Monkey Bunns Shop Blog!

BIG sale!

2009-07-12T08:17:00.000-07:00

In case you hadn't heard already I'm offering a buy 3 get 1 free deal through July 31st. This is on all diapers and trainers-go check it out!

www.monkeybunns.com

GCDH wrap up

2009-06-04T08:22:00.000-07:00

The GCDH is wrapped up but don't forget to use your 10% off code! Watch for a GREAT deal next month!

Welcome Diaper Hunters!

2009-05-01T08:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome diaper hunters to my blog! Become a follower and be updated with codes for discounts/free shipping/store updates. Don't forget to use your Diaper Hunt discount code for 10% off anything in my shop through June.

Check out my Seconds for lots of FFS lotteries and auctions throughout the month. Snapping diapers are coming soon, in the meantime you can always start a custom order.

Happy Hunting!!!

2009-04-08T08:22:00.001-07:00

I'm on twitter now! I'll be adding my widget shortly :)

2009-03-03T15:12:00.001-08:00

VOTE FOR ME for the Leading Moms Competition!

2009-01-28T16:32:00.001-08:00

Monkey Bunns was featured in an article in the Standard Examiner:
http://www.standard.net/live/news/162611/

Leaving the Lead Out / New consumer safety law protects children, but could hurt many businesses

Stay-at-home entrepreneur and new mom Ashley Barrett makes reusable diapers and baby leggings that range from stately argyle to shocking pink.

At about $5 a pop, selling those items on the Internet supplements her income while her husband attends Weber State University and works full time.

Barrett is about to become a criminal or be put out of business when a new federal law takes effect next month.

Her Web site, www.monkeybunns.com, and millions of microproducers like her are getting pinched by a new requirement that each product intended for children must be tested for lead content prior to sale.

"The testing is going to be anywhere from $75 to $300 per color, per thing on it. A onesie -- the collar is a different fabric than the main part -- and each snap also needs to be tested," Barrett said.

"It's a chemical test, so the item is destroyed in the process, so it's really hard for businesses that make one-of-a-kind items, which I make a lot of."

This catastrophe for microproducers is scheduled to hit the nation Feb. 10, a day some activists have dubbed Bankruptcy Day.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act was passed by Congress last summer, though many say they hadn't heard about it until recently.

Written in response to the 2007 scandals related to lead-containing toy imports by big corporations, the CPSIA has no exceptions for Barrett or anyone else. On Feb. 10, all sellers of goods intended for children must comply.

That same law is responsible for other financial hardships.

Secondhand children's clothing may become scarce. Ogden Rescue Mission Bargain Mart thrift store, for example, is liquidating its children's products.

"Our intention is, we're going to eliminate the children's departments until we get a clarification," said mission executive director Gary Doud.

"It's the corner they've backed us into. What else can we do?"

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the agency tasked with interpreting and enforcing the law, issued a news release Jan. 9 that said resellers such as thrift stores are exempt from the testing requirements.

However, that same release threatens resellers with criminal or civil penalties if they sell a lead-containing item, a risk Ogden Rescue Mission officials are not willing to take.

"We can't look at a button on one shirt and a button on another and know which one is safe and which one is not," said store manager Carla Hall.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, owner of Deseret Industries thrift stores, says no changes are planned for D.I., but they're watching the law closely.

Unrealistic law?

The Jan. 9 clarification did calm some resellers.

Buck Elton owns a franchise of Kid to Kid stores in Bountiful, Layton and Riverdale, which primarily sells used children's items.

"We're moving forward with the belief that it is just unrealistic" and either will be amended or not enforced, Elton said.

"I can't believe that our government is that dumb (to let the law go into effect). I know they are politicians -- they are nuts, I know that -- but I can't believe this is what they intended."

For now, Kid to Kid's strategy will be to compare incoming inventory against government lists of recalled items, though Elton admits that task is "almost impossible" to do perfectly.

If the item is not one of roughly 1,700 kid-related recalled products, it will be sold, Elton said.

That strategy doesn't work for the Ogden Rescue Mission. Screening each kid product would be too expensive, Hall said.

Elton has something neither the Ogden Rescue Mission nor microproducers like Barrett has: a corporate umbrella. The Kid to Kid corporation has lawyers who could defend a penalized franchisee.

What microproducers lack in terms of formal power with lobbyists and lawyers, they may overcome with online organization.

