Our Voices Were Heard (At Least for Now!)

A STAY OF EXECUTION

Great news!

Exerpted from the CPSC Press Release:

CPSC Grants One Year Stay of Testing and Certification Requirements for Certain Products

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted unanimously (2-0) to issue a one year stay of enforcement for certain testing and certification requirements for manufacturers and importers of regulated products, including products intended for children 12 years old and younger.

The stay of enforcement provides some temporary, limited relief to the crafters, children’s garment manufacturers and toy makers who had been subject to the testing and certification required under the CPSIA. These businesses will not need to issue certificates based on testing of their products until additional decisions are issued by the Commission.

The stay will remain in effect until February 10, 2010, at which time a Commission vote will be taken to terminate the stay.

A huge thank you to everyone who signed the petition and who raised their voices in regards to amending this law!!! However, the last line states that our work is not done!! But we do have a year to create, sell as well as convince the CPSC to save handmade!!!

Click here if you'd like to read the etsy notice which also prints the press release in full.

A Paper Tip for Novices (ME!)

Well, I realized that I can't discuss my shrink plastic projects since a grandma might be reading this.... another time! :-) It worked ok. Perhaps the best part was shrinking them with the heat gun!! They writhed and twisted then shrunk and became flat. The kids really enjoyed that! :-)

What I did work on last night was finishing up the Thank You cards that my friend and I stamped. We felt they needed a ribbon or something. I said, "Hey, you scrapbookers use staples, don't you??" She said she would paint regular staples (be sure to get the sides, too, she told me). Then just use the regular stapler and viola! I think they turned out pretty well--of course they are NOTHING compared to what real Paper Talentinas come up with!! I am a mere paper pauper, my talents lie elsewhere!

Although my "Black Friday through Cyber Monday" sales have been modest, I have gotten some interest. I will be shipping some ball chain to Australia!! It is only my second international order. I shipped to Sweden once before. That is one of the things I really love about Etsy--you get to meet people from all over the world! And we all sure have a lot in common!