Craft Wars: Episode 4

This episode was one that one after my own heart for both challenges.

The pop challenge was to design a keepsake box from keys and locks.  From the time I was a kid, I was a collector of little boxes full of my stuff.  I'd keep old keys from my first car, the musket ball I made to a colonial town on a class trip in grammar school, a dog biscuit my little sister pretended was a gift to me from our first dog, European coins.  I've had wooden, metal, plastic, glass, and ceramic boxes for them.  I used to have a collection of little boxes on my dresser, now just two.  But I definitely understand the keepsake box idea.  Personally, I'd have grabbed some crazy glue and made the boxes of locks and keys, built them up into a small box with an unattached lid.

That's not what the contestants did, but they had some good ideas.

I still can't decide which was my favorite between the two that kept their creators in.  The one the judges seemed to appreciate most was this gnome house.

One side of the roof flipped up as the lid.  The locks and keys were slight embellishment rather than structure - again - but it was definitely cute and well done.

The other one I really liked was this sandcastle box, which I think is adorable.

I love that the locks actually form the turrets and add to the shape of the box, rather than just being stuck on randomly.  And I liked that it was nicely lined.  Dark blue and tan is a great color combo.  And honestly, unlike the judges, I see no problem with the sand-colored felt covering.  Not everything has to be hot pink and full of glitter.  Sometimes understated is the way to go.  It's perfectly reasonable for a sandcastle to look like... well... sand.  And more than anything else, I really appreciated that when the original plan to paint the box using green paint and a "stencil" of lace didn't work out, she recovered and came up with a new plan on the fly, not easy with a one-hour challenge.  I know she was criticized for trying glue and felt over wet paint, and I know you could see a bit of green seeping through the felt, but overall, she did the best she could with what she had and thought fast.  That's a valuable skill in a competition like this.

I just wish I'd been there to help with the original paint-and-lace plan, which could have been cool.  After all, I'm used to using unconventional "stencils."  I regularly use punchinella to create monster and lizard scales on my face paintings, after all.

The trick is to make the paint you're using with a stencil a little more dry than you normally would want it.  That way it won't seep under the edges.

Sorry I'm being so wordy, but I suppose I've been avoiding the third pop challenge entry.  It was... well... it was... Oh hell, it was atrocious.  I really don't like to insult people, especially other creative crafty people, but this was bad.  It was kind of a contrived idea, since I've never known a tooth pillow to need a case.  And a fallen tooth isn't actually a "keepsake," per se.  It's not like kids want to keep their teeth; they want to trade 'em in for the prize money.  I don't mind the actual theme of the box, though.

It wasn't all her fault, I suppose.  It's tough when you have to delegate.  When the friend she brought as an assistant showed her that felt tooth that was going to be used on the pillow and asked if it was OK, I could see in the crafter's face that she really wanted to say no.  She just knew she had no time to redo it.

I don't think I've ever seen a tooth pillow, though, without a pocket for the tooth.  It's not a ring bearer pillow, people.  And even those have ribbons to tie on the rings.  Think about the logistics of this sucker.  Tooth falls out, kid pouts the tooth on the pillow & closes the lid.  Kid goes to sleep, expecting a home-invading fairy to show up, spirit away the tooth, and leave some dough.  Parent posing as tooth fairy sneaks into sleeping kid's room, wrestles open the box lid, and - oh no! - the tooth has rolled off the pillow and become secreted beneath.  Parent's got to fish around, wasting time and risking waking and un-deluding the poor kid, find the tooth, leave the money, and put the lid back.

Not the best idea.  And the randomly stuck-on keys on the wings?  I didnt' get 'em either, much as I liked the keys used as a wand.

I liked the crafter, but was definitely not fond of her craft.  The judges were right to cut her loose.

So... the big challenge, also close to my heart.  Wedding!  Yes, I know Eric and have been married for over 3 years, but I can't help it, I still love wedding-related stuff.  Shows, talk, pretty much everything.  So I was happy at the concept.  And I liked the idea of using old/new/borrowed/blue in the form of baby blankets, invitations, candlesticks, and jeans to made something wedding related.  Not easy, especially those damned candlesticks that initially confounded both contestants, but cool.

