If you follow along on Facebook, you may have seen my new business cards.

(Crappy cell phone pic)

They don’t really “go” with my current blog design.  I’ve got a new one in the works, which you should be seeing shortly.

I ordered from UPrinting based on the recommendation of paper nerd and print snob extraordinaire Lara (from Announced Design).

I placed my order on March 21st and had my cards in my hot little hands March 28th.  Nice, right?  (And plenty of time left to order before SNAP!, in case you haven’t done that yet!)  I went with the glossy paper and I’m seriously IN LOVE.  I didn’t have any issues with image formatting (which has happened in the past with other companies).  I want you to know that these cards weren’t freebies and that I spent my own real money on them.

The only thing I’d change?

Next time I might spring for the die-cut business cards with the rounded corners.

I guess I could just get busy with my corner rounding punch instead…

So, what’s in it for you?

In addition to a bunch of their fabulous printed items (canvas print, custom stickers, business cards, magnet printing, custom postcards), UPrinting is giving away an iPad!

There are several of us participating in this giveaway, so to make entering easy and central, we’re using Rafflecopter.  You don’t have to leave a million comments either.  Nice, right?

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Guess what I’ve got!

A fat quarter bundle from the delightful Riley Blake Daisy Cottage line.

NOTE: This fabric is NOT laminated like the stuff I used for my shower curtain.  This just regular old (fabulous) quilting cotton.

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment on this post (on the blog, not on Facebook or in response to your email subscription) telling me what you’d make with this bundle of awesome.

OPTIONAL ENTRIES (leave a separate comment for each one):

Like Riley Blake on Facebook

Follow Riley Blake on Pinterest

***3 possible entries per person***

Giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and over only and closes Saturday, March 31st at noon MST.  Winner will be chosen at random using a WordPress Plugin (And The Winner Is…) and notified by email.  Winner has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

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sharing a SUPER easy shower curtain tutorial over on the Riley Blake Designs blog.

Go here for the tutorial.

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Confession:  In high school I took ceramics and social dance for my art credit.

Why?

can’t draw.  Like, not at all.  I think I’m too uptight or something.  I also can’t paint.  My grandma tried to teach my brother and I to oil paint one summer.  It didn’t end well.  I wonder if my mom still has my floating peach painting somewhere…

You know that you can draw with your Silhouette, right?  I made some art for above my headboard a couple of years ago:

(You can read all the details here.)

One of the features of the Silhouette Studio® Designer Edition software is the ability to change pretty much ANY of the designs into a sketch.

Macy loves old cars (specifically ‘55 Bel Airs).  Her bedroom makeover (which I have big plans to finish before the end of April) was inspired by some classic car prints.  I found a car design in the Silhouette Online Store:

I ungrouped the design:

I stacked the design pieces on top of each other in the software, like you would if you were assembling the design out of paper:

And then I grouped them back together so I could resize/flip/whatever without undoing all my hard work:

Then choose the sketch menu and whichever sketch option you like:

I’m a fan of the “continuous” option myself. 

I started out with a silver pen, because I thought it looked like a pencil sketch, but the pen died on me.

I decided to try a couple of different glitter pens instead.

Fun, right?

And just a friendly reminder about the current Silhouette promotion:

Silhouette CAMEO™ + Silhouette Studio® Designer Edition = $269.99

That’s a savings of almost $80!!!

Go here to add the bundle to your cart and, as always, use code “CRAP” to take advantage of the savings.

If you already have a CAMEO and just want to pick up the software, it’s 50% off using code “CRAP” as well.

The promo runs through the 28th.

See you soon!

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Briefly:

Silhouette CAMEO™ + Silhouette Studio® Designer Edition = $269.99

That’s a savings of almost $80!!!

Go here to add the bundle to your cart and, as always, use code “CRAP” to take advantage of the savings.

I used the Silhouette Studio® Designer Edition software in my post yesterday about painting a polka dot mailbox.  I’ll be back with another project later (need some light for pics).  In the mean time, here’s a little run down on the other features:

Silhouette Studio® Designer Edition contains all the same functionality as Silhouette Studio® plus the following designer features:

• Ability to open, manipulate, and cut .svg files

  Rhinestone tools to convert designs into rhinestone templates and create your own rhinestone designs
  Sketch tools to convert designs into several styles of sketchable art
  Creative knife tools to allow you to clip designs using different patterns
  Enhanced eraser set to modify designs with more precision
  Built-in ruler and guide lines for precise alignment and drawing

• Happy Thursday!

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When the nice folks at Lowe’s told us that our challenge for the month was a “bird retreat”, I was not excited.  See, I DETEST birds.  They’re basically just rats with feathers, right?

My first idea was to take a picture of my dryer vent, because heaven knows there’s a bird in there every. single. morning.  And you can totally buy dryer vents at Lowe’s, right?  While this idea was a terrible one, it got the wheels turning and got me started thinking about other things that could become a bird retreat…like this mailbox:

(The how to on the polka dots will be in a separate post, probably tomorrow.)

