Monday, May 31, 2010

"Vintage" Jelly Roll Dress

I hope that you all had a lovely Memorial Day Weekend. Ours was very "eventful." Nothing how we planned it:o) Of course things never are;o) I had plans to do all sorts of crafty things on Saturday, but my hip went out, so I spent most of the day laid up in bed while the hubs "watched" the children...let's just say that chocolate milk was involved and I wish that we had had padded walls at the time;o) Anyway, before the ole hip decided to go berserk, I was able to make S.R. a precious little jelly roll dress. The fabric is pictured here in this post. Vintage was the name....and I LOVE IT! I wanted her to have a special dress for her cousin's graduation, so I decided to finally make a dress out of the jelly roll that has been sitting in my craft room ever so patiently awaiting the day it would become something Fan-Tab-U-Lous...
I think it turned out so sweet. My little darlin' just loved her new dress. She had to try the dress on several times for me to make sure everything was fitting properly. The last time I had her put it on was for me to figure out how much to take up the bottom for the hem...she had a conniption fit when I had her take it off...it was UGLY. She didn't want any part of taking off her new pretty dress. Needless to say, I did get it off of her and did get it hemmed. She is so proud of this dress and so am I;o)
The back view...aren't those little curls the sweetest??? That's the only thing she got from me;o)
The blue blur in the photo was a toy being dropped. She likes to be on the move, so catching a shot where she is still is near impossible.
The matching head band. She really liked this too. I think she's catching on....accessorize, accessorize, accessorize;o).
Another shot of those curls....LURVE IT!
Have you used a jelly roll lately? I would love to hear and see what you have come up with:o)

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Cherry Outfit

Here it is. Remember me telling you the other day that I visited a high end children's clothing store and found the CA-UTEST cherry outfit. Remember I said it was over $70? Well this is my version. It's not exactly the same, but it's close enough. I had a pattern that would have matched perfectly, but S.R. is 2 inches too tall for that pattern...my lil girl is growin' up:o( So I used another pattern I had on hand. I LOVE how it turned out.
Since the fabric is so thin, I made pants instead of capris. I think the ruffles are so sweet. 
 To make the cherries, I ironed on some stabilizer to red fabric, used a circle stencil, cut them out, and appliqued them onto the fabric. I used itty bitty ric rac for the stems.
When we were in the store, S.R. loved the bow on the front of the other shirt, so I had to make sure I put it on this one:o) I really wanted cherry buttons, but Walmart didn't have any, and I was too lazy to drive around town looking for some, so I used green buttons that I already had. Here's a close up of the medium ric rac.
While shopping at a consignment store the other day, I ran across this hairbow and had to purchase it.
Can we say perfect???
Speaking of hairbows, check out these sweet little things...
Are those not the cutest things??? Thank you Sheila!!! Now I have to make froggy outfits for S.R. That doesn't hurt my feelings one bit;o)

Monday, May 24, 2010

Super Cape for a Thomas the Train Lover

Well I survived the weekend. All I can say is WOW! I am sooooo glad that it's Monday. There may be a few of you out there that are saying to yourself, "What is she thinking???" Just trust me:o)This week is so much slower paced than the past 2 weeks have been. So now I will be able to post more for those of you who have nothing better to do at work;o)
So here is the super cape for the  sweet little boy across the street. He LOVES Thomas, so I figured I would use Thomas fabric. I will have to say, I think this is the best super cape I have made thus far. Not to brag or anything;o)
I finally figured out how wide to make the zig zag stitches to make it look really clean. I think it was 0.3mm x 4.5 mm...something like that. Anywho...it took me a while to get his name on the yellow fabric b/c my machine only embroiders a 4"x4" surface area. Stinks, but I am grateful for my Brother(machine that is...I am grateful for my real bro. too):o)

Just your basic red fabric for the interior with a velcro enclosure. I think his mother was more impressed with the cape than he was;o) E was the same way. It took him a year before he would wear his:o) I got him to model Stephen's cape for you guys:o)
 Sportin' the Buzz Lightyear jammies. He LOVES those things...thinkin' Ima gonna have to go get him some more...just in case he goes thru ANOTHER growth spurt.
I can not WAIT to share with you S.R.'s new outfit I made for her in tomorrow's post. I. LOVE. IT!! And I found a matching hair bow on Saturday. EEK!

