Monday, April 29, 2013

The Business May 1st, 2013: The “G” is Silent, but Your Laughs Won’t Be!!!! Edition



We have such a wonderful batch of guests this week we are just beside ourselves.  Come be beside us too!

David Gborie comes to party. He’s been telling jokes all over the country for a couple of years now and he is, in his words, “Pretty legit at it”. He currently lives in San Francisco where he is a member of Sylvan Productions and can be seen around town lurking at one of their many shows or at Crissy fields with his trusty crab pot. As a perfomer he’s appeared at The Bridgetown Comedy Festival, SF Indie Fest, and Denver’s Too Much Funstival, as well as the SF Punchline, The Denver Comedy Works, and other impressive venues.





Also, up from LA we have Amber Kenny, a founding member of the sketch teams Little Kevin Buttersmith and Dumb Babies and Grant Pardee,  a literally perfect boy.


And watch out for Aaron Weaver!  All the way out from Chicago, he “sneaks up on you with an unorthodox style, then snaps your neck with a comedic Kung Fu chop to the spine. “

Plus all your regulars will be there as well.   Sean Keane,  Bucky Sinister, Nato Green and Caitlin Gill, all reporting for doody.  

All this for JUST $5!!!  Get there early, we sell out.  

BYOBurrito full of magical fruit. 

Saturday, April 27, 2013

European private TV has matured, but needs new strategies for development

The European television industry is one of the most balanced in the world, with public service broadcasters, advertising-supported broadcasters, and pay television operators reasonably dividing television revenues among themselves. For the 27 countries of the EU, pay TV accounts for about 38% of total revenue, public funded broadcasters for about 34%, and advertiser supported television for about 28%.
 
Unlike the US where private television dominates, most Europe private television began after liberalization broke the monopolies held by public service and state television in most countries. It has taken decades for private television to establish a mature place in the market.
 
When looking specific countries, however, total spending on TV (advertising, subscriptions, public funding) is not evenly spread. Adjusted for population, it ranges between €5 and €30 per person among nations, with an average of €15. There a notable differences between southern, central, and eastern European nations and nations in the north and west of Europe, where public service and pay TV are strong players.
 
Some markets are skewed with unusually strong TV subsectors. In Germany and Sweden publicly-funded TV is unusually dominant; there is unusually poor performance of advertising-funded TV in Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Montenegro and Romania.
 
Today, pay television is the most positive sector in European television, with subscriptions for basic services and payments for video-on-demand services growing and the sector benefiting from the growth of video viewing on smartphones and tablets, particularly for its original programming.
 
Advertising-supported television is being squeezed between the more stable funding of public service broadcasters and pay TV providers and being hurt because advertisers in some countries remain reluctant to accept catch-up viewing in audience measurements for program broadcasts. It is not benefiting as much from video-on demand services as public service and pay TV broadcasters because much programming on advertising-supported TV is not original production owned by the broadcasters.
 
In order to survive in the new television environment, advertising-support TV in Europe has developed a diversified revenue, combining income from advertising, paid programming (home shopping, religious programming, etc.), product placement, sponsored events such as concerts and fairs, telecommunication promotions and services related to programming, income producing contests and lotteries, and renting studio space and providing video production services for advertising and corporate use.
 
Despite find their niches, both advertising supported and pay TV operators are now mounting efforts to obtain public funding to improve domestic program offering. In a number of countries they are asking policymakers to create contestable public funding to produce quality domestic content. They have asked cultural ministries to set aside funds for the purpose or asked regulators to divert portions of public service license-fee payments for the purpose.
 
In the contemporary environment, the business model of European advertising-supported TV needs significant addition, primarily because traditional TV advertising has low value for both viewers and advertisers today and there is a need to seek news ways to connect the two commercially. The extent to which they will rise to the occasion remains to be seen.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Corporate Strategy? You Shouldn’t Even Try


Most corporations consist of multiple divisions. These divisions, which set their own strategy (what we generally refer to as “business strategy”), more often than not have very little to do with one another. Take Philips Electronics with its lighting, medical equipment, and consumer electronics; ThyssenKrupp with steel, elevators, and engineering services; or smaller companies such as Trinity Mirror with newspapers, printing, and digital services. They may not be like the conglomerates of the 1960s – you can see how their portfolio of somewhat related business came about – but, in reality, the various divisions and business units do operate completely independently from one another.

