New designer materials 15/04/2009

I have had a good clean out of my sewing cabinet and have finally got all my materials in order!

With my talented sister her (she’s a photographer….check her out here) visiting on holidays I asked her to take some shots of my materials so you can get the full idea of the pattern….AMAZING! how when someones knows what to do the difference it makes.

My designer nappies are fully waterproof as they are lined with a layer of PUL, hidden in between the designer cotton and the super soft microfleece.

The cotton is so plyable making for a nice fitted nappy and decreasing the likelihood of leaks. As with all things cotton, it will with stand lots of washes and dry fast.

All nappies come complete with a bamboo liner all ready to be used!

A 6 pack of designers cost

small 138

medium 154

large 161

You can choose any combination of materials, all one pattern, or all different…just let me know your choice and I will get sewing for you!

 

Smarty Pants get Eklekitic 01/04/2009

Today I made a delivery to my all time favourite store Eklektica, on River St Maclean. The store is full of funky goodies, all retro and unique, I so love every article so to have my nappies in this store is such a buzz!

Here is a photo of the order I delivered today, with more on their way soon!

How I got started on MCN’s and how Smarty Pants was born 16/03/2009

My little girl, Z, toilet trained very young with the encouragement of her bigger cousins. I was battling with her to wear nappies to sleep times as she was now a big girl. So I started putting her in “Pull Ups”, and they are so very expensive and only hold 1 wee and had to be changed continually.

Just before we had Z I joined an online parenting group and made ‘friends’ with a number of beautiful people. I met one particular beautiful, soulful and Mother Earth friend, M. I was mentioning my discust with Pull Ups and the drama I faced with the costs and the inconvience and mentioned about trying Z in cloth. As it turned out M was a sewer and owner of some beautiful designed MCN’s and kindly offered to send Z some as a present. I was so very excited, as was Z and she was happy to wear them, especially because they had a frog and cat on the bottom!

This was the beginning of my love for cloth, for the environment, the cute factor and the $ factor. I went about buying a variety of different nappies and studied how they were made and tried to think of better, cheaper ways to make a MCN. I wanted all Mums to be able to afford cloth and to develop more of a love for protecting the environment and thier babies little bottoms.

I started making nappies for friends to try, and so longed to have a little bundle to put a clothy on! Along came our beautiful son and after going through the cloth cycle with him I have changed and modified my nappies to be what they are today Smarty Pants.

Here’s a photo of my friend’s little boy, R, in his Smarty Pants, talk about coming full circle!

What makes a nappy? 11/03/2009

 

For first time Modern Cloth users the terminology can be overwhelming! I know this!
So what makes a Smarty Pants nappy?
The outside of the nappy is the ’shell’. Smarty Pants nappies are pocket nappies so you open the ‘pocket’ at the back of the nappy and insert your bamboo liner. It is a AI2 (all in two) nappy, this allows for fast drying as the liner and nappy are hung seperate and most importantly you are able to add more lining for night time use or longer wear.
Here’s a nappy ‘pulled’ apart to see what I mean!

 

Bangalow Markets here we come (Smarty Pants Modern Cloth Nappies and baby slings 10/03/2009

On Sunday the  of March Smarty Pants are headed to the Bangalow Markets.
bangalowmarkets.com.au

Here you will find our full range of nappies “in the flesh” where you can select and buy on the spot, or place a specific order. Our slings will also be available for trying out and selecting materials. I will also have some ‘one off’ nappies for sale, materials that are unique, cute and funky!

Getting ready for the markets has been a long time coming with a lot of decisions being made more then 6 months ago, materials, logo, patterns and so on. So in a way the markets will be a celebration of a lot of hard work all coming together.

Here some photos of our once kitchen table, now a working progress of market stocks!

 

Look out for us and pop in and say hello!

Blowing your own trumpet (Smarty Pants slings and nappies) 06/03/2009

To go into business has been a HUGE step for me, the timing has been an question, the upfront money a risk and the work load a stress!
But overall I think I am getting the hang of it, the hang of blowing my own trumpet, and almost everywhere we go I get a comment on how beautiful my children are, and of course I agree, they are so very Yummy! And I also get comments on my nappies. Once upon a time I used to smile and say, “They are cute!” Now I am open and say “I make them myself and sell them too!!”
Most people are interested and I have passed on my blog address or got their details! It pays to be a little modest at times.
I want to thank everyone for their support, it has been a huge leap, one that has been made easier with your support.

