Department of "Huh"? (Why Oh Why Can't We Have a Better Blogosphere? Brad DeLong Edition)

Brad DeLong objects to my recent NY Times column by displaying some Tax Policy Center data that, he says, shows the Bowles-Simpson tax plan is hard on the poor and easy on the rich.  Progressives, he concludes, should oppose the plan.

The problem, however, is the benchmark used in this particular table: current law as of 2015.  Under current law, all of the Bush tax cuts expire, and millions of new taxpayers are hit by the AMT.  That is an outcome that has never been in effect and that neither political party endorses.  It is an artifact of legislative history.

A better benchmark, as noted by Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center, is current policy.  Here are those results.  The implication is exactly the opposite.  All income groups take a hit, particularly those at the top of the distribution.

Komfort Kids Holiday Blanket and Pillowcase Giveaway (CLOSED)

Komfort Kids blankies are a favorite at my house ... partially because they are lovingly handmade by the kids' Aunt Alyssa, but mostly because the blankets are so comfy.   With soft flannel on one side and silky satin on the other, it is sure to be your kid's favorite blankie, too.

Ruby can often be found sucking on the satin binding of her blankie, and Oscar (if I'm not revealing too much) prefers to cuddle up to his "choo-choo" blanket wearing a diaper only.  I can't blame him - who doesn't love the feel of smooth satin on their skin?

The winner of today's giveaway will receive a blanket and pillowcase set from the Komfort Kids Holiday Collection.  It includes a double sided flannel blanket with red satin binding and a soft and cozy flannel pillow case, both made from Michael Miller Yule Trees fabric. The red, green and pink Christmas trees are accented with a fun polka dot print, for just the right holiday touch in your child's bedroom!

 This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks for entering!

If you would love to win, browse the Komfort Kids Etsy shop and leave a comment on this post by November 26th telling me your favorite blanket fabric.


The winner will be randomly selected and announce on November 29th.  This giveaway is available to U.S. and International readers!


You know the drill:

1. There is only one entry per person.  If you accidentally enter more than once, please delete your duplicate comment(s).  You may have to scroll to the end of the comment pages to view yours.
2. Make sure I have a way to contact you!  Either your profile must link back to a public blog, or you must leave me an email address.  Anonymous comments (with no contact information) will be deleted. 

Also, Komfort Kids is offering 20% off your total order using the code "homemadebyjill20."  Happy shopping!

Silhouette SD Giveaway! (CLOSED)

I was over the moon when Silhouette contacted me about doing a second giveaway. It was love at first cut when I tried it for the first time last June, and now it easily ranks in my top 5 favorite crafting tools. I use it for everything - party decorations, wrappings for baked goods, gifts, gift tags, clothes for my kids, etc, etc. It is already coming in really handy (and saving me money) this holiday season for decorations and gifts.

Here are the Silhouette projects I've had up my sleeve lately:

I cut fall leaves to attach as gift tags to yummy pumpkin bread loaves - a great way to dress up your baked goods for gift giving and customizable to any occasion or season.  I cut my leaves nice and large, so there was plenty of room to write a note on the back.

The women's group at my church made 30 sets of Christmas Advent Blocks, using instructions I found at How Does She?  We mod podged the blocks with cute holiday papers and applied vinyl numbers and lettering that I cut on my Silhouette.  At a cost of only $2 per set, this makes a great small gift for just about anyone on your list.

 My friend, Sonja, recently threw a Sesame Street/Elmo themed party for her daughter's second birthday.  She loves paper crafts and was painstakingly cutting out all her Elmo decorations by hand, until I reminded her of my magical machine that cuts whatever you want.  In no time, we had cut alphabet and number garlands and some Oscar the Grouch, saving her time and money.

My Oscar was appropriately grouchy at the beginning of the party until he was allowed to wander off with one of the table decorations (which was filled with "Dorothy"goldfish crackers).

Did you know you can import pictures from the internet or your camera to the Silhouette cutter?  You aren't limited to the (thousands of) images in the online store.  Which means you can cut anything you want.  Which is awesome.

I made lots of onesies over the summer using the Heat Transfer material, and now I am using it to make custom t-shirts for Christmas gifts.   I applied this dinosaur silhouette to one of Oscar's shirts - the tail wraps around to the back.

If you want to make your favorite guy a gift this Christmas, the Heat Transfer is a great option.  It is easy to do and looks so professional.  The hardest part is just picking the design he'll love most!

Ok ... so my new favorite thing to make with the Silhouette is temporary tattoos.  My nephews are all getting silly mustache finger tattoos in their stockings this year.

You actually don't need the Silhouette cutter to make the tattoos - you can buy the tattoo paper, print from your home office, and cut them out with scissors. So if you're looking for the perfect stocking stuffer for your Justin Bieber-crazed tween, or tough to please 9-year old boy, some fun temporary tattoos might be your perfect solution. 

If you still aren't convinced this is the best cutter out there, here are some links to my past projects:

Baby onesies and baby shower decor pantry organization birthday party decor custom t-shirts

So ... on to the giveaway! One very lucky winner will receive their very own Silhouette SD Machine (a $299.99 value). The package includes:

• a Silhouette machine
• Software for Windows XP/Vista, Mac
• Power cable, USB cable
• 2 Cutting mats (one for thick media, one for thin media)
• One cutting blade
• $10 gift card to the Silhouette Online Store

This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks for entering!