Yet, corporate top management invariably tries hard to formulate an overarching strategy. It endeavors to stimulate cooperation across divisions (by repeatedly shouting really loudly that this should happen), sets up corporate shared services (which invariably are seen as a mere cost and nuisance by its divisional heads), and have some abstract talk about creating “cross-divisional synergies”.

And I say, don’t even go there; don’t even try.

It’s not worth it; it’s artificial; it won’t work (because it never does); and, most of all, there’s just no need for it. Just forget about it.

“But, what then could possibly be the rationale and justification for these various business to be together in one corporation?!” I hear a cacophony of voices – of analysts, investors, board members, and business school professors – shout. “There must be something; otherwise the corporation should be broken up, because shareholders can do the diversification themselves”. It is firmly rooted in our minds that there must be some sort of a rationale for why these various businesses are grouped together into one firm.

And that’s right; there is a rationale. But seeing it requires a significant change of mindset of what a corporation is and does, and should do.

Once companies grow they often start moving into adjacent business areas. For example, a company may have moved from steel into engineering products because they require steel, then moved into engineering services, and became big in elevators causing them to set up a separate division for that too. These four divisions set their own strategy – e.g. the business strategy for engineering services, the strategy for elevators, etcetera – and have their own management teams and P&L.

Any corporate finance course will then tell you – probably on day one – that somehow these four divisions must create extra value by being grouped together; otherwise they should be split up into four separate companies, because you then save the costs of an expensive corporate head office, and investors themselves can easily do the diversification across different businesses – including these four – better, cheaper, and more customized to their own needs.

And therefore corporate top management teams come up with some contrived idea of a joint strategy to suggest synergies and justify their own existence.

But what the real value of a corporate top management is – or can be – is very different from all these things, but it requires these people to see their task and themselves in a different light: corporations are not there to set strategy, but they simply exist as investment vehicles, with the senior executives as its managers. Overall, I see three related roles for them:

1) First, corporate C-suite executives are portfolio managers. But they differ from fund managers and alike in a significant way; they actually know the business. Fund managers, equity analysts, hedge fund managers, and so on can analyze the numbers perfectly well and listen to the powerpoint presentation of the CEO on its roadshow. But corporate executives, who may have grown up in the business, work on it every day, and have an authoritative relationship with their divisional managers are better able to really grasp the in-depth and tacit aspects of the business’ strategy and competitive advantage. This makes them better portfolio managers, in the sense that they see things that external investors miss. Analysts are easily fooled by nice numbers and charismatic CEOs; the Goldman Sachs analysts who wrote “Enron is still the best of the best. We recently spoke with most of top management; our confidence level is high” a mere six weeks before it filed for bankruptcy still come to mind.

2) From this also follows their second role: they can play the role of a board of directors – but then better informed. In reality, boards are severely limited in terms of their knowledge of the corporation they are governing – not the least because external directors are of course no more than a collection of part-timers and amateurs. It is nearly impossible to really grasp the inner workings of a multinational, diversified corporation for an outsider who spends a couple of days per year on it. The top management of the corporation can really conduct this task; hence, they are probably the company’s real governance mechanism, assuring that shareholders’ money is spent wisely, strategies are genuinely set, and the numbers justified. Moreover, unlike boards, they can staff the divisional management teams with people they actually know and select.

3) Finally, a corporation’s head office can provide funds, much like an in-house bank. This might sound trivial, because lots of parties can provide money, but the advantage is again the superior insider knowledge and accompanying speed of operation. For example, where it is well-known that the majority of public acquisitions destroy value, research by professor Laurence Capron from INSEAD shows that private deals, on average, do create value. Most companies in the world are private but, unlike public firms, there is not a lot of information about them available. Therefore, it requires someone knowledgeable of the business to identify attractive targets, and be able to make the funds swiftly available. The top management of corporations can provide such insight, funds, and speed of allocation. Which gives a business that is part of larger, well-endowed corporation a potential advantage. Hence, a corporation’s top management team is a way to internalize portfolio management, governance, and resource allocation.

I often attend yearly conferences of corporations in which they bring together their top 50 or 100 executives to discuss the corporation’s strategy (which invariably is a mixture of amorphous capability statements and financial goals, i.e. not really a strategy), proclaim once more the need for cross-divisional synergies and cooperation, and listen to some keynote speaker (such as yours truly) in an attempt to provoke ideas on how to achieve this. Stop doing this I’d say (including the keynote speaker). There is no need for an overarching corporate strategy. It is invariably contrived, never creates any real value, and is simply not necessary.

