Spontaneous Acts of Random Appreciation

Hello! This is my first post on the Etsy NaturakKids Team blog and I'm delighted to be here. Last night I took some time to look around Etsy and oooh and awww over the abundance of wonderful handmade goods being made and shared. I marvel over the fact that although everyone is given the same tools, authentic creativity is abundant!! Each and every shop has it's own look and feel! It's amazing how much individuality can shine through the a universal format, and I thank Etsy for giving us a medium to work with and a community to connect with!

Being part of the Natural Kids team has brought to life a new sense of hope for me as I strive to raise my daughter in a rapidly changing society. The truth is, we live in a world where children's natural creativity is stifled by bombarding media images. So much so that by the time many of them begin to write stories, they feature Disney characters and prefabricated story lines. As a teacher, it is my greatest challenge to help kids put their imagination into words, without the influence of t.v. and movie figures.

In my short time as an Etsy craftist, and Natural Kids team member, I've already been exposed to so many ideas to help foster imaginative play for children of all ages. I go to bed every night inspired to make something new as soon as that sun come back! The creativity and love that goes into each and every item made for kids here has spawned ideas for my classroom, my home and even my own habits for treading more softly on this borrowed land of ours.

For Earth Day, one of our sewists contributed some beautiful words upon reflecting on the true value of taking time to celebrate the earth. She said:

Opportunities to make a difference in our environment that we each encounter every day are astounding. We've heard most of them before - turn off the water while you brush your teeth, don't leave your computer on all night long, turn off the lights when you leave a room, etc. We've heard them so often we can become complacent and not even do them, perhaps because the results of all those little actions aren't tangible. There's no ticker in our houses saying: "Good job, you saved 150 gallons of water so far this year!" Now that I have a child, I really believe there's no room for complacency. When I look at my little man and think about what kind of world I want him to grow up in I sometimes feel real fear about what the condition of our earth might be when he's older and ready to start a family. As a parent, it is my duty to teach him to make sustainable choices and to lead by example. I'm going to celebrate Earth Day and every day by turning my back on complacency!

We here at Treebottom Wool would like to say, it is our honor and our pleasure to be part of the Etsy Natural Kids team community. We are doing our part to honor the earth's resources by making conscious decisions every day. We value repurposing materials for creative new uses, and we are so thankful to have the chance to inspire others make sustainable choices for the future of our children.

"Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children."
-Ancient Indian Proverb