Black Friday Cyber Monday SALE!

Cootie Pants is having a Black Friday-Cyber Monday SALE!!!! Sale 11/26-11/29. Save an additional 10% by entering coupon code BLFBTW10 at checkout. Offer only good during sale.

Sneak Peek!

Sneak Peek

I'll still use this too

I still plan to use this blog, but mainly to redirect to my new website and new blog. Please check out the new blog at The Adventures of Cootie Pants

We have moved!

Please visit Cootiepants.com for the new blog and website!

One week left until shop closes for move

Well time is running out. I have decided to close my shop next Friday 8/27 so I can start packing all of my fabric and notions away. I really hope this move to Texas goes smoothly. We are flying my mom in to drive with us to help out with our son and two pugs, so that should help a lot. Then the fun begins! We are using PODS for our move and will be loading everything ourselves and then they will store everything until we call and tell them to deliver it. We will have to find pet friendly hotels on the drive there and when we get there and then we will start looking for a house. We will probably be without our belongings for at least a month. That means I won't be able to reopen the Etsy store until we find, close, move into and settle in a house. I am hoping for the end of October, but we will see. Anyhow, wish us luck!

Awesome Art Folio pattern from ginia18 on Etsy

Since we are getting ready to move in about six weeks I decided to start making some things to occupy my son in the car for the long trip. I did many searches for patterns for an art wallet instead of a crayon roll (which I already know how to make) and found Gingercake patterns at ginia18's shop at Etsy (and on youcanmakethis.com). ginia18 has some really great designs and I bought the art folio and art caddy patterns and decided to make the art folio last night. I plan to make him the art caddy as well.

The folio has 6 crayon pockets and a pocket for a 5x8 pad and a sticker pocket. It closes with velcro and has carrying handles. The pattern comes in a .pdf file and is very easy to follow. It is detailed and written in a professional way with diagrams for reference. I took my time plus had a few interruptions so it took me a few hours, but now that I have made one I'm sure others won't take half as long. It always takes me forever to make the very first of anything, LOL!

My son loves the movie Cars so I took a yard of cute Cars fabric and a fat quarter of Michael Miller Stripe Hype, some Pellon Craft Fuse, polyester batting, velcro and some yellow webbing and yellow thread and followed the instructions.

Here is the result: A Happy 2 yr old!





Get your pattern here: ginia18

Or if you don't know how to sew or don't want to make your own, be on the lookout this Holiday season for ready made ones in my shop!

Super Moving SALE Again!

We are headed to Ft.Hood, Texas in September, so once again I am having a super moving sale! Please check out my shop to see the great deals!

Super moving Sale thread

My Shop

Tough Transition

Moving is hard, sometimes it is very hard. I went from having great friends and all the resources I needed within minutes to no friends and the things I am used to being over an hour and a half away. I want to like it here, the landscape is different and it is a nice little town but it is just too small for me. I feel trapped. Luckily I discovered a MOMS group and have started going to playgroup dates. That has been a life saver. I was getting a horrible case of cabin fever and it was making me a very bitter person. It has gotten to the point where I just want to walk away at times. I know that my son is suffering the most, because I am not giving him my 100% like I should be. I am obsessed with my business and its seemingly horrible failure and put a lot of time into trying to figure out where I am going wrong and working on new ideas hoping it will make a difference. But I really think it is just a diversion from the fact that I am miserable here and feel like it is solely because I am afraid to create a life here when I know I have to pick up and move again to an unknown location in the fall. Since I am already so miserable I have no motivation to really accomplish anything around the house or go through all of the old clothes and toys that I need to sell or give away. I have no real interaction with my husband either because he is wrapped up in his studies for the school he is here for. He is angry about all the stuff I haven't gone through, so that just makes matters worse and he hates that I keep buying supplies or shopping in general which just makes the gap between us even wider. I am so sensitive right now that when a buyer asked me to cancel the sale of an item that sat in my shop for over a year today I about broke down in tears. I seriously considered just giving up and selling off everything. I have tried very hard to make this work. I've changed my shop look, worked on pictures, advertised everywhere I can think of and I just don't seem to be doing as well as my competitors. I know a lot of it has to do with the fact that I was closed for a few months, which just irritates me that I have to close again this fall for another month or two. People say this time of the year is slow, that is true, but one seller I know who had less sales than me before I moved skyrocketed to over 250 sales in just 3 months. She sells similar items. That really hurts. I know I make quality products and I put a lot of time and effort into what I do. I love making my products too but as my bills pile up and I don't make enough to cover them each month I have to stop and wonder if it is worth it. If a person cancels a sale that equals $4.50 total because they didn't mean to confirm the purchase but may buy from me in the future, how am I supposed to deal with the feeling of rejection? That my product wasn't really worth the money to them right now. I feel extremely pathetic. I'm sure my customers don't really want to participate in a pity party, but I am a person with feelings, not a big corporation. I'm a one woman show and I put 100% effort into what I do. All I can do is keep looking forward to when we go to the next place and can settle in for a few years. Maybe then things will get better. Thanks for reading.

Now stocking Boutique Burp Cloths!

Look stylish while burping your baby! These boutique burp cloths are made from 100% cotton fabric and absorbent Gerber 3 Ply Birdseye Cloth Diapers. Perfect for cleaning up big messes! They are pre-washed so you won't have to worry about shrinking. Check my shop for coordinating items.

Care: Machine Wash Cold, Tumble Dry Low, Low Iron If Needed

Boutique Burp Cloths

New Item!

A few months ago I bought a pattern from Keyka Lou and got permission to modify it to make a new item for my shop. Today I listed the first "Binky Bubble Pouch". Please stop and take a look! I will be making more soon.

