Last Day to Enter!!!

Just a reminder that today is last day to enter the bag giveaway. I will announce the winner tomorrow morning. Good luck to you all:o)

My First Giveaway!

I am so excited about this being my very first giveaway. At first, I wasn't sure if I wanted to get into it, but it's just too much fun not to. I made this bag yesterday. It's called the "I'll Have One of Everything" Bag. The pattern is from the Seams to Me book by Anna Maria Horner. My b.f.f. from high school is making(and selling) these, and I fell in love.(Her website is modernmommysewing.blogspot.com) This was the "trial" bag to see if I wanted to start making these as diapers bags for gifts. And the answer is...YEE-AH! Love them! Of course it isn't a full size diaper bag, but it will do the trick. The dimensions are from tip to tip 19 1/2", and from strap to bottom 20". The straps are braided...it's hard to tell from the picture.
Now for the details...leave a comment. You don't have to be a "follower," but I would love it if you would:o) Leave a funny quote that you have heard recently or one that you always use...and keep it clean;o) I need a laugh. The winner will be announced on Monday February 1st...my 7th wedding anniversary:o)(yay for us!!) Now get to thinking, and post those quotes!!:o)...(open to U.S. residents only) This Giveaway is now Closed.

Travel Sippy Cup Holders

I don't normally post more than one blog a day, but I had to put this on as soon as I finished because I was so excited about it. I had to take the kids to the doc yet again today, and on the way home they simultaneously dropped their sippy cups in the floor of the van. Well of course I couldn't reach them, so I got to listen to the poor pitiful cries of two thirsty babies...Then it hit me. I MUST do something about this. When I got home, I got online to see how much sippy cup holders were..the ones that the kids can reel in after they drop them, and they were around $10-$15 each. I have 2 kids...not happenin'. So I pulled out a notepad and started sketching and came up with a design that I thought would work and got to cutting. Here is a tutorial for all of you frustrated mothers whose lil' ones have the dropsy's at the wrong time too:o)
What you will need:
-Fabulous fabric(around a 1/2 yd?)
Cut:
*(1)12 1/2" x 11" square..I guess it really isn't a square if it isn't...square?
(this is the holder fabric section)
*(2)Circles 4 1/2" in diameter(bottom)I used my circle cutter to make a pattern
*(1)22" x 4" strip(strap)
-1/2" Elastic strips(2), 8" & 7 1/2"


Fold the holder fabric in half(the 11" length) and press.


Using your iron, fold the strap in half and press. Then fold each edge towards the center line and press again. This prevents any flipping of which I absolutely detest:o)


Stitch as close to the edge of the strap as possible. Make sure that there aren't any places that slipped and did not get stitched. Fold under one end of the strap and stitch making sure raw edges aren't showing.


Fold finished edge over 3 3/4" over and stitch.


Take the holder fabric and stitch 5/8" to the left of the folded edge. Then stitch another line 2 inches to the left of that. Then another line 5/8" from the second stitched line. These are the slots for your elastic strips.


Grab your 2 elastic strips along with a safety pin to help you run them thru your slots.


Take your 2 elastic strips and run them thru your slots. The 8" strip goes on top and the 7 1/2" strip goes on the bottom. Make sure to have something at each end so that the strips don't slide back thru. Place right sides together. Make sure to add the strap on the inside matching all raw edges. Stitch. Back stitch over the strap for extra strength.


Take the 2 circles that you cut out and put wrong sides together. Baste around the edges so that there isn't any slippage. Now put one of the right sides of the circle and the right side of the holder together matching bottom edges and stitch. Turn right side out.(Sorry that there isn't a pic, forgot to take one)

Slide a cup in to make sure that all stitches are secure and that there aren't any gaping holes;o)



How to attach the holder to your car seat:

Slide strap around bottom of car seat strap as shown here.


Slide the holder thru the loop


Now just pull all the way thru.


