Monday, April 26, 2010

An Ode to Cloth Diapering

For the last 6 months now, I've been cloth diapering my son. It's absolutely addicting, and I wanted to give a special shout out to a few cloth diaper makers who do it by hand!

First up are Bella Bottoms cloth diapers. This shop is run by a Momma out in Texas! I have tried 3 of her one size fitted diapers, the "Hook 'Em" Hemp One-size Diaper, Single 100% cotton Fitted Diaper, and INCREDIBELLAS one-size pocket diaper. All 3 are absolutely awesome.

Using Bella Bottoms has turned me into a fitted diaper addict. I find they are awesomely absorbent like prefolds, but with less bulk and more room to breathe than prefolds lend themselves to, which is great for rash prevention. Her pocket one size that I tried is great in and of itself. The photos of my son in the white fitted diaper seen above are Bella Bottoms 100% cotton one size fitteds. Thanks to these diapers, I find myself drawn to fun waterproof (PUL) covers to go over them.

And oh, what diaper covers I've found! My cousin knew I was going to be cloth diapering and gave us an awesome diaper cover that she bought in a boutique in PA, made by Brookiellen. It came with the maker's card, which is how I found her Etsy shop. I am in love with the designs used on these covers, not to mention how well made they are! I started off using them over medium sized prefolds, but once I found these Bella Bottoms fitteds, I ditched the bulky prefolds altogether.

I just recently ordered a cover with snaps from Brookiellen's shop, in an adorable frogs design. My little guy is 6 months old right now, weights 15 lbs, and is in the 50th percentile for height and 10th for weight, and the medium covers are fitting him quite well. I use the Bella Bottoms fitteds with these Brookiellen covers mostly for bedtime and naps, and for when the daytime stash runs out. I reserve them for night mainly because they are way more absorbent than my daytime stash. I've found that the Bella's fitteds (plus a microfiber doubler) have held up for 11 hours of sleep, with no leaks, thanks to these wonderful covers.

I love that both of these shops supply me with handmade options to cloth diapering. After all, handmade diapers are the perfect mix of both eco and crafty!

Monday, April 19, 2010

EcoEtsy's Earth Day Auction Starts Today!


I'm a member of Team EcoEtsy, a collaboration of crafters, artists, vintage and supplies sellers on Etsy.com. We're very devoted to greening our wares and our businesses.

We are currently auctioning off collections of items created and donated by team members, through a silent auction, which begins today!

Please check out the main auction page for information on how to bid, along with links to each section of handmade wares up for auction. Proceeds raised will be donated to the World Wildlife Fund!

I submitted a set of wrist warmers made from recycled silk/cashmere blend yarn. They are in the fashion section of the auction, and pictured below, along with the rest of the fabulous eco items up for bids in that section...







Even if you can't make a bid, just spreading the word about this auction would be a great help to our effort! You could blog about it, tweet about it, let your Facebook friends know about it, link back to the auction from any webpages you're on, etc. Please do whatever you can to help out!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Repurposed Flicker Finds

Some beautiful and ingenious repurposed crafts I found through our EcoCraftiness Flickr Pool...

Afternoon Tea


Hayden's Trellis Twirly Skirt
{Made from an upcycled vintage feedsack table runner, and trimmed with vintage gingham bias tape.}


duo noeud papillon
{bowties made out of recycled vintage ties}

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Win a Tea Mug Cozy from KnitStorm!

One of my tea mug cozies is up for grabs over at Sweet Greens. There are multiple ways to enter and up your chances of winning.


The cozy that you could win (pictured above and below) is hand crocheted by me, made from a gorgeous red recycled cotton yarn. It is embellished with a felt "tea bag", containing the word "TEA", hand embroidered onto it. These mug cozies are the perfect way to decorate and insulate your cup of tea!


For your chance to win, go to the Sweet Greens blog and learn how to enter the giveaway for this KnitStorm Mug Cozy! The giveaway ends May 5th. Good luck!!!