So... sandcastle crafter chose to make a photo booth setting.  It was pretty nifty and a decent idea.  And I really wanted her to do well.  I loved her signs and garlands, but I think as a background for the photo booth  those garlands would be too busy.  And I agreed with the judges that the bench cover was terrible, uneven, and just thrown on and the pompoms kind of didn't work.

Her use of the candlesticks, though, was phenomenal.  I think that might've been the best single detail between both of the challenge crafts.  She rigged them with light bulbs, flipped them upside-down, and used them to light the photobooth from the top.

The other contestant chose to do a wishing tree.  It was a neat concept, though I agree with the judges that the structure of the tree itself wasn't all that aesthetically pleasing.  But I did love the fabric flowers and the garland.  Unfortunately, the only photo on the TLC site kind of sucks.

They really needed to get a photo of this against a white or black or other solid background, 'cause it looked kinda pretty on the show from some angles, much more so than in this shot.  And the candlestick holder for notecards was very cute.  I do agree that hot glue wasn't the best option to hold together the candlesticks and that more fabric flowers showing better among the garlands would've been better.  But though it was a close call, I really felt this one should win.  Yet again, I don't agree with the totality of the judges' critiques, but I do agree with the results.

I was thinking about this.  If I was the contestant, I think I would have made all the floral decor for a wedding.  Fabric & paper flowers from the jeans, blankets, & invitations... and then vases & bases from the candlesticks.  I'd make centerpieces, bouquets, and ceremony decorations.  It wouldn't be one big structure, but as far as I could see from the rules, there was no instruction that it had to be.

So whatcha think?  What would you make?

Craft Wars: Episode 3

Yes, yes, I'm late this time 'round, but hey, bonus!  Two Craft Wars posts this week!  Right now, of course, I'm talking about last week's episode, wherein the pop challenge required the contestants to build toy boxes out of toys.

This was the biggest and most involved one-hour challenge they've tried so far.  Remember, the first week they had gym bags made from gym equipment, then birdhouses made from junk drawer items.  And now full on toy boxes.

I was really happy to see that my favorite one didn't get the crafter sent home, despite the admonitions against her use of felt and spray glue.

Her lagoon monster was just too cute, and definitely the cleanest looking of the three, at least from the vantage point of my living room couch.  I loved the mouth opening & xylophone back, as well as the cardboard brick scales and paddle fins.  I loved the colors and the concept, and think for a single hour, it was executed damn well.

I also thought the robot toy box was very cute in the end, despite his mishap with the wind.

I love the face and antenna, the spring arms, and the fact that he's got two sections for toys.  But again, like the issue I had with the birdhouse challenge, I think using foam core for the structure was a copout move.  In fact, the crafter admitted that she used it because it was faster than wood.

Also, with the initial instruction that the box has to hold up for real, it baffled me that the fact that nothing was said about the fact that foam core for a real toy box wouldn't work; a couple of rowdy kids would beat that thing up in two seconds flat.  And with how the judges harped on the unlikeliness that felt would hold up on a toy box, how could they not question foam core?  On top of that, only the briefest mention was made of those wobbly cardboard legs, when we saw right on screen how unsteady that robot was.  Filled with toys and topheavy, that box would likely land on some kid.

In the end, though, I really wanted the guy to go home.  He builds castles for a living and still didn't properly put together 3 pieces of wood to make a box.  I get that a triangle is funkier than a rectangle, perhaps, and maybe he was going for originality of design, but honestly, a triangle box just really required beveled edges to avoid his fatal flaw - those awful spaces between the sides.  Had he made a rectangle, he could have avoided that problem.  Two other problems I had with his box... for a guy who's not used to covering things in felt (an advantage the monster box creator had, which explained her affinity for the stuff), why on earth would he do that?  The judges were right:  paint.  And yeah, I know he wanted to use felt as a quickie lid for the thing, and maybe he felt that aesthetics called for carrying it through to the walls, but that lid was pretty bad anyway.  Oh, my last big problem with his - if you've read my earlier posts regarding Craft Wars, you may know what it is.  I really can't stand it when the crafters don't use the challenge items in the design, and just slap it on because they're forced to use it.  That's what it looked like this guy did.  "Oh, crap, we need to use these toys!  OK, let's paint 'em so they blend in and stick 'em on randomly."  That's not ok to me.

