TBT:: 4 years ago this week….

4 years ago this week I was still hanging diapers on the line

Henry was cruising around on his knees

Cameron was making his first PBJ by himself

the birth of fluff…

I talked last week about some exciting new things happening in my world.  Well here it is:


My business partner and good friend, Kristen, and I opened a Cloth Diaper Boutique in the heart of Old Shawnee Kansas.  We are operating inside of Heart to Heart Creations at 11004 Johnson Drive.  You can find out updates and information right now here.  Our website is still under construction but will be live soon for our online business at Fluff Diaper Boutique  Here is a brief bio about us.

“Fluff is a Mom owned, and operated Cloth Diaper and Natural Parenting boutique located in Heart to Heart in Shawnee, KS. We offer popular commercial brands in addition to products produced by local talented Moms and Dads. We also offer an online store with baby registry at www.fluffdiaperboutique.com.

We offer many different styles and ways to cloth diaper that little bottom in your life. Together Kristen and Maeghan they have over 20 years in retail experience and they have over 5 years of cloth diaper experience.

Kristen Marquis the Mother of 4, 3 girls and 1 son, has enjoyed using cloth diapers for her youngest child. She is an eco-friendly and natural parent who believes in the importance of taking care of the earth and our children as respectfully as possible. Kristen is the Head Merchandiser and brains on the behind the scenes business.

Maeghan Miller is the mother of 2 boys, when she had her 2^nd over 3 years ago she knew she was going to use cloth and hasn’t looked back. She is also the WAHM behind Green Acres Closet Woolies. Maeghan will also use her experience in Marketing Fluff inside the store.

Based on own experience of getting started in Cloth, Kristen and Maeghan share a vision of teaching parents and others that cloth diapering doesn’t have to be a chore. It is fun and fashionable, earth friendly and in this economy cost effective. We don’t claim to know everything there is to know about cloth diapering but we will share what we do know and offer you an exciting journey into the world of Cloth Diapers. “

Kristen and I have prayed and worked very hard for this dream to come into reality.  It hasn’t been an easy road but we took our “post it notes” from God and knew that he would help us achieve our goals.  Thank you doesn’t seem enough to say to our parents, friends and neighbors who have supported us on this journey.  Here are a few pics of this journey.
Getting fixtures ready.  We really wanted to concentrate on up cycling if we could, garage sales for some and with the exception of the washboard, washtub and 2 cans of spray paint we were able to keep our costs down.



The door has been in my basement forever and I found the changing table at a Garage Sale for $7.  Kristen’s Mom gave us the paint and well the labor was provided by Mr. Miller and his sidekick Mr. Dutcher.  As for the little hands they were kept busy with wipes cleaning off the dust.





Before:

After:

diaper swap

I participated in a diaper swap this past weekend in St. Joseph, Missouri.  It is only 1hr and 15 from the house so Mr. Miller and I drove up early Saturday morning.  Mimi graciously helped with the little guys.  For you that are curious as to what a Diaper Swap is, I describe it as a “Craigslist of Cloth”.  You get to find gently used or new items, meet like minded parents and just look at different types of cloth diapers that are out there.  As Aubrey says, “Cloth Diapers are not just pins and plastic pants”.

This Swap was put on my Aubrey Turley of Bumper Covers.  She did a great did a great job.  It was well put together and so welcoming to both sellers and Mama’s looking to score some wonderful cloth.  I didn’t sell a lot but some, I have even finished a special order taken post swap.  I did a lot of networking and spent a morning with some very sweet Mama’s.

 

Here is a little bit of my recent handy work.  I am loving my new space.  Some of my appliques are shapes found on fabric scraps and the others I just free cut whatever I am thinking of.  Each one is unique. 

a clean slate

2012...is it possible?  I am not sure where 2011 went.

I look at the year and I feel very blessed.  There have been some great opportunities given to us this last year and they are making 2012 look promising.  Mr. Miller and his promotion, Cameron doing well in school, Henry growing up and of course Green Acres Closet taking off for me.

I plan on continuing the focus on my faith and family first in this year.  I had a friend ask the question on New Year's Day "What will you do today that will make you proud in a year?".  This is such a great question for every day.  I plan on using this question daily. 

I will continue to build Green Acres Closet.  We are in the process of giving me a bigger work space downstairs.  It seems that I have outgrown my quaint little room.  It will be a great playroom for the boys.

