Hello there and a new hair style...

So to those of you who don't know me I am Polly from Blogging and bliss. I don't really do hair per say... I guess you could say I do my daughters. I cut my boys hair and my husbands but I am self taught. You really can't go too wrong with clippers... I have only one girl and she is with very little hair. She is 9 years old and I have to keep cutting it short because it looks bad long. In fact I had her do picture retakes this year thinking her hair just looked bad because they sent her to PE yes PE before pictures were taken. Yeah anyways even her retakes came back bad. I had to realize that it was her hair and it needed cut. I felt bad for her but it looks so cute cut short so I can flip it. I tell her that when she hits puberty she will have thicker hair and we can grow it long... Thankfully she agrees. So She is a little tired in the pictures if you can't tell! Waking her up early to get this post was fun. I now feel for you EMMERS. Thanks for the invite to guest post! Hopefully I can do more for you!

So on with the show. I did her hair in a style that I call the TCP doo. I stole it from a picture of a girl on little flyer sent out from the children's place. It was way cute. I had to totally adapt it for Ab. The girl in the picture had WAY longer hair.

First I always like to start with wet hair. When you do a pony or anything a little shorty's hair will stay better that way.

Next a part her hair as usual. Taking about a 1 inch piece off the biggest side and making a pony making sure that it is low on the side and towards the back.

Next take another piece all the way across the head maybe 2-3 inches. French braid it starting from the opposite side of the part. Make sure that the pony becomes part of the braid. I used it on the second or third piece. (SORRY I totally suck at braiding! Even had to do it twice then I just gave up) Braid all the way down using every last bit. Pony it off.

Next split the hair that you have left in half. We are going to make FUN ponies. At least that is what I call them... You also need to make sure that you grab the hanging end of the braid into the pony on that side. For a FUN pony you take the hair into a rubber band and twist until you have just enough band for one more twist and you grab the hair but do not pull it all the way through. You leave out a length with a little bump. Then hairspray and done. Here is an old picture of her hair a few years back when I discovered this do.

Addendum: CPSC

Someone pointed me toward snopes which led me to here. I'd heard this as well. I'll post it and then a couple thoughts at the end.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09086.html

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In February 2009, new requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) take effect. Manufacturers, importers and retailers are expected to comply with the new Congressionally-mandated laws. Beginning February 10, 2009, children’s products cannot be sold if they contain more than 600 parts per million (ppm) total lead. Certain children’s products manufactured on or after February 10, 2009 cannot be sold if they contain more than 0.1% of certain specific phthalates or if they fail to meet new mandatory standards for toys.

Under the new law, children’s products with more than 600 ppm total lead cannot lawfully be sold in the United States on or after February 10, 2009, even if they were manufactured before that date. The total lead limit drops to 300 ppm on August 14, 2009.

The new law requires that domestic manufacturers and importers certify that children’s products made after February 10 meet all the new safety standards and the lead ban. Sellers of used children’s products, such as thrift stores and consignment stores, are not required to certify that those products meet the new lead limits, phthalates standard or new toy standards.

The new safety law does not require resellers to test children’s products in inventory for compliance with the lead limit before they are sold. However, resellers cannot sell children’s products that exceed the lead limit and therefore should avoid products that are likely to have lead content, unless they have testing or other information to indicate the products being sold have less than the new limit. Those resellers that do sell products in violation of the new limits could face civil and/or criminal penalties.

When the CPSIA was signed into law on August 14, 2008, it became unlawful to sell recalled products. All resellers should check the CPSC Web site (www.cpsc.gov) for information on recalled products before taking into inventory or selling a product. The selling of recalled products also could carry civil and/or criminal penalties.

While CPSC expects every company to comply fully with the new laws resellers should pay special attention to certain product categories. Among these are recalled children’s products, particularly cribs and play yards; children’s products that may contain lead, such as children’s jewelry and painted wooden or metal toys; flimsily made toys that are easily breakable into small parts; toys that lack the required age warnings; and dolls and stuffed toys that have buttons, eyes, noses or other small parts that are not securely fastened and could present a choking hazard for young children.

When I heard earlier today that it wasn't going to cause a problem for thrift stores I was really happy. I, personally, don't shop at thrift stores..but I donate often.

Now, why this is still a big problem. (And please, if anyone knows of anything involving this, let me know!) This part worries me (and perhaps I'll find myself in thrift stores now haha) it still will impact us at regular clothing stores. I still think clothing prices at stores like Target/Walmart will skyrocket. (Sniffle..and The Children's Place and Gymboree). I really hope these places can find ways to offset the cost of testing each article instead of just passing it on to us.

