Last Call to Enter

The GIVEAWAY CONTEST!

It is seven o'clock central time on July 9th, and I thought I would remind everyone out there who reads this blog that the GIVEAWAY CONTEST IS STILL GOING ON!

We have some great prizes, including your very own limited edition Hush Baby Toy. Would you like to win it? You know you would. Here's how you can:

Click the FOLLOW button or leave your email in the FOLLOW BY EMAIL to connect with this blog.

Tell your friends to do the same! Once they are following this blog, have them leave a comment on one of the posts telling me who recruited them.

Both the most recent follower AND the person who recruited them will win a prize! Hurry now to be in the running!
QUICK LIKE BUNNIES!


And speaking of bunnies, I have new toys done. True, none of them are bunnies, but they are just as adorable. When I get the photos taken and put up tomorrow, you will have proof that I do not lie.

Also, I have started the countdown for our big move back to Minnesota. Only a few more weeks to go! To be honest, I will be really sad to leave the area we live in now - everything is so convenient and safe and friendly, and with my husband's parents so close, we always have a lot of fun. Even so, I know our new home will be delightful, and can't even tell you how absolutely excited I am to be living in an actual house (right now the three of us all squish into an efficiency apartment that consists of one large room and a teeny tiny space that is not a legal bedroom because it has no windows. Our apartment is also in  a basement, so there is no natural light). What am I looking forward to the most? Having space to stretch out and play and SUNLIGHT! Bring it on! I can't wait for that. I probably won't be hanging curtains for a long time just because I will be revelling in the fact that we will no longer live like moles.

And on that note, I had best get back to work doing stuff that keeps me busy. Have a wonderful evening!

CONTEST GIVEAWAY NO. 1

That's right all!

I believe I have mentioned that I was thinking of doing a giveaway, well here it is! A giveaway! Just for you!

And I have some fabulous prizes, but first the setup:

Look to the left of this page. You might have to scroll down a bit. What do you see? Well, if you're like me, you will see that this blog only has five followers. Now I'm not complaining. Five is a good number. But I feel it might just be a little lonely. Wouldn't it be happier if there was, oh, say, a zero there to keep it company? I think so. And that's our goal.

GET 50 FOLLOWERS ON THIS BLOG.

So here is where the contest comes into play. I want all of you out there to recruit followers for this blog. Here's how we'll do it.

1. RECRUIT - you recruit everyone you can think of to follow this blog. Have them click the little FOLLOW button.
2. COMMENT - Have the people you've recruited leave a comment somewhere on this blog to say they're following and WHO RECRUITED THEM. This is how you'll get credit for recruiting, so don't leave this step out!

When I see that the numbers have reached 50 followers, TWO PEOPLE WILL GET A PRIZE! The last person to join (the fiftieth follower) AND the person who recruited them. THAT COULD MEAN YOU!

And what are the prizes, you ask? Well, let me show you.

The fiftieth follower will get their choice of one of these:

These adorable baby rattles are made by my awesome sister-in-law. They are large and easy to grab for older babies who just love "shake-uh-shake-uhs" as we call them around here. The ring is about the same size as the bottom ring of a rainbow stacker (to give you a size idea).

The recruiter will receive the awesome elephant in the picture above. Here he is again, if you need a reminder of just how cute he is:

Rudy is not your average Hush Baby Toy. He is a very special edition HBT. Made from a teriffic teal yarn, Rudy stands about 9" from head to toe, or 10" from the tip of his ears to his toes (a full 2" taller than the standard HBT) and about 6" wide. The Rudy pictured above is going to my very wonderful nephew in California, and is featured with black button eyes (he also has no sachet inside him). If you wish, your Rudy will come to you with a lavender sachet in his tummy and the classic Hush Baby Toys closed eyes, all ready for a nap with your little one.


Since this is the first contest Hush Baby Toys has ever held, let's give it two weeks. Winners will be announced July 10th, and prizes will be sent out the 11th.

Good luck and GET OUT THERE!

Just a quick hello!

Good morning, all of you out there in the inter-world. Hope your morning is going as well as mine.

Happy to report that my daughter is now back to sleeping through the night. She used to do this quite easily, but has recently gone through a phase where she'd be up a couple of times a night. My husband and I have really worked hard to get her on a set napping and eating schedule, and I'm glad to say it has paid off and carried over to her sleeping schedule too. She is now sleeping easily through the night almost every night. This means I am getting a much better sleep as well.

Of course for every good news, the universe must balance itself with a little bad news. In this case the bad news is that I have managed to injure my knee. At some point last week while I was visiting my folks in Minnesota, I did something to my knee, and I'm still in a lot of pain. I was pretty active while I was there, so I'm not sure what exactly I did, but a week and a half later, I am wondering at what point I need to see a doctor.

But enough of that. In other news, I dropped off four new toys at the Mom and Pop Place in Neenah, WI. We'll see if they sell like the last four did. FINGERS CROSSED!

There also may be a contest and giveaway in the near future. It will depend on things. Keep an eye out!