We will regain our rhythm of being gluten free here.  I fell of that train hard and I am feeling the pain from it.  Please send me any suggestions and/or recipes that you have in your gluten free diet.  I am always looking for new ideas.

Lastly I hope all of you have an enjoyable start to the new year!

woollie time

As the morning get a more crisp feeling and the evening are shorter and cooler (I am not complaining here) I find it time for WOOLLIES!  OK for those of you out of the Diaper phase in your life these are know as woollies.

I love wool and so does Junior Mint.  They are 2 valuable pieces of his wardrobe in one.  A cloth diaper cover and pants.  This works well for us because Junior Mint hates wearing pants.  Thank goodness he wears very cute cloth diapers and covers.  I found these shorties online but I do make my own too. Be looking soon for my etsy to be back up running and fully loaded with up cycled woollies.

Wool is a great fabric.  People ask me on a regular basis, especially when I am on my Urban Treasure Hunts aka Thirfting ~ Why Wool?

Wool is an amazing natural fiber. It is naturally anti-bacterial and super absorbent. (Up to 30% of its weight) It makes a great waterproof diaper cover once it is lanolized.

Wool is breathable and extremely easy to care for.   Wool only has to be washed once every 2 or 3 weeks unless of course it gets heavily soiled, it has a self cleaning property in it called lanolin.  If your wool feels damp or wet after wearing it simply lay it out flat to air dry and let the wool do its job of self cleaning.

Here is a no fail system to care for your wool:

1. Run your hot water until its good and HOT in the bathroom sink, allowing it to drain, once its hot turn it off for a few seconds to do step 2.
2. Put the plug in your bathroom sink and put your lanolin in the bottom of the sink, I use about a 1/2-1 inch glob of the lanolin.
3. Run a little hot water in the sink and add baby shampoo or baby wash to the sink. Only run enough hot water in the sink to break up the lanolin.
4. Run room temp water to fill the rest of the sink up.
5. Turn the woollie wrong side out and submerge into the mixture in the sink and let soak 30 minutes (longer if you feel it needs more lanolizing).
6. After you're done soaking, lay a towel folded in half for you to lay your wool on; remove soaker out of the water and gently squeeze the excess water out, do not ring.
7. Just lay your soaker on the towel and roll the towel up, gently squeeze as your rolling.
8. Lay flat to dry, I like laying them on one of those sweater racks. They take 24 hours sometimes to dry.

Lanolizing only needs to be done about every 2 months or as needed.

I pair Junior Mints with a fitted and we like the Mother Ease One Size or MEOS.  If you haven’t looked into wool for your cloth you should. 

The Cloth Diaper that I "flip" for

You know how I love my cloth diapers, and especially this little bum in them. Well I have found a cloth diaper that I am literally "flipping" for.

Cottonbabies the makers of Bum Genius have come up with a diaper system that is wonderful. This is a one size fits 8lbs-35lbs cover with a cloth insert. I will tell you that I put 2 inserts in at night and for the first time we have no leaks. That's right I said no leaks. You can pick up a cover and insert combination for around $17. I have been using the G diapers and cloth inserts that I have been making but we were still having problems with leaks at night. I thought I would try one of these and OH how I love them. I have been able to pick some up off of diaper swappers too. I am able to use my G inserts in these too. They have a disposable insert for while you are away from home too. I am still using my G's so I have a pretty good rotation. I am looking at stocking inserts on my etsy site real soon.

photo courtesy of cottonbabies

If you want a less expensive route I have also tried their econobum system. I find it equally as good. These run about $9.95 for cover and insert. The nice thing about www.cottonbabies.com

is that they have free shipping. You can also use a prefold as your insert, just fold it in a tri fold pattern.

photo courtesy of cotton babies

I have to tell you that cloth diapering is a great way to save money and it doesn't have to be expensive. If you use disposable you are spending around $3000 on diapers during the duration of your child's use of them. You do the math. I think it is worth it for peace of mind, less diaper rash and some savings in your wallet.

bumbums

Well I did it! I finally opened a shop on etsy. You can now find some of my favorites that I have started sewing. Please check it out. http://www.bumbums.etsy.com/ I also have a link in my sidebar. Let me know what you think. I will have more to list in the coming days. I have people ask all the time if I sell the things I make so I decided "what the heck" lets give it a try.

Here are just a few of the items listed.

Washing your Woollies!

