Tutorial Tuesday: Cat House

This week's tutorial is for the cat lover. We all know how our kitties love places to hide and feel secure, so this week's tutorial by Sew Take a Hike will tell you how to make an adorable house, complete with windows, for your kitty!
http://sewtakeahike.typepad.com/sewtakeahike/2010/01/a-cat-house-tutorial.html

A Wonderful & Exciting Week!

I'm not by nature a depressed type of person. I'm usually happy most of the time: always joking, always smiling, always laughing, but sometimes life can really get to you. Especially if you are experiencing hard times--which I have been. Through it all I have tried to remain optimistic and my usually jolly self, but it has been harder and harder to accomplish this. I know I am certainly not the only one to have problems and feel down sometimes, so I know most people can relate to what I've been going through.

After two weeks of feeling depressed because of financial reasons, I have finally had a wonderful week. I cannot tell you how much it was needed. The first thing to happen was that I got a call from the Census Bureau asking me if I was still interested in a job. Since I haven't worked in over a year, the answer to that was, "Um, YEAH!". So I start training on the 27th. It's only temporary (maybe a couple of months) but it pays well and I REALLY need the money. So it is certainly good news.

The second thing that happened was that I received a $10 gift card in the mail from JoAnn's! Yes, I know, that sounds pretty silly, but I believe all my crafty friends can relate to how exciting this is lol.

The third thing (and don't laugh) was that my hot chocolate man of Wednesday night's "Criminal Minds", Shemar Moore was on Ellen. Oh YUMMY!! I truly enjoyed that! And best of all--he was on Weds afternoon so I got to see him TWICE that day!! Woo hoo! Hey, it's the simple things in life.

Now ALL that happened on Weds. Now let me tell you what happened last night. As I was coming in from outside, I noticed a HUGE hole in the old maple tree stump (if you can call it a stump since it's 5' tall) with a bunch of "shavings" on the ground below it. Naturally, I thought "WTH"?? I asked Mike about it and he said he noticed it when he came home. I of course wondered what in the world could've done that. My first thought was "pileated woodpecker". Ooooooo--more excitement! Let me tell you, I have been waiting for 10 YEARS to see one of these! We hear them across the road in the woods all the time beating on trees but had never seen one.A few minutes later, I had gone into the kitchen to finish my womanly duties (i.e. wash dishes) when Mike called me into the bathroom. Lo, and behold there it was--a pileated woodpecker!! I cannot even BEGIN to tell you how excited I was!! Mike had tried to take a picture of it from the bathroom window but the screen was on and all he got was, well, screen. So he took the screen out of the bathroom and bedroom window so we could try to get a decent shot of it. Naturally, it had flown away by then and night was falling so I didn't think it would come back again that night.

But TODAY--there he was in all his woodpecking glory! And I managed to get a few decent shots!! Hey, what did I say earlier about the simple things in life?

The Winning Bag

And here it is, the winning bag from my bag naming contest! Linda chose a celestial fabric I had in stock and I used a purple fabric with swirling starts for the lining and handles. I think it's just the neatest bag I've ever seen! Linda plans to use her X-Factor bag for her knitting projects! Congrats again, Linda and I hope you enjoy your new bag!

Tutorial Tuesday

For this tutorial Tuesday, I have a video link on how to make a customized card using a paper napkin. This is so neat! Will have to try it myself. If you make any of these, would love to see your creations! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hpqpeljWd4

And the Winner Is...

Today is the day I picked a winning name for my new style of bag. Let me just say, ALL of the name choices were so great! I had a very hard time deciding which one to choose. But I did choose one. I like the "X-Factor" bag that Linda suggested. Be assured, however that there were quite a few runners-up! I want to thank all of you for participating!

So, Linda, you can visit this link to see fabrics I have in stock. Just let me know what bag size and fabric you'd like (also your address of course) and I'll get your bag made! http://lilbitsassyfabrics.shutterfly.com/
Email: lilbit-sassy@hotmail.com

Name That Bag Contest

I am so in love with this new bag! I love the style, the size, and I especially love how the bottom looks. I plan to make this bag in several sizes:
small (approx. 6" x 6")
medium (approx. 7" x 7")
large (approx. 8: x 8")
The one pictured is a medium. When opened, it looks like a square bucket. It has two inside pockets and closes with a loop that fits over a button on the front of bag. The large bag will also have the choice of a front outside pocket.