But right now the baby is sitting in her seat eating a good morning snack, so I had better go. Overandout!

Good morning Starshine,

The earth says hello!

I am writing to you from my parents' house, where I am staying on a mini vacation before I go to my brother-in-law's wedding. Though I love being back home for a visit, I have to say that so far this vacation is a little more tiresome than the day-to-day for me (perhaps because my parents' house is noticeably less baby-proof than my own,  so I am CONSTANTLY chasing my pre-toddler around and keeping her out of "owies")

In relevent news, I have been thinking of holding contests to gain followers. I know your number of followers shouldn't matter, as long as you have a good group (and I do!). But I just figure that the more people know I exist, the more likely it is that these toys will find good homes. I think as soon as I figure out something I can give away as a neat little prize, I will be holding a conest.

Currently I have two toys in the works for the Mom and Pop Place, where my toys are consigned. I would REALLY love to have 3 done and a fourth at least started by the time this little trip is over. That means I have to really get to work. Since I name my toys after authors with some kind of connection to the animal (with the exception of Daisy, who is named after a bunny), here are some clues:

1. Elwyn
2. Vern
3. Doyle
4. Martha

Two of the names are tricky, as one of them is the author's lesser known first name, and one of them is not an author's name, but the first name of the main character of the books (the animal is purple and the author's last name is pretty masculine, so I did it this way instead).

You can post your guesses in the comments, and I will let you know if you're right. Maybe I will end up making this a little contest, and maybe there will be a prize for the winner at the end. We'll have to see.

HAPPY GUESSING!

You can post your guesses as a comment, and I will let you know if you're right! Happy guessing!

Productive!

I love that feeling at the end of the day when you stretch out in bed and know that you've actually accomplished something. It's even nicer when you have your own bedroom in which to do it. Let me explain...

Because of a small snag that left my husband and I jobless, eight months pregnant (me, not the husband), and at the end of our lease, we moved in with my in-laws about a year ago. My husband and I packed most of our stuff into a storage unit and shoved the rest of our life into a teeny tiny guest room in his parents' house. After our daughter was born, that teeny-tiny room got even teeny-tinier, as we were now sharing it with a baby and all the necessary accessories. In January or February, my husband was able to find a job that allowed us to move out into an apartment of our own. Sounds great, right?

Well...sort of. The apartment is nice. It would be perfect for one person or maybe even two. But not a family of three. You see, it's essentially a studio apartment. It is one large room (in a basement with no natural light), with one small, windowless adjoining room that is not a legal bedroom. Until now, we had our computers and our television in this small adjoining room, and once again the three of us and all of our stuff was cohabitating one room. This worked until our daughter realized that she had the power to keep the rest of us up all night long, and things have had to change.

SO we rearranged furniture! My husband and I are chancing it in the windowless room (we keep the doors open, at least) and for the first time in over a year, I am enjoying the feeling of having a bedroom that is mostly just a bedroom - though it is also part office for my hubby. It is so nice. So very, very nice. In fact, I am writing this as my daughter sleeps in the other room and I am stretched out in my own bed, typing without fear of waking her up.

As well as moving the furniture around, I also managed to do the laundry today! Woohoo! And I have two toys that are on the verge of being finished. Since I am being so productive, I think I might continue my streak and throw on some Scrubs while I finish one of the toys. Then I shall brush my teeth and go to bed knowing that I have worked hard and accomplished a lot.

And really, that feeling brings the best dreams.

Overandout!

Work Day

Hello all!

A lot has happened so far this week (it's hard to believe it's only Wednesday).

First off, my husband and I have been working hard to get out baby onto a solid schedule, to help her nap during the day and sleep at night (she doesn't seem to think she's a napper). Anyway, it's been going pretty well so far. She's been taking pretty consistent naps, which has given me some free time to do some good work on more toys, which hopefully will be up on the site before too long.

Today I am over at the in-laws' house, borrowing my mom-in-law's sewing machine because mine is still packed away in storage. I have used up my store of lavender making sachets, so I should be good for a little while. Unfortunately, the baby is having a hard time taking a nap this afternoon. Why, you ask? Because Mouse, her HBT, has gone missing. That's right! Put out an APB for a little lavender mouse. Fun to snuggle, likes baby kisses, and answers to Mouse.

 The good news is that we didn't take Mouse out of the house yesterday. The bad news is that means that Mouse is lost somewhere in our apartment. I'm sure he (she?) will turn up eventually, but in the mean time, it's awfully hard to get to sleep when your snuggle buddy is out there all alone, possibly cold and hungry. Poor Mouse. Come home soon.

In case you were wondering what I am working on, I will say that I am working on two toys at a time here, but they won't both appear in the gallery with Kipling, since I am trying to restock at the Mom and Pop Place at the same time. Keep an eye out!


Just another FYI for those of you out there in the interworld. I will be out of town next week for my brother-in-law's wedding. I'm not sure yet how this will affect posting, but I just wanted to let you know.

Until next time, blog fans, I think the baby is finally quieting down.