Put on jammies, get comfy, and....

READ!

I cannot stress enough the importance of reading to your children. The benefits of reading to children are immense and considering the attention span of the average blog reader, I'll try to summarize as best as I can- It molds our kids into becoming readers, it expands there vocabulary and ability to form well structured sentences, it provides quality bonding time, it builds listening skills, increases a child's attention span, helps them learn to concentrate, it develops and fosters a child's natural curiosity, etc.

In the last couple of years, I've developed an interest in donating to worthy causes. Typically, anything that involves helping children pulls at my heart strings. Consider my side bar to be Exhibit A.

Something grabbed my attention while wandering about the web this morning, and it made me think "You mean, not everyone reads to their children daily?" I've always thought of it as part of the routine.... feed them, bathe them, and read books. I began to research more. As it turns out, many households don't even have books. Then I sat back and thought about how many times I've spent the night at other peoples houses, and at bedtime looked around their child's room for a book or two to read K, and not being able to find one. Kaytlin must have books read to her at bedtime. It's a long lived ritual and if it doesn't happen she just doesn't know what to do. Now we bring books with us on overnight trips.

Thanks to our long commitment to reading books, K has an excellent vocabulary and forms sentences that most other 5 year olds would never even think of forming. For me, this is a by-product, not the primary reason. I do it because it provides us with time to settle in from a long day before going to sleep. It provides us with cuddle time, time for her to ask one million questions, time for her to learn something new that she isn't learning about in school, time for me to be the teacher.

(K right before bedtime... she was cold so she put a pullover on until it was time to go to sleep, do admire the mama made crochet leg warmers =), I couldn't find a pic of us reading, but this was right before book time)
Which brings me to my newest charitable cause: First Book. According to there site- "First Book provides new books to children in need, addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy – access to books. An innovative leader in social enterprise, First Book has distributed more than 60 million free and low cost books in thousands of communities." For every $2.50 donated, a book is provided for a child in need.

If you are looking to promote reading and provide low income families with books for there children, please consider donating to First Book.

They need not only funding, but volunteers. Please see the site for additional information.

My search for an affordable, yet quality, gift for my nieces/nephews/young cousins is over..... everyone is getting books.

I really need your help....

I've told you about my secret. Well... I had my portion ($2,000) saved. Thanks to my daughters birthday along with a whole tailspin of other stuff I need to come up with $1,200 FAST! Like hopefully in less than two weeks! It's going to be a challenge.

So what's my recourse? Ebay. I've listed a few things already.... and I'm getting ready to post a HUMONGOUS destash. Like an entire laundry basket of fabric, a big bag of yarn/knitting/crochet destash, zippers, I mean just a ton of stuff. I hate to let it go. I truly do. It took a long time to get a respectable hoard! And my scraps... my precious scraps... they are like little honor badges of completed projects. I'm destashing a T-O-N of scraps. I'm not even done taking pictures of the fabric. There's lots. I'll post pics after I list the items. I really hate to get rid of my scraps *tear*. For those who are curious, the scraps include designers like Amy Butler, Sandi Henderson, Jennifer Paganelli, Anna Maria Horner, Freshcut, Michael Miller, Alexander Henry, I mean the list is endless. Tons of scraps. Lots of BIG pieces, lots of cut squares, and lots of awesome scrappy scraps.

So.... I really need your help. Feel free to bid, spread the word, show some love.

Click the link below to check out my current listings!

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZkaytiebugs*boutique

Sometimes

This is a long one, and there’s nothing cutesy-tootsy about it... but try to read through to the bottom.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in day to day activities, responsibilities, hobbies, pleasures, chores, and such that we forget something very important…..

I’m guilty too. Days like today I think in third person, looking down upon myself as though I am so self centered (well, self including family and friends), so concentrated on myself and my family. There are so many other important things going on in the world, and I look down on myself for not being involved in any of them. My heart wants to be, but I find myself making excuses for not…. “I don’t have time,” and “I can’t afford it” are my two biggest excuses. They aren’t reasons, they are excuses.

Sure, right now I don’t have time to join the Peace Corps, I can’t afford to adopt an African baby (although if it didn’t cost $500,000 to do international adoption I’d do my best to adopt as many starving children as I could afford to care for). But I’m certain there’s something I could do.

What can I do to make a difference? Even a small difference is better than none at all. My first thought is to commit to donating a portion of all etsy sales to a charity… probably one dedicated to fighting world hunger, that’s where my heart is.