Insert cup, and there ya have it! A sippy cup that will never be lost again...unless they try to physically remove it from the holder:o)

Hanging Letters

I have been waiting a while to post this one because I was searching for the perfect wall hanging to put S.R.'s letters on that I made her. E.'s letters came from Pottery Barn, and that was when we could afford to spend $10 per letter. Ain't happenin' now. Sister will just have to deal with moma-made letters:o) I found these letters at Hobby Lobby for 99 cents each. I found scrapbook paper that would coordinate with her room and busted out the Modge Podge(I used several different pages, but only posted the S). I am really starting to like this stuff! It took some time, and it was very tedious, but I am fairly pleased with the results. The edges were a little rough so I hot glued white ribbon all the way around, and then glued a strip on the back to make a bow to hang the letters from. The "Princess" sign came from Hobby Lobby as well and I got that beauty for $4.99. It was perfect in so many ways, but the main reason was it had 5 hooks...enough for all the letters of her name..YAY! My next project for her room is to make a large canvas mural with a butterfly theme. It's in my head, just gotta get it on the canvas:o)

Our Kitchen Table and Chairs (with new matching curtains)

This is our "new to us" table and chairs. I bought this set off of Craig's List for $50 right before we moved into our new house. I loved the lines of the table and chairs, and could see the potential in it. The hubs was not happy about having yet another project ahead of him, but now that it is FINALLY complete, we are both extremely happy with it. He sanded the top down, but only slightly and we painted the whole set this mint'ish green. Once that was done, the top just wasn't cutting it, so he re-sanded only the top, and stained it. I distressed the chairs, hubs polyed it and I covered the seats with the same fabric that I used for the valances. We are very pleased with it. Now all it needs is a little accessorization and someday a small church pew on the back side and it will be able to seat 6 on a regular basis. I think we make a pretty good team:o)

Before...see that stank nasty fabric on the seats?? I removed one covering and then passed it on to the hubs. I get a little freaked out with other people's filth:o)


After...yes you are having flash backs of your granny's house if you caught the plastic coverings on the seats. If you have small children whose food ends up on the seat instead of their mouths, you understand. They are super easy to maintain now, and when I have guests they don't have to look at my seats in disgust thinking, "do I really want to chance sitting on those seats and ruining my nice pants??":o)If they spill something, I just wipe them down and they are as good as new..looooove it!!

Ottoman Re-do(No Before Pic:o(..oops)

I found these two little beauties at the Goodwill as well. I just keep comin' at ya with these Goodwill finds, and YES, I got them all in one day!! These cutey pies were $7.99 each. They are Target brand and still had the original price tag on them of $59.99 each(yes, I scored majorly!!) The fabric was a little on the dingy side, but everything was in good working order, the piping was still in good shape, so off to deconstructing I went. It was sooooooooooo much easier than when I pulled apart the chair to recover(see pic of living room curtains, and it's the yellow one with stripes). It took less than an hour to pull the 24,000 staples out of them. I used some more of the green and purple toile from dear Ms. Stephanie to recover them, and now I'm all coordinated and stuff;o) I painted the legs black b/c I still have 3/4 of a gallon left, so anything else that comes in the house to be painted will eventually be painted black:o) I put them upstairs in the bonus room in front of the couch. See that big empty space on the wall??? That's where the top of the coffee table will eventually be...It's gonna be great!

My Coffee Table Makeover

I keep writing about my trip to the Goodwill store up north, and wish that I could go back every week! That place was awesome! While I was there, I kept passing by this coffee table, and thinking, "do I really need this?" Well of course I do! My first thought was to make it over as a table for the kids to put their blocks, train tracks, and lincoln logs on, but then a selfish thought hit me...I want it for my living room! I took it to the register thinking that I was paying $14.99 for it, which I thought was a pretty good deal, especially since it didn't have the glass panes in it(btw, I HATE glass top coffee tables). The lady said, "That will be $7.49", WHAT???? Holy Cow, I was soooo excited! Got it home and the hubs was pumped about it too. He made a special trip to Lowes for a nice birch top(expensive, I know), and put it on all in the same night. I painted it the next day, and now it resides in my living room.

Before...(the top will be used in another project).


After...I love the size of this thing! I bought the tray at a yard sale back last summer, and had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with it. I think that this is the perfect spot. It has a little brother that is still waiting for a home...

Well.....

I thought that I was going to finish all those curtains in one day. HA! Fat chance. I did get the curtains done in the living room and I love 'em! They make the room look complete. Thank goodness. There was almost a catastrophe though. As I started sewing this beautiful fabric, I realized that when you have two windows, you generally want to have 2 panels per window...duh! I only cut 2 panels. Then it hit me, do I have enough fabric???? Just barely(sigh), and I had to do some piecing to make it work, but you won't be able to see it because I am that good...well, not really. That panel ended up behind the chair:o) I started the kitchen curtains, but was getting tired and started to make a mess of things, so I called it quits. I am really pleased with how the living room turned out!
The clock in this pic was a Goodwill find. All the old ladies were eyeing it with jealousy. One said, "My what a pretty clock you've grabbed." And I thought to myself,"Oh yeah lady, and it's all mine!!!!" (was that a little too over the top???)


The curtains hung in all their glory:o) The hubs is gonna be a little irritable when he sees that I moved that huge pic above the fireplace from the dining room to the living room...a bone of contention in this household. I had him take the top part of the hutch to the attic so that I could have the massive pic hung above the bottom of the hutch. (I am a woman and have every right to change my mind if I want to...)After almost loosing appendages, and having to take the stairs off to get it thru the hole in the attic, it found a resting place, and the hubs thought that it was staying put;o) Little did he know...But the pic looks soooooooo much better above the fireplace, don't you agree?

I'll get busy on more projects tomorrow, hopefully. Taking a day off. Yesterday wore me out!! I'll post the new coffee table tomorrow. Very proud of this find!

Busy Beaver

After searching for all the perfect fabrics, I have finally gotten everything I need, and I must sit down at my machine and GET BIZZAY! I have around 60 yards of fabric just sitting around in the guest bedroom waiting to be turned into something beautiful. My windows have begged and pleaded with me to clothe them. They are tired of being nekked, and frankly I'm tired of them being nekked too:o) So today is the big day. My poor children don't know what's in store for them today. Mommy is going to be neglectful in the hopes of finishing 8 window treatments in one day...can it be done??? Probably not, but it's worth a shot. I also have to paint a coffee table I bought at Goodwill in Fayetteville yesterday for $7.50. I am beyond pumped about this table!! It is 3 ft. by 3 ft. HUGE! Love. love, love it! It's going in the living room, and now we will have a proper place to prop our feet up. We also got the table and chairs refinished, and I will post that as soon as I replace the seat cushions. It turned out GREAT! Hope everyone has a fab day!!

SF Sketchfest!

SF Sketchfest is underway, and that means soon The Business will be too! Our two Sketchfest shows are this week: Thursday the 21st and Friday the 22nd! Thursday will most resemble a normal Business show, and Friday will find us sharing the bill with some lovely out of town sketch groups who will not disappoint.

That being said, Thursday will also mark the return of Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits to The Business, and possibly some fantastic drop-in guests. If you came to our New Year's Eve Eve show, you know we were joined by Moshe Kasher and Todd Barry, and it was a hell of a show. You can get tickets here:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/92762

BONUS:

If you come to one of our Sketchfest shows, we will give you a coupon for FREE admission* to another Business show! You can't lose!

*Fine Print:
Free admission coupon redeemable to any normal Business show happening in February 2010 or beyond. Not applicable to either of our Sketchfest shows. Normal Business 2-For-1 Coupons will not be accepted for the SF Sketchfest shows either. Also, we reserve the right to deny admission to patrons arriving at The Business with fecal matter in their hands, in any type of Tupperware container or inside a boot. Just sayin.

Curtains for the Bonus Room

Before:


After:

I got some fabulous fabric from my fabu-lo-so friend Stephanie, and had to make curtains with it. Love, love, love toile fabric. It could be in the nastiest color and I would still try to make something great out of it...well, maybe not. Anyway, I thought it would go perfectly in the bonus room b/c there is a lot of black and white, but I couldn't figure out what color I wanted to coordinate with it, and then Stephanie offered her left over fabric. Aaaaawesome! Did I mention how much I love this fabric? Anyway, I made a simple pattern out of some freezer paper(my new found love) and got to sewing away. These curtains would have taken around 2 hours if there hadn't been numerous interruptions:o) I love how they turned out, but they do seem a little naked. Waiting for the perfect trim to show it's lovely self, and I will probably just hot glue it on...the lazy man's way of sewing. There was a ton of fabric left over, so I will definitely be making pillows and a seat cushion for my cedar chest that I will be refinishing and possibly distressing??? Should be fun!

Clean Up, Clean Up, Everybody Everywhere!

When we decided to build our house, we knew that the bonus room would be the kids "domain." We made sure that everything in there was going to be kid friendly. I wanted to have a space for them to color and do crafts, and this corner was the perfect space to set up shop. My parents gave us my grandmother's table and chairs(Thank you Papa & Gia), and also tons of colored paper. My children, bless their little souls, are little tornadoes at times, and thus the BEFORE picture. I had to come up with some quick ideas or I was going to go nutso with the disorganization.




The pencils and markers are always strown, and even though they had a basket to put everything in, it wasn't pretty and it had holes in it. I made these from veggie cans. Just glued scrapbook paper to them, and voila. Instant pencil and marker containers.


I had this basket which was formerly a home to all my hair stylist products, but it seems that it served a better purpose by housing all the kids coloring books and craft paper.


And the After. Now doesn't that look much more pleasant:o) They actually like putting the pencils and markers back in the containers. Now I can be a little more sane:o)

S.R.'s Canopy Hung!!

Well we got it hung last night, and I LOOOOOOOOOOVE it!! I clipped the butterflies on the petals and voila! Beautimous!!! Even the hubs was giving me props. We used a regular hook, one that was a little beefier(is that a word?) than a cup hook. Now to keep S.R.'s sweet little hands off of it, and we will be in business;o) Just a few more things to add to her room, and then I can move onto E.'s room.

Flower Canopy

I am so super pumped about this canopy. I sooo copied it from PBK, and am very happy with how well it turned out. S.R.'s room is going to be so saaweet when the hubs gets this one hung. It was "fairly" simple to assemble, but may be for the intermediate sewer, as there were a few tight seams. PBK sells this for $99(w/o shipping) and I was able to accomplish this bad boy for about $45. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. I found some cute little butterflies at Hobby Lobby that were 50% off this week. They will be "perched" on the canopy. I already have the paint color picked out for her room, but I still have to purchase it. Looking forward to finishing up S.R.'s room. It's sooo girly, and I am sooo in love with it!!

Last Minute Hair bow

Sunday we finally made it back to church. So, S.R. got to wear her pretty new dress that I made for her. She looked sooo cute! The only problem was that she didn't have the proper hair bow to match...no good. I ran across some ribbon in my scrap book materials that I also used in my hanging folder, and thought that it would be a perfect match. I was right! It took 5 minutes to make, super simple. I have made hair bows in the past, and just wasn't too thrilled with them, but this one I loved. Can't wait to make more:o)

Hanging "Idea" Folder

I bought a ton of Paper Crafts Magazines last summer for $3 at a yard sale(yes, almost all of my possessions come from a yard sale). I started flipping thru them b/c I wanted some great gift ideas and I always find some in there. I did find a cute idea for a recipe box that I will be making as soon as I can get back to Hobby Lobby for supplies, but I also found this cute idea to keep up with my craft ideas. It is a hanging folder made from scrapbooking materials. It took 30 minutes to put together, and was virtually free since I already had everything I needed. It has 4 different pockets for the different size papers I might need to store. I wanted to make a magnetic board, but didn't have the supplies to make it, so this will hold me over until then:o) Something colorful to look at until I get brave enough to start painting murals in my craft closet/room:o)

All That and a Bag of Chips...

Anytime I start running out of ideas for crafts, I always call upon Martha to get the creative juices flowing again. The kids got a play kitchen from Santa this year, and they have really enjoyed playing with it. However, there just wasn't enough food for it. Luckily, ole Martha was thinking for me and had instructions on her website for a felt cherry pie. Super cute and super easy. She also included a link to another website where they make felt food and sell the patterns. I had so much fun making these, and the kids LOVE them. They especially love the sandwich. I had to keep reminding both of them that we "pretend" to eat it:o) I plan on making pizza and possibly a cake later on.