We washed our woollies here yesterday, the weather was amazing so I knew I could lay them out to dry. It really is simple process and your hands feel so soft afterwards. We lanolize the wool to keep them water resistant when wearing them over our diapers. These woollies can also be used just as pants if you don't cloth diaper, of course then you wouldn't have to lanolize!

Here are the products that I use. Lanolin and wool wash are a matter of preference, I find that baby shampoo works just as well as the wool wash and it is more cost friendly plus we already have it around the house. Wool only has to be washed once every 2 or 3 weeks unless of course it gets soiled. Wool has a self cleaning property in it called lanolin. If your wool feels damp or wet after wearing it, simply lay it out flat to air out and let the wool do its job of self cleaning. When the lanolin properties get too low, its time to lanolize them. Lanolizing only needs to be done every 2 or 3 months depending on how often its washed. The instructions below will help you care for your wool, for washing only, omit the lanolin step.

Here are the steps to caring for your wool:
1. Run your hot water until its good and HOT in the kitchen or bathroom sink, allowing it to drain, once its hot turn it off for a few seconds to do step 2.

2. Put the plug in your bathroom sink and put your lanolin in the bottom of the sink, I use about a 1/2-1 inch glob of the lanolin.

3. Run a little hot water in the sink and add baby shampoo or baby wash to the water (wool wash may be used too). Only run enough hot water in the sink to break up the lanolin.

4. Run room temp water to fill the rest of the sink up.

5. Turn your wool wrong side out and submerge into the mixture in the sink and let soak 30 minutes (longer if you feel it needs more lanolizing).

6. After you're done soaking, lay a towel folded in half for you to lay your wool on; take the wool out of the water and gently squeeze the excess water out, do not ring.

7. Lay your wool on the towel and roll the towel up with the wool inside, gently squeeze as your rolling.

8. Lay flat to dry, I like laying them on my patio chairs, they are mesh so very similar to a sweater rack. They take 24 hours sometimes to dry.

My first custom project!

I am so excited, I just finished my first custom wool set. I made this for a girlfriend of mine and her sweet daughter Bella! It is made from a 100% Lambswool Gap Sweater! So cute and I have enough of the sweater left make at least one more set!

These will sell for $15 for just the Longies or $20 with the matching hat. I love being able to reuse something to make it new again!

Creating my perfect diaper!

I have been blessed to have the day to spend sewing diapers for Junior Mint. I got some Organic Bamboo Velour in and have been working on a new diaper pattern. This fabric is so soft. I use 100% Cotton Flannel for the outer layer and the OBV for the inner layer. I use 3 layers of micro fiber for extra protection in the diaper. I think I have come up with two pattern ideas for a fitted diaper. I love being able to take the aspects of diapers that I have test drove and using the ideas that work for us to find that perfect diaper for our needs. I don't know that I have it yet but we are getting there, I have done one with a Hook and Loop (velcro) closure and the other is going to be a Snappiable Fitted. Snappi's are the new pins in the Cloth Diapering area. I can't wait to get them out of the wash and on a certain little Bum Bum.

Here are some pictures of the progress.

I have found that I can use brown paper grocery sacks for my pattern ideas. It is a great way to recycle those bags.

Of course every job site needs a Supervisor. Junior Mint fit the job title especially since they were for his little bum. Notice the bib matches the diaper material. Have to use every scrap you know!
Here is the inside of the Fitted with the Hook and Loop. I added wash tabs so that I could fold the hook over during wash cycle so it doesn't get hung up.

The front.

All sealed up and ready to go!

What do you think? I will finish the other here soon and get those pics up. Fitteds go best with wool and I can't wait to get these under a wool soaker or pair of longies. Oh, Fall get here soon!

Look what I did...

I have recently decided to not have the diaper service anymore. Oh, don't worry we are still a cloth diapering family but I have decided to do this myself. I made 24 re usable wipes to use for our son, Henry. I bought a 6 pack of washcloths and used the scraps of flannel that I had left over from making some fitted diapers for him. I simply cut the washclothes into four 6 x 6 squares, cut flannel the same size with my rotary cutter, stitched right side face to face, turned out and top stitched. Voila! Diaper wipes that I can use over and over, no chemicals for under $5. Can't beat that!