Let alone small businesses...I shudder to think about all the cute baby boutiques around here that will be totally put out of business by this.

Shorty rocks a..FULL PONY?

Yes my friends. She does.





This brings me to a crossroads. I haven't quite decided what I'm doing from here. Part of me would like to grow it out. Part of me says to keep it short so it doesn't look stringy.

We've been so caught up in holidays and vacation and such that we haven't done much of anything to shorty's hair. So I was thinking..there are so many people who still use this blog even tho it's come to a standstill. I don't want to delete it! I also don't want it to become stagnant. So, faithful blogger friends...I was thinking that maybe there is someone who still has a shorty who has less hair than mine who has time to dedicate to doing her hair in fancy new ways for others less fortunate in hair areas.

Guest contributers? Anyone interested? I'd love to keep this blog where it is (so everyone can find it) and just add a few new people as authors.

Email me at emmersisthemommy at gmail dot com. Let's talk. DON'T LET SHORTY HAIRDO'S DIE [/unnecessarily overdramatic]

CPSIA Impacts on Children's Apparel Industry..PLEASE READ

For those who don't know.. Here's an article.


February 10th is being called National Bankrupcy Day. Read on...
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-thrift2-2009jan02,0,2083247.story

New safety rules for children's clothes have stores in a fit


Some owners say the cost of testing for toxic lead and phthalates will shut their businesses. The law goes into effect Feb. 10.

By Alana Semuels
January 2, 2009

Barring a reprieve, regulations set to take effect next month could force thousands of clothing retailers and thrift stores to throw away trunkloads of children's clothing.

The law, aimed at keeping lead-filled merchandise away from children, mandates that all products sold for those age 12 and younger -- including clothing -- be tested for lead and phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics more pliable. Those that haven't been tested will be considered hazardous, regardless of whether they actually contain lead.

"They'll all have to go to the landfill," said Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Assn. of Resale and Thrift Shops.

The new regulations take effect Feb. 10 under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which was passed by Congress last year in response to widespread recalls of products that posed a threat to children, including toys made with lead or lead-based paint.

Supporters say the measure is sorely needed. One health advocacy group said it found high levels of lead in dozens of products purchased around the country, including children's jewelry, backpacks and ponchos.

Lead can also be found in buttons or charms on clothing and on appliques that have been added to fabric, said Charles Margulis, communications director for the Center for Environmental Health in Oakland. A child in Minnesota died a few years ago after swallowing a lead charm on his sneaker, he said.

But others say the measure was written too broadly. Among the most vocal critics to emerge in recent weeks are U.S.-based makers of handcrafted toys and handmade clothes, as well as thrift and consignment shops that sell children's clothing.

"We will have to lock our doors and file for bankruptcy," said Shauna Sloan, founder of Salt Lake City-based franchise Kid to Kid, which sells used children's clothing in 75 stores across the country and had planned to open a store in Santa Clara, Calif., this year.

There is the possibility of a partial reprieve. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is responsible for enforcing the law, on Monday will consider exempting clothing and toys made of natural materials such as wool or wood. The commission does not have the authority to change the law but can decide how to interpret it.

But exempting natural materials does not go far enough, said Stephen Lamar, executive vice president of the American Apparel and Footwear Assn. Clothes made of cotton but with dyes or non-cotton yarn, for example, might still have to be tested, as would clothes that are cotton-polyester blends, he said.

"The law introduces an extraordinarily large number of testing requirements for products for which everyone knows there's no lead," he said.

Clothing and thrift trade groups say the law is flawed because it went through Congress too quickly. By deeming that any product not tested for lead content by Feb. 10 be considered hazardous waste, they contend, stores will have to tell customers that clothing they were allowed to sell Feb. 9 became banned overnight.

These groups say the law should be changed so that it applies to products made after Feb. 10, not sold after that date.

That would take action by Congress, however, because the Consumer Product Safety Commission's general counsel has already determined that the law applies retroactively, said commission spokesman Scott Wolfson.

The regulations also apply to new clothing. That won't be a problem for large manufacturers and retailers, industry experts say, but it will be a headache for small operators such as Molly Orr, owner of Molly O Designs in Las Vegas.

Orr has already produced her spring line of children's clothes. She says she can't afford the $50,000 it would cost to have a private lab test her clothing line, so she's trying to sell her inventory at a steep discount before Feb. 10. After that, she is preparing to close her business.

"We have a son with autism, so we are all about cleaning up the toxins that our children are exposed to," she said. "But I think the law needs to be looked at more closely to see how it is affecting the economy in general."

