all of Swimmy's friends...only he remained. From then on, all the other red fish in the sea spent their lives hidden away for fear of the big fish. Swimmy was not afraid! He convinced the other fish to come out into the world again by banding together and swimming as one big fish. Swimmy was the eye and he and his friends spent their day swimming around as one, chasing the tuna away.

This is how Etsy developers described what it's all about. "So our vision is to be the eye — to be a kind of organizing principle. We do not want Etsy itself to be a big tuna fish. Those tuna are the big companies that all us small businesses are teaming up against." Read the full article here.

So, get out your wallets and shop Etsy.com...your place to buy all things handmade. Take the handmade pledge and give your money to someone who has taken the time and love to make something by hand just for you!

The EcoEtsy Street Team is banding together and making many Swimmys out of all recycled items to send to Etsy so they can create a large display of the little black Swimmy with all his red friends. I'll post a pic of mine once I have him finished.

Swimmy Photo by Etsy user Rokali.

Eco Tip of the Week

At the suggestion of my sister, here is my eco-tip of the week! Instead of using paper towels to clean up around the house, why not buy some microfiber cloths that you can throw into the washer when you're done? I recently started doing this and not only does it save us money on paper products, it's great for the environment. Microfiber is super absorbent and picks up dust and dirt incredibly well due to the microscopic "hooks" created in the fibers during manufacturing. I got a large pack at one of the wholesale clubs. Coupled with an eco-friendly all purpose cleaner like Simple Green, you'll be on your way to a cleaner, greener, simpler life.

Pocket Full of Mosey

Jes Mosey of mosey.etsy.com has been tagged! Check out her blog to read five random things about her. While you're at it, browse her etsy shop for things like hats and wristlet made from repurposed wool sweaters. She adornes them with the most adorable little appliques inspired by nature...acorns, trees, little birds.

I Was Tagged!

I was tagged by my lovely sister Tracy from The Vintage Sister Studio...so here are 5 random, and unknown facts about me:

1. Similarly to my sister, I sleep with a stuffed Pound Puppy named Lucky (since I was 8 years old). Along those same lines, I'll tell you another embarassing secret. For some reason, I've always felt like stuffed animals have feelings. Like, I get upset when I see a dirty ratty old stuffed animal strapped to the front grill of a tractor trailer. I imagine what it would be like to be that poor thing! And if I'm picking out a stuffed animal or doll for someone at a store, I absolutely HAVE to buy the first one I pick up because I would feel so terrible putting it back down again.

2. After college, I drove across the country with three other girls. The most memorable part of the trip was when we camped at this dinky little camground in Cody, Wyoming surrounded by mountains and cowboys (yummy). My friend Rebecca and I slept under the starry sky and made these rediculous plans to live out there one day. Looking back at that night I crack up at how rediculous I was but I will always remember how I felt. Good times.

3. I have had more than one steamy sex dream about Adam Sandler. I know, why Adam Sandler? I don't know. I just think he's so funny and I have always fallen for guys that make me laugh.

4. I cloth diaper my son Cooper. I even use cloth wipes. Apparently, I'm a member of a rare breed. My pediatrician, who is a member of a large, multi-office practice, says that I'm the only one he's seen who cloth diapers. Not one of my friends, not even my environmental co-workers use them. I don't understand it! My mom thinks I should hold a seminar through my pediatrician's office. Haha!

5. I am constantly doing stupid things and making dumb mistakes. Luckily I just laugh it off instead of getting mad. Like, "I'll just paint this thing in my good jeans...I won't get paint on them because I'll be really careful." Ruined jeans. "I'll put this piece of fabric aside so I don't cut it because it's my last bit." Picked it up 2 minutes later thinking "ooo, I have more of this fabric", and cut it up. Or, "I'll put this soda right here next to my sewing machine. I won't spill it because I'll be extra careful." Spilled soda, ruined project.

Now I have to tag someone else! Look out, it might just be you!