Diaper Swap

While Mr. Miller was working on the patio I was participating in my first Diaper Swap. I know you are asking "what in the heck is a diaper swap"? Well, I will tell you. You know my favorite store Happybottomus, holds these events 4 times a year. They provide the tables and advertising for essentially a diaper swap meet. It is a lot of fun! I was able to take all of the diapers that Henry has grown out of along with random purchases that I am not using to sell. It is open to the public and has a huge following. For the 4 hours the "swap" was open the store was wall to wall customers. I met some of the greatest Cloth Diapering moms in the Kansas City area. We were able to share ideas, recipes and just visit with each other. It is also a chance for us to help educate the general public on Cloth Diapers.

It has been a great Saturday overall, Cameron could help Mr. Miller with the patio and Mimi came from Topeka to spoil Henry. OK so she spoiled all 3 of them while Mama was away. Mr. Miller loves it when she comes and makes him her special Chicken Salad. I love the Chicken Salad too. I will post the recipe soon!

If you are in the Lee's Summit area in October please come join us for the next one. They are usually held on the 3rd Saturday. The store is at 3rd and Douglas, hope to see you there.

Why Cloth? - Part 1

Well you knew I had to write about this at some point and today is as good a day as any. I get the question alot, "why are you using cloth diapers?", why not? Those that know me understand my bluntness. Mr. Miller and I decided a long time ago that if we were ever blessed again with a baby we would use cloth. I wish we would have with Cameron. Today's cloth diaper is not the diaper that our Mom's and Grandmother's used, it is a huge industry that is growing more popular every day. You can go with a diaper service such as we are or you can buy your own and do your own laundry. Either way it truly is very easy and so much more Eco-friendly, and besides that how cute is that bum wrapped in nice soft cotton?

Most people do not realize that a disposable diaper will stay in tact in a landfill for over 200 years. Kind of disgusting isn't it? The materials used in making them don't just break down, doesn't that make you wonder about what you are putting next to your child's skin. It sure made us think. People ask "don't you fight diaper rash?' no, in fact we have not had one. Cameron had them all the time because of the chemicals in disposables that are meant to draw wetness away. We personally don't want them next to Henry's soft skin. Yes, you do change more often but it is worth it. The cost breakdown is such: .18 cents per change with cloth vs .36 cents with disposable. The average family will spend almost $3000 on diapers by the time their child is out of them. Wow, I can think of many other things that money could be used for, especially in these times. The other bonus with cloth is that your child with potty train sooner. I am all for that!

We spend $20 a week for our service, which I stated earlier in the week I barter out that fee with sewing for her. The service includes a pickup and drop off once a week. She gives me 2 wet bags (the new diaper pail) and does all of the "dirty" work. She also gives a small wet bag for the diaper bag when I am away from home. I was leery at first but soon discovered they are just as easy to use while out and about. We have even traveled to the farm with cloth and will be going to the cottage over the 4Th of July. When he gets older I just have to shake solids into stool and put in bag for her to launder. If you choose to buy your own you can start with an investment of around $200. There are many starter kits that give a 2 day rotation of diapers and covers. Covers, you ask what are those? They are the new plastic pants. They are made from PUL (Polyurethane Laminate) this is basically any fabric that has been laminated in order to keep their clothes dry. Look how cute they are. Henry is modeling a Swaddlebees. I know when he graduates from High School he will hate me for this.

There are many types and brands of covers. I prefer the Swaddlebees, Thirsties or Bummis Super Whisper Wraps. You can also use wool, wool is what our Grandmother's used. It is an all natural fiber that breaths better than any other. I am making them out of recycled sweaters and will be sharing on that adventure as I start my new business. I made this one this morning while he was napping. It is made from a 1o0% Lambs Wool sweater. Many people look at me weird when I shop at Thrift Stores and Garage Sales. I have heard them ask, "you are just going to cut that up?" and "it is going over a diaper", yes it is!

There are also many offered by WAHM's (work at home mom's) that you can order online at sites like http://www.hyenacart.com/ or http://www.etsy.com/.

The style diaper I have shown you is known as a prefold. They generally are not fastened with pins anymore we use what is called a Snappi. There are fitteds, pockets and AIO's (all in ones). I will talk about each type in their own post as we go along. I don't want to overload you right now. I know we were at first. If you are in the Kansas City area there is a wonderful Brick and Mortar store in Lee's Summit called Happybottomus. Brookie Lee is full of information and more than willing to answer any questions and help with getting you started. Check her out at http://www.happybottomus.com/. It has become one of my favorite stores.

I hope I have answered some of your questions. This is another way to a simpler life. It has also given me something to fill my time with, not that I have a lot with my 3 boys. Yes, Mr. Miller is included in my boy count.