The only problem I have is finding a name for it, so this is what I decided to do: whoever comes up with the most creative name will win one of these in their choice of size and fabric! I will leave this contest open until Friday, April 2nd (don't want to announce a winner on April Fool's Day--they might think it's a joke!). So, let's hear those creative name suggestions! You can also enter as many times as you wish!

Challenging Children

My great niece and nephew are the sweetest kids in the world, however, when it comes to gifts, they can be quite the challenge! I don't mean that they are difficult to please, I just mean that they really love to challenge my creativity. Not that I mind. I love a good challenge.
When asked, Tyler said that he wanted a bat doll for his birthday. Ooookay. Who knows where five year olds come up with their ideas. So, to the drawing board I went to try and create a bat doll for him. I actually used a Bit of Whimsy Mollie Monkey pattern for the body but still had to come up with a face, wings, and legs. So, I did manage that quite well. I made the body with black suede and the ears, wings and legs from black cotton that has a gray swirl pattern. I think it came out rather cute!Tyler's sister Kayden's birthday is next week. I asked if she'd like a girl doll with a couple of skirts. Nope. Not at all. But what she WOULD like was a robot doll. Yellow. A big doll. A girl one. Here we go again! This time I used my robot blankie as a template for the head. I made it a bit smaller because the blankie pattern was a bit big. That was the easy part. Then I had to figure out how to do the arms and legs. I looked around on etsy to see how people were doing their robot hands (I already had an idea for the legs/feet)and saw that most were doing claw-like hands. I'm not very good at drawing (can't even draw stick people) so even something so simple as claws were a challenge for me, but I managed. And so here is Kayden's big girl robot doll in yellow.

Can hardly wait for their next birthdays to roll around.

Make Your Own Bubble Mailers

I have decided to make Tuesdays "Tutorial Tuesdays" on my blog! Every Tuesday I will post a craft tutorial. These will be sewing, crafting, crocheting, etc. The first tutorial will show you how to make your own bubble mailers. Imagine the smile on the recipient's face when they receive something in a mailer that you made yourself with fun patterned paper! They are easy to do and you do not need a lot of materials.

Here is the link:
http://blog.shoplet.com/office-supplies/diy-custom-bubble-mailers/
Would love to see pics of your handmade mailers!

Getting My Craft On

It seems that lately I've been focusing more on cross stitching and sewing so I haven't crafted in quite some time. So, Monday morning I got the urge to do some crafting instead of sewing. I had bought a few supplies some time ago but just never got around to doing anything with them (I'm the only one that does this right?). I happened to find some jumbo paper clips and wondered what I could make with them. As it happened, I have a bookmark that is made with a large paper clip. It has a rubber frog on top of it (love that bookmark!). I thought I could make bookmarks with the clips, but what could I use for decoration? Ah-Ha! I have covered buttons! So I dug out some scrap fabrics and my covered buttons and proceeded to make four bookmark clips. I love how they turned out. And they were so cute, I decided to put them in my Artfire and eCrater shops.Since making the bookmark clips was so fun, I decided I would do some more crafting. Last night, being Tuesday, there was nothing on TV I wanted to watch, so while watching Celebrity Apprentice on Hulu, I made some barrettes. Some were made with mini roses and some were made with bug buttons I happened to have (no end of supplies in this house). I think they turned out rather cute. They're also listed in my Artfire and eCrater stores.

What's Cool About This Country

People that know me, know I love this country. They also know that I believe in my 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms. They also know I enjoy guns and target shooting. Having said this, let me tell you one reason why this country is great:

Today me, Mike, and Mike's buddy Kevin went to a gun raffle. This gun raffle was sponsored by the PA State Police. At this raffle, there were probably 200-300 people. Not radicals, not violent people, not people who were ready to "rise up" against the government...just regular folks like you and me. And while sitting there observing all these people having a good time, meeting with friends, meeting new folks who also shared their interests, it occurred to me that I love this country and the people in it. No, let me restate that: I am IN love with this country and the people in it.