Binky Bubble Pouch

New Look and Content coming soon!

If you have visited my Etsy shop recently you will notice that I have changed my avatar and banner. As I previously mentioned, I hired enchantedmemories at Etsy to do a mega redo. I am very pleased with everything so far! She also redesigned an ad for me which is currently on Craft Cult and now on Project Wonderful. Aside from those sites I am also advertising my shop on Handmade Spark and Cafe Handmade.

That being said, with all of these ads you would think I would be selling like crazy. But alas, I am not. The weird thing is I have had a few people convo me for custom listings and wholesale inquires and I will answer them and then get no further response. It is a bit of a downer. Add that to the fact that we have been here since the end of February and I have made no friends at all even though I have given my number to three people and still have a ton of stuff to do around the house. The good news is my family is getting along better since the move so that trumps anything else.

So that brings me to the new content. From now on I plan to use this blog not only for my shop updates but also for what I originally intended it for: To talk about life, the things that interest me and to hear from you. Long before I blogged I had a live journal and my own website where I rambled about pretty much everything. Then my life started to become especially overwhelming and busy and I just kind of stopped. I went to college to become a journalist, so naturally it is my nature to want to write and explore all different sorts of ideas and thoughts. Yet,the only part of my degree I am currently using is the research, so now it is time to write! My vision for this blog is to talk about all sorts of topics that relate to babies and toddlers such as breastfeeding and attachment parenting, cloth diapering, love and logic parenting and more. I would also like to include aspects of military life. These are the topics that interest me and are a part of my everyday life. I hope to gain some new followers as well as insight from my current followers. Thanks for sticking around.

The Toddler Belts Are Going Up!

The first 10 toddler belts are going up today!
Toddler Belts!

The introductory price is $8a belt plus shipping. They range between 24-25 inches long and fit most up to age 4. They are handmade so each is slightly different in sizing, but each has ribbon sewn on the backside so you see the print when pulled through the d-rings. I can do custom belts too, just send me a convo with your child's waist measurement!

Stay tuned for more to come!

More to come!

There is still a lot more to come in the next month or so. I will be introducing hair bows and clippies, hair bow display boards and even tutus! I have a whole long list of new items that I will be introducing this spring/summer before we have to uproot and move again to who knows where. Also coming soon is a new look for my Etsy shop and this blog! I have hired a great Etsian to do all the hard design work. Take a look at her shop, she is excellent! Enchanted Memories

Stay tuned for more updates and reveals!

Now open at Zibbet!

I have decided to open up shop at Zibbet as well! Please visit my Zibbet and check it out.

CootiePants at Zibbet

Sneak Peek!

In the next few weeks I will be listing new items to my shop. The first will be the toddler belts that you have already seen as part of the Cantaloupe Corner giveaway. The belts will be available starting on April 9th, the day after the giveaway ends. The introductory price will be $8.

The next will be Pacifier Clip Display Boards. I haven't worked out the pricing details yet or whether or not the easel will be included or available for purchase separately for those who want them. They are 8x10 and are padded and backed with felt. They have a ribbon on the top to hang on the wall and come with a free pacifier clip. They will hold a maximum of 10 pacifier clips from my shop (maybe a few more or few less depending on what size you have from other shops). If there is a demand I can make larger sizes, but am starting with these for now. Here is a sneak peek!



Check back for more sneak peeks and updates!

Win the first of the new toddler belts!

Our friends over at Cantaloupe Corner are celebrating their 300th sale! Visit their blog for a chance to win the very first of my new toddler belts and a chance to win other great prizes.

http://cantaloupecorner.blogspot.com/2010/03/big-300-giveaway-party.html#comments

Cootie Pants is back!

My shop is now open on Etsy! I have many new items in development including pacifier keepers and a new line especially for my favorite fur babies: Dogs! "The Pimpin Pug" dog line will feature stuffed toys, decorative lightweight ID collars for small/medium dogs and eventually heavy duty multipurpose collars for all size dogs as well as beds and clothing. If you have any suggestions or ideas please send me a Convo at my Etsy shop or leave a comment in the blog. I have a lot of projects in the works! Check back often for updates!

Update!

So we are now in Arizona. Wow what a HUGE difference! We went from the Arctic tundra to the Desert bowl. My backyard is nothing but dirt and some rocks! We're almost settled in so I will hopefully reopen my shop sometime at the beginning of April. I have all of my equipment set up (except my embroidery machine) and all my inventory and supplies organized so it is just a matter of my getting the rest of our house set up before I am ready to start selling again.

And now some more interesting news:
I discovered something disturbing today while checking my email. Someone going by the name of Sarah McMillen out of California decided to sign up for a MyLife account using my email address,logo and business name! Considering she wouldn't have access to my email I'm not quite sure what to make of this as it was some sort of Social Networking site. It could have been a bogus name but just in case I wanted to put it out there that there is no one by the name of Sarah McMillen affiliated with Cootie Pants; so if someone by that name or any other name other than the one listed as the seller on Etsy, me, tries to sell you anything under the name of Cootie Pants please contact me! Anyhow I accessed the account and deleted it.

Well, that's it for now! See you on Etsy soon!

Boy did I put my foot in my mouth!

Not only are we moving to Arizona, I just moved out of my house! We found out last week that we were denied the extension and have to be in Arizona on the 17th! I had to quickly organize the move, send my pugs to Florida to be with my parents and get a cleaning crew to clean my house for our final housing inspection this Thursday. What a nightmare! So our stuff was loaded on the truck today and we are now in temporary housing. UGH

Yay I'm staying in Alaska!

So we are no longer moving to Arizona, well at least not for a few years. So now I get to focus on my business once again! Be on the lookout for lots of new items in the next few months. I am so happy!