So I know there are a TON of handmade families/etsians out there... Some that are really good about it... Some off the top of my head? Brooke Van Gory, Baby Boo Felt , and one of my favorite buyers, Pili28 Who from what I have seen pretty much ONLY buys handmade goodies... and i know a ton more that Im spacing right now... but the point is... we really gotta be up there at the top of the list... I came downstairs waiting for zaq to get home and had a pretty awesome realization... were were ALL wearing only handmade goodies at the time. In this moment, i was SO proud... I really try hard to spread the etsy love... to keep things more eco friendly by not buying products from overseas... to help our economy by supporting small jobs here in the US... and the list goes on and on and on for all the millions of reasons to buy handmade... and the biggest one? Because we look damn cute! haha

First here...
we have Zavery...

He is snuggled up on the couch with his RockerByeBaby blanket... He is wearing our most favorite toddler tshirt designer... Rocky The Zombie, Keep going down and you will see a super snuggly pair of Fleece Longies from Wild Child and even one of their cloth diapers... and last but not least... my new obsession... MEandREEKIE Skull booties... Stay tuned for a giveaway next week!! I am sooo in love with these shoes... and so is Zave, he slept in them last night, lol


Mr. Izzaq is Also Rockin a Rocky The Zombie t-shirt... but his pants? Made by me :) Im really proud... and also jealous of these. Super snuggly fleece... extra wide leg... and a wide waist band... easily the most awesome pants ever.


Last but not least me... I apologize for the cleavage shot & the booty shot, but I wanted you too see what i had on and i was by myself, lol I made this halter from an old misfits t... its my ultimate favorite... my "go to" shirt... so simple... so quick, and i love it... "NO SEW" halter... i cut out the collar and off the sleeves.. and then cut a ton of little ties... knotted it, and ta-da! halter... Even my big shiny diamond came from etsy! Zaq had it custom made for me :)

and for the skirt, I cut straight across the collar of an old t-shirt... cut off the sleeves... hemmed the top... and sewed the sleeve holes shut... (added a nice "fit" to it.)


SO yeah... thats us! Rockin handmade... and dont we look good!? So todays "saturday" post is this... Note to self: Shop Handmade... there will always be a small designer that can make something cooler, better, and more amazing than your run of the mill overseas store... Sometimes Cheaper... sometimes more expensive... but always worth it...

Tell me, whats your favorite handmade item you have?

Little man tripped today... he was reaching for a movie on the bookshelf... he is SO clumsy... fell face first into the corner of the tv table... bluh.... poor guy. Right in front of me too I just couldn't get there in time... Iced it... gave him some tylenol... and some juice... he doesn't seem too bothered by it... but geesh, its huge. Guess it will make him look extra tough for his photo shoot with Beki for the store this weekend...

GIVEAWAY FROM ROKGEAR!

Looking back at my wedding, there is NO DOUBT that RokGear was the biggest thing to "tie" it all together... (get it... lame pun, sorry, lol) I really went out of my way to blend both the classy and pretty w/ the punk rock.. And from what everyone has said... I did a great job. But one HUGE aspect what the guys' ties... Skull & Damask print on red ties (zaq's was on white). They were PERFECTION!
See?!?


Weren't we a sexy group!?



Both my guys & girls in black... with each just a pop of red... they looked phenomenal.
Classic... simple... and sexy... LOVE IT!

Alright, alright... thats enough blabbing and picture sharing... Everyone knows how much I love RokGear :) Now let me tell you about all the reasons why...
#1: They have been printing ties since 1995, OMG! Now thats dedication & Experience...
They started etsy just over a year ago and are totally "Rok'n" it...
#2: No clip art... You not gunna find the graphic to these ties floating on Photobucket...
"You will not find our neckties or designs on any department store shelf, we do not wholesale if you purchase a Rokgear design, necktie, t-shirt a print in general, It is directly from our Burbank Studio.
Not that we don't get hundreds of offers from vendors wanting our items, at RokGear customer service is all about the "Customer" and we can't rely on a third party vendor to take care of our customers." #3: THEY'RE ECO FRIENDLY!! "Water based ink screenprinting contains neither PVC nor phthalates making them an environmentally friendly choice. Water based ink ingredients are non-toxic, lead-free and do not contain any heavy metals. As such, they are safe for use on infant clothing, underwear and swimsuits."
#4: Options... sooo many options... Pick your color... pick your size (length and width... ... ... ... ;) ... pick your print... the combinations just go on and on and on... theres something for everyone...
#5: even more combinations... You can choose from Silk tie or Microfiber. We chose microfiber for the wedding. Its super easy to clean... the colors are just as great... still had a beautiful shine... and they're cheaper! For us it was a GREAT investment...
#6: The right size for everyone... On average an 8" tie may fit a boy up to about 2 or 3 years old, an 11" tie up to about 5 or 6 and a 14" up to about 10 or 11. For adults... A standard necktie is 3.75" wide at it's widest point and 57" long.
#7: They love RockerByeBaby, too.... ;) http://www.rokgear.com/Featured-Etsy-Shop.php
...
I could go on and on about all the amazing things coming out of RokGear... but you just have to see for yourself... And yes of course... one of you will get the chance to win... not one, but TWO MICROFIBER TIES... of your choice... You can choose one of two things... Either a matching father/son set... (1 adult tie & 1 kids tie... ) or two kids ties... You choose the size... color... and print... Pick your color from this amazing list... And shop till you drop on the website and etsy shop to see ALLLLLL the amazing print options ;)

To win... Go to the RokGear etsy shop... or the RokGear Website. In a comment... tell me your ultimate print & color choice... and why you want to win! The winner will then be contacted for a final decision on size, set, etc. How excited are you?? I gotta say, Im TOTALLY jealous... i would LOVE a matching skull & damask set for my boys... *wink wink* NOW GO COMMENT!!