Now some might say that because these people--these regular folks--would be "crazy" or "violent" because we were, after all, at a GUN raffle trying to win GUNS. And we were also drinking FREE beer!! Lions, and tigers, and bears OH MY! Alcohol and firearms, why someone is bound to get hurt! Don't be shocked--no one did. No fights broke out, no protests were held, and at the end of the day, everyone left as peacefully as they came. Some happier than others because maybe they had won a gun or some other prize they were raffling off.

Oh, and did I mention that it was held by the PA STATE POLICE? Oh, I think I did. Did I also mention how many officers were actually there--off duty---enjoying the raffle themselves? A LOT. So much for crazy, gun toting Americans!

Deals of the Day

I love a bargain! Yes I do. And today I got one that I'm SO excited about! I had to pay a visit to my local JoAnn's store to buy more felt for my counting book (still in the process of making it but will post when finished). While there, two of the associates were trying to decide which tote they wanted to purchase. Then one of them informed me that these totes were on sale for $4.99--they were regularly $14.99!! Well, I had to go take a look for myself.

So I walked around the corner and couldn't believe what a bargain it was! These are nice sized totes--big enough to carry my laptop (which is what I plan on using it for), they have two side pockets (one inside, one out), PLUS they are reversible! Thick batting is also used between the fabrics to give it a very cushy feel--perfect for protecting my laptop. They only had three colors to choose from, but since I'm not picky, that was fine by me! This blue one is the one I chose.

Another bargain I got today was this adorable pattern. It's by Simplicity and they are also on sale for $1.99 each. I love it! I can't wait to make some of these cute baby things!

Cupcakes & Ice Cream

Isn't it funny how certain items become popular? I always wonder how these things start. Who decides what is to be popular and what is not? And once something does become popular, why must we all have it? I have noticed that cupcakes are the "in" thing right now. Not just the food itself, but anything having to do with cupcakes. You see them all over: shirts, purses, toys, book covers, even wall art.

With that in mind, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and make some cupcakes. Not the kind you eat (to be honest, I'm not much of a "cake" eater. I know, I know, there's something wrong about that)but rather the kind you can hang on your wall. And they turned out cakefabulous if I do say so myself! These would be SO cute hanging in your kitchen, bakery, craft room..even your little girl's room!And what would a cupCAKE be without a little ice cream to go along with it? So, I made ice cream cones too! They are creamtastic! Best of all, these could go in boys' rooms (the girls can't have all the fun!).So if you're hungering for some cute wall decor, drop in my shop and buy yourself a half dozen cupcakes and a couple of ice cream cones! I can also customize these in colors of your choosing too of course :)

Redesigned Teething Toys

If you had read my previous post you know that I and other sellers have had problems with a certain patent. Due to this, I have decided to redesign my teething toys to prevent etsy from pulling my toy sets yet again. I must admit, it does irritate me to no end that I have to do this because of this woman who seems to have the idea that no one other than herself may use ribbon loops on any baby items.

Be that as it may, I did sew on my ribbon loops in another fashion before I decided to just redesign them altogether. Since her patent reads that the ribbon has to be sewn INSIDE a seam, I decided to sew them to the OUTSIDE back of the toy. Now, this probably would've worked, but there was a bit more work involved and it was a bit more difficult to topstitch neatly around the toy while making sure the ribbon stayed in place.
So, because of this, I just decided that a redesign was in order. So, my NEWLY designed teething toys only have ONE ribbon loop that holds the teething ring. Because I can no longer put more loops around the toy, I decided I needed to add something to make up for the loss of the ribbons. So I put a squeaker inside! Maybe babies would actually prefer the squeaker to the ribbon loops anyway. After all, they do like making noise lol.
So, there you have it. And to be quite honest, I hope I sell more of these than "you-know-who" sells of her TAGGIE blankets and toys! So there!

Patent Problems

As some of you may know, some sellers on etsy and ebay have had some of their handmade baby toys/blankets removed because of patent infringement. There is a company called Taggies, Inc and they are going to handmade selling sites, stores, online shops, etc. getting baby toys/blankets that have ribbon loops on them removed because they infringe on their patent. The woman who has the patent is named Julie M. Dix.