Particularly I want to thank my sister for her beautiful photography and guidance on starting a blog. http://susansjourney.wordpress.com

Thanks to my patient and loving family, my husband, for doing the pricing and being my chief cutter outterer. To my precious little girl for her ‘help’ and love of sewing with Mummy, her excitement is infectious! To my precious litttle man for letting my try out all the nappy styles and shoving him in a sling time after time! And to my giving, talented and loving Mother-in-law for all her time and love!

So how do I buy Smarty Pants? 18/02/2009

Step 1

Choose your size

Step 2

Choose your outter material, from either Minkee (super soft, super cute), Printed PUL (hard wearing, long lasting and beautiful prints) or designer cotton (100% cotton, breathable, funky prints)

Minkey 

PUL

Designer cotton

Step 3

Choose your number….this is a guide only and can vary

A newborn baby can go through 12 nappies a day easily! As your baby gets older this will drop to 6-8 nappies a day.

If you want to wash every second day you will need

# 24 nappies for a newborn baby

#15-24 nappies for an older baby

If you wash everyday you will need

# 12-15 nappies for a newborn

10-12  nappies for an older baby

Step 4

Contact me at sandrareeves79@gmail.com to discuss payment and material choices

Currently I have a 2 week turn around on orders. Please note that postage, if applicable, is at buyers expense.

Laundering Smarty Pants Nappies 17/02/2009

Laundering cloth nappies is one of the main reasons why parents choose to go down the disposable path. This need not be the case! The ease of washing MCN’s will surprise you and before time it will be a task you no longer notice. And if you are like me you will get a buzz out of seeing your beautiful MCN’s swinging around the Hills Hoist!

So how do you wash MCN’s?

It’s truely so very simple. Plop solids into the toilet and place the worn nappy into a nappy bin, you don’t need to soak the nappies at all, it’s called dry pail.

When it comes time for washing spray excess solids off, using something such as a little squirt, (stay tuned my husband is in the process of making these to sell!), remove the liners from the pocket and redo the velcro (this will prolong the velcro life). Pop into the washing machine with a small amount of detergent and hang out to dry. You don’t need to use any other products such as Napi San or vinegar, these actually ruin the PUL. As for removing stains  the best thing you can do is to hang the nappies in full sunshine, it is amazing how the sun removes poo!

So why choose cloth and why Smarty Pants? 17/02/2009

I love cloth…..I love cloth!!

For me cloth nappies are a way of life, it is great for the environment, great for saving money and just so exciting! MCN (modern cloth nappies) are easy to use, slim like a disposable and ever so gentle on our delicate baby’s bottoms.

On average you will spend $2500 a year on disposable nappies, filling your bin and emptying your bank account. Your initial outlay for MCN’s may be significant but over time the savings are huge and if you have more then 1 baby in cloth you will save heaps!

So why Smarty Pants?

Smarty Pants are designed and sewn individually by me. I have created a pocket nappy that is slim line, functional, affordable, and ever so funky. My nappies are a fashion statement. Each nappy is made waterproof with either external PUL or hidden PUL. They are lined with absorbant and anti bacterial bamboo. Against the baby’s bottom is ever so soft microfleece which wicks the wetness away from baby’s bottom keeping them dry and soft.

After lots of testing and personal experience I have found that the nappy will last about 3-4 hrs between changes for a light wetter or 2-3 for a heavier wetter. The beauty of the pocket nappy is that you can add more absorbancy as needed.

For my liners I use bamboo, and depending on how you choose to fold, you will get upto 6 layers of bamboo. I love bamboo as it is extremely absorbant, breathable and odour resistant (unlike hemp). It has natural antibacterial and antifungal properties which is ideal for the wet conditions of a nappy. Bamboo is a thermal product, similar to wool keeping baby cool when hot and warm when cold!

For more information, including costs and materials available please contact me

sandrareeves79@gmail.com

 

Welcome to Smarty Pants 15/02/2009

This is the new blog of Smarty Pants. Where you can see latest products, special offers and current news. 

Please email Sandra at sandrareeves79@gmail.com for further information or price lists.

Here is a beautiful little man showing my new deluxe range: