Signing off...

Well it's been a LONG time since I've updated but I just wanted to let you all know I'm officially signing off the Unreal Baby Blog. I am in the process of starting up a new blog. I still create all sort of yarn goodies whether it's crochet, knit or Tunisian crochet. I just don't think maintaining this blog and starting a new one is in the cards for me. Thank you all!!!! I'll be posting all about my new venture soon. I'm very excited! It's going to be a great outlet.

Coming soon...note on FTC/CPSIA

Hello All!!

I just wanted to make note of a few upcoming events for Unreal Baby! I am working on some upcoming product reviews including Miracle Noodles, Miss Label and a few more just for fun. This will be a sneak peek at what is to come later this year.

I'm also thinking and planning ahead for a big Black Friday extravaganza on my Hyena Cart. I'll be stocking a ton of great products, most ready to ship along with a few custom spots. So keep your eye on Unreal Baby.

Note on FTC/CPSIA: I am working on revamping my products; everything from what materials I'll use for instock items to packaging. I have labels in the works to comply with the FTC labeling regulations as well as the CPSIA requirements and tracking all my raw materials and inventory for everything Unreal Baby has to offer. The good thing is that this will create more opportunities for me and I hope will be as painless and seamless as possible for me and my customers. The drawback is that I have cut my services in half and will not be offering as many products in the future as I had hoped. But I will continue to think outside the box and think of new products to bring to all of you to keep you wanting more.

Thanks again!
~Debra

I've hit the wall!

Hi all! I have made a very important decision and it involves my shoe tester mamas. I will be in touch shortly because unfortunately I just can't justify making you wait any longer for your shoes so I will be issuing refunds. Keep an eye out for some PMs on APA for more info.

I'm going to be starting school next week, we're STC #2 (insert banghead smiley here) and with me working full time I just can't justify trying to make you wait longer.

I still want to send something for you and your LOs as a HUGE thank you for sticking by me through this process. So keep an eye out for something.

There are a lot of other factors including the new labeling laws, CSPIA government regulations and some other factors that are very real hurdles for the WAHM community. I'm just a small time crafter who was hoping to make some extra play money but this puts me at risk to lose a lot if I decide not to play by the rules. As a supporter of WAHMs and hand made items I really feel for the WAHM community right now. There are many great companies (mama run, small biz etc) that are scrambling around right now and using up their resources to abide by these new laws and I feel it's an unfair strain on many shoulders.

So, Unreal Baby is scaling down a bit. I will be in touch soon. I have other ventures in the works to keep my mind running and I plan on continuing my crochet woolies after I finalize and fine tune my knowledge of what is required for those wares and services.

I hope this finds you all well and we'll chat soon!

Soda Stream giveaway at The Art of Random Willy-Nillyness!

You all have to check out this giveaway! I'm working on entering in the contest as we speak (or as I type, I should say)

So I encourage all of you to stop by this fun blog and check it out yourself!



Go there and find the Soda Stream Giveaway!
~D

Now it makes sense!

Little miss has been quite the grouch lately. We've had numerous nursing sessions and cuddle times but she'd go from being happy and playing to cranky and throwing a tantrum. Now I know why. MOLARS!!!!!!

Those who have been there done that I now feel your pain. She already had one bottom molar pop through weeks ago but WOW she's getting her two top at the same time. Combine this with late nights, marathon nursing sessions and sleeping like a newborn makes for one tuckered out baby.

So here's how I discovered the little beauties causing pain to my babe. Whenever I cook dinner the past few weeks she insists on being part of the action. Normally this just means she'll open up the measuring cup drawer grab out a tablespoon and a cup and mix away till her hearts content. The past few nights have not been so easy. She MUST be held while I cook. This scares the crap out of me and then I end up handing dinner over to daddy and we go cuddle. So last night the husband took on dinner duty, yet again, and I stayed with the babe. We had spaghetti, one of our favorites because it's easy on the wallet, yummy and great for the girl to practice using her fork. About five minutes into eating she just started crying. That was that, I held her in my lap for the rest of dinner and she refused to use her fork or eat off her plate. She probably thought that's what made her hurt. So after a long dinner session, some applesauce and a few vanilla wafers later we were cleaning up. Daddy did a Dairy Queen run - YUM I have a new found love for chocolate dipped waffle bowls and the strawberry sundaes - and we treated the babe to some ice cream.

After that was cleaned up she signed and said bath. I was a little shocked because it was still rather early in the night- although it already felt like midnight. So I obliged and started the bath. 5 minutes in, she wanted out. I tempted her with a washcloth to help wash walrus (her adorable bath toy) and that kept her in a bit longer to soak and wind down. The washcloth was exactly what the Dr ordered. She gnawed on that thing like there was no tomorrow! So I asked her to 'bite' - a little game we play where she gets to chew and gum my fingers but where I in turn get to sneak a feel and check for new teeth - and much to my surprise she had TWO molars working their way through. I felt the one on her right and it had just begun to break through, a little sharp tip was poking out of the gums and on her left you could feel how swollen it was getting ready to break through.