You know you want it!  Let's keep things simple ... there is only ONE way to enter: 

Browse the Silhouette website and check out all the amazing things this one machine does.  Then come back and leave a comment on this post by November 26th telling me how you'd use your new favorite craft tool for the holidays.

The winner will be randomly selected and announced on November 29th.  This giveaway is available only to U.S. residents (sorry - international readers!  There are customs issues with the blade.  I'll have other prizes available to you later in the week).  

There are three little rules:

1. There is only one entry per person.  If you accidentally enter more than once, please delete your duplicate comment (you will likely have to scroll to the end of the comments to view yours).
2. Make sure I have a way to contact you!  Either your profile must link back to a public blog, or you must leave me an email address to contact you.  Anonymous comments (with no contact information) will be deleted.
3. You can only win one Silhouette.  If you have won a Silhouette here or anywhere else in blogland, you are no longer eligible.

I'm also excited to announce a special Cyber Monday deal!

It is only valid on Monday, November 29, 2010, starting at 4 am and ending at midnight the same day.

Here's the deal ...the Silhouette will be sold for $199 (originally $299). Silhouette America has NEVER sold these cutters for this cheap! This is the newest version with more capabilities and newest technology - the Silhouette is now Mac compatible.

It gets better ... the Cyber Monday deal will also include:

1 Roll of Cream vinyl ( $7.99)
1 Roll of transfer paper ( $7.99)
1 Home decor CD (Value $55)
Total ($70.98)

All for only $199 - almost $200 in savings!

I'll have the discount code posted bright and early next Monday at 4 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. In the meantime, leave a comment and keep your fingers crossed to win!

Taxes, Spending, and Semantics

Click here to read my column in Sunday's New York Times.

coming up: a giveaway week!

Have I mentioned lately how glad I am that each of you stop by this blog?  It means a lot to me.  Almost four years ago to this day I started this blog with a very slim arsenal of crafting skills.  I didn't even know how to operate a sewing machine!  Since then, I have been amazed to see how this blog has grown and changed.  You've seen me through cross-country moves, a husband in law school, the birth of two children, and many life changes - the amount of support I have received from readers and the craft blog community in general is truly humbling.

To show my thanks, I am hosting an entire week of giveaways, kicking it off on Monday with a big ticket item I already know you'll love.  I'm sure it will be a busy week for my U.S. with holiday travel, preparations, and activities, but hopefully you won't be too busy stuffing your face to win some fabulous prizes.  ;)

I'll also be sharing new projects, and of course, posting the weekly Advent Sew-Along update, so there will be something for everyone!

advent sew-along: your ornament questions answered

I'm hearing a few common questions concerning the advent ornaments - how many layers are they? How do you hang them?  How do you sew a blanket stitch edge?  I don't know how to embroider - where can I learn the stitches?

Here is how I make them:

• Each ornament is two layers, because I like to hide my messy stitches and knots inside.  The top layer is decorated, and the back is a solid color, plus the thread loop.
• When I am doing little felt strips, like on this candy cane, I cut them much longer than necessary.  After they are sewn on, I trim the edges to fit.  This way, they are always the perfect length and don't get sewn on crooked.
• I am using a full piece of embroidery thread (all 6 threads) for my ornament hanging loop.  I simply tie a knot in the thread, make a loop though the back piece of the ornament, and tie a second knot inside to close it off.
• Embroidery is a valuable skill and just takes a little bit of practice!  Stitch School is an excellent blog to check out if you want to learn many embroidery stitches.  Here is a link to the blanket stitch, specifically.

One of my favorite parts of this advent project is I've been able to use this box of embroidery thread.  My mom brought it to me when Ruby was born.  It originally belonged to a much larger set of my grandma's thread collection.  She was an avid (and talented, I might add) cross-stitcher.  I love that I have a little bit of my grandma's supply sewn into every ornament!

The Progressivity of Bowles-Simpson

Howard Gleckman reports,

The Tax Policy Center has taken a preliminary look at one version of the tax plan offered by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson. And Paul Krugman & friends can rest easy. The Bowles-Simpson proposal is indeed an across-the-board tax increase-- and a fairly progressive one at that. In 2015, the lowest earners would face an average cut in their after-tax income of 3.4 percent or about $400. Middle-income households (those earning an average of about $60,000) would see their after-tax incomes fall by 4 percent or about $1,900. On the other end of the economic food chain, the top one percent of earners (who earn an average of about $2 million) would lose about $77,000 (5.3 percent) while the top 0.1 percent would see their after-tax incomes cut by nearly 8 percent, or close to $500,000.

The TPC estimate comes with a number of caveats. It assumes essentially the law we had in 2009. The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts still apply in 2015, about 25 million middle-income households continue to be protected from the Alternative Minimum Tax, and the 2009 estate tax is back on the books. Given political realities these days, that guess is a good as any, but it is a guess....

The TPC estimate is also static, thus it assumes no behavioral response to the proposed tax law changes. However, thanks to lower marginal rates and the smaller deficit in the overall plan, the economy could grow faster than the co-chairs predict and generate more tax revenue....

Thus, Bowles and Simpson have a clear goal: They want to raise taxes across the board while lowering rates. And TPC’s preliminary projections suggest that’s pretty much what they’d do.