Every person has there own cause that’s near and dear to them…. mine are more world-wide than local. There’s the ASPCA for the animal lovers, local Women’s shelters for abuse survivors, a medical research charity for every disease ever known to man, etc. Ya just kinda pick with where your heart is.

I personally have a deep compassion for the less fortunate people in the world. Why global and not local, you might ask…. Because here in the good ole USA, we’ve got it MADE. No child in this country will starve due to lack of ability to get food, thanks to charities, churches, food stamps, WIC, and if all else fails… shelters, Family and Children Services, soup kitchens, foster homes… the list is endless. In the USA, even a homeless man who hasn’t even made an attempt to work in 20 years can still get a jacket to wear in the winter, shoes on his feet, and a belly full of food. Here in the USA, you are basically guaranteed medical care for any condition. For the poor homeless man, it may not be the best medical care… but it’s care nonetheless. Even the poor homeless man can get chemo if he’s diagnosed with cancer, or a cocktail if he’s diagnosed with aids… thanks to charities in the USA as well as public hospitals that are not allowed to turn away a patient due to there inability to pay.

I have an idea brewing, but I don’t like to share brand new ideas until I think them through and see if they’ll actually become something… so for now I’m off to think think think and pick a charity to donate a portion of my etsy sales to.

The Store, ramblings, upcoming not for profit, etc

No sales yet, but I just started. I know it's going to take a little while before I get my first sale. I'm waiting patiently. Here are a few things I've got up my sleeve.

I finally took pics of the vintage pillowcase dress. Looking at it folded does not do it justice. Kaytlin and I had a little photo shoot today... here are some of the pics. You can find the listing here... it's a steal at $11. There are more pics in the listing.

I also made a tutu... but I'm going to wait a couple of days to list it. Supposedly it's good to scatter your listings instead of doing a lot at once. I know this isn't your typical tutu.... it doesn't exactly scream Ballerina. But I love it. It's very off-the-beaten-path. The original picture is larger. There are ribbons tied into it as well. I really like the way this turned out. I was thinking punky gothic princess ballerina. It'll be available in all sizes.... I just like the way these full length ones look. I've obviously got some photo editing to do. Kaytlin was funny... I told her to go put it on and come outside. She came outside wearing nothing but the tutu... I had to run inside and grab the first shirt I could find. She was wearing a shirt that somewhat matched to begin with. Og well... this'll work. This tutu says to me 'punky whimsey'... I think that's what I'll call it!

Just a funny side note.... I'm writing this from the breakfast table and I can hear matt belting out some song in the garage while working out. He tries to be so macho.... only I get to see the side of him that sings lil bow wow while jogging. LOL! As I was finishing this up the man beast came in and wiped his sweaty forehead on my arm. ICK EEWWWW!!!!!!!!

Next thing in the works - I bought these 18m capri jeans last year to sew something for my niece... but I never got around to it. I picked up this really awesome fabric... it's this really pretty aqua blue color with flamingos and palm trees on it. The flamingos and palm trees are in vertical lines (I'm not a big fan of lots of small scattered objects on fabric...). I'm going to make a cute top (two layers of ruffles attached to a bodice) and two layers of ruffles added onto the jeans. I wish I knew what brand the jeans were.... they were at Marshalls with the label cut out (only the size label remains). They could be expensive... or they could be cheap. No less, it doesn't matter. I won't be selling it for a huge amount since I just so happened to have the jeans laying around and needed to do something with them anyways.

Oh I almost forgot! Remember that dress I stashed and said I was going to give away? Well, I finished it over the weekend. Here it is! I won't be selling this or anything made with this pattern (well, for the right amount I would, but that amount would be HIGH because this dress was a royal PAIN)

Till next time. PS- leave me comments, I like to see who's reading ;-)

DUUH I forgot to add the 'not for profit' stuff!! I really want to start doing small things (with my scraps), sell them, and donate the profit to a charity of the month. Right now I'm thinking about selling coasters and reusable multipurpose/grocery bags. Thanks to some helpful moms, I think I've come up with a price. $10 + shipping for 6 CUTE reusable grocery bags and $7 for a set of 4 coasters. I wanted my first charity to be something eco related, but I'm having a hard time finding one that I'm comfortable giving money to. Maybe I'll pick something different instead.... plus no one gives a poo about our environment anyways. Got any other suggestions on things I could use my scraps to make and sell? Do tell!