I went to Lowe’s and picked up some supplies:

I got a mailbox (it’s the oversized kind), birdseed, chain, some little locking link things (close up picture later in the post), eye bolts, washers, nuts (which led to an exchange that embarrassed Macy so badly she hid on another aisle, but that’s a story for another time), drawer pulls, and machine screws.

The other 2 items in the picture are a vintage bottle hummingbird feeder and pre-mixed nectar.  Once the snow stops, I’ll hang it near the mailbox birdhouse for the ultimate bird retreat.  The vintage bottle feeders are about $15 at Lowe’s and frickin’ cute.  They also come in clear.

The first thing you’re going to want to do is mark where your eye bolts will be mounted (one at the front, one at the back).  A dry erase marker works fabulously for this.  I marked the center of the mailbox ends and then moved in about an inch from that mark when I made my holes.

Next, take a hammer and nail and tap the nail on your mark just enough to make a dent.  The dent keeps your drill bit from bouncing around once you start drilling.

Using a drill bit just bigger than your eye bolt, drill a hole in the mailbox.

Once your holes are drilled, put an eye bold through each one and fasten it securely on the inside with a washer and a nut.  You might need a wrench to get it really tight.

(Obviously not tightened, but I wanted to show you what I meant.)

Next, I decided where I wanted my drawer pulls turned bird perches mounted.  I marked the door of the mailbox

and then followed the same hammer and nail/drilling procedure that I used for the eye bolts.

Put the drawer pulls on using 1/2” machine screws.  The ones that come with the pulls are meant to accommodate a cabinet door, not a mailbox (strange, right?), so they’re too long.

Using these locking links (not the real name…you find them by the chain)

attach chains to your eye bolts.

I cut a piece of 2 X 4 the width of the mailbox and pounded it into the gap between the box and the door.  It keeps the seed from falling out and keeps the door open.  It fit in so tightly that I didn’t need to screw it in place, but you could for sure do that if yours doesn’t fit as tightly.  Somehow I missed photographing this step, but you can see it in the finished product pictures.

Keep in mind that I woke up to this:

So, it’s not hanging in an actual tree.  And I’m a wuss whose neighbors were staring, so some of the pictures were taken indoors.

(There’s a good shot of the piece of 2 X 4)

The birdseed goes here:

It holds quite a bit more than you’d think.

Don’t have a tree or a covered porch to hang it from?  You can buy pre-assembled mailbox posts (Lowe’s carries them for about $25) and could stick it in a flower bed or a garden.

Fun, right?

I’m glad Lowe’s got me to stretch a bit this month.  It felt good to get creative.

Don’t forget to pick up a FREE Subscription to Lowe’s Creative Ideas Magazine:

You can also find Lowe’s Creative Ideas on Facebook.  (They’ve moved, so if you “liked” them before, you should “like” them again!)

And, now there’s a Lowe’s Creative Ideas blog.  Go have a look around.  You might recognize a face or two.

Disclosure:  Lowe’s provided me with a gift card for supplies for my bird retreat.

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Hey!  It’s me.

I’m not dead.

Where have I been?  You know…around.  Lots of mom-ing.

(Gratuitous kid pic)

Macy’s the stage manager (or something) for the school play so there have been a lot of practices.  We also had PT conferences (YAY for good ones all around!) and a couple of days off school.  I’ve got several things that I’m working on (a Scribble Shop challenge, my Lowes project this month, a Rile Blake tutorial), so I promise a bunch of posts soon.

In the mean time, I’ve got a little something for a lucky reader in the Northern Utah area.

Last week, my friends The Crafting Chicks threw a little get together for bloggers AND their families.  (Tangent:  I freaking love The Crafting Chicks and I already have dibs on being the new chick if one of them dies, so don’t even try to get in on that action.)  They invited us all up to Get Air Sportsplex for a night of jumping (if your bladder works properly), pizza, and fun.

Some bloggers decided to show off a little:

Some kids decided to show off a little:

Some husbands decided to show off a little:

They had some great sponsors for the night, so we walked away with a bunch of goodies, too.  Who doesn’t love baker’s twine and mustaches from Pick Your Plum?

And, what about these super cool Lyke Watches.

Macy told me exactly which colors to pick and I probably will never see them again.

The folks at Get Air were also kind enough to give us each a birthday party for up to 10 people to give away!

Cool, right?

So, if you’re in Northern Utah or if you come to Northern Utah or if you have a friend or family member who lives in Northern Utah and you’d like to win a 10 person party ($140 value!!!) at Get Air, LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS POST.

Giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and over only and closes Saturday, March 17th at noon MST.  Winner will be chosen at random using a WordPress Plugin (And The Winner Is…) and notified by email.  Winner has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

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And what happened with Google Friend Connect?

Well, it’s still there.

Does it still work?

Don’t know.

Can new people join?

Also don’t know.

This sort of feels like that whole Y2K thing.

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