Friday, May 21, 2010

More and More Projects

What a week! I have hardly had time to think straight let alone post anything. Things around here have been super busy, and I am so ready for Monday to be here. This weekend we will continue the nut-so insanity:o) So to ease my mind with the upcoming weekend, I purchased MORE things for me to do...I have no sense! But I am so excited about these projects. In fact, I finished one last night.
Last night's project involved the top 3 fabrics in the above picture. I made another super cape for a special little guy across the street who is celebrating his 3rd birthday tomorrow. I am really happy with how it turned out, and will share the finished product on Monday. Don't want to completely spoil the surprise;o) The bottom fabric is for S.R. I saw the CA-UTEST outfit on Wednesday in this little boutique shop with red and white gingham. They wanted 70-something bucks for it. I am going to try to duplicate it...can't wait for that one either! Thinking I will work on it today. I also found this fabric at Walmart:
Since the little guy across the street is a Thomas the Train fan, I figured it would come in handy:o) And check out the price I paid for it:
You  read correctly...47cents for a yard of fabric. THANK YOU VERY MUCH! I love those little remnant bins:o)
 I. LOVE. JELLY. ROLLS! We don't have a Joann's here, so when I went to visit the fam, I made sure to make a pit stop to see what goodies I could collect. I didn't have a whole lot of time to browse, but I did find this jelly roll with some sa-weet fabrics. I have a few ideas on what to make sweet little S.R. with this fabric. I also found this fabric for E.:
He is definitely ready for me to make something with this. I am planning on making a rag quilt with it. Hoping to get started on it very soon. I'll even do a tute for you guys so that you can make one yourself. They are super easy. The plan is to have it lay across the bottom of his bed.
Well I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend, and I will see you all back here on Monday, that's if I survive the weekend:o). Remember that the wallets will be available for purchase thru Sunday, and then I am going to move them to Etsy. Holla!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Wallets for Flood Victims

 I told you about a week or so ago that I wanted to make a few wallets with the left over fabric for the grad gifts. I also said that I wanted to sell them and send the proceeds to the Red Cross. Well here they are. I decided to name them after the grads that I initially made them for.
The Carley:
Sold.
Here is the inside:
The Jessica:
With Bow or with Flower
The Ashley:
With ruffles
The Samantha:
with bow or ruffle
All wallets come with a cash pocket and 6 slots for credit/debit/store cards. I am selling them for $20 each, with FREE shipping. What is pictured is what I have to offer. If there is enough interest, then I will consider taking special orders. I accept paypal, and have the  "Buy It Now" Buttons on the top left of this page ready for purchase. I have also included a "Donate" Button if you don't want a wallet, and are only interested in helping the flood victims.(Hopefully I did it right:o)) If you have any questions, just click the Email button, and send me a message. I will reply as soon as possible.
ALL proceeds will go to the American Red Cross for the flood victims of Nashville, TN.
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The sale of these wallets will end on May23rd.

Monday, May 17, 2010

A winner, and Grad gifts

I want to say a special thank you to CSNStores.com for considering Fussy Monkey Business to host the gift card give away. We had good participation, and even got a few new followers out of it. Welcome new readers!!! So I used Random.org, and it generated #10, which is Carolsue! Congratulations!!! A CSNStores.com rep. will be contacting you soon!
I hope that you all had a great weekend. I surely did! I got to spend some time with my family. This is the first time in 6 months that we have all been within a 10 mile radius of one another:o) We got to take the kids to the zoo and to a baseball game. They had a FAB time! 
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This time of year is crazy wild when it comes to social gatherings. And those social gatherings usually involve bringing a gift. Graduations and birthdays hit us hard this time of year. So I have been working hard at getting gifts together. Today I am sharing with you another one of my drawings. Alabama fans...avert your precious little eyes;o) My friend Amy just graduated with her Masters Degree. WAY TO GO AMY!!!!! She is the kind of friend that everyone would die to have. I have never met a more strong, caring and giving woman. Amy is a HUGE University of Auburn fan...I know, try not to gag;o) Although I am not a true Alabama fan, the hubs is..hence the Bama themed office...he actually scoffed at the idea of me drawing a tiger:o)Anyway, I drew Amy a tiger. 
I don't think it turned out as well as the elephant I drew for the hubs, but this one was a lot more difficult. I had fun drawing it, and she said she liked it....:o) Regardless, I'm very proud of her and her accomplishment!!
 I will have the wallets posted tomorrow. I will be selling the extras for $20 each. All proceeds will go to the Red Cross for the flood victims of Nashville, Tennessee.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Another Give Away!!**Now Closed**