In addition to her own site, Barrett also sells her products at Etsy.com, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based online shop with more than 200,000 active sellers and 2 million members. In 2008, the site sold $88 million worth of handmade crafts like Barrett's.

"As soon as we heard about it once or twice and looked into it more, we thought, 'This will have drastic implica-tions,' " said Adam Brown, Etsy spokesman. "So that's when we mobilized."

Etsy joined with competitors to form the Handmade Consortium, a group devoted to changing the law before Feb. 10. They and similar groups that have emerged enlisted their Web-connected sellers nationwide to call their congressmen and demand action.

The consortium is not celebrating yet, but some successes have resulted from its actions.

The CPSIA issue recently took sixth place in President Obama's Ideas for Change in America Competition, which solicited online votes for issues that need urgent action.

Delay sought

Some congressmen have asked for delayed implementation of the law, but nothing has been promised by committee chairmen, who are busy discussing Obama's economic recovery plan.

Top of Utah lawmakers in Washington say they support delaying implementation and amending the law.

"This probably illustrates why Congress sometimes needs to take more time to react and interview real people to see how our proposed laws impact them," Rep. Rob Bishop says in a written statement.

Officials in Sen. Bob Bennett's office said he's concerned about the impact on business.

"(Bennett) has spoken with Nancy Nord, acting chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and asked her to meet with him next week for further discussion on this issue," his office wrote in a statement.

Sen. Orrin Hatch's office said he is very busy and does not sit on any committees relevant to the issue.

ALL Monkey Bunns products have been verified by an XRF gun or by 3rd party certificates. I will continue to sell cloth diapers until they are sold out (I'm busy sewing tons more up before February 9th). I am hoping I will be able to continue to sell diapers but if the law doesn't change I will be featuring non-baby related items. Please contact your state representatives in Washington DC about this important matter!

Words cannot express...

2009-01-15T14:12:00.000-08:00

Words CANNOT express how angry I am at this moment! I have spent over an hour with m husband at an XRF gun (an x-ray gun that tells you what elements-especially lead-are in an item) that was designed specifically to look at the amount of lead found in toys, materials, etc. Of course everything my husband (a Chemistry major who has said no less than 100 times that there is not lead in fabric because the dyes used in fabric are VERY different than those used in paints and plastics) tested came back with minimal amounts of lead (less than 300 parts per million). What an excruciating waste of time jus to cover my butt from the CPSIA! Fabric (even dyed fabric) inherentally DOES NOT contain lead! I would like to see someone send me a piece of fabric that has lead. It makes sense for this law to check itms that have metal components but if everthing is fabric or plastic WHY does it need to be tested? What a waste of time and money. Please write your senators and representatives! For more inforation on CPSIA please read some of my older posts.

Genn Beck on CPSIA

2009-01-08T21:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/196/19911/

I have also contacted my local media and will update if anything is ever heard back...

Announcing my new Hyena Cart!

2009-01-07T08:50:00.001-08:00

I wanted to take the opportunity to announce my new Hyena Cart (you can find it at www.monkeybunns.com). I want to offer a special to all of my blog readers. You can receive 10% off all preorders and orders over $25 with code mbblog. This code will expire Jan 31 at midnight MST.

(If you use it on an order under $25 I will still invoice you the full amount. If the difference is not paid within 48 hours I will refund your original payment)

NEW COLORS!!!

2008-12-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

I am currently cutting a gorgeous light blue and spring green for diapers! These colors are very limited as I was not able to get very much of these but they're very nice. I am working on stocking my store with all sizes in a bunch of colors. I will also be "clearance-ing" a few covers that I was unable to finish before Christmas in Christmas-y colors.

I plan to take pictures of my son's toys I made for Christmas. I can make any of them for anyone-convo me for details.

Also watch for my Hyena Cart-I plan to open one with my new stock of diapers because the Etsy fees are kind of high for as many as I plan to have done.

Fleece liners

2008-12-18T19:49:00.000-08:00

Ever wondered how you can keep baby dry (when using fitteds or prefolds), keep diapers from getting stained, make for easy cleanup, and not have to buy liners often? Microfleece! Microfleece liners are great for all of those things. You can even use rash cream as needed and wash them separate all without ruining your diapers. I suggest making sure you cover up the back end well so NO cream will touch the diapers. Watch for liners-coming soon!