And something tells me that when Tori Spelling tells you you need to stretch your felt neater... you need to stretch your felt neater.  Take heed, future contestant's.  Tori told the maker of the monster box to line the inside, she did, and she stayed.

But yeah... with all the issues I saw with glitter chick's box, I still was not rooting for this guy.  Oddly, even with all my issues with the show, I do tend to agree with the judges' decisions.  We just apparently reach them from different routes.

Speaking of which, I agreed with their final decision too, on the challenge to make pet mansions from pet items.

Don't get me wrong, I much preferred the California girl's pet condo in terms of design and the clean look.  I'd own hers over the winner's any day.  It's much more my style.

How awesome is that thing?!  Had this chick had one more hour, it'd have been totally gorgeous.  But I knew she was in trouble as soon as she used spray glue for the fabric wallpaper.  See, in the first challenge, Tori said to line the inside, chick lined the inside, and she stuck around.  But the judges admonished her to only use fabric glue with fabric.  This time, she didn't listen, and see what happened?  Also, I had to agree with the judges:  the upstairs needed embellishment and there again was that fatal flaw for me:  She didn't much incorporate the challenge items as elements.  Yes, she turned stuffed animals into beds and made some new stuffies to hang in the cat's apartment.  But that was really it.  Laying bones and bowls in the joint doesn't really "incorporate" the elements into the design, per se.  But man, it sure was a gorgeous design.  And I know Meg, Hunter, and Catimus would love it.

I knew glitter chick was going to win, though.  Although she also didn't listen and insisted on using her spray adhesive for all that crazy glitter, and although her mansion was very much not my style, not as clean, a little clashy in color (I really wish that entrance curtain wasn't red), and somewhat messy... chick incorporated the challenge pieces.

From balls as front yard decor to glittered (of course) milk bone embellishments to a mat made of woven leashes, she used her stuff.  I have to say, while the judges went nuts for the leash mat, I kinda really loved the table with a base made of newspapers and tennis balls.  That's what I personally like to see; the elements used in construction, not just stuck in 'cause they gotta.

So... though I really liked the condo better, I think the glitter castle was the right one for the win.

You?

Vote for Me!

Well, for my item in Fabric of my Mind.  Remember my busy book?  The one I made for my nephew?  Well, the pattern and instructions are for sale at Fabric of my Mind.

There's this blog that supports handmade, Made for Me by Oaklie, and every week she runs a Great Finds contest!  And that busy book is in the contest this week!  I'm in the lead right now, but every vote can count.  So here I am, asking for a favor.  I'm asking that you go to the contest page and vote for Fabric of my Mind.  It doesn't require you to sign up for anything, just scroll down, click the dot next to my shop name, and then click "vote."

Thanks in advance!

So there's this chick...

Andrea, from northeastern Ohio.  I met her at the Handmade Artists Forum, which I've written about here several times.  Andrea herself is an amazingly talented bookbinder who has a shop, Blue Highways.

I've been coveting her hand bound books for quite a while now, and I finally own one!  She was creative and generous enough to start a contest at HAF, involving the Handmade Highlights, with one of her own books as the prize!  I created a Highlight based on my favorite song, Castle Walls by Styx, and had the most commenters, so I won my choice of one of her gorgeous mini journals.

I got it on Saturday and was so enamoured with it that I had to share.  First, her packaging is terrific; each book is wrapped in vintage newspaper with twine.  The newspaper around my book was from 1963 and very interesting to read.

Also included with the book was a pretty notecard with a message to me and a book thong, also made by Andrea.  It was blue cord with blue glass beads, my favorite color!  I knew that Andrea included a complimentary book thong with every book she sold, but had no idea I'd be getting one with a book I'd won.  I thought that was just really sweet.

Once I unwrapped the book, I got to see the fabric I'd chosen in person, these awesome batik sea turtles, of course in blue.

The book's closure is a blue ribbon with dark blue beads on the ends.  The flyleaf is fun and also sea-themed, with pictures of urchins and shells.

The binding, though, is what boggles my mind the most.  The book is hand-threaded in this lovely pattern of thread, that I think is the most beautiful thing.

The care and expertise she puts into these books is evident from front to back.  I'm so glad I got it, and know I'll be buying more in the future.

Wanna Win a Necklace & $25?

Remember ages ago when I entered that contest that resulted in the puppet?  The one that's now the logo for Fabric of my Mind?  Well, the Handmade Artists Forum ran another contest.

