Meet the Crazy Elephant on Etsy!

I'd like to introduce one of our team members, The Crazy Elephant!

"Adam and I went to school for media arts and animation. After we got married we started Morgan Media our small animation company online. We have done advertisements for .tv and Acer laptops. When we had our son, Jayne, our animation time went down to 0 and we started creating thing just for him. it started with the burp cloths for me. I designed them based on one I got a a gift, but adjusted it to work better for me. Many people asked where I got them and I told them that I made them. Then I started to get orders from people for them. Adam started by making Jayne the cutest little knit bear hat. That was just as popular. Then, in August, a friend of ours recommended that we sell our artwork on etsy. I thought of the success I had with the burp cloths when Jayne was a baby and decided to give it a shot. We opened The Crazy Elephant at the end of August 2009. The shop is named after Jayne, who loves elephants and spends many hours stomping..."

 Here are a few of the items she carries in her Etsy shop!

For the LOVE of Tea Parties!

For a Valentine's Tea Party: a little girl must host this...

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19398981

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_2&listing_id=19307596

My Etsy Shop:

My Blog:

You Could WIN! Patches the Psychedelic LOVE OWL!

We here at Cafemom Etsy Moms, would like to know WHY you buy handmade!

And to find out, we're willing to send you some Good Luck in LOVE!

To Win Patches, the Psychedelic Love Owl, Please leave a comment stating WHY you buy handmade. Put as much or as little as you would like in your entry. We (the panel of CEM admin) will pick the winner based on the BEST answer!


Da Rules:
Anyone can enter
You can only enter once per screen name
You MUST leave an email address or Etsy username to be contacted by if you do win
You can only enter HERE... on the CEM Blog, No where else!
Contest will run through August 2nd 2008 at Midnight
Contest Winner will be announced August 3rd 2008 by 3:00pm EST

Heres Patches:

Patches the Psychedelic Love Owl

Hi! Meet Patches! He's the Psychedelic Love Owl! Patches is made from Fleece, Felt, and Cotton Fabrics. Handmade by me on my sewing machine and by hand. Patches measures 12 inches across and 9 inches from top to bottom. He has a pink "tail" with patches on his backside, and hearts and patches on his tummy too! Patches is a great gift for young or old. There are no buttons or items that will pose choking hazards for young children and he's a great companion for older kids... or adults for that matter! Patches will make a great gift for that friend that needs someone to keep a watchful eye on their love life! Or needs good luck in that area! **Patches in Donated by rockerchic over at rockerchic.etsy.com****

Have Kids Will Travel

The summer always brings thoughts of vacation and fun, especially when sharing with children. Make your vacation a sweet memory too by being prepared and getting ready for the long journey. Here are a few ideas and toys for the road to help the journey remain as sweet as the destination!

• a small jar of silly putty can go a long way on a plane trip
• a puzzle ball will do double duty, entertaining both very young children and older preschoolers who want to solve the puzzle
• always raid the dollar store, not only for fun little disposable toys, but for interesting candies too that help divert attention
• if you have a young builder pack a bag of junk stuff in a Ziploc. (cut up straws, beads, string, washers and nuts, a toilet paper tube, bottle caps, some scraps of paper ... whatever will fit in and a roll of scotch tape) Then "build" something; a race car, flowers, a necklace
• a crayon roll keeps everything nice and tidy but still at hand for little fingers
• make a fairy wand (or wizard wand for boys) and bring it out to do some magic (change the person in the next seat to a toad, make the sun shine blue, turn the plane to a giant flying duck, make your kid loose his voice or pretend you lost yours)
• kids love to find stuff- I Spy is a popular game with all ages

• wrap a little toy or snack then put it in a small box, wrap the box, warp the box again... you get the idea using 5-6 different paper and layers. When your child is squirrelly say "I have a surprise present for you, you can unwrap each layer only after sitting still for 3 minutes" Unwrap it, then another 3 minutes...granted this may end up "has it been 3 minutes, has it been 3 minutes, has it been 3 minutes" but go with it. This works great for car trips but may cause problems with airport security so leave the wrapped stuff at home when flying.

• Bring 4 or 5 dice. Kids love to match, first roll all ones, then 2s then 3s... After the first time through make it interesting again by timing it the second round of rolls. "How fast can you find all the ones?"

• Classic games like tic tac toe and hangman, 20 questions and checkers are a great way to play while sitting

Really though the key is to keep everything new and hidden until you pull it out during the trip. Milk it for every second it's worth!