CPSIA

2008-12-18T19:07:00.000-08:00

Here's a link to a blog showing some of the problems with the law as is:

http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/

Watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjwNu7w2BSQ

Perspective from toy company:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUlY6zOMPqQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=AlMh7MJiodY
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=Bk0Vr0yDrXc& feature=related

Make your own wipes solution!!!

2008-12-10T07:29:00.000-08:00

I personally use a squirt bottle that I put a couple squirts of night time baby wash, a couple squirts of baby oil and fill the rest of the way with water.

Here's a bunch of great recipes (copied from-http://ezinearticles.com/?Make-Your-Own-Wipe-Solution&id=118618)

Wipe solutions are so easy to make and can save you money too! Use them for cleaning sticky hands and messy faces as well as dirty bottoms. Unlike commercial wipes, these recipes don't contain alcohol or chemicals, and they smell good. Use these recipes on cloth wipes or make your own disposable wipes and save even more money! To make disposable wipes, cut high quality paper towels in half, or leave whole for full-size wipes.

Common Cloth Wipe Solution Ingredients:

Many wipe solution recipes contain similar main ingredients, which are used for the same reason in each recipe. These are the common ingredients and why they're included:

Oil: Helps the wipe glide across baby's skin and keeps skin soft
Soap: Cleanses by removing all traces of urine and feces
EO: (Essential Oil) Added for antibacterial and/or aromatherapy purposes.
Water: The main ingredient in each recipe, cleanses the diaper area and dilutes the other ingredients

The type and amounts of oil, soap, EO and water that goes into a recipe is what gives each cloth wipe solution it's own distinct "personality". Have fun trying different recipes until you find the ones that you like best!

How to Use Cloth Wipe Solutions

When mixing solutions it works best to start with oil and end with water. The oil will coat your measuring tools so the soap slips right off. Be sure to add the water slowly or you'll end up with a ton of bubbles! Most of the time it's easiest to gently mix the wipe solution in a bottle with a cover, then pour it into the storage container.

There are many different ways to store and apply wipe solutions to your wipes, try a few of the following ideas to find the one that works best for your family. You may discover that one system works great at home and another works great away from home. Here's some ideas to get you started:

Use a spray bottle to spritz baby's bottom or the wipes. (For baby's comfort we prefer spraying the wipes)
Use a bottle with a pull-up spout (like on bottled-water bottles) to dribble solution onto the wipes.
Warm solution and place in an insulated container to provide warm wipes for baby.
Place the solution into a commercial baby wipes container and dip wipes into the solution.
Place cloth wipes in a commercial baby wipes container and pour wipes solution over wipes.
A commercial baby wipes container can be placed in a wipes warmer to provide cozy warm wipes for baby.

Don't store solution or wet wipes for a long time because they can become musty and the wet wipes may even grow mildew - ewww! Check your solution and wet wipes daily, and mix smaller batches of solution frequently instead of large batches less often to avoid mustiness. We mix fresh solution once a week, store it in a bottled-water bottle, and have not had any problems with mustiness.

Cloth Wipe Solution Recipes

Almond 'n' Chamomile

Steep the tea bags in the hot water then add the oil.

2 chamomile tea bags

2 teaspoons almond oil

2 cups hot water

Anti-Fungal

Omit vinegar if baby has a raw rash.

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 tablespoon calendula oil

A few drops lavender oil

A few drops tea tree oil

1/4 cup 100% aloe vera gel

1 cup water

Anti-Fungal Too

Similar to the other anti-fungal recipe, but less vinegar and water.

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon calendula oil

A few drops lavender oil

A few drops tea tree oil

1/4 cup 100% aloe vera gel

1/2 cup water

Basic Wipe Solution

This basic recipe can be adapted by changing the type of soap or oil.

1/2 cup baby oil

1/2 cup baby wash

2 cups water

Castile Solution

Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap comes in several yummy scents!

1 tablespoon almond, apricot, or other oil

1 tablespoon Dr Bronner's Liquid Castile Soap

2 drops tea tree oil

1 drop lavender oil

1 cup water

Chamomile 'n' Honey

Brew the tea, add the honey, and drink any leftovers!

1 chamomile tea bag

1 teaspoon honey

1 cup boiling water

Easy Peasy

Just three simple ingredients...