Thrift store owners say the law stings because children's garments often come in new or nearly new, because children typically outgrow clothing quickly.

Carol Vaporis, owner of Duck Duck Goose Consignment in New Port Richey, Fla., said her store stocks barely used brand-name clothing from places such as Limited Too and Gymboree.

"We really provide a service to the community to help people get clothes for their children they otherwise couldn't afford," she said.

Families have been bringing more clothes to consignment stores, where they get a chunk of the proceeds, to earn a little cash this winter, she said. She plans to contact her congressional representatives and senators to ask them to amend the law but says there's not enough awareness about the repercussions of the law to force anything to change.

Many retailers and thrift stores appear to be unaware that the law is changing. Of half a dozen Southern California children's thrift stores contacted by The Times, only one had heard of the law. Organizations such as Goodwill say they're still investigating how the law will affect them because there is so much confusion about what will be banned.

Cynthia Broockman, who owns two consignment stores and a thrift shop in Virginia, recently stopped accepting children's products for resale. That raised the ire of a man who was trying to sell his son's castoffs there and had not heard of the new rules.

"I think it's not understood by people how sweeping and far-reaching this is," she said. "The ripples that are going to go forth from this are just astonishing."



Guys this is so far reaching it's not even funny. No more ebaying off your old kids clothes, no more buying used clothes off of ebay. No more "boutique" outfits..no more outlets. Say goodbye to Etsy. Clothing prices in REGULAR stores will SKYROCKET because it's extremely expensive to get EACH ARTICLE of clothing tested. All my used clothes in great shape will end up in landfills instead of going to thirdworld countries where they could do some good (and where they're not obsessing over lead..they just want clothes).

If I haven't convinced you, do your own searches. It's not good.

I signed a petition here:


"CPSIA Impacts on Children's Apparel Industry"
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA?e

And there's a group on facebook I joined.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38306568596

I'm BACK..with a WINNER

Sorry guys..I've been exhausted. We had a LONG Disney trip (which included winning the Dream Suite one night! WOOT). Anyway, here's our winner!


YAY!

As for the person who referred the most people..it would be Cynthia @ Confessions of a Yummy Mummy. Cynthia..I see that you're having a hard time right now..so if you get the time, email me your address..if not, it'll be waiting until you can. *hugs*

Giveaway!! Cutearrific!

Cheekybabyboutique is donating another bow! I'm so excited for this one too. It's just beyond adorable. I decided to do this one while I'm gone so it'll be up for a LOOOOONG time. Today through at LEAST Sunday the 7th (I know, right?) MAKE SURE TO CHECK BACK. I've had some people enter and not check back and not leave a way for me to contact them so they miss out!

Now, on to the giveaway.




The winner will receive ONE snowperson bow. You pick snowman or snowgirl. (Snowgirl's bow color can be changed)

If you'd like to purchase these, she said she'd take off 1 dollar off for mentioning that you came from RockinShorty. (Purchase but don't pay, let her know where you're from and she'll invoice you) She can do pairs however you want them, just let her know! She can also help you check out if you don't have an etsy site if you email her at cheekybabyboutique@gmail.com.

HOW TO WIN:
Post a reply (gasp!)

HOW TO WIN SOMETHING EXTRA:
Refer people. And tell them to tell me where they came from in their reply. If you refer the most people, you'll win something too!

Down to basics

A few people asked if I'd do some simpler stuff and some of the basics because their shorty doesn't have as much as mine. So I did these all in one sitting which should cover the excuses of A- hey those are sloppy and uneven, B- nice faces, kid and C- Uhm what's with the gross looking bows.

The closer in the middle piggies. These look good with boutique bows..makes them close together.

Yes. It IS a Christmas stocking.

These are piggies pulled down further on the head, the bows didn't wanna stay in this one today. In this one you can have the bows in front of the piggies (like I did in this) or you can have them on the sides (so on the top of the head).

Piggies in back

Some people didn't quite 'get' my version of messy pony. (Ya it's a Christmas tree.)
So moving on from the tree. Stop staring at it. Thanksgiving is next weekend ok.
No really, moving on.

Wrap the rubber band around a few times and then hold the band..

Like this

Then roll it down over the hair.

Then just tug here and there to messy it up

Straighten the hair underneath to sorta 'fan' out.

Yes. More trees. Look at the pony. Focus.

This one looks GREAT with a small bow in front, perfect for ballet class.

I did a video too..I was just going to do the video but some people don't like watching videos and some people NEED videos, so there. Now we have both. Note that shorty agrees with my tutorial.