Baby Burp Cloth and Wash Cloths

My kids ended up with way too many toys for Christmas this year, and we are very thankful to all of those who contributed;o), but one of the cutest things that S.R. got was monogrammed wash cloths from her sweet Aunt A. A girl from church just had a beautiful baby boy, and I was trying to figure out what I could make for her, and I remembered the wash cloths. They were super simple to make and I was able to try out some new appliques on my machine that I hadn't used yet. I made a quick trip to Dollar Tree b/c I figured they would have hand towels and wash cloths. The wash cloths were a little big, so I went for the hand towels and was able to cut them down to get two wash cloths per towel. Since I bought 2 towels, I decided to use the other for a burp cloth. I am so happy with the way things turned out! Can't wait to give them to the new mommy:o)

Phase 2 of S.R.'s curtains

I found a pair of sheer curtains at a yard sale a while back, and didn't know quite what to do with them. My mother mentioned to me that she saw some really cute curtains in PBK's magazine, and thought I might like them. Hence Phase 1 with the pink gingham curtains. That's where the sheers became Phase 2. I thought about using my 3rd love(following of course my husband(#1), children(#2))to embroider butterflies all over them, but evidently my machine was hungry. It ate one of the sheers. So after much contemplation, I decided to use some applique butterflies that I purchased from ebay ages ago for some unknown project. They were so simple to apply, and my machine was very cordial to the ever so delicate sheer. I am really pleased on how they turned out. Now, I just have to make sure that E & S.R. don't try to pick them off:o)

S.R.'s Christmas present from me. A little bag to take to church with goodies to keep her sweet little hands busy. It has an I Spy bag, and a crayon roll of which I "borrowed" the idea from another blogger. I also made one for E. with Transformer's fabric. They both seemed to really like it.

A dress I made the other day for S.R. I am so excited about this dress. We have to get everyone well so she can wear it to church!

Phase one of S.R.'s curtains. Not exactly sure what phase two will be yet:o)

THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF JOURNALISM PROFESSIONALISM

Efforts to professionalize journalism began early in the twentieth century as a response to the hyper commercialization of newspapers and the “anything goes” approach to news that emerged in the late nineteenth century as a means of increasing street sales through sensationalism, twisting the truth, and outright lies.

The impetus for journalistic professionalism originated among publishers who wish to counter the trend and it gained support of journalists who saw it as a means of improving their working conditions and social standing. Journalism training and higher education programs, professional societies for journalists and editors, and codes of ethics and conduct emerged as part of professionalism. These promoted the core values of accuracy, fairness, completeness, and the pursuit of truth.

These efforts improved industry practices, pushed out the worst journalists and publishers, and creating some trust in the content of news. They also created environments in which advertisers were willing to promote their wares in newspapers and made news organizations more financially sustainable.

This is where journalistic professionalism took a wrong turn, however.

It did so in two ways. First, professional journalists were taught and accepted the idea that they should worry about the journalism and leave the business to itself. Second, journalists, along with other employees, decided to seek improvement to their compensation and working conditions through unionization—thus becoming adversaries of management rather than partners in the management of news organizations.

Both developments clearly improved journalism and lives of journalists; however, they also separated journalists from business decisions and removed them from any responsibility for the organization’s actions and sustainability.

Although some protests over editorial interference, owner avarice, and the corporatization of the news industry were heard in the 20th century, few efforts to alter the situation developed because the enterprises were willing to share a sufficient portion of the riches generated with journalists and because companies employed more journalists, improved newsrooms, built networks of bureaus, and provided resources to undertake interesting reporting activities.

That has all changed. The reporting resources are gone, the networks of bureaus are being dismantled, many enterprises can’t afford their own facilities, and journalists are being widely laid off. All of this is being done with little input and influence from journalists and editors precisely because they spent nearly a century denying responsibility and involvement in business decisions.

Today, many journalists are arguing for the creation of new types of news organizations—primarily not-for-profit enterprises—and they are repeating the same mistake. Most are suggesting, or already setting up, organizations in which journalists still have little say on strategy and business matters. Many are content merely with the idea that the new enterprises won’t be profit driven. That, however, is not enough.

Journalists need to be equally responsible in ensuring they produce news and information that has value. They need to be responsible for ensuring their new organizations create the revenues and organizational strength needed to carry out high quality journalism. They need to ensure that organizational decisions make the organizations and the journalism offered viable.

If journalists continue to deny responsibility for the operation and survival of their news enterprises, it will be impossible to create sustainable news organizations for the future.