Now, according to quite a few people, these toys/blankets have been around for quite some time (as far back as the 70's) so for this person to have a patent on something she didn't quite "invent" herself is beyond belief, but to have items removed is even worse. Especially when some of these items are obviously not infringement. I did find out that if it can be proved these items were actually made (via photo, article, etc.) before 2003, then it would make her patent null & void since, apparently, she is NOT the inventor of these toys/blankets.

There are a great number of sellers out there who are getting very weary of her antics. She has gone above and beyond to harass some sellers. It is my belief that she has a serious power trip going on. She seems to think that using ANY ribbon loops on ANY type of item is infringing on her patent. She also seems to think she owns any word associated with "taggies". While she may have copyrights to the word "Taggies", as far as I am concerned, she does NOT own the words, "tag", "taggy", or any other word of that nature.

I have had my teething toy/wrist rattle sets removed because of this woman. And I am more than a little infuriated. I have revamped them and relisted them on etsy. I opted to cut my ribbon loops so that they are now separate pieces of ribbon. I left one loop to hold the teething ring. This should not infringe on her patent since I only have one loop (her patent refers to having loops ALL the way around the toy).
But, we shall see what happens because it appears that etsy won't get into this mess and if she says someone's toy/blanket infringes on her patent, they just seem to pull it without reading the patent themselves to verify this information. Which also infuriates me. Etsy has said that they are only a marketplace and therefore won't get into any legalities. However, I do think they owe it to their customers to at least make sure their items infringe on a patent before they take said patent holder's word for it and just pull items.

Art Aprons

I decided to take a break from my Christmas crafting (yes, that’s right, I said “Christmas”) to try something new for my shop. I hadn’t listed anything new yet this year and thought that I really needed to do that. So, I perused my ideas list and decided to try my hand at making art aprons for kids.

Normally when I start a new project, I get a bit excited and nervous at the same time. Excited because I love to create. Nervous because there is always that fear that things won’t work out how I would like and I will be forced to give up. Not that I’m a quitter! It takes quite a few tries at something before I will actually give up on it. Mostly because I’m stubborn and I. MUST. WIN.

With this in mind, I was quite surprised at how fun and easy these aprons were to make! So fun in fact, that I’ve made three of them in the past two days (all three are listed in my shop) which is pretty good for me since I’m usually a one- project-a-day kind of person.Oh, and not only were they fun, but they were a great way to use the HUNDREDS of fat quarters I have in my stash J Ok, that last was a bit of an exaggeration, but you know what I mean!

Logo Bookmark Tutorial

I truly appreciate my customers. As a thank you, I like to enclose a free gift with every order. Something small, yet something that will let the customer know I appreciate their business. I've been giving away corner bookmarks, but I thought, "What about full sized bookmarks"? And wouldn't it be neat if I could put my logo on them so the customer would remember my shop? So, how to do it?

I decided to use my shop banner for my design. I resized it to 35% (you may have to play around to get yours the correct size)and printed it out. Then I cut around it with decorative scissors. I cut it small enough that I could put a background behind it to make it "pop" a bit more.Next, I needed to make a background. I used solid color card stock (but you can use designed card stock if you wish). Using my bookmark lamination sheet (mine measures 2 1/8" x 6" but you can buy them in various sizes), I made a template. You will have to make this slightly smaller than your lamination sheet. If you are using 4"x6" or 5"x7" sheets, you can make these any size you wish. Just cut them out after you've laminated them. I drew as many backgrounds as I could get onto my card stock sheet. I did manage to get six out of an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet and 12 from a 12" x 12" sheet.Apply double sided tape to the back of your design. Center over your card stock background and tape into place. I decided to write my shop site on the backside.
Place your bookmark into your lamination sheet and laminate! Now you have a nice little gift to give to your customers!

Why Women Shouldn't Take Men Shopping

Anyone that knows me knows I love a good laugh. My aunt recently sent me this joke and it had me laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. I thought it would be fun to pass along and maybe if you're having a bad day, this will make you forget about it for a brief moment. Enjoy!
*****************************************************
After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Target.

Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunate, my wife is like most women - she loves to browse. Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Target.

Dear Mrs. Samuel,

Over the past six months, your husband has caused quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and
have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against your husband, Mr. Samuel, are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.

1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in other people's carts when they weren't looking.

2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.

3. July 7: He made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom.

4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, 'Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away'. This caused the employee to leave her assigned station and receive a reprimand from her Supervisor that in turn resulted with a union grievance, causing management to lose time and costing the company money.

5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&Ms on layaway.

6. August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area.

7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told the children shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department to which twenty children obliged.

8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?' EMTs were called.

9. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.

10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.

11. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the 'Mission Impossible' theme.

12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna look' by using different sizes of funnels.

13. October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed
through, yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!'

14. October 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!'

And last, but not least:

15. October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paper in here.' One of the clerks passed out.

Being There

My little great nephew Brody (whom I refer to as my little leprechaun)was born on New Year's eve two years ago. I didn't get to see him in person until he was 18 months old. It's very difficult when you live 750 miles away from your family and only see them once a year. Especially when the little ones seem to grow so fast!Because of living so far away, I don't get to go to very many b-day parties or family events. But, thanks to modern technology and the internet, I was fortunate enough to attend little Brody's 2nd b-day party yesterday. How is that possible you ask. Why the answer is just a download away--Skype. I had recently discovered this wonderful program shortly after I received my laptop. My laptop has a built-in camera and I was so excited to discover this because now, even though I can't be at family events and holidays in person, I can still "be" there.Niece Amy and my Brother (her dad) Bub.

So, thanks to Skype I got to visit with family and friends for two hours while they gathered together to celebrate the New Year and little Brody's second year of life. It was a lot of fun and I along with my family, enjoyed it. Now if only they could invent a computer that would let you give real hugs and kisses.Amy (Brody's mom) & her newest, Chase

Reorganization

I am generally an organized person. I like to keep things neat and pretty and in their place. However, sometimes I get distracted (or to be more blunt: lazy) and don’t keep things as organized or as neat as I intend to. During the Christmas holiday, I became quite busy with orders and because of this, I found that I had made a mess of my fabric. I kept telling myself, “When the rush is over, I’ll straighten it all out.” I really did have the intention of doing this, I swear!

After things slowed down, I thought that I had better do something with my fabric mess. While looking at it I also came to the decision that I no longer liked the way I had it arranged. I have had my fabric arranged in different ways twice now. First I had it wrapped around cardboard. Same cardboard they use in the fabric stores only cut down to size. That worked pretty well but I decided to change that because it wasn’t very convenient when I had to unroll all the fabric off the bolt for smaller pieces.

So then I decided to roll it and put it in baskets. That worked pretty well for awhile but when I would buy new fabric, I would have to try to jam it in it’s proper basket. I was running out of room! So I had to figure out another way to organize my fabric.
I was inspired by fabric sellers on etsy and the way they would have the fabric stacked in their pictures. It looked so pretty and neat! But how much room would that take up (I’m limited on space)? Well, what the heck, I decided to try it out.
It took me a couple of tries to figure out how to fold my fabric so it would fit neatly in the metal cubes I use. I did manage to get it accomplished in less than a week though! And I am quite pleased with the way it looks. I can also shuffle through them and see what I have on hand easily enough. I still kept the stacks in themes (animal, baby, novelty, misc, floral, and flannel). That was one thing I didn’t want to change when I decided to reorganize.

I liked the way it looked so much, I decided to do my fat quarters the same (they’re stacked on top of the cubes)! So, how do you like it? If you have any fabric organization tips or techniques, I’d love to hear/see them because, I’m sure, I will reorganize again in the future. I guess I like change.

Are You Scared?

This is Brody.
He's a year old.
He weighs 18 lbs.
He likes to steal his Mom's food after he's eaten all his.
He doesn't care.

Mom is pregnant with his baby brother.
She's hungry.
He doesn't care.

Mom asks for a bite of HER sandwich.
Brody's baby brother is hungry.
He doesn't care.

This is the face Brody makes if she tries to take back her sandwich
Are you scared yet?