Corporations comprising different businesses in separate divisions can exist for good reason. Creating corporate strategy is not needed for such corporations to rightfully exist. It does require a fundamental rethink of what your corporation is for, and what you – as corporate manager – are for. Understanding the real advantage of corporations is paramount to making them work. It usually means getting out of the way of divisional strategy, rather than trying to set it.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Engagement Party

This past weekend, I had the honor of helping put together an engagement party for a very sweet friend's nephew. It wasn't supposed to be at her house originally, so when I got the call, we had to put all crafty gears into over drive.
I had her email me a few pictures of things she wanted to see at the party and ran with it.
I'll provide some of the details, but I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking.
This little sign was at the base of the stairs as you walked up to the front porch. It's made of balsa wood. The sign was stained and hand painted with their names and the date of their wedding.

 In the front entrance, there was an heirloom Bible for guests to sign or highlight their favorite verse along with photos of the bride and groom when they were children.
The gift table
Aren't the flower arrangements beautiful? I love hydrangeas and blue mason jars...you can never go wrong with either of those:o)
There was additional seating outside.

 Here are the center pieces for the tables. Battery operated votives and tea lights were life savers for this outdoor affair.
This was the drink station. I thought it was pretty lucky that we share the same last initial...The mother of the groom made the little flags for the paper straws. I wish I had taken a closer shot of them. They were adorable. 

I had a lot of helpers in putting this together, and it wouldn't have happened without all of their help. 
I was so grateful to be apart of making this sweet little couple feel extra special and I wish them great joy and happiness in the years ahead! 






Monday, April 15, 2013

Wash, Rinse, Repeat-Free Bathroom Printables

Here are the bathroom printables I promised. I have wanted to use the old phrase from the back of a shampoo bottle "wash, rinse, repeat" for quite some time now, but I was waiting for the right fonts to come along. I have fallen in love with all of the chalkboard fonts available. I think they are so fun, and they look really cool. 
I found exactly what I was looking for at A Nest of Posies, and played around with the fonts until I got the prints just right. I am so excited with the results, and happy to share. They are set to print as a 5x7. 
To download each print, just click on the names below.


Enjoy:o)

To see the full bathroom reveal, click here

Partying Here:
Six Sister's Stuff



Sunday, April 14, 2013

The Business, April 17, 2013: The Fourth Birthday Celebration Edition

Happy birthday! Feliz cumpleanos! Bon anniversaire! The Business celebrates its fourth birthday with an eclectic lineup of special guests, along with all your Business regulars. We blew out our candles, and wished for a dream lineup of guests - and, as Anne Hathaway would say, it came true! From the dream factory that is Hollywood, we welcome back our good friend and star of stage and screen, Baron Vaughn. From the dream worker-owned-collective that is SF literature, we welcome Rumpus managing editor Isaac Fitzgerald. And from the chocolate factory Dandelion, we welcome chocolatiers Greg and Erica. After all, what would a birthday party be without dessert?

April 15, 2009 was a very different time. The #1 song in the country was "Poker Face." "Hannah Montana: The Movie" was #1 at the box office. Some people actually thought President Obama's birth certificate was a fake! And four SF comics started an experiment: a two-hour show, split four ways, every week at a theater in the Mission. Originally, Bucky Sinister was just going to rent a storefront so he could stand in it and just talk to passerby. When Alex Koll heard this idea, he thought it was crazy, and he decided he wanted a piece of that storefront plan. Eventually, the storefront became a theater and two people ranting for an hour each became four people ranting for half an hour each - much less crazy.

Over the years, the show evolved: more guests, more games, different Businessmen, bigger crowds, out-of-town shows, a "Best of SF" nod, and a franchise in Los Angeles. We've done nearly 200 shows, welcomed more than 200 guest performers, from comics to writers to clowns to musicians to burlesque dancers, and eaten roughly 200 pounds of refried beans. It's been a great ride - though that storefront might have REALLY been something. 

Our guests: 

 

Baron Vaughn is a dynamic performer whose standup involves song, dance, impressions, beatboxing, characters, and rock-solid joke writing. He was born in New Mexico, raised in Las Vegas, and came of comedy age in Boston. You have seen Baron as one of the Awkward Kings of Comedy, acting in "Black Dynamite" and "Fairly Legal," at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, the Aspen Rooftop Festival, doing standup on "Conan," or on his podcast, Deep Shit.


