Rebecca Mann on Etsy

An old friend of mine named Rebecca is ridiculously talented - photographer, ceramicist, foodie, artist. She's now taking Etsy by storm with a new shop. I'm sure these amazing mobiles are going to be a big hit. Click here to visit her Etsy shop, and click here to check out her cool blog (feauturing her beautiful boy Calder!).

LB Organic T-shirts at Merry's

Long Beach Organic recently held a Summer Solstice party at our community garden - alas, we didn't make it, as it was just a week after Chloe was born! But I hear it was a great event, and they made these nifty t-shirts to commemorate it. The T’s are made ethically of organic cotton and printed in good ol’ Long Beach. Local artist and gardener James de Boer did the design, and they're available+ in men’s and women’s cuts.

To get your T-Shirt stop by Merry’s Fashion with Passion, Tuesday – Sunday 11ish to 6ish. Bring a check to Long Beach Organic or $15 cash. For each purchase made at Merry’s shop, $1 will be donated to the charity Pennies for Peace, which builds schools to educate children, particularly girls, in Afghanistan. Merry's is a great shop, offering all kinds of goodies made in developing nations, with money going straight back to the artisans behind the good.

LB Depot for Creative Reuse

For the past year and a half, I've somewhat obsessively saved things like egg cartons, twist ties, wine corks, the green plastic baskets that berries come in, and gift bags (and we've had a lot of those!). Once upon a time all those things would have gone in the trash, but now we can put all that random stuff to use by donating it to the Long Beach Depot for Creative Reuse! The brain child of the incredibly sweet Lisa Hernandez, the Depot is one of those win-win propositions - people like me can put a serious dent in their waste and re-purpose all kinds of stuff, and artists, teachers and other creative sorts can put all that stuff to use! Shopping there is such a blast, and gets your creative juices flowing. I always leave there trying to think of ways I could use some broken ceramic tiles, wooden nickels and beer caps, among other things. There is a section of free stuff for teachers to use in classroom projects. How cool is this??

This "magical shop" is now an official non-profit, and they have a list of ways we can all suppor their mission to "Promote, Inspire and Encourage creative reuse of all those items that don't make it to the thrift stores but too good to put in the trash!"

1. Sign up online for eScrip and follow the instructions to register your grocery and credit/debit cards. Everytime you shop at Vons, etc, or use your cards, the merchant partners contribute to us at no cost to you! We are under "The Long Beach Depot for Creative ReUse".

2. Please tell all of your Artists friends, Teachers, Students, etc. about "The Depot"."

3. Write, Call or Email anyone who's connected with the Media (newspapers, magazines, t.v., etc.) including stars like Ed Begley, Jr., Oprah, Ellen Degeneres, Tyra Banks, Justin Timberlake, Al Gore and yes, even President Obama on the importance of small "green" businesses like "The Depot" that help boost the economy and is good for the environment! Let them know that "The Depot" would be a great model for others to emulate across the country! Imagine Creative Reuse shops in every community!

There is also a link on their web site for those of you who may want to contribute via Paypal.
You can also follow them on Twitter: twitter.com/creativereuse

"Choose to ReUse...Art is Education!"

Fab Etsy Stuff for Babies

We were given so many amazing baby gifts from sundry Etsy sellers, I really have to give a shout out to these terrific artists and crafters.

Devilish Grin
Margie gave Chloe this incredibly adorable kimono (with matching booties!) from Devilish Grin. I'm so in love with the fabric - wish I could get a mommy-sized dress in that fabric.







Organic Quilt
We received two quilts from Organic Quilt, plus some great burp cloths. Again, the fabrics are so gorgeous. Chloe hasn't used these quilts, I'm waiting until she gets through the massive spit up stage!






Tiddly Winks
I was the shopper here...just had to get Lily the Lion for Chloe, plus a little Elephant for wee Lola.








Backwoods Babies
Karin gave us this nifty portable changing pad (the one on the far left), which we actually use as her main changing pad in the living. This thing has probably gotten more use than anything else we received!

Bundled
Sophie gave us a now-indespensable diaper organizer thingy from Bundled. It's perfect, compact and so cute (again in fabric that I want to turn into a dress!).



I'd like to include here some small, non-chain shops that have great things for kids. We love Etsy, but we also want to support locally-owned businesses!

No Sugar Added in Claremont, CA

Sol Baby in Hermosa Beach, CA