And the Winner Is....

The winner of the tote giveaway is Christian!! Congrats!! I'll just need an address so I can send you the tote! Thanks for entering!

The Art Case

Last year I had made my little great nieces and nephews coloring totes for Christmas. They were tote bags that were the perfect size for holding a couple of coloring books and a box of crayons. They absolutely loved them! Being the person I am, I always look for ways to improve some of the things I make (either I'm a perfectionist or just plain anal--you be the judge).

While getting a cross stitch project all ready to work on, I took a look at my project case. Inspiration! Why couldn't I take this same idea and make an art case for kids? Maybe instead of just holding a couple of coloring books and box of crayons, it could hold a bit more. I have had this idea brewing for some time now, but of course as usually happens, it got put on the back burner while I worked on other projects.

A couple of nights ago, I thought to myself: Christmas is coming. I have a few baby items in my shops now, so I should work on something for older children. What about that art case idea?! Sure! Why not? So the other day, I made a sketch of my idea. Then I proceeded to figure out measurements, etc (all the "fun" stuff!). And walla! I have made my first art case! I must say, it turned out quite well--the first time! I know, right? When does anything ever turn out right the first time lol.

So here is the finished product! It will hold 12 crayons and markers (each in it's own pocket), coloring book(s), activity books, or whatever books you choose to put in it. It also has a pouch so your budding artisan can store scissors, stickers, glue, etc. I had planned to put a sketch pad in it, but not quite wide enough. It will hold coloring books and other books though so I'm debating whether I should make it wider for a sketch pad.

So, let me know what you think! I would love to get these listed in the shop ASAP so any suggestions or ideas for improvement will be very much welcome! Also, should I include the supplies (crayons, markers, coloring books) or no? Or should I make that up to the buyer? And most importantly, how much would you be willing to pay for something like this (with or without supplies)?

Tote Giveaway

Are you looking for a new tote but don't want to pay a lot of money? How about a free one? I am having a giveaway for this cute little tote. It would be perfect to carry to the beach (for those of you who aren't freezing this time of year), shopping, or you can use it for your every day bag!

It's made of brightly colored cotton fabrics and contains plenty of pockets to keep your essentials well organized.

Top and lining of bag feature bright blue striped fabric while bottom and handles of bag are black with brightly colored stars. Front and back pockets have brightly colored stripes on a white background.

There are seven various sized pockets inside. Bag closes with a magnetic snap that is located on the tab and body of bag. Batting is used inside of bag for durability and stiffness.

To enter giveaway, just visit either (or both) of my shops and let me know which item(s)you like best.
www.LilBitSassy.zibbet.com
www.LilBitSassy.etsy.com

For extra entries, tweet about it, post it on Facebook, blog about it, or follow my blog. Just post separate comments with links.

Giveaway ends Oct. 25th. I will post winner's name on the 26th. Be sure to post a contact link (email, blog, twitter, FB, etc.)

More Interesting Facts

The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury. --Well that might've been true LAST year.

Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.

Coca-Cola was originally green.

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska

The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...)

The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%

The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $16,400

The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour: 61,000

Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair..

The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.

San Francisco cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs -Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987, 654,321

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died because of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.

Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace

Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?
A. Obsession

Q.. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter 'A'?
A. One thousand

Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers have in common?
A. All were invented by women.

Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey

Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?
A. Father's Day

Did you try to lick your elbow?

How Did that Phrase Come About?

It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have, 'Rule of thumb'

Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled 'Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden'.. .and thus, the word GOLF entered into the English language.

In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes, the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase...'Goodnight , sleep tight'

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them 'Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.' It's where we get the phrase 'mind your P's and Q's'

Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. 'Wet your whistle' is the phrase inspired by this practice.

Wrist Rattles

I am so excited about my latest project! I have made quite a few of these and they are so fun! Introducing wrist rattles for babies. They feature cute prints that babies will love. Each of them are stuffed lightly with polyfil and contain bells for a soft jingling sound when baby shakes his/her arm. Velcro on the bands make these fit even the smallest wrist. These are listed in all my shops and would make a great addition to your gift basket--or stocking stuffer! Christmas will be here before long!