Isaac Fitzgerald is the managing editor of The Rumpus (therumpus.net), the cultural website that's full of reviews, interviews, advice, music, film and poetry. He's also the co-founder of Pen & Ink (http://penandink.tumblr.com/), a Tumblr devoted to tattoos and the stories behind them, which is soon to become a real-life ink-and-paper book. Mr. Fitzgerald also hosted the Rumpus live events at the Make-Out Room, and still emcees Rumpus shows on both coasts.

 

Dandelion Chocolate is a small bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturer in Dogpatch, which recently opened a store on Valencia Street, just a block away from the Dark Room itself. Their chocolatiers will sit down for an interview with the foodiest Businessman of all, Nato Green, though we urge audience members not to share their secrets with Mr. Slugworth.

So this Wednesday, come commemorate four years of Business. BYOBPHAP (Bring Your Own Burritos, Party hats, And Pinatas). Bucky, Nato, Caitlin, and Sean will be there in the flesh; Alex Koll, Chris Garcia, Chris Thayer, and Mike Drucker will be there in spirit. Please no gifts: your presence is your presents, along with five bucks admission.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Strategy is Necessary but not Sufficient

For those of you out there who like to gleefully smirk about “strategy”; let me explain it immediately here at the start (and hopefully once and for all): Strategy is a necessary condition for success. But it is not a sufficient condition – we (strategy professors) are not that stupid.

I’ll explain in a sec exactly what we mean by that – a necessary but not sufficient condition – but let me first explain the gleeful smirk.

I again saw it last November, when the Monitor Group went bankrupt. The Monitor Group was a strategy consulting firm founded by Harvard Business School’s Michael Porter; seen by many as the founding father of the field of business strategy.

When it went bankrupt I was gleefully approached by various people in various corridors making gleeful remarks that this strategy consultant’s strategy could not even save itself, and the famous strategy guru Michael Porter couldn’t even put together a company that made enough money to pay the rent. With the underlying ergo: see, this strategy stuff does not really work.

Let me now move on to the necessary but not sufficient condition thing: When a company has a good strategy – even a great strategy – it can still fail. Yes, fail. It can still fail because to be a success in business you need lots of other things besides a good strategy: you still need to be able to get the technology you envisioned, to motivate your people, forge and nurture customer relations, get the right financing, and so on and so on. There are lots of other things you need to be good at, in addition to strategy, before your company will become a success. You can have an excellent strategy in mind but if you mess up in these other areas you will go down nonetheless.

Hence, having a good strategy is not sufficient to becoming a success.

But it is a necessary condition. What we mean by that is that even if you’re good at absolutely everything – developing technology, motivate your people, forge and nurture customer relations, and get the right financing – but your strategy sucks, in terms of what you are actually trying to accomplish in the market place, you will be (to use a good English expression) flogging a dead horse.

You can flog all you want, but without the right strategy it is all wasted energy and other resources; it ain’t going to work. The beast isn’t going to jump up and run.

I have seen various CEOs who were really great business leaders, in the sense that they were charismatic, structured, genuine people-managers, politically astute, and so on, but who were trying to build a company on what was basically a flawed idea: a strategy that was never going to work. They were still great CEOs – nobody can be good at everything – but without a great strategy no CEO can build a great company. In which case you’re better off outsourcing your strategy development to someone else; even if that someone else is the Monitor Group or Michael Porter.

I like strategy, and I think it is really important. But I am not daft enough to think that all you need is a good strategy and all will be well. But at least your horse will be running.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Cottage Style Kids' Bathroom

Last Saturday, while the hubs was hard at work in the backyard, I was wasting the day away indoors. It dawned on me that I have started SEVERAL projects over the last few months, and haven't finished ANY of them. 
I decided that since hubs was working so hard, I probably should get with it, and do something myself:o) So, I finally finished the kids' bathroom.
Our kids' wipe their little paws all over the walls, and leave the paw prints behind. We needed a solution where we wouldn't be using a Magic Eraser on our walls every other day.
I had noticed a lot of magazines using horizontal boards as a wall treatment, and I knew that would be the perfect solution to our dilemma. 
I happened to be in Lowes one day, and these boards were marked down significantly...and in my van they went!
 I have gotten the hubs do so many wood working projects over the last 10 years, that he has gotten really proficient at it;o) Mad skills I tell ya.
He's not a fan of miter cuts, but he did a fantastic job in this bathroom!
There is a lot of storage space in this Jack and Jill bath. This closet was only holding towels, so I decided to make it into a little nook for taking shoes off. 
 It was full of wire shelving, so we had to rip those out and patch a lot of holes. I really like how cute it turned out. The fabric for the seat cushion and curtain came from Hobby Lobby. The basket was a Marshall's purchase.

