February 29, 2008

HHQ Featured in Boutique Blog!!!


A Boutique Life
has featured my Wool Felt Hair Quilts and Threadibilities Craft Kits today!!!

A Boutiqe Life is an an online resource to boutique clothing, accessories and decor.

Check it out and you might be impressed by the other posts featuring Custom boutique designers...but be sure to come back and visit me...just click on the link to subscribe to this site at the top of the blog!

Lots Happening for HHQ
Spring 2008!


February 28, 2008

Cupcake College Spring Semester at Happy House Quilts


Check out the new look for the blog, new banner for the shop, new website for your shopping needs...coming soon...online cart for direct purchases!

This mommy's been cookin' up some good stuff!

Find Custom M2M Felt Hair Quilts™ at
HappyHouseQuilts.etsy.com
MaPetiteChou.com

February 23, 2008

M2MG - Made to Match Gymboree Wool Felt Hair Clips by Happy House Quilts

This little 5 petal pink flower is a new design coming to the shop soon...it matches the new Tennis Match Collection but it's not too matchy-matchy...some folks prefer a subtle matching style.
This next yellow one is a tiny clip...20 mm, 15/16ths of an inch perfect for a tiny tot.
These next flowers are going to be sewn up and will be sprouting up in the shops soon! Advance orders are being taken now. Could the colors be any more PERFECT?!?!?!
This next bloomin' Hair Quilt™ will match Spring Rainbow or Palm Springs.
This little butterfly is so cute! My girls love it!
Here is another version of the butterfly with a teeny tiny clip...only 15/16ths...perfect for a pony, pig tails, or an infant with barely there hair. This Hair Quilt™ just got listed tonight!Come on by the shop to find more made to match Hair Quilts™?!
Spring sale going on now...$5-8 for many styles and sizes.
2 for $9
Give the secret code at checkout and get a free Spring Rainbow blossom.

February 22, 2008

Playsilks for Children: Not just a simple piece of cloth.

Do you remember being a child and running free in a field with the wind all around you? Think about being on a swing and feeling the wind rush past your face as you pump to get as high as you can. The urge to run, skip, hop, and stand still in the breeze is inherent to a child. You might say it’s their job to be curious about the world and find joy in experiencing it. Our job’s as parents, educators, and care givers is to support that desire and to encourage it. It is our job to instill a sense of wonder so that further development can take place. Growth is then stimulated in terms of gross motor (physical), emotional, intellectual and spiritual development.

Playsilks are a simple piece of cloth to adults. Something that at first glance is pretty but not as flashy as a video game or other electronic device. I would encourage every family with pre-school and/or young school age children to own a playsilk for their toy box/dress-up area. Playsilks are colorful, soft to the touch and are light as air as you float and soar like a butterfly or eagle. Stimulating a child’s visual and tactile senses is a positive and beneficial thing to do as a parent. Playsilks also offer a world of creative opportunity. The cape, wings, veil, skirt, shawl, or other object the silk transforms into is the basic activity you want to happen. You want your child to take a simple object and project a world of fantasy onto it in order that they may rework situations that brought them conflict or anxiety. You want your child to grow those neuronal pathways in their brains and to develop the ability to problem solve as they interact with the outside world.

Yes, Playsilks might be only simple cloth…but to a child it’s a wonderful adventure to maturity. Bring home a playsilk for your child today!

I am the founding member of the Street Team for mothers with small children at home called EtsyMom Search EtsyMom at Etsy whenever you can, Thank you.

I earned my Master of Science in Art Therapy at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfok, VA
I have worked with children, adolescents, adults and geriatrics in the field of Art Therapy. I am also a mother of 3 small children.

February 20, 2008

A personal challenge, Cupcake Ribbon Hair Bow...not bad for a first try

No worries to all the wonderful boutique bow makers...I won't be taking away any of your business...LOL! I just really wanted to try it out...and had this fantastic cupcake ribbon to play with!So what do you think? Not bad for a first try.Here are the directions I found with a Google search from BowDesigns

February 17, 2008

My Doll and Me...coming soon to a Happy House Quilts Shop Near you!

Happy House Quilts in a Treasury at Etsy!

Thank you to Seaside Designs for listing my Hair Quilt™ in their treasury!

Serene Sea
Click on link to see treasury.

Etsy Boutique Designers

From Ebay to Etsy Raffle Give-away: All buyers from February 18 to
February 25 who purchase items from EBD Blackout will be entered in a
raffle for Etsy Boutique Designer's Give-Away! Please visit our blog
for details and a list of our designers!
http://etsyboutiquedesigners.com/blog/

February 8, 2008

Happy House Quilts helps moms and kids with color recognition

My 8 year old said, "Wow, that all matches mom!"
I said..."She must have a smart mommy!!!"
Be a smart mommy too and help your child recognize colors and shapes while looking fabulous and trendy. Shapes available: triangle, circle, square, diamond, oval, swirl.
Set now available in the shop for a steal of a deal!!!
Inquire today about colors as well...make it to match!
Happy House Quilts loves to make it to match, come on by and check out what we have in the shops...or inquire with a picture or a link to a collection from your favorite retailer...make your little one aware of colors and style...

...did you know you would be teaching them while making them look so cute???

February 6, 2008

Happy Houses Everywhere Despite Cabin Fever, When Children Find Pleasure and Contentment in Creative Play

Fashion is big business and it’s trendy. Now your daughter can dress like her doll and be a designer by sewing her own hair clips for herself and her doll, opening up a wonderful creative world of make believe and role modeling. Children need stimulation to play, otherwise boredom sets in, misbehavior ensues and a sedentary lifestyle with video games and television shows become the way of life. New doll clothes and Craft Kits encourage your child to play with good old fashion toys by way of making it trendy.

