Elephants.com

Okay, I'm obsessed with elephants! No kidding, right?!?  A good friend of mine found this wonderful elephant rescue in Tennessee, and I fell in love! There is an elephant/dog pair that has been the star of the park for a while now, and is absolutely adorable! Their names are Tarra and Bella, and both have been rescued from horrible pasts. But, I've found all of the elephants absolutely wonderful! 

Just CLICK on the title above!

So, in the spirit of fun, I would like to invite everyone to visit the website, look around at the elephants, and then come back here and vote for your favorite one by telling me who you fell in love with in the comments! I will then put an ellie in the shop with that name, and send all the proceeds from that ellie to this rescue.  I'm so excited!

Have fun! I can't wait to make the ellie and get involved with this rescue.  I will make the ellie at the beginning of February, and leave the voting up for the month of January. 

Ursula :)

Start of a New Path

This year has not been an exciting year, or should I say, it's been a rough year financially for our family, so "exciting" in the wrong way.  And I know I'm not alone!  I hope everyone was able to make it through this year with as little scarring as possible, and with some happiness to boot!  But 2011 is looking up for many reasons:

1.  As a nation, we are coming to realize that our consumerism needs to be cut back a little.  We were buying a lot of stuff and creating a lot of waste and leftovers. 
     At EllaBellaMay, I will be putting this notion into practice, and will be finding ways to use every scrap of fabric I generate.  Some of these ideas include using the leftover fleece scraps as stuffing for dog and cat beds.  I've tried this out on my dog and she loves it!  Another idea is to bring back the "scrap quilt" from yesteryear.  I will be creating various bibs, floor blankets, etc, using the scrap fabric pieces I generate when cutting out my ellie patterns.  I've put a couple together and I love them, I hope my customers will, too!

2.  We are becoming more thrifty and realistic about our financial situations.  We can no longer rely on credit cards and a steady job to bolster our lifestyles.  Looking to handmade items and supporting these artisans is a wonderful way to save money on products and tell the big companies that we are looking for more personal items that will last a long time, and be cherished. 
     At EllaBellaMay, I am looking into using organic fabrics, including hemps, linens and organic cottons grown in the US (except hemp which is illegal to grow in the US - something that has to change!).  Not only does this ensure life long enjoyment of my products, but also supports changes in the supply chain that are positive for the environment inside and outside our homes.

3.  I have come to really enjoy home gardening and growing my own fruits and vegetables.  I will be posting my adventures here - because "adventures" is a good word for it!  I have NO gardening experience besides an accidental cucumber plant last year that I thought was an ivy plant!  It grew around our mailbox and actually produced three beautiful cucumbers, that were so much tastier than what I had been buying in the store.  This experience was a proud moment for me, and I'm excited to try some real gardening.  This year for Christmas, my husband made me some 4X4 foot wooden boxes so I can try out the "square foot gardening" idea that is becoming popular now with home growers. I'll keep you posted!

Thank you to my followers and to my customers and friends who have cherished my little ellies as much as I love making them!  I cherish you as well!  See you here a lot more this year, and please post your comments, and your ideas and anything else you can think of, I welcome them all! 

Here's to a beautiful new beginning and a great new year: 2011!!

Ursula :)    Etsy Shop:  www.ellabellamay.etsy.com

New design

Time to redesign a little! I've had several requests for my little ellies to have their trunks up (I guess it's good luck?), so I tried a few and I think they are really CUTE that way, too! So, I am going to be including a few of the trunks up in my shop from now on, and have added a little ribbon tail. Also, most of the other ellies can be customized to have the trunks up as well. Hope you like them! Have a wonderful week! :)

The Start of a New Year

We all have resolutions for the new year, and I certainly have mine! But, this year I am trying something new. I am going to make a resolution each week. At the start of each week, I want to make an attainable resolution that I can stick with, that I can feel good about, and that I can actually accomplish. For instance, this week, for the whole week, I am going to have green or black tea in the morning instead of my usual calorie-packed mocha with espresso that usually gets me hyper but drops me like a bad habit in about two hours. Green tea it is!

It's the same with my ellies - this week I am going to post three ellies that are new and unique, maybe one of them something I've never tried before, like some beading, or a wooly mammoth, or a new bold fabric. And then next week, I want to try out some new toy ideas I've been making up in my head but haven't put down in fabric yet.

So, for all those making resolutions this year, remember to keep it simple and take it one day at a time! That way, you can live with your results, AND feel good about yourself because you actually did fulfill a resolution -- good for you!! Good luck, and happy resolving!

Ursula :)

Another treasury, yay!

I am so honored to be included in a very cute treasury by Mitchell and Dent from Australia, who make wonderful letterpress artwork. Check them out at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/mitchellanddent

And the treasury at:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=74893

And Magic at:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33908179

Getting ready for the holidays!

I can't believe it, but all of a sudden the holidays are around the corner again! Wasn't it just a few months ago that we celebrated Thanksgiving?!

But, I'm excited to start the ellies again and get them sewn for the holiday season. Lots of babies out there need their ellies! :D

I am in the process of sewing several ellie sets that will include an ellie and matching washcloths, and bib this week. They are a popular item so I will be sewing as many as possible! :)

Also, I am including an eco-option bag that will fit the ellie and can be used instead of wrapping paper and boxes. This is a cotton bag with a pretty, soft satin lining. The bags have sturdy handles and can become part of your ellie gift package as they are large enough to fit, not just the ellie, but a few toys and necessities for baby as well!

Thank you for visiting, I'm so glad you stopped by! Have a wonderful day!

My favorite author, Beatrix Potter. It brings back wonderful memories of reading to my daughters until they were about 10 years old, every night before bed. We had the whole set of about 15 books, and just before bed, I would choose one, the girls would get their "kitties", and we would settle in for a cuddly reading of a Beatrix Potter classic. They are now 18 and 17, and life keeps moving on. My oldest is off to college, and my youngest is going to be a senior in high school. Amazing! But, the other day, they both mentioned that they loved the time we had together when we read before we went to bed. Ahhh, did something right!

Why do we make our cuddlies and blankies and soft plush to curl up with? Because we are creating memories that will last for a long time, generations, really. And not just for the parent, but for the children as well. Children grow up and no longer want to be read to, but they go on to read to, and cuddle with their children the way they did with their parents. That's why plush ellies and the like are made...