I found this cute little hook at Hobby Lobby. They were 50% off this week, so it was around $4. This is where the kids hang their towel while taking a shower. Notice that awesome mitered corner?...mad skills..I'm telling ya, mad skills;o)

 I spray painted this coat rack a metallic silver, and now it serves as a towel rack.
The art work is something I came up with. I'll share how I did it in my next post, so stay tuned!
I'm so glad to be able to check this bathroom off the list. Now to finish S.R.'s quilt, and the playroom!!

Monday, April 8, 2013

Whole Wheat Cheeseburger Pie with Bacon

Since we are on this health kick, I have been using whole wheat flour instead of white flour. It wasn't easy at first, but there are actually some really tasty recipes out there using whole wheat. S.R. calls it the "brown flour," and turns her nose up at it every time I use it. The funny thing is, she gobbles it right up:o)
I was looking for something different to do with hamburger meat over the weekend, and remembered a recipe off of the Bisquick box, Cheeseburger Pie. I wondered to myself if it would be as good using whole wheat. 
I felt it was worth a try, and put my math skills to the test...trying to figure out the correct ratios and ingredients, and came up with a recipe that was a crowd pleaser :o)

Cheeseburger Pie with Bacon
Adapted from the Bisquick Recipe

1 lb of ground beef
1 small onion, chopped finely
2 T butter
1/2 ts salt
1/8 ts ground black pepper
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
2 eggs
1 c milk
1/2 c whole wheat flour
3/4 ts baking powder
1/4 ts salt
2 T cold butter
3 slices of cooked bacon crumbled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare pie plate. I use butter to create a non-stick surface. Not a real fan of non-stick spray. In a skillet on medium high heat, melt 2 T of butter. Cook onion until it is translucent. Add ground beef, salt, and pepper. Cook until browned. While meat is cooking, use a pastry blender to blend cold butter into the flour, baking powder, and salt. The mixture should look like small peas when you are finished. Whisk in eggs, milk, and cheese. Once the meat is cooked all the way through, drain off any grease. Place meat mixture in pie plate first. Then pour the cheese batter over the meat mixture. Lastly sprinkle the cooked bacon on top. Place pie plate on a shallow baking sheet to catch any drippings. Bake for 25 minutes, or until cooked all the way through.

This was a delicious meal, and very filling. I'm so glad that I was able to use the whole wheat flour in this recipe! Another step in the right direction:o) 

Sunday, April 7, 2013

The Business April 10th, 2013: The Many Miles to K Before I Sleep Edition


The Business is lovely, dark and deep this week.  Come hear the sweep of our easy wind and downy flake!

Our guests are simply poetry.

Miles K!

In August of 2003 Miles K was sitting in an Airstream trailer, writing jokes and smoking meth out of an energy efficient light bulb. By 2004 he’d quit smoking meth but was still writing jokes and in 2007 he began performing stand-up. His act runs a gamut of surreal characters, Kaufmanesque pranks and observational insights. He has been Rooftop Comedy’s Comedian of the Day. His website, cleverthingstosay.com, is viewed thousands of times daily and his work has appeared on superdeluxe.com.

Dave Thomason!

Dave Thomason is a stand-up comedian who was born in San Francisco and now tells jokes there. He recently won Rooftop Comedy’s Silver Nail Award recognizing the best up-and-coming comedians in the nation. Dave has performed at a bunch of neat-o festivals across the country, including the SF Sketchfest, Bridgetown Comedy Festival, and the Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival. His stand-up has been featured on NPR’s Snap Judgment.

Grant Lyon!

Grant Lyon is a comedian and writer from Los Angeles, California. His comedic style is often described as sophisticated immaturity, blending intelligent wit with pure silliness. San Francisco Weekly describes him as “a hilariously sharp observer, not one of those tired white-guy bellyachers” and the East Bay Express writes “Lyon uses his knowledge of random Wiki-facts to set himself apart from other comedians. It’s a fabulous raison d’etre.”

Your regulars will be there as well, Bucky "BeatYOU UPnik" Sinister, Caitlin "Body Electric" Gill and "Howlin" Nato Green.

$5.  Get there early for a seat WE SELL OUT.

BYOBurrito and when it pleases you, snap at it.