I always tell her 'It's hard being a new person''; the things our babes have to endure the first few years of life are pretty baffling. Childbirth - as glorious as it is, is pretty intense on their little bodies, life outside of the womb - cold and dry, learning to crawl and walk and teething. There are so many more milestones they accomplish and all are spectacular in their own right but I think as an adult our minds make us forget what it's like achieving these feats. Just like a new mother after childbirth, she would do it again right then and there and endure every ounce of pain all over again just to get that first look at her precious child. You forget the pain. As cliche as it sounds I think this is exactly how it works for the first years of life. We forget what we endured for a reason.

But all in all, there's nothing a good cuddle and some mama milk doesn't take care of. I love this time of motherhood. Teething aside, she slept pretty darn good last night. Maybe it was the relief that mama finally caught on. ;) It's not a mystery any longer. Time to get out the Amber Teething Necklace and the Hyland's teething tablets.

Going off the deep end!

OK so I know I haven't blogged in a VERY LONG TIME! So here's the scoop. We have been extremely busy with family and friends and all the activities that summer time brings. In turn I have rarely had time to catch up, blog, or even catch my breath!

I am enrolling back into college for the Fall semester, working full time (always), being a part of my wonderfully dynamic family and working on my Unreal Baby creations.

I have a few testers yet to finish up and will be sewing THIS WEEKEND!!! Woohoo!!! Once I get my testers caught up for shoes I've decided that I will only continue making soft sole shoes for gifts and special occasions. I have come to the realization (or has it hit me like a ton of bricks?) that I don't have enough time to devote to sewing as I originally hoped I would. So, I'm working on playing catch up, yet again.

Here's the most recent on my SHOPPING CART COVERS:

*Maggie - I just have to finish the leg opening and your final shopping cart cover is DONE

*Mari - I have to finish the elastic and leg opening on yours and it will be DONE

I thank you BOTH for waiting so long on these and will be including a special something for the babes as a thank you for waiting so long.

Here's the most recent on the SHOES:

*I know most of those tiny feet have been busy growing away so I'm going to be contacting my last few testers to get the most up to date shoe sizes and once I get that I'll be cutting away on my breaks and lunch at work. Then on the weekends when I get a spare hour I'll work up a pair of shoes.
*Once I mail your shoes to you I'll send you the tester questionnaire to fill out.
*Future orders: I may do some in-stock orders to finish using up the leather I have on hand but once that's gone I'll only be doing these on a rare custom slot through my Hyena Cart store.

Here's the most recent on UNREAL BABY:

*I just stocked my store with a few goodies in the crochet world
*I hope to expand my products soon, always including woolies for the cloth diaper lovers out there. But also to make more useful products for around the house.
*Drum roll please.......................after much debate and weighing the pros and cons I am going to start blogging reviews and giveaways. I plan on launching this phase of Unreal Baby blogging in November 2009. I have a list of companies ready and I'm starting to contact them. Not only is this month a time of giving and being thankful, it's also my BIRTHDAY so it will be fun to launch this new endeavor.
(I feel after I successfully reviewed our beloved Snoo (Snoedel) I realized that I love finding new products on the market and can't wait to expand on this. Of course I have a soft spot for the 'green' side of life ever since I became a mother so I will be incorporating this into my blogging efforts.)

Other then that - things are well, Isla is growing like a weed and is smarter then ever and we are loving every moment we get together as family.

Sending all my love to my followers!!!
~Debra

What's new with Unreal Baby?

Well I'm glad you asked! :)

I have been very busy and doing a lot of catch up. I've been more active with my woolies then sewing lately because I can pick that up and go. I am slowly getting all my testers caught up and have refunded a few who have had other things come up and it was better to refund them then for them to wait. So here's my updated tester info:

Babies/Becky ~ I need to re cut Lyla's shoes (my oops when I started to sew) and I have your shoe's soles cut out, just picking your shoe fabric.
Living4Him/Kim ~ I'm waiting until I'm closer to working E's shoes to cut since she was in between sizes last time we chatted
curious_one/Amanda ~ shoes have arrived; Questionnaire will be PM'd to you by the end of the week
ITZALLFORME/Rickiann ~ shoes have arrived; Questionnaire will be PM'd to you by the end of the week
nosweetangel/Becky ~ Could I get an updated shoe size for Maddox? TX
HeatherJ/Heather ~ Are we still OK on the orig sizes for the kiddos?

I love making these shoes and have really perfected how I want to do the inside lining/waterproofing/etc. Now to master the applique. I am still planning on leaving the shoes plain so I can try to get them out to you ASAP but in cutting/re cutting I've made myself a lot of scrap pieces that I can start working with to get the applique down. I had looked into having the tops of the shoes embroidered but after much research and testing it would just be too difficult with a home embroidery machine. I have also found through personal experience that I prefer to have blank shoes available because sometimes Watermelons or Pandas just don't go with every outfit. LOL.

In other areas of my wares I'm just loving working with natural fibers! I am still crocheting regularly and have taken on a new pattern for Tunisian crochet longies/shorties/soakers. Once I get my first pair knocked out I'll be opening up a Pre-Order opportunity to raise funds for the cottage license fees.

So it's definitely been onward and upward! I have had a slow start to it all but now I'm really getting excited.

I will be posting more updates as they come!