Hey Guys! I have been working on some projects for the past few days, and I am going to have a lot to share with you next week. So to hold you over until then....we have another AWESOME give away! CSNstores.com has graciously offered a $40 gift certificate to use in one of their 200 + websites!! You have gotta check this site out...Tis da bomb! You won't believe what all they have to offer!! They have THOUSANDS of items to choose from. Items for all your needs: Home Improvement, Housewares, Home Decor, Furniture, which include some fab entertainment centers, outdoor furniture, and so much more. You could spend all day at csn.stores.com. They have some great prices on great merchandise. Here are a few of my favorites:o)
Loving this little girl's bed! Isn't it precious??
 I really like this one too! Def. a princess bed:o)
And check out this fan-tab-u-lous entertainment center!
Isn't this cute? I L.O.V.E. Melissa & Doug toys!!
I'm telling you, they have it all!
So here's how you enter: Leave a comment of what your favorite item(s) are at CSN stores. If you are a follower of Fussy Monkey Business, you can leave 2 separate comments. If you are not a follower, well just simply click the "follow" button. Super simple. This give away will close Sunday, May 16th at 7 p.m. The winner will be chosen by Random.org, and announced on Monday the 17th. Opened to U.S. and Canadian residents only. Looking forward to hearing what you fave items are!!!
This Give Away is now closed.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Challenges of Product Choices and Prices in Multi-Sided Media Markets

Commercial media have faced product and price challenges in 2-sided markets for more than a century, but are encountering greater difficulties in getting it right as they try to effectively monetize multi-sided markets.

2-sided and multi-sided markets are ones in which more than one set of consumers must be addressed and there is an interaction between strategies and choices for each set of customers. Prices for one group of consumers affects their consumption quantity and this, in turn, affects the prices for and consumption by the other groups. Optimal revenues can only be achieved by dealing with all groups of consumers simultaneously.

Newspapers are a classic example of 2-sided platforms. The first product is the content sold to audiences and the second is access to audiences that is sold to advertisers. This has been the basis of the mass media business model since late 19th century and the strategy has been to keep circulation prices low to attract a mass audience and then to make the majority of revenue from advertiser purchases.

In this model, success in selling the newspaper product affects ability to sell advertising access because more readers makes a paper more attractive to advertisers; conversely, success in selling advertising affects ability to sell the newspaper to readers because it provides resources that improves content and make the paper more attractive.

Getting prices right in this model is crucial, but most media have traditionally been relatively unsophisticated in setting prices. Few have used demand-oriented pricing, based on what the market will bear, or target return pricing based on achieving a specific rate of return. Instead most have set prices based on what the closest competitors are doing or on industry average price. They were historically able to get away with it because elasticity and price resistance were relatively low because of the near monopolies of past in many markets.

Today, however, product and price choices are getting much more complex because of rising competition and because media are shifting from 2-sided to multi-sided platforms in which relationships among consumers are compounded. This complexity is evident in the difficulties newspapers and magazines are having figuring out effective ways to provide and sell content online.

The problem occurs because there are paying audiences and advertisers for the print edition; free audiences and paying advertisers for the online edition; and some joint audience and advertisers who use both the print and online offerings. If one alters the free price online to create a paying audience, it not only affects the willingness of online advertisers to pay, but affects the willingness of joint audiences and advertisers to pay and thus effects performance of the print sales as well.

Creating the correct combination of content available in print and online, getting the content prices right, generating audiences in both places that are right for advertisers, and properly prices advertising is no mean feat. The situation is made even more difficult as publishers add eReaders and mobile services to the mix.

Those who think they can easily monetize newspapers, magazines, or other information products online ignore the significant challenges posed by multi-sided platforms and need to carefully consider the impact that these factors have on product and price choices.

