Busy week ahead

Busy, busy week ahead. Wrapping up completion of new items for revamped website. Here's just a sample of things to come - 100% cotton padded diaper burp cloths. Both the diaper and flannel fabric have been prewashed for shrinkage prior to assembly. This will make a great baby shower gift for mom or for the loving grandmother.

New Creations coming with revamped website (coming soon!)

Excitement is in the air!  It's finally happening.  Gearing up to go into full production of appliqued and embroidered clothing for all sizes and ages.  Already created a Soccer Mom sweatshirt and more options still coming along.  Has soccer ball fabric appliqued to the navy blue sweatshirt.  Dad's aren't forgotten.  Have one created for the proud Football Dad.  Many sweatshirt colors and sports activities will be available.  Also have choice between 20 Angels with Cancer ribbon to be embroidered on pink T-shirts.  Your choice of a filled design or a line-art design.  75% of Sales during the month of October will go to the www.TheBreastCancerSite.com,   Your Actions Here Fund Mammograms For Women In Need.  25% of shirt sales in other months will be contributed to this cause also.    Hope to get the revamped website up and ready for Christmas sales.  Lots of new and exciting products to see at reasonable prices.  Baby, baby, baby items galore!  Gift basket idea being formed.  You select the items & basket & shipping for free to gift recipient.

Football Dad

Soccer Mom

Breast Cancer Angel #8

Walmart disappointment

I'm just a little irritated tonight. It's not bad enough that our country could default to China at the whim of the Chinese goverment, but I discovered something at Walmart today that just made my heart sick. Knowing what Sam Walton stood for and his belief in the American way of life and trying to have most products made in Amerca, he would certainly be turning over in his grave right now. I was looking at kitchen towels in the linens department of our local Walmart this afternoon. To my shock, they are made in Vietnam. Yes, Vietnam. Has our country gone totally off the deep end? Why are we doing business with a country where we had a war where so many of our young people of the '60s and '70s were killed or came home as drug addicts or have PTSD? The war made no sense then and it still does not make sense in the history books.

Is product production in 3rd world countries going to take precedence over common sense? In market reports approximately a week ago, the journalist suggested that Walmart is going to start having a rough time with trade in China soon. The Chinese government is going to soon be reevaluating their currency. Does this mean more and more things will be made in Vietnam? This is truly a slap in the face of all those who served in that non-declared war.

Another slap in the face has also been to all the women who were in the class action suit against Walmart for job discrimination. The judge threw the case out because there were too many plaintants in the suit. Huh? That's what a class action suit entails. Helen Walton, spouse to Sam Walton, was a driving force behind his success and continued on with her philanthropic outreaching until her death in 2007. Had they not joined together as a team to purchase a Ben Franklin Store back in 1945, success may not have been as easily attained. Would Helen be satisfied with the way women have been forced to take a back seat in the company both she and Sam so proudly nurtured? There are many issues Walmart needs to really take a look at because the way they are heading is reminiscent of other retailers who have lost sight of what the origins of the store were all about.

Canned tuna observation

This doesn't have anything to do with the photo albums I create but I do snack while working on them. I was in the mood for tuna fish salad so decided to make a batch. When I make a batch, I mean a batch (8 cans to be exact). Have you ever noticed how tuna is packed in those little cans? I hadn't paid that much attention until I had all of them opened & had drained the liquid onto the dog food. My 3 lab mixes love the tuna water on their dry food. Well, out of 3 different brands of tuna (Star Kist, Bumblebee and Kroger's brand) there was a wide degree of how the tuna looked. There was even a difference within the same brand. Some of the tuna actually looked like tuna and some looked like squished mush. I guess what surprised me was how much difference there was with how the tuna looked within the same brand. I guess it depends on the packing plant but you'd think there would be some type of internal controls the various brands would demand. Really look at your food the next time you eat. It can be very interesting!

Miss Kate's Creations: What is going on with manufacturing in this countr...

Miss Kate's Creations: What is going on with manufacturing in this countr...: "Today's blog is going to depart slightly from promoting my business, however, to a certain extent it still relates. Do American manufacture..."

What is going on with manufacturing in this country?

Today's blog is going to depart slightly from promoting my business, however, to a certain extent it still relates. Do American manufacturers think we are all idiots??? I lived through the cotton shortage in the mid-1990s and was able to switch over to polyester batting for my products. Took a little bit of getting use to working with poly but it was worth it in the long run. There is also a major cotton shortage stemming from the tsunami where most of the worlds cotton is grown. I can deal with things like this and understand why prices for fabric are what they are.

However, earlier this week I baked a red velvet cake and although you can place the cake mix in a 13x9 pan, it doesn't even begin to fill the cake pan like it did in the 70s, 80s, or even 90s for that matter. Either the cake mix has been reinvented or the boxes have become smaller. I remember when the cakes rose to the top of the pan and you actually had to be careful putting the lid on the cakepan because the frosting would get in the inside of the lid. The only way that happens now is if you actally combine two cake mixes together in one pan.

Then, I thought I'd buy some Purity ice cream at Kroger's today while picking up some other items I needed for a recipe I was making. Since when did almost all icecream manufacturers start selling 1-1/2 quarts instead of 1/2 gallons????? This is really ripping off the consumer and the difference in the size of the container is so obvious. Yet the price is still the same for the smaller container. I paid $10 for 3 1-1/2 quarts of various flavors of Purity. Purity is local here in Nashville, but this slight of packaging doesn't only pertain to them. The only brand in the icecream case which has their original size packaging is Blue Bell icecream which is 1/2 gallon and that is part of their advertising and sales marketing. I wasn't aware of a cow or milk shortage or for that matter a sugar and ingredient shortage to create a smaller container for selling icecream.

I began my business in March 1991. I have NEVER raised my prices during the past 20 years I have been in businss. Although some of my supply prices have raised over the years. I determine a price for a product and then stick with it. Granted, I haven't made a fortune over the past 20 years, but things have worked out in the end and I have spurts of selling and get a few wholesale accounts to service. I just haven't had extra money for the big bang advertising to really keep my products out there in front of the buyers. Like I did back in the 1990's prior to me getting married in 2001. My products were right out there for the consumer to see in the serveral shopping malls I mainained my kiosk in for months at a time.

It just really irritates me how prices can raise and you get a littler amount for your money. I would certainly like to complain to Duncan Hines for the cake mix and Purity Dairy for the ice cream, but it probably wouldn't do any good. You're more likely to get a coupon for another product when you actually complain about the taste of a product like I did with a Healthy Choice Ginger Chicken entree. It was way too spicey for my tastebuds and I sent an email to Conagra complaining. I did get to fill out a consumer survey with my opinion and was sent a coupon for a free item of my choosing of another Healthy Choice Entree.

I would like to encourage readers to write in about what they have noticed dwindling in size and the price not going down and in many situations actually rising.

Mother of the Bride brag book

The latest addition to my website www.misskatescreations.com is a Mother of the Bride brag book. Holds 100 4x6 photos. I have been wanting to create something like this for a long, long time and finally got motivated enough to do it. Next item on the list will be a Mother of the Groom design but need something just slightly different.