I didn't enter this one.

But boy, have the entrants stepped up their game!  It was a "trashy contest," and the artists had to take something that was otherwise trash and turn it into a treasure.  You have to see the awesome stuff they made!

And if you vote on the contest (good luck choosing, it took me forever), and you comment on the blog post, you're entered to win $25 to spend at any one of the Handmade Artists Shops and this awesome necklace:

The necklace was made by a terrific artist, Lisa, of Uniqlets.

First, go vote and comment on the contest to be entered to win.  Then, if you're smart, you'll check out the other jewelry at Uniqlets.  And when you're done with that, check out the rest of the Handmade Artists Shops to see how you want to spend your potential $25!

My New Obsession

Yes, another.  And I'll give you a hint.  Catimus loves it.

I'll start at the beginning.  Several years ago, I got this knitting kit.  It came with some yarn, an instructional DVD, and patterns to make some dog toys.  Thing is, had I made knitted dog toys, Meg would've shredded them to smithereens in about 3 seconds flat.  She's no terrier, but my half sheltie/half eskimo destroys even the stuffed animals intended for heavy chewing dogs with the best of 'em.  I did want to learn to knit, though, just because I want to learn to do pretty much everything having to do with art or craft, so I hung onto the kit, though I never made time to really look at it.

Well, I've mentioned, probably, that I'm in community theater.  A couple years ago, I was cast in this workshop where I was to be a pregnant schizophrenic woman, hearing my fetus talking to me.  It was a phenomenal role to play, with so many emotions and so much craziness; it was really all over the place in terms of character and dialogue.  Thing is, the script called for my character to be knitting on stage, pretty much the whole time.

Aha!

I pulled out the DVD from the kit and bought myself a beginner knitting book too.  And I got a skein of "baby colored" yarn.  It was pastel rainbow.  I taught myself how to cast on and the knit stitch, and practiced at home, at rehearsals, and any chance I got.  Just the knit stitch, just going back and forth in what'd probably turn out to be a pretty skinny scarf.  I didn't want to go farther than that, or fancier, because I wanted it to be mechanical; something I could do while staying in character and not forgetting my lines.

It worked.  And then when the performance was over I put down the knitting.  I'd discovered how mesmerizing it could be, how relaxing, but I had no use in real life for pastel rainbow yarn or anything made from it.  And I never really made time to learn more than the knit stitch, though all this time I intended to pick it back up and go further with it.  Y'know... to purl or something.  And maybe bind off, even.  Never happened.

In December, when the Handmade Artists Forum was having its Secret Santa fun, my Santa, a knitter herself, got me a kit to knit slipper socks.  I sat down one day with the pattern and stuff, intending to start making them... and realized that I had no idea how to read a knitting pattern.  Oops.  I didn't realize it'd be in code.  It's a lot like baking, where you just know that t is teaspoon and T is tablespoon.  So I emailed a friend of mine, also a phenomenal knitter.  I thank her tremendously, but I still wasn't confident enough to try it, and I didn't want to mess up and ruin the yarn I was given.  So it stayed set aside.

Then, in May, I won the May Giveaway Day at Underground Crafter.  The Underground Crafter is really Marie, a knitter, crocheter, soapmaker, and all around cool chick who lives in Manhattan and in addition to selling her own work at her Etsy shop, teaches knitting and crochet around the city.

Jiving our schedules was an interesting endeavor, but on July 9, I finally hopped the bus into NYC, met Marie at a Starbucks just a few blocks from Port Authority, and had my lesson.  I'd told her I needed to brush up on casting on and the knit stitch, then wanted to learn to purl and bind off, as well as learn to read patterns, of course.  And I told her I had nephews and wanted to maybe make some cute clothes for them, but especially toys.  I'm big on the toys.

So in addition to giving me a set of her own Underground Crafter wooden knitting needles, instructions for a few really simple toys, a key to unlock the knitting pattern code, and instructions for basic knitting, she brought some practice yarn, and we got to work.  I did this.

That right there is an actual, honest-to-goodness stockinette stitch!  Knitting and purling, casting on and binding off.  Dude, I rock.  Of course, at the other end, I did something very wrong, not sure what.