Friday, April 5, 2013

Healthy Lunch Round Up

We have made a conscious effort to be healthier this year. We have jumped on the "whole foods" bandwagon and have been buying more organic and sticking to what we call "God foods." Foods that come from the earth and not from a manufacturing plant loaded with nasty, bad-for-you chemicals. We haven't completely knocked out all the junk, but I would say we are 85% there.
I'm so glad that we decided to do this before the kids were older. They are completely on board with the change in our diet. 
It makes my heart swell with pride when they ask for an apple or grapes for an afternoon snack instead of fruit snacks or some other form of junk food.
Their school lunches have had a makeover as well, and I have been sharing them on Facebook.
Since everyone isn't on Facebook...shocking, I know;o)... I thought I would share what the kids have been taking in their lunch boxes.

Shredded Chicken, Organic Crackers, Celery with Peanut Butter, Strawberries, Grapes, and Homemade Cupcake(recipe to follow soon)
 Whole Wheat Pita with bananas and peanut butter, sliced apples, popcorn chips, and homemade Lara Bar(recipe to follow)
 Sliced turkey, organic crackers, homemade whole wheat bread sticks, almonds,  and tangerine
 Ham and Gouda sandwich, carrot sticks, tangerine, and organic trail mix
 Diced baked chicken, cubed mozzarella, homemade pumpkin and chocolate chip muffin, carrot sticks and strawberries
 Sliced turkey, almonds, carrots, organic crackers, homemade applesauce, and tangerine
 Homemade chicken nuggets(recipe to follow soon) sliced carrots, sliced cheese, and strawberries
 Whole Wheat Waffle with homemade peanut butter, zucchini muffins, crackers...etc.
Do you feel inspired to start making healthier lunches for your family?
Have you jumped on the whole foods bandwagon? What are your kids' favorites? As you can tell, we go through a lot carrots:o)
We also supplement our diets with a drink called Smart Mix. It's a nutritional drink that we have been taking since last November, and we are healthier than we have ever been. I am such a believer in this product, I decided to become a distributor for the company who produces it, Zija.
My kids ask for it every morning, and that is a huge relief, since I could never remember to give them their vitamins.
I have added a link on my side bar which takes you directly to my website to find out more about this amazing product line. It looks like this:
I am also going to be making a few changes here on the ole blog, and I will be discussing more health and nutrition along with the crafty stuff. This is a major part of who I am, and I would like to share that side as well. So I hope you'll stick around!!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Easter Outfits-Boy's Vest and Bow Tie

I shared with you guys the other day S.R.'s Easter dress, and today I wanted to give you a closer look at E's vest and bow tie.
This has to be the easiest thing to sew for little boys, and it looks so cute! 
I purchased the vest pattern last year when the kids' were in my uncle's wedding.
I lost the instructions somewhere in my craft closet, but thankfully found the right pattern pieces to make the vest..and to answer your question, yes, my craft closet is a disaster, and no, I never put anything away where it belongs. I work in total chaos;o)
 The fabric was purchased from Hobby Lobby. I bought 1 yard, and after using my coupon, it came in at just under $5. Not bad, eh?
The bow tie has velcro on the ends to keep it closed around the neck. 
I really need to do a tutorial on how to make a bow tie. You wouldn't believe how easy it is to make these things!!
 Little man loved this outfit, and it always makes me proud when they get excited about what I make for them:o)
Have a great day, and make sure to smile big;o)

Monday, April 1, 2013

Easter Outfits-Easter Dress

We had a wonderful Easter. A time of catching up with family and friends, eating way too many delicious foods...courtesy of my mother, and remembering the resurrection of our Lord and Savior:o)
 I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend as well. 

 I gave a sneak peak on Facebook last Friday of the kids' Easter outfits. This week I will be sharing what I made for both of them.


Today's focus is on S.R.'s dress. 
Thankfully I had all the materials on hand, so this dress was completely free. Yay, for free!!
 This dress is extra special...
 All of the bead work, which was hand-sewn onto the dress(ugh!), came from my mother's wedding gown.
I took extra care in making sure that this dress will last, so that we can hopefully pass this on to my brother and sister's "someday" children:o)
The bead work went across the bodice...
and across the bottom of the skirt.
 Here's a quick look at the back. An extra long sash for the finishing touch.
 My children are carbon copies of the hubs and me...even down to how we take our pictures...it scares me how much my daughter is like me;o)
 Every once and a while we can get E to loosen up as well:o)
Come back for a closer look at E's Easter Vest and Bow Tie....


Participating here:

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