Avast, me hearties!

So, I'm trying to piece together some tidbits for the kiddos "pirate party" for their birthday coming up in a few weeks. You already saw the preliminary invitation...

Well, I was running to Meijer for a late night, odds'n'ends grocery stop and saw these cool (though little) inflatable kids pools. Now, since their party is in the middle of June and the weather is hot, we had already been planning on having a water balloon fight. I even found packs of all black water ballons (intended for 40th b-day parties, I guess), so they could fire "cannon balls" at each other.

But, can you believe it? I found pirate ships!


And the best part? They were clearancing them out already, so they were only $15! So, of course, I picked up two of them so they can split up into teams, load a styrofoam chest (treasure chest) up with cannon balls, and have a real out and out battle! It's a bunch of 4-6 year olds, so I think they'll have a blast!

It's a mystery...

We had perfect weather this weekend. Woke up Saturday to a warm, but drizzly day. It was just right for going shopping for plants for the flower beds and some hanging baskets. There were very few people out and about at the garden centers, so the election was much better!

One of my favorite flowers is the peony.

We found a fabulous deal on a herbaceous peony plant at Home Depot...originally $35, but most recently clearanced to $3! We picked one up on a whim. Now mind you, we have no idea what color of peony we picked (which is why we only got one...), because over time someone had probably switched tags around and the tag on the bucket and the tag on the plant say different things. So, it's a mystery that will have to wait until next summer, but no matter what shade, I'm sure it's bound to be a beauty!



Just a few tidbits I found out while browsing for info on care of this beauty...

Apparently peonies are important in feng shui. Putting a picture or a real peony in the southwest corner of the living room is supposed to bring good luck in marriage to daughters in the house...and potentially romance to the wife...hmmm...but it's a bad idea to put them in the bedroom, because the man of the house may stray. So, better watch where that gets planted...and keep my 3 year old DD away, LOL!

And, the origin of the name "peony" is kind of neat, too...
The peony is named after Paeon (also spelled Paean), a student of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing. Asclepius became jealous of his pupil; Zeus saved Paeon from the wrath of Asclepius by turning him into the peony flower. I'm not sure quite how it was good fortune to be turned into a flower when your teacher got mad at you...but, oh well, they're still beautiful!

There, a botany lesson, Greek history, and feng shui all rolled up in my mysterious, mistagged bargain!

FINALLY!

Okay, well really not FINALLY, FINALLY...but close enough! Remember I mentioned sharing a sneak peek of the digi stamp I was working on for Paperthreads? Well, I can finally share my preview with you...



Isn't it cute? The best thing is that it includes cut lines for those of you who have electronic cutters (like the KNK, wishblade, craftrobo, silhouette, or cricut/SCAL/MTC).




It makes it so easy to complte a great card! I used my copics to color, and added some stickles to the centers of one flower for some "bling". I added a strip of green cardstock cut with some fringing scissors for grass to cover up the base. Final size on this card was 8.5 by 3.5, so it fits in a standard size envelope for mailing.

This file also has the 7 pop-up elements too so you can add extra dimension to your creations. (You can click on these pics for closer looks!)




Thanks for looking and/or commenting!




(Don't forget, if you're looking for the Michael's coupon for Cricut carts it can be found in THIS post.)

You CAN use your "Blue" Wishblade with Vista or Windows 7!

(*** you might want to see the UPDATED version HERE *** )

I've managed to figure out a way that you CAN use your blue wishblade with Windows Vista or Windows 7 machines (both 32 and 64 bit OS). And, you can do it without purchasing additional software. To start with, all you need is the original software your blue WB came with (wishblade advanced and the Wishblade controller) and the tutorial I have linked to below. The only other thing you need is a little patience, some computer knowledge, and a "restore point" set on your machine (just in case something goes awry)!

I've tried to make the tut fairly detailed, with screen-shots to help you along the way.

Oh, and please understand that you must accept my terms of use...the fine point is that you can't redistribute this tutorial without my express permission, so please link others to my blog if they are interested in downloading it themselves. It will asked a password for the download...it's

iagreetotou

Click on the green button to download the tutorial!