Marie was nice enough to blame the small table and distractions of Starbucks.  Really, she may have had something there, since I practiced the whole way home on the bus, and with the exception of one row when I accidentally purled instead of knitted, I did a much better job.

Impatient person that I am, pretty much as soon as I got home, I got started on one of the patterns Marie gave me, which is really from here.  It's called a Martian Mouse, which works fine for me.  And I have a friend who's having a baby shower soon, for a female fetus, so I figured the same yarn would be perfect.  It's pretty much the easiest pattern ever.  It's two squares...

Two strips for ears...

And the knitting is done!  Then the ears get sewn on...

And a tail added.  The original pattern called for a pompom tail, but I didn't want that on a mouse, so I knotted yarn to make a mouse tail.

A face goes on, and it all gets sewn around the edges and stuffed.

A mouse!  It's cute and squishy and soft, and of course I immediately had to start on another one.

How perfect is this dark blue, which by the way is really soft, for three more mice for the two nephews and honorary nephew?!  Right?  Right!

Shared with:

So... about that cake...

I know it's not  perfect, but I entered it in a HAF contest anyway.  If you want to support me, you can vote for it here.  Even if you don't want to vote for me, go vote for one of the other awesome entries... and don't forget to comment on the post!  One commenter wins some really cool prizes!

Attention to Detail

I pay attention and notice things.  Little things that are really big things.  And when I won a contest at The Rikrak Studio, and had as my prize a credit toward any item in any of that blog's sponsor's shops, I noticed these.

Sterling silver and garnet, a few inches long, and absolutely gorgeous.  When I was in high school in the '80s, I had a penchant for "shoulder duster" earrings, and my limit was that they couldn't be longer than my hair.  Though I'm now 40 and have a day job as a lawyer, I haven't really given that up, except that my limit now that my hair is much longer is that earrings should be above my shoulders.  These fit the bill, and though they're long, I feel like I could still wear them to work because they are so finely made.  There's really no other way to put it.

They arrived in a pretty organza bag on an earring card.

The shop is Zion Shore, and out of all the sponsor shops, this one stuck in my head.  She uses gemstones like these, as well as rubies, amethyst, pearls, citrine, and others to create her beautiful jewelry.

And so far, I've worn them two days in a row... Friday night to a play and Saturday night to go out with several girlfriends.

How great does that look?  And about the attention to detail... I have a lot of dangly earrings, a lot of earrings with hooks rather than posts.  These are very light, and there could be a worry that they'd work their way out of my ears and be lost.  Well, the artist has thought of that.

Included on each earring is a backer, so there's no danger of losing them.  I love that, and that's exactly the attention to detail I mean.

Wanna know something even cooler?  The Rikrak Studio, a beautiful blog you should be following anyway, is running another contest just like the one I won!  It's open through January 31, so go enter!

We have a winner!

We used random.org to pick the winner of our very first blog giveaway and it is...

drumroll...

Megan of Mommy Minded, who said:

Congrats to Megan!  She's being emailed imminently and will have 48 hours in which to respond and claim her prize, the "For Your Face" gift pack!

That Lucky Streak of Mine

It continues.  This time, I won the most adorable iPod case... only I don't have an iPod, so I wanted it as a case for my Droid Incredible.

It's a blueberry pop tart!  So cute, and very well made with pretty stitching around the edges and blue felt lining.  The sugar is in the form of tiny beads sewn on.  And my phone fits perfectly!

With it, I won that cute cupcake pin, which will be perfect when I'm face painting.

Oh, and in the back of the case, a handy pocket.

From whence did I win these adorable items?  From The Curious Pug.  Check it out!

Do you want to be a winner too?  Then enter our blog giveaway and win this awesome For Your Face prize pack!

Our Day

Today, we spent the day at the Autumn Extravaganza Arts & Crafts Show at the Minerals Resort & Spa in Vernon, NJ.  We'd done this show in April when it was their first attempt a a craft fair, and had a decent day with a lot of interest.  It was a very small fair but with good vendors.

This time, a vendor organizer company had taken over and the fair grew from one room (the gym of the spa) to three rooms (the lobby, gym, and small back convention room).  Still a small fair, but nice.  Unfortunately, it also grew by three more vendors of handmade soap.  Total:  4.  That's unusual, especially for a fair of this size, and initially they were placing three of us all in adjoining booths!  Well, two of us obviously moved, and we lucked out and were placed in the lobby, directly to the right of the entrance doors to the spa.  That meant we had a differently-shaped space (the original was 10'x10') and needed to reorganize.  We actually really liked the way we were able to use the area.