Loudon, New Hampshire (FPRC) February 5, 2008 -- The revival of the handmade movement and the internet forges friendships and business connections to benefit children. Young children’s fragile sense of self and self esteem is just beginning to grow and strengthen. MaPetiteChou and Happy House Quilts are 2 home based businesses that are embracing the concept of active play and forging bonds between children and families. These 2 stay at home moms are making a difference from one corner of the country to the other.

MaPetiteChou means: my baby cabbage, my little cabbage, my little darling, and Denise who is the designer behind the boutique has chosen to stay at home and sew after the passing of her husband. Stay at home moms making a difference in the lives of children is what this partnership with Happy House Quilts is all about. Mapetitechou is an online boutique that has designed outfits that are inspired by local retail stores. Now the little girl can have a doll that looks like them and dresses like them too in a cool and trendy way.

Jodi Doody, of Happy House Quilts, is a master’s level Art Therapist and creates items to inspire children to also create. She not only makes hair accessories but also kits for children to make with parents, friends or with grandparents. The little girl can not only make a hair accessory for herself or a friend, but also be a designer for her “baby”. The concept of activity to bring families together is not new, but in this fast paced world of internet, cell phones, i-pods and video games our society has lost track of game nights or hobbies. MaPetiteChou and Happy House Quilts are 2 moms that are trying to bring that old fashion concept of play and sewing back into the forefront of childhood.

For a child, the years between 5-12 have been called the age of industry vs. inferiority according to Eric Ericson. Having a toy that looks like them and dresses like them can strengthen their sense of control over their environment and allow them a powerful way to master many situations that occur throughout the day. Having a kit to teach them new skills or bring generations together for teaching time can build powerful bonds that will last a lifetime.

Jodi Doody from Happy House Quilts has accepted the invitation to become a guest designer at MaPetiteChou and design matching hair accessories and craft kits for both child and doll that also match the outfits. Jodi often says, “The Threadibilities Craft Kits™ encourage success, because many things are possible with thread!” These inspiring ensembles are all handmade in the USA by moms. The workmanship is inspiring and the outfits themselves allow for a pivot point for the imagination of a young girl to take off.

As parents we want our children to grow and develop a positive sense of self and be able to initiate activities without the need for batteries or electricity. Encouraging imaginative play and developing a hobby like sewing are two old fashion ways to support childhood and brain development that a parent can be proud of. To find out more about these two crafty moms check out their websites at www.MaPetiteChou.com and www.HappyHouseQuilts.com.

February 4, 2008

New Packaging and a New Look For Happy House Quilts!!!

Ok, I'm a bit of a geek now on the computer...you could never call me computer literate but I can do a photo upload and a little photo editing...time is just my enenmy in all things, as I'm a mommy first!

But had to share in my computer victory and fugality as well...I have wanted pretty bow cards forever....well at least a few months and I just didn't have the time or the software know how to make it happen. Yes, I could have paid for it...but I'm such a stickler that I would have so many revisions...this way doing it myself, I was able to go with the design and if I need to tweek it in a month then I have access to it all!!!

I also redid my own banner and avatar...come check them out at the shop!

February 3, 2008

I have issues!!!

I have such issues with inferior products!!!

About 6 months or so I purchased about 300+ snap style clips...I thought I was getting the clip in the picture to the left (top one) but the bottom clip showed up...not what the picture showed at all when I was purchasing the item online.

But I went with it, and began sewing up clips for my fairs, Happy me, sewing and sewing every night to hit my goal of 800 items by November...also used them on the baby, cuz they were so gosh darn cute and I was avoiding cutting her bangs...she was about a year old...her hair was not overly thick by any means.

WELL...the clip in the picture above (bottom clip), for lack of a better word...STINK!!! They don't hold shut...I, on occation, couldn't even clip them to card stock for packaging...wow and then to put it on a child's hair...grrrrr. I was embarrassed and then had to scramble to remake the clip to ship out. I also intended to use these for the kits. I could have too...who would hold me responsible? Kids make things that break or don't work all the time. WELL, I just couldn't do it...if I bought a kit or an item, I expect it to work!I state in my profiles at various selling venues, (Etsy.com, MommyAuctions.com, ebay.com) that my products are tested on myself and my kids and this is one good reason for it. I am now sitting on about 300 of these inferior clips...I haven't even tried to sell them because they are that bad...but my competitors use them all the time...
So, when you are shopping for clips...look for these tell tale signs...#1The yucky clips have no gap on the back middle prong.#2The yucky clips only have one bend or bump on the back middle prong.
#3 The yucky clips are more narrow.

...*THIS* is the problem and when you fill it...it snaps open...it doesn't hold for long periods of time and therefore you have to redo the hair do over and over again...
#4 Horror of horrors...they don't take a picture of the back of the clip?!?!?!?
Can you guess why???
NOW,
do you know what it's like to redo a child's hair ALL DAY Long??? It just doesn't happen!
Well let's just say don't let things get hairy just do it right the first time.
*giggle*

February 1, 2008

EtsyBloggers are so kind!


Review of Happy House Quilts's shop at EtsyBlogger's Blog
(just click on the link above)
Just found it....i'm a little behind...the holidays caught me for a loop!
Thanks sixthandelm

Take it Easy...

Slow and Steady...
Will win the Race!
My new motto for life and career!
Find these at HHQ at Etsy.com
HappyHouseQuilts.com