Extra entries?? But of course :)
EACH ENTRY MUST BE LEFT IN A SEPARATE COMMENT TO COUNT!!!!!

#2) Follow us here on (blogger) - Leave a separate comment for being a (old or new) follower on our blog.

#3) Follow/Tweet us (Twitter) - Leave a separate comment for being a follower and TWEETING about this giveaway on Twitter... If your already a twitter follower of ours, TWEET about it for an extra entry anyways :)Just be sure to leave us your Twitter name so we can check up!

#4) Write a blog about this giveaway and link back to this review. Leave an extra comment with the link to the blog.

#5) Buy something from ROK Gear! Tell us what you got!

#6) Fan US on Facebook...

#7) FOLLOW THEM ON TWITTER!! @RokGear

#8) Heart/Favorite their Etsy shop!! Spread that Etsy love!

#9) Go Bump this etsy thread! http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6327857 Then come back here an comment for an extra surprise entry!!

GOOD LUCK!
Alright... thats like... #8 entries possible... now get on it.


Once more... *The Rockin Green giveaway is STILL going on until Oct 22... KEEP ENTERING!*

When it comes to Shayna Punam...
I dont even know where to begin.
She is THE MOST under rated Etsy shop I have ever come across.
Her stuff is amazing... yet only 6 sales and 42 hearts :(
Well this week, we need to change that for her.

Before we get to the giveaway goodies, let me tell you a bit about her shop...
First off, she makes wonderful all natural body products for mommy & baby.
and Secondly, Shayna Punam stands for beautiful Face in Yiddish... awe...
well, a beautiful face is not all you will have with her stuff...
I wanna share with you the story of my son's beautiful Butt... yeah, thats right... BUTT!

The day my goodie bag showed up in the mail, my son had a HORRIBLE diaper rash...
the worst he has every had...
he was so red and raw just out of no where.
I didn't know what to do as the over the counter stuff like Balmex never worked for him...
and we didn't have any luck with Bordeaus Butt Paste either...
Well, Shayna Punam was the saving grace.
I pulled out the Butt Buster Bath Soaker and gave him a good soak.

You just drop it in and run the warm water.
The bath smelled wonderful...
full of all natural Oatmeal, calendula, chamomile and lemon balm...
After that I sat the bag out on the counter to dry (one pouch is good for 6 baths!!)
I dried him off and got him ready for bed...
but before I put on his diaper I gave him a good coating of the Butt Buster Balm.
By morning... it was half as red and irritated...
I continued to put the Balm on after every diaper change...
and repeated the soak and balm process over night...
and by the next morning it was gone.
I was absolutely blow away & i immediately wrote to her explaining our success w/ her products.

Part of me wishes the boys had a cold...
because Im sure the Cold & Cough soak works just as well...
No cold? Try out the Night Night Wash & the Night Night balm paired together...

Just wash up baby with the gentle lavender wash...
The take the balm, and just Rub gently on their Chest & Back...
and even under their nose if you want.
Feeling restless yourself? This is great for mommies as well.
Lavender is a natural stress reliever.

I could literally talk forever about all the amazing products that she has...
but you wont really know until you try them out yourself.
But I assure you... each item is worth the investment.
After all, its all natural ingredients for you and baby...
there's nothing more important than that...

Right now, you must be thinking, wow! It can't get an better than that!
Well, it can... ;)
She has a sister shop, ANNABELLA KNITS, that makes soakers, longies, skirties and more...
that she makes out of 100% hand dyed wool.
Guess what... she has sent us one of those too!

Now, I couldn't choose which one to review and which one to giveaway so Im letting the winner pick.
They are both around a size Large - that way most every mommy has a chance to win...
So - to the details...
The prize is valued @ almost $100
The soakers:


and the Travel Kit:


The winner will receive one of everything in the Travel Kit...
and ONE of the soakers...

How to win:
Leave us a comment here...
tell us why you want to win...
*AND* If you won... which soaker you would like to have... Blue or Skull

Extra Entries:
#2) Follow us (blogger) - Leave a separate comment for being a follower on our blog.

#3) Follow/Tweet us (Twitter) - www.twitter.com/RockerByeBaby Leave a separate comment for being a follower and TWEETING about this giveaway on Twitter... If your already a twitter follower of ours, TWEET about it for an extra entry anyways :)Just be sure to leave us your Twitter name so we can check up!

#4) Write a blog about this giveaway and link back to this review. Leave an extra comment with the link to the blog.

#5) Buy something from one of the two stores - leave the link to the transaction in a separate comment.

#6) Give their shop a "heart" on etsy!! Leave a comment saying you hearted them!

As always -
Thanks for reading and good luck!
Amber