That whole length there was Reef Botanicals!  We had two 6' tables end to end, and then a 4' camping table on the end forming an L.  Our banner is there at that far end because that's where the entrance to the spa was.

We got traffic from every direction and were very happy with the setup and location.  In fact, the spa is having another event on December 12, just before the holidays, and we plan to participate in that one too.

Although the patrons were somewhat inundated with soapers, they seemed really excited by our product line, and we did well.  Our most popular sellers of the day were the Hair Dew shampoo and the Home for the Holidays bath salt, though also especially popular were the lip balms, facial scrub, candles, and Smooth Operator shaving & bath soap.  People took a lot of cards too, and we're hopeful that the event gained us some regular customers!

If you're in the area, look for us at the event in December, where we'll also be offering gift baskets for the holidays.  Don't be fooled by the fact that it's a resort; the place is really friendly and non-members are as welcome as members.  In fact, the staff there were treating even us more like guests than anything!

In the meantime, everything is still available at our website, as well as on our HAFshop, and of course our giveaway is still underway until October 31!

Our First Blog Giveaway!

This contest is closed.

We're feeling like a giveaway to celebrate the release of our new product:

Almond Pastry Facial Scrub

It smells great, is easy to use, and makes skin glow!

What you get out of this is a For Your Face Gift Pack, containing one full size shaker container of this awesome new scrub, one bar of our Purity soap, and one bar of our Oatmeal Honey soap, all great for your face!

You have SIX chances to win!  For each entry, leave a separate comment on this post to let us know, one comment per entry task completed.

Rules:
1.  This giveaway is open to everyone in the U.S. and Canada.
2.  There will be one winner chosen.
3.  The winner will be notified by email, and will have 48 hours in which to respond.  If the winner does not respond, a new winner will be chosen.

**Please make sure you provide a valid email address when entering this giveaway.**

Mandatory Entry:
Please become a follower of this blog, then visit Reef Botanicals and leave a comment on this post telling us what you would love to have from the shop.

Additional Entries:
1.  "Like" Reef Botanicals on Facebook and leave a comment letting us know with your Facebook name.
2.  Follow Reef Botanicals on Twitter and tweet this contest.  You can do this once a day for additional entries.  Just leave a comment for each daily tweet and leave a link to your tweet.  Use this tweet:

Win a "For Your Face" Gift Pack from reefbotanicals.com @ReefBotanicals #giveaway at http://dld.bz/zAUW!!

3.  Post about this contest on your Facebook wall and post the link here in a comment.
4.  Add our badge (from the left sidebar) to your blog or website and leave the link in a comment.
5.  Blog about this giveaway and leave a link to your post here in a comment.

GIVEAWAY ENDS ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31, AT 5 P.M. EST.

I need to buy a lottery ticket.

No, really, Eric said so.  'Cause... y'know... I won again.

Yeah!

This time the prize is from Artistic Will Studios.  That's her Etsy shop, where she sells her glitter art, but she's also got a Zazzle shop for magnets and keychains featuring replicas of her original art.

When I first opened my package, I found with it this beautiful thank you card.

In taking a look at the Etsy shop, I realized that the card was handmade, because they're sold in the shop too!  I actually thought it had been purchased from the fancy shelves at Hallmark.  It's really a clean, pretty, original design.  It's got depth too, since the leaves and flowers are raised off the paper, the modern trend in fancier cards.

With the card, and encased in a bunch of bubble wrap, was this purple-wrapped package with the shop's shipping label.

Also in there was this postcard from the shop, as well as a business card.  This artist knows how to market!

... and also how to pack, since inside the purple giftwrapped package was this padded envelope.

And inside of that was this pretty organza bag.

Finally, my prize, an awesome Glitter Daisy Paperweight!

She makes each paperweight by hand painting clear acetate with multiple layers of sparkling glitter paint, and then placing the painting under glass with an acid-free paper backing and then sitting it in the metal-toned base.  There's also a selection of framed glitter art, butterfly shadowboxes, and quilled aquariums, so you really do need to check out the shop.

To learn more about the artist, her life, and what she does, check out her blog.  It's worth it!