MY NEW ETSY SHOP!

MY NEW ETSY SHOP!

I opened a brand new Etsy shop. I have been wanting a more professional sounding name for awhile, so I came up with Breath of Dawn Studio. There is a lot of meaning behind my new name, Dawn equals a new beginning. Breath of dawn is a line in a song that my mom loved, and I did too. So it's sort of named in memory of my precious mommy who went to heaven in Nov. 2009. I wanted a shop with more high-end yarns being used to make beautiful creations, so this shop will hold my wools, silks, cashmeres, quality cottons and more. I have two listings so far, and will be adding more as I make them.

Please check out my new shop, give it some love, and let me know what you think!

WORLDWIDE AUTISM AWARENESS DAY

Today is Worldwide Autism Awareness Day. Actually, this month of April is Autism Awareness Month as well. Why is this important? Because for one, the light of my life and my joy, my son Noah has autism. I've been fighting this fight for over 7 years now. Another reason, because 1 in 150 kids is being diagnosed with this condition. It NEEDS awareness, people have to find out the facts about it. Parents need to know the warning signs, because the earlier you see the signs, the better chance your child has of responding to treatments and therapies.

What IS autism?
Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others. Autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is a "spectrum disorder" that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. (Copied from the Autism Society of America's website).

My son Noah is on the severe side of the spectrum of autism. He has made huge progress and improvements the last couple of years, but there is still a long way to go. He finally started to talk after age 6, very simple one-word copying of words he heard. Now he can ask for what he wants, "banana please" is his favorite request. Most parents would think nothing of a child who says NO, but my son just found this word and he is almost 10. And he is using it properly, once even to answer a question.

This journey is full of sadness, for the child who may never be, for the "loss" of your child when you realize he doesn't communicate or look at you. The devastation of hearing the words, "your son (or daughter) has autism." Because you know, life will never be what you hoped it would be for your child. But then time goes on and the sadness lessens.

Some days we may cry off and on all day, because of stress or sometimes it hits you that your child is stuck inside his or her own head. Some days we get mad, because people in the store are staring and/or voicing their opinion about something they know nothing about. Sometimes I have to say, He has autism, he isn't just being a brat!

Then there are days (or moments) of joy. Us parents of children with autism find JOY in the milestones, no matter how "late" they reach them. It is the joy of knowing that he/she can do it, when doctors and others have said it would never happen. He or she lets you in just for a brief moment and you know you connected with your child. Those are the days we live for!

Thank you for reading about my journey with my son Noah. Please read the following websites for more information about autism.

http://www.autismweb.com/
http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer
http://www.autism.com/

and please check out this blog post about autism awareness day on a team blog I belong to:
http://handmadeforlife.blogspot.com/

AUTISM AWARENESS TREASURY

My Treasury, "For Noah, an Autism Treasury" was made to bring awareness to autism. It seems that my intent is being fulfilled! It is currently #1 on the hot list of treasuries (Meaning it is very popular!) and lots of people have commented. It's even featured on these 2 blogs:
http://theperfecttrio.blogspot.com/ and
http://www.suziesarmoire.com/
I don't personally know either of these lovely people who chose to feature my treasury on their blogs, so I was so very touched that they did!
Thanks to http://Hamptonhouse.etsy.com for all her help promoting this treasury!

I made my 200th sale!

Yesterday I hit my 200th sale milestone! The buyer received a percentage off her purchase and also will receive a couple of free gifts in her order. I'm so excited to have made it this far in just over a year selling on Etsy! Thanks to everyone who has purchased from me, and I hope you'll come look at my shop.

DISCOUNT AND FREE GIFT TO MY 200TH SALE

I am amazed that I'm almost at 200 sales. I'm at 198 right now and my 200th sale will receive 20% off (not including shipping) and a FREE GIFT too! Come check out my shop and get this great deal for yourself, or buy for someone else.

http://mattscraftywife.etsy.com

Soap Savers!

I recently started making soap savers, and within the first day of listing them, I sold 4! I have them in several colors, including the ones above. You put your soap inside and close the drawstring... then wash yourself with it! You can also take those slivers of soap and put them inside and use it, no more waste! Great for "going green". My friend http://lusciouslather.etsy.com has soaps that work wonderfully in them, check out her shop. Her soap is shown in the pics above as well. Check out my shop and my new soap savers! http://mattscraftywife.etsy.com.

Update on Competition!

An update on the Ornament Competition that my stocking ornament was involved in recently on Etsy.... I've found out through my friend http://cardwear.etsy.com/ that my stocking ornament was chosen for the gift guide! Here is the link:
http://www.etsy.com/gift-guides/holiday-parties-and-decorating/78

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17530978 This is the listing.

I'm so happy and excited to find this out! YAY!

Custom Order

My latest custom order was for http://julscrafts.etsy.com/. She just had a brand new grandbaby come into the world and wanted a special sweater set for him for a Christmas present. She gave me total freedom in it, and I had such fun picking what color and what style to do. I chose a handsome tan color in a soft and silky acrylic yarn. The edging is a ribbed-look on the bottom of the sweater and the cuff of the arms, then used on the bottom of the hat as well.

Since I am VERY done having babies, I love making things for other people's babies! I'm so honored that she wanted me to make this for her grandson. If you like it, leave me a comment. If you want one of your own for a special baby, contact me on etsy http://mattscraftywife.etsy.com/. and I'll make a custom order listing just for you!

CELEBRATING MY 100TH SALE!

Today I'm having a celebration, I made my 100th sale! I only started selling on Etsy in February this year! I'm just so thankful that I've made some money to help out with bills for our family, and that I've made such wonderful friends. If you look to the right, you'll see a list of my favorite shops on Etsy. They are all wonderful people that I consider friends. The pictures above are custom orders that were my last 2 to get me to 100!

To celebrate, I'm having a 30% off everything in my shop sale. This doesn't include shipping. It could save someone a lot of money, if they purchased a sweater set for a baby, it would normally be $30, but with this sale it will be $21, that's a $9 savings! I hope someone will scoop up these good deals while they last.

Thank you to all the Etsy customers who have purchased from me to get me to this wonderful Milestone!

My new Cross Bookmarks on Etsy

My latest creative craze is Cross Bookmarks. I made these 2 yesterday, and listed the darker shades of blue one (the first picture) and it sold within MINUTES! Talk about excited, I am thinking I need to make more of those! The second one in lighter blues is not for sale yet, I will list it eventually though. I've been working on some custom orders so I've been busy. Plus we finally just came out of Tropical Storm Fay, so I couldn't get pictures for a few days. I hope these new items will sell well in my shop on Etsy. Check out my shop at www.mattscraftywife.etsy.com.