FEED THE NEED - Unite For Hunger And Hope

I am honored to be among the Bloggers ALL over the World that are United today in an effort to bring attention to the plague of world hunger & to recognize the amazing organizations like Heifer International that are confronting this issue head-on. I'm going to focus on a small corner of the world - a little place I call home - THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - one of the richest coutries in the world and yet not exempt from the devastation of hunger - here are a few facts about U.S. hunger...

• For the price of one U.S. missile, a school full of hungry children could eat lunch every day for 5 years
  
• In the U.S. hunger and race are related. In 1991 46% of African-American children were chronically hungry, and 40% of Latino children were chronically hungry compared to 16% of white children.
  
• The infant mortality rate is closely linked to inadequate nutrition among pregnant women. The U.S. ranks 23rd among industrial nations in infant mortality. African-American infants die at nearly twice the rate of white infants.
  
• One out of every eight children under the age of twelve in the U.S. goes to bed hungry every night.
  

Please join the efforts that are being made everyday on behalf of the hungry in your local communities and reach beyond your homeland borders to help the Worlds Hungry Famlies by donating to groups like Heifer International

PLEASE SAY YES TO THE PROSPECT OF HOPE?

Showering Etsy Moms

hello everyone - it's been a while, but all for good reason! i've been working with lots of wonderfully generous shops and some teriffic new & expectant mom's from the Etsy Community to celebrate their new and up coming bundles of joy! we had the Spring Etsy Baby Shower on April 18th - so i thought i would share some of the wonderful items etsy shops gifted to the moms. i'm going to be doing several of these posts over time because 85 shops participated and i can't see trying to jam so much YUMMY goodness into 1 blog post :)

a few shop owners were kind enough to share a little about themselves and some thoughts about the shower - MEET Jolene from locoMOmomma

1. how did you learn your craft?
i taught myself how to crochet when i was about 9 or 10 to fend off bordom--i was raised on a dairy farm in iowa and the only girl in my family. i also used latch hook, embroidery and macrame to make presents for my releatives when i was young. embroidery and crochet are still therapeutic past times for me. i fell in love with amigurumi the moment i saw it. it's super-cute and easy to make up your own patterns or personalize.

2. how long have you been creating baby products?
i have been making items for babies since our oldest was born 7 years ago. i started out designing my own amigurumi dolls for my kids and thier friends. the organic baby toys didn't come to me until i found some fantastic color-grown (not dyed) organic cotton yarn at my local yarn shop. this was right about the time when major retail stores were just starting to carry organic baby toys. i used the basic amigurumi techniques to create a variety of organic baby-friendly toys. since i'm easily bored with long, tedious projects, small baby toys are right up my alley!

3. what made you decide to participate in the etsy baby shower?
i cannot lie---the main reason i decided to participate in the shower was to get exposure for my shop, plus to network with other people that create baby/kid items. plus i just got a new computer and finally have the capability to participate in the chat room (my old one was way slow and out of date)!

4. given your experience with the etsy baby shower would you participate again? yes, i would definitely participate again. the timing this year was bad for me, b/c i couldn't chat as long as i wanted since i had a craft show the next day. but it was fun seeing/reviewing all the items showcased during the chat! plus, it's well organized.

5. any comments you'd like to add? i'm very grateful to all the coordinators of this event for all of thier hard work! i love learning from all the knowlegable people here on etsy, especially within the teams i belong to. they are truely inspirational!

AND FROM SOME OF THE WONDERFUL SHOPS THAT PARTICIPATED IN THE SHOWER

1PixiePlace

BluJean83


CapeCodConsignments



ClaireandJanae

DecorativeLabels

JessEcreations

LLLDesigns

MomNmiaQuilts

MyMiniMocs

ProffittProductions

Reflections

SavvyStitcher

SewClassic

SewEdgy


TweedleBee

WHAT IS THAT WHITE STUFF DOING HERE?

happy monday everyone - or is it? LOL just kidding of course it's a good day - i keep that mantra spinning round inside my head as i look out onto 4 inches of snow and more piling on top of that! the tippy tips of my tulips are barely visible anymore! so today is MAUI MONDAY - that's right folks - i'm filling my head (& blog) with Hawaiian wonder - ENJOY!!!

Fine Art Photo - Sacred Beach 3 by interrupt

Tag the Wave Blanket & Plush Toy Set by myminimocs

Custom Aloha Petit Pillow by walkthetalk

See Turtles by myminimocs

Hawaii Holdall Tote Bag by tootsweethandbags

A Family of Seahorses by HulaBeachCeramics

Hawaiin Hula Girl Lampshade by fatcatdesigns6

Aloha Earrings by kmaylward