Please leave me a comment and let me know if you found this helpful! Thanks!

Cricut cartridges at Michael's for 60% off

Just in case you hadn't heard, it seems like Michael's is trying to thin out some of the older Cricut cartridges. They're the ones previously priced at $69.99, but for the next week (with a coupon) you can pick them up for $27.99!

Everything in its place...

Part of my project this week has been trying to (re)discover all the cool stuff in my "stash". I have so many things, but once you have so much it's easy to let it become overwhelming!

I've wanted to create some kind of storage for all the inking sponges, holders, felt pads, and make-up sponges I use for inking. I found this cool (and CHEAP!) storage case at Hobby Lobby.


(the pic is linked to the online listing if you want more details)

I think it was with the crafting/beading storage, but I picked it up when it was 50% off (all storage) and it was only $1.99 to begin with!

It has nice small spaces to keep each of the colored sponges separately, and I could label them with my Dymo label maker. The only problem was that none of the spaces fit the handle/holder for my sponges or felts. The dividers are relatively tin, though and I was able to snip out a slot with a pair of heavy kitchen snips. The handle now rests in the groove I made.



So, what do you think? What's your recent "bargain" solution?

I've had a busy day...

I've been working on birthday invitations for my kiddos...their birthdays are only 1 day apart from each other (they'll be turning 4 and 6 this year!) Of course, everything I do seems to involve my KNK in some way, and this was no exception. I really wanted to figure out how to do a 3-D pop-up galleon that displayed when the card was opened 180 degrees...but...I had no idea where to begin, and these need to get in the mail this weekend! So, moving on...

First thing was creating the card insert, then cutting on kraft cardstock. You can see one here laying on my Martha Stewart Scoring Board (more on that later...I realized today how much I adore that thing!)


Next, I wanted to define the ship's wheel. I masked the back of the card with a scrap of paper tucked through the wheel and inked with Tea Dye Distress Ink from Ranger.


You can see now how it really lets the wheel "pop" from the background. I used my Sakura Gelly Roll gold pen to make little faux brass rings on the wheel.


Now on to the magic! Once the insert is folded and creased, I added a separate cut out skull in white cardstock over top of the kraft. You can see here a side view showing some of the depth. Now I just need to figure out how to do the outside of the card, print the details for the party, and get them into the mail!

Check it out!

I just had to share this cute pic with you...

debenj (one of the forum members on Paperthreads), had some chalkboard vinyl to use...and since she **LOVES** moose, was looking for a shadow of the great beast.


She used a cutting file silhouette I made to cut her vinyl, applied to the wall of her yummy pumpkin orange kitchen, and voila! Isn't it adorable? A great big moose-y peeking out from the closet. Now, I don't know if you've ever been "up close and personal" with a moose, but let me tell you, I wouldn't want to meet this one in a darkened house, LOL!

It's a perfect spot for a quick note, just to let your family know you're sorry you "Moosed" them!

Starting to organize (again)!

I've been itching to do some more stamping and playing with my Copics...but first needed to do some prep work and organizing. I got the cutest set of red rubber stamps from CC Designs. I just needed to trim them all so they can be stored more easily.


First, I dug out some old CD cases. I traded out with newer slim cases, so that I could use the thicker ones for my project. The backs of the stamps already had foam and cling material mounting, so that made it easy.


I loaded the cases with the rubber stamps, printed inserts with the names for the spines and the front edge, and stamped an example image for the front.


I'll try and share a sneak of a digi stamp I'm working on later this week!

New files in the store!

Thanks for being so patient with me, man it's been forever since I blogged...and I think it's been even longer since I had new files up at Paperthreads...so, without further ado, let me share a few sneaks with you.





and my Stick Figures Sports Collection, perfect add-ons to your vehicle family



So, check out bigger previews and the rest of the 13 new files! Thanks for looking!

PSA - Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec, & Benadryl recalls!

Just to let you know that there has been a fairly extensive recall of McNeil Products for infants and children which includes Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec, & Benadryl. The recall was just announced yesterday! If you're looking for more info, you can check out all the details at their website.