Dragon Fly Painting

I hope that you all had a wonderful Mother's Day. Mine was spent with my mother, and we had a very pleasant weekend:o) Before I went to visit her, I went with my friend Amy to one of the local Winery stores for Bottle and Brush. Bottle and Brush is a really fun experience. Mind you, I didn't "experience" the bottle part, just the brush part;o) A local artist instructs you on how to paint one of her creations, while you are turning back a few. We brought our own non-alcoholic drinks, of course. You could definitely tell that some of the women had had one too many. Some of the dragon flies looked more like dragons:o)  I think Amy's turned out better than mine:o) I wish I had a picture of hers to share with you. 
We had a really good time, and I hope to do it again soon:o) My master piece is now hanging in S.R.'s room, and it's starting to grow on me:o).
**I have lots of laundry to catch up on, so I better get to it. I hope you have a FAB day!!!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Baby Pool Converted to Sand Tub

First off, I want to congratulate Cayce again for being the winner of the ruffle wallet give away. Speaking of which, I have a few fabrics I purchased yesterday, and if you are interested in any of these prints, I will be making wallets and selling them for $20. All proceeds will be given to the American Red Cross for the Nashville, TN flood victims. Just shoot me an email if you are interested. If not, I'll sell them on Etsy.
Also, here's an interesting tidbit I read in the Lowes mag. the other day. Flies hate the smell of Basil. We live out in the country with the cows. And where there's cows, there are a ton of flies. So I purchased some basil and I'm looking forward to it growing big, and hopefully warding off those little pests. I'll let you know if it works:o)

Now for the actual post. I have been very interested in getting a sand table for the kids to play with. They aren't exactly cheap, though. I was ready to purchase one, got to Walmart, and they said I would have to order online and have it shipped to the store...fat chance. They saved me 70 bucks by not having it in the store. So then it hit me, I have a cheap-o baby pool, you know the kind you get from Babies R Us for $5? I decided to fill it with leveling sand...cuz it's cheap, and have a ready made sand tub. Total cost for this sand contraption: $3.50. The kids love it. And I really love it, since I saved so much money. I plan on buying one of those pool covers, the kind that are made of tarp and elastic, they're pretty cheap, so I can keep the elements out.
 The great thing about this is that it's so small, if it does rain before I get the pool cover, I can pull it under our covered patio without any trouble. So that's my tip for the weekend:o)
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I hope that you all have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

We Have a Winner!!

Congrats to Cayce for being the winner of the ruffle wallet!!!
Thanks to all of you who entered. Cayce, shoot me an email with your address so I can get it to you!!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Giveaway Announced...50 Followers!!

I want to say thank you so much for being interested in what I have been doing these past 4 months. I am so excited to have 50 followers...makes my heart swell with pride:o) Hopefully you have been inspired to create some crafty stuff after viewing Fussy Monkey Business. So here's the giveaway. A wallet made by me. Here are a few pictures of the goods:
The Front View
The Back View
The Inside View
...and no, the cards stay with me;o) 
The wallet has 6 different slots for credit/debit/whatever cards. There is also a place for cash. I'm thinking I'll be making some more of these as grad gifts, maybe with a little cash inside:o)

Here's how to enter...Just leave a comment. Leave as many as you would like. This give away is limited to followers of Fussy Monkey Business, but it's so easy to become a "follower." All it takes is a click of the mouse;o) This giveaway will be closed Thursday 5/6 at 7 p.m CST.
Good luck to all!!!
This Give Away is now closed.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Giveaway Announced Tomorrow!

We've finally reached 50 followers!!! Can you believe it? I will be announcing the give away tomorrow (5/5)! See you then!!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Surprise Office Makeover for the Hubs

Auburn and Tennessee fans avert your eyes:o) The hubs is a HUGE BAMA fan! So I felt that it was fitting to make over his office in an Alabama theme without going over the top of course. It all started with this stained glass lamp that he got after we moved in, and I took it from there. This post will be more pictures and less talk. Here are a few BEFORE pics:

A mess, I know. Well the hubs has been working extra hard here lately...at work and at home. So I decided that while he was away on a business trip, I would give the office an over-haul:o) Here's the AFTER:
He was totally surprised when he got home, and he LOVES it!!! Every time he walks into the office he says, "This is so cool." Mission accomplished!