2 tablespoons oil

2 tablespoons baby wash

1 1/2 cups water

Eight is Great

Similar ingredients as other recipes, but in different amounts.
1/8 cup vegetable oil

1/8 cup baby wash

8 drops lavender oil

4 drops tea tree oil

2 cups water

Fruit 'n' Veggie

Dr Bronner's soaps can often be found in organic markets.

1 teaspoon fruit or vegetable-based oil (apricot, olive, grapeseed, etc)

1 tablespoon vegetable-based soap (like Dr. Bronner's liquid castile)
1 teaspoon 100% aloe vera gel

1 cup water

Just One

Just one "something" of each ingredient for this recipe.

1 chamomile tea bag

1 teaspoon oil

1 teaspoon baby bath or shampoo

1 drop lavendar oil

1 cup hot water

Lavender 'n' Tea Tree

Lavender and Tea Tree are popular EO choices for wipe solutions.

1/8 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon baby shampoo

4 drops tea tree oil

8 drops lavender oil

3 cups water

Lanolin & Glycerine

Lanolin and glycerine moisturize without oil.

1 tablespoon liquid glycerine

1/4 teaspoon liquid lanolin (100% pure)

1 tablespoon baby wash

1-3 drops EO

4 cups water

Lotion Potion

Baby lotion adds more softening power to this solution.

1 tablespoon baby oil

1 tablespoon baby soap

1 tablespoon baby lotion

1 cup water

Magic Baby

Baby Magic products are usually easy to find in local stores.

1/2 cup Baby Magic oil

1/2 cup Baby Magic wash

2 cups water

No Measuring

Don't measure for this one, just estimate amounts.

2 squirts baby oil

2 squirts baby wash

1 drop EO

1 cup water (about)

Olive 'n' Tea Tree

A great natural wipes solution.

1/4 cup olive oil (extra virgin not necessary)

1/8 cup gentle baby bath

A few drops tea tree oil

4 cups water

Shampoo Style

Baby shampoo works as well as baby wash.

1 tablespoon baby oil

2 teaspoons baby shampoo

2 1/2 cups water

Soapless

This recipe relies on the EO to cleanse, instead of using soap.

1-2 drops tea tree oil

1-2 drops lavender oil

1 cup water

Zany Apricot Solution

One of our favorites, the apricot oil smells heavenly!

1 tablespoon apricot oil

1 tablespoon unscented baby wash

3 cups water

Zany Lavender Solution

Our other favorite, the lavender is calming for us and our son.

1 tablespoon baby oil

1 tablespoon lavender scented baby wash

2-3 drops lavender oil

3 cups water

Amy S. Nogar has been using cloth wipes and wipe solution for over 17 years with her infants and young children. She is the founder of Zany Zebra Designs and encourages parents to slow down to enjoy everyday routines with their children.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amy_Nogar

2008-12-06T09:09:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to a letter to send to your representative regarding the extremely harsh CPSIA that would require testing by everyone of each product, each style for anything used to care for a child under 12. Contact your senators and House Rep. We really want them to reconsider on the textile testing or at least just look at the certificates from the manufacturers of our fabrics:

http://mollyodesigns.blogspot.com/2008/12/write-to-your-representative.html

Here are a few more links:

cpsia-central.ning.com/
apps.facebook.com/causes/166874?m=7... (this will link you to an iPetition too)
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=3830...

December Special and Updates

2008-12-01T15:54:00.000-08:00

***DECEMBER SPECIAL: Preorder 3 diapers and get a free small wetbag ($5 value)***

I am currently getting over an illness. I just started antibiotics and hope to get better soon. I am a little backed up with a couple of big orders (a diaper order and a Monkey Leggins order). While I am still taking orders they may not ship until next week. Thank you for your patience and understanding! I hope to work hard the next few weeks to get my store stocked!

Goodies coming soon!

2008-11-24T07:50:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share some of the goodies coming soon!

-A cloth block

-Fleece Christmas diaper covers (red w/green trim and green w/red trim)

-A special deal for December on custom orders before Christmas (for toys, blankets, etc)

-And in the near future wooden name signs! Totally custom made to order with your choice of theme, colors, and name. I made one for my husband and will make one for my son's first birthday. They're really fun for the whole family!

Right now there's a sweet deal on Monkey Leggins-buy 2 get 1 free now through the end of November! Stock up now!

Welcome to the blog!!!

2008-09-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Monkey Bunns' Blog!!! Here you will find special deals and info about upcoming products, all made by me! Check out my Etsy store at www.monkeybunns.com