Do you love handmade items? I do!

So you know those precious blankets and burp cloths and slings and passy clips, etc that you loooove buying (well, that I loooove buying)???  Turns out the a bill has been signed into a law that goes into effect in February that will essentially shut down the hand made market for items designed for those under 12 years old.  A Boy, a Girl, and a Pug had a great post about it here linking to more great posts if you want to read about it.  I won’t say that I know a lot about this law yet because I just heard of it, well, this morning, but what I’ve read so far is pretty uncool.  To summarize what I’ve gotten from my reading this morning, the bill should have specified that each item produced from countries like China, Japan, Thailand, etc that comes into the USA should have to be tested for lead and other chemicals.  THAT’S a good idea.  THAT helps keep babies and children safe from products that are made substandarly.  But since that wording wasn’t in the bill, each and every item that is sold in the USA for children has to be sent to a certified lab and tested.  So if you are making blankets and selling them for your friends babies and you don’t send each one to a special lab to be tested that they aren’t free from these chemicals, if you sell them after February of this year you are breaking the law.  It nothing is changed places like Etsy will be virtually closed for baby products.  Even